Archive for category: District Announcements

by Mary Ann Mitchell, public relations and communications coordinator

District #7 special education coordinator Cindy Steele has always had a passion for children, their well-being and happiness.  

She has been with the district for 29 years, joining the D7 family as a school psychologist before moving into her current role in 2006.  

“I have been fortunate in my role. It has allowed me to work as part of a team, which is critical in problem-solving and student needs. I get to look at different issues through the lenses of parents, teachers, administrators, and the child.” 

Steele has always had an interest in mental health and while working in a psychiatric hospital for children, knew she wanted to concentrate on school psychology. 

“Working on the different units in the hospital setting, one of the common themes of all the children was their educational experience and how they struggled in school because of the needs they had. I knew I wanted to do psychology in an education setting. It is such an important part of student’s life.” 

Throughout her career, she has been able to work towards the well-being and happiness of students in a variety of ways.  

“I have a bunch of passions within that overarching passion for kids and that includes social-emotional health. The impact I hope to leave is helping to develop programs for kids and systems of support that allows them to recognize their strengths and celebrate what they are good at and their impact on the world, while also giving them the skills and tools to navigate all the challenges.” 

Another passion of Steel’s is reading and helping kids unlock the code and developing programs for students with developmental disabilities, specific learning abilities and medically fragile children. 

Steele said she has been fortunate to work with many different teams across all school buildings as well individuals throughout the community.  

“I’ve had the privilege of partnering with SIUE and their school psychology department when we built a program for students with autism spectrum disorder and are now working with SIUE to develop multi-tiered systems of support.” 

She has also been able to work with law enforcement partners, school resource officers, nurses, and even bus drivers and transportation team members.  

“Edwardsville and this community have a lot of compassionate people who are dedicated to what they are doing. I love my job and it can be challenging at times, but I have always felt very supported because of the people alongside me that share the same passion for kids.” 

Steele said the most rewarding part of her job is seeing a program developed that has a significant impact on a student.  

“I want every child to feel successful here, which is part of our mission statement. Seeing their successes and making sure they also see those successes is so rewarding.” 

While in junior high, Marcie Dixon, the speech-language pathologist at Columbus Elementary, visited her grandmother who had a stroke and was hospitalized. During that visit, she encountered a speech-language pathologist for the first time and developed a keen interest in learning more about the field. 

“I vividly recall having difficulty understanding my grandmother’s speech due to significant right-sided hemiparesis. The speech-language pathologist at the hospital came to work with her, preforming various speech, memory, and swallowing exercises.” 

Dixon said she asked many questions, and the speech-language pathologist thoroughly explained the effects of her grandmothers’ stroke and her role in rehabilitating speech, cognition, and swallowing.  

“From that moment on, I was intrigued to learn more about the field and the pathway to pursue a career in speech-language pathology.” 

This is Dixon’s 13th year working in the profession and her fourth working at Columbus. The previous three years she split her time providing services at Woodland and Columbus. The EHS alum returned to Edwardsville after living in Chicago to be closer to family and loved ones.  

Throughout her career, Dixon has worked in several different settings including early intervention, private practice, K- 12 schools, hospitals, and acute inpatient rehabilitation.   

“Each setting offered unique experiences, but I prefer the school setting overall. The most rewarding aspects of being a school-based speech-language pathologist are working with children that have various communication needs and abilities, helping establish the foundational skills necessary for effective speech and language, fostering positive relationships with my students and their families, providing on-going support and encouragement, working with collaborative teams, and witnessing the growth in my students over the years with communication and language skills that are beneficial academically, socially, and throughout their lives.” 

This summer, Dixon will return to Chicago to attend the high school graduation of a former student she worked with six years ago.  

“I am honored to be invited, and it is moments like this that solidify the positive and lasting impact I can have in the lives of my students.” 

 

 

EHS senior Caspar Dowdy has been named the Illinois Journalist of the Year by the Illinois Journalism Education Association, the highest honor the organization awards a student journalist. Applicants had to submit portfolios of their work demonstrating expertise/experience in numerous areas, including writing and reporting; editing, leadership, and team building; web and social media; design; broadcast journalism; photojournalism; law, ethics, and news literacy; marketing and audience engagement; and commitment to diversity.

Caspar spent approximately 80 hours preparing a digital portfolio between November and the deadline in February and will now represent the state in the national JEA contest. Only one student is awarded this honor in the state of Illinois per year, and Caspar is the first EHS student and student south of Champaign ever to win this award.

Congratulations to Edwardsville High School sophomore Mackenzie Pratt who won the girls wrestling state championship at 140 pounds! The championship is the first in the two-year history of the girls program.

Pratt, who was state runner-up last year, pinned Goreville junior Alivia Ming in 1:07 to claim the title on Saturday in Bloomington, Ill. Pratt finishes the year with a 30-1 record.

 

 

District 7 will hold an informational night and open house at Lincoln Middle School on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. for community members to learn more about how the zero-tax-rate-change bond, if passed, would address needed renovations and a partial rebuild of the aging school building.  

District 7 will have a $100 million zero-tax-rate change bond referendum on the April 4, 2023, ballot. If passed, the district would be able to issue $100 million in bonds to address essential safety and security upgrades, identified facility needs and other identified critical maintenance. While some schools require more repair and renovation than others, every student attending school in our district will improve from improved school buildings.   

The informational night will begin with a presentation in the auditorium that will include architectural plans for Lincoln. District leaders, staff, and students will then be on hand to give tours of Lincoln.  

“All of our schools, including Lincoln, are our community’s schools and we want everyone to be able to ask as many questions and learn as much information as they can. We want people who have not been in the building for a while to see it.” said Superintendent Dr. Patrick Shelton. “Lincoln has served our community for many years. It is now time for major renovations and repairs so the building can serve our community for many more years to come.” 

The bond development process has been community-driven from the beginning with Engage District 7 being formed and several community engagement sessions being held to help to prioritize district needs. The committee consisted of school staff, parents and community and business partners. The Board of Education accepted the committee’s recommendations for a bond proposal and unanimously voted to put the bond measure on the April 4 ballot.