SILVER CREEK — The Silver Creek Central School Board of Education recently met to discuss new ideas and a new extra-curricular club for the 2018-2019 school year that will broaden students’ world view. Superintendent Todd Crandall was also pleased to announce that Phase I of the $17,600,000 capital construction project will soon be underway.

During the workshop session of the meeting, Eleanor Payne, middle school principal, presented a Middle School update on programming based on spring 2018 testing in grades 6, 7 and 8. Crandall said, “We’ve improved from last year, but we also recognize there’s more work to be done. Specifically, we’re looking at data to see which subgroups of students need more attention. I’m very pleased to see that the test scores definitely reflected growth in our students’ performance.”

During the superintendent’s public comments, Crandall and the board discussed options for going paperless during board meetings. School board members considered using iPads, which have been used in the past, to access documents during board of education meetings. Crandall also announced the district’s support of United Way of Northern Chautauqua County by offering employees automatic payroll deduction to make a regular charitable contribution to the organization. Crandall was pleased to announce that Phase I of the capital project is beginning in November. The extensive capital project was approved by voters in the district earlier this year, and addresses needs identified by the state education department’s five-year building assessment, which was conducted in spring 2017. Key areas that the project will address include health and safety, energy, athletics and transportation at both the elementary and middle/high schools at no impact to district residents’ school taxes. Planned improvements include an expanded security system, new network for the district’s phone system, replacement of select windows, addition of three mechanic maintenance bays and more.

Phase I of the project includes “data cabling and wiring for our new phone system, some wiring for security cameras in the parking lot and more,” Crandall explained. “We’ve just been finalizing the contract with Upstate Communication and Security out of Henrietta, who won the bid.” According to Crandall, work on Phase I should begin in November and be completed after school hours.

Later in the meeting, the board voted to approve a new extra-curricular club: History & Culture Club, which is advised by Jessica Kardashian. In her description of the club, Kardashian shared her appreciation of different cultural perspectives and her goal of providing students with opportunities to explore history and culture outside the classroom. Possible activities include guest speakers, tours, restaurant excursions and more. Crandall added that Kardashian took a group of students to Greece and Italy most recently and is currently planning a trip to London, Paris and Ireland for 2020. “I think this is a great opportunity to get kids beyond the walls of SCCS and explore other cultures at a deeper level,” Crandall stated.

The next Silver Creek Central School Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11 in the board of education room. The workshop begins at 6 p.m., which is followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m.