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District outlines school renovation timeline and Teacher University professional development
Summary
Administrators showed a construction walkthrough and outlined renovation milestones for the elementary and high school; Teacher University sessions covered Nearpod, a K–5 math pilot, AI tools training and strategies to support student anxiety.
At a West Salem School Board meeting (date not specified), district administrators presented a construction walkthrough video and provided a timeline for upcoming interior renovations, and staff summarized Teacher University professional development offerings including AI tool demonstrations and sessions on student anxiety and K–5 math practices.
Ryan Nelson (speaker 2) described the construction schedule: interior renovations at the elementary school are scheduled to begin the last week in March, the district has placed thermal blankets and temporary heat to enable interior work during thaw conditions, and footings at the high school were poured the prior week, enabling the addition of temporary walls and next‑phase interior work.
"They're gonna start with some of the interior renovations at the elementary school the last week in March," Ryan said when introducing the walkthrough video, and he added that once footings are in, "things will start to move" at the high school.
The board watched a short behind‑the‑scenes video showing storage and mechanical spaces at the elementary gym, natural light benefits from gym windows, the retaining wall and work zone called Area H at the high school where new business classrooms and CTE spaces will be located, and athletic facility upgrades such as a new triple jump runway and pole vault area.
Administrators also summarized Teacher University, a staff professional development day. Alyssa (speaker 4) described locally led and vendor sessions: a Nearpod workshop for engagement strategies, vendor training for the district's new unified projection/'line board' equipment, an AI session introducing tools such as Gemini and NotebookLM, and a series training a cohort of two K–5 teachers per grade to prepare for piloting a new K–5 math curriculum next year. A presenter from Amplify Behavioral Health addressed classroom strategies to support student anxiety, which principals and teachers received positively.
Board members discussed whether practices taught at Teacher University should be adopted immediately or rolled out over time. One member noted that some sessions are implementation‑ready (for example: line board training), while others — like mindset or SEL work — require extended application and follow‑up.
Student representatives Lydia and Zeke also reported on recent student activities, including show choir, DECA competitors advancing to state and international competitions, winter sports results and other extracurricular accomplishments. The consent agenda reported donations including $500 from Links Networks to the West Salem–Bangor Adapted Sports League, approximately $175 in pork donations from the La Crosse County Pork Producers for processing and a $1,000 donation from Our Saviour's Lutheran Church to the Random Acts of Kindness fund.
Administrators said they will continue to update the board as construction milestones are reached and as Teacher University outcomes inform classroom practice.
