By splitting the role of school business manager between its superintendent and an accountant, Berne-Knox-Westerlo is hoping to attract superintendent candidates of a higher caliber when Timothy Mundell retires from the position within the next five years. 

The second phase of Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s $15.8 million project has been completed, and Superintendent Timothy Mundell reports that, now halfway through, the project is on schedule and slightly under budget. 

Although its absentee rate is roughly half that of the state average, Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s school board is considering ways to further cut the rate of chronic absenteeism, which is when a student misses 10-percent of classes in a school year. Chronic absenteeism is one of three critical metrics for Harvard’s National Center for Rural Education Research Networks, of which BKW is a part. 

“We’ve been able to ensure every student has technology. It really levels the playing field,” said Demian Singleton, the district’s assistant superintendent for instruction.

The Museum Education Act should be funded in the state’s budget as it would support the important learning that comes from museum visits and would allow students from poor districts the same opportunities for field trips that students in wealthier districts enjoy.

As scientists study a glacier many see as a keystone to the crumbling of glaciers in the Antarctic, teacher Sarah Slack will be on board, dispatching her observations so others can learn from the expedition. 

Esports, or competitive video gaming, is a $1 billion dollar industry that Berne-Knox-Westerlo teacher William Dergosits wants to bring to the school. He says it may open doors for students academically, professionally, and socially — especially for those in what he calls the “hidden demographic.” 

“Everyone I’ve spoken with says that it’s just one of the best corn mazes in the area,” FMS principal Michael Laster said of Liberty Ridge, which boasts a 100-acre corn maze for kids to explore. Liberty Ridge was also forced by the state and the courts several years ago to let all couples, including same-sex couples, who wanted to, to hold their weddings there. 

Bill Dergosits stressed that the Promethean board is “a tool, not a toy.”