For two years the Clearfield Area School Board has included student representative Zoie Sidorick, and at Monday night’s meeting the board as well as the Pennsylvania School Board Association honored her service to the district.
Davelyn Smeltzer, representing PSBA, spoke about Sidorick’s achievements as a student in the district, noting that she is at the top of her class as this year’s valedictorian, was praised by teachers and staff as an exceptional and well-rounded student.
She is been vice president of her class, vice president of the National Honor Society and has also been active in Key Club and her church.
Smeltzer added that she will be attending Duquesne University for degrees in business and law and presented her with the Quimbly Scholarship for $2,500.
Superintendent Terry Struble also spoke about Sidorick’s time with the school board, noting that not all student representatives attend all the meetings or even participate, but Sidorick has not only regularly and faithfully attended the meetings, she often participated in discussions, bringing a unique viewpoint of the student to the board.
He added that he was honored to be able to write one of the letters of recommendation for the scholarship.
Sidorick said in her application letter that she learned, “Leadership is not about personal recognition, but is about serving others.”
Later during her report she also stated that being a representative to the board has helped her grow as a person and also as a communicator. “I am ready and excited for the next chapter of my life,” she said.
Graduation will be held June 3 this year with Baccalaureate on May 21.
Struble noted that this graduating class has been the class that began in first grade the year he came as superintendent and it has been a privilege for him to watch them grow, learn and succeed.
In other business the board briefly noted the success of another student, Lauren Kennedy, who will be attending the state competition for FFA at Penn State University on June 10 where she will be part of the public speaking competition.
The board also voted to completely rehabilitate the tennis courts at the school.
The last time the courts had any major work done was about eight years ago, and then it was only to seal cracks and paint.
This summer, the courts will be milled down two inches and then resurfaced with fresh paint, including pickleball markings on three of the courts, and new fencing.
The board voted to have separate contractors come in and do the various parts of the work to be supervised by the maintenance department, which is anticipated to be cheaper than hiring one contractor to do the entire project.
Some of the work, such as fencing, will also be done by local contractors.
The district is also looking for some new employees, including an accounts payable secretary as Beverly Nicklas is retiring from the position after 25 years with the district.
The board also voted to create a full time classroom assistant position who will be assigned to a specific student to help the student with their day-to-day tasks at the school, including school work and interactions with other students and adults and help with coping strategies and other needs of the student.
