The Bellefontaine Board of Education met in regular session Tuesday night at the high school.
Board members learned about the highly successful credit recovery program offered at BHS. Bellefontaine High School Guidance Counselor Paula Shaw delivered a passionate presentation on the Opportunity Program. The grant-funded program serves high school students from 3-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Shaw shared that 42 students have graduated from BHS since the program’s inception in ’22-’23. These students have struggled in a traditional classroom. Many have flourished through the one-on-one attention offered in the Opportunity Program. Shaw detailed how students’ attendance and grade point average have steadily increased over the last three years. The average attendance rate jumped from 63 to 83 percent, while the average GPA went from 1.5 to 2.4. The after-school program is staffed by 12 BCS teachers. Shaw is the program manager. Sarah Gossard is the site manager.
Shaw speaks more about the program:
Several personnel items were approved. The following were added to the professional substitute list at BCS: Caitlyn Brown, Isaac Pennymon, Kassi Prine, Shianna Miller, Melanie Rapp, Lee Adrienne Siler, and Tayteum Vigansky. BCS is seeking additional substitutes. You’re encouraged to call the board office for more details at 937-593-9060.
Several supplementals were approved. Maverick Aldo, Meagan Antram-Hoyt, Jere Daniels, Keri Fergus, Trinity Floyd, and Robin Henry were approved as musical production assistants. BHS will present the musical Mamma Mia! on February 27th-28th, 2026. Brandon Rutherford was approved as an assistant girls wrestling coach at the high school and middle school. Jeremiah Vigansky was approved as an assistant boys basketball coach at BMS. The following volunteer coaches were approved: Nicole Hall – Competition Cheer, Amy Kerns – Competition Cheer, Dylan Legge – ESports Team, Maelinn Myers – High School Track, Hunter Pool – High School Boys Wrestling, and Trent Nicholl – ESports Team.
The board approved five out-of-state trips for BHS Robotics this school year. The trips include competitions at Speedway in Indianapolis on November 21st-22nd, Sugar Rush in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on January 4th-5th, Gateway to the West in Triadelphia, West Virginia, on January 28th-29th, and Bristol Bots in Bristol, Tennessee, on February 12th-13th, and the VEX World Championship in St. Louis in late April/early May.
The board approved the indoor track program to be coached by Ben Davis and Cody Sigrist.
Finally, the board recognized November Seniors of the Month Isabel Beck and Jacob Henry. They each received an achievement pin and a $15 gift card to Ron’s Pizza. Isabel plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Jacob Henry will study pre-med. He was unable to attend the board meeting because of his work schedule.
The next board meeting is set for December 8th at 6:30 p.m. in the Distance Learning Center at Bellefontaine High School.
