School board names representatives to city arts center

 

Worthington school board members approved district representatives to the inaugural board of trustees of the Peggy R. McConnell Worthington Center for the Arts and heard a parent's plea for better programs for students with autism this week.

The school board met Monday, July 28 at the Worthington Education Center.

Superintendent Melissa Conrath said she has been serving on the core planning committee to create an inaugural board of trustees for the new arts center, which will open eventually in the old Packard Annex building next to Thomas Worthington High School, 300 W. Dublin-Granville Road.

"The inaugural board that will be created will be responsible for overseeing art programs in the art center and the arts council will no longer exist, because it will be morphed into this new group," Conrath said. "There will be 13 board members in the new group."

The board approved former board member Bob Horton and parents Michelle Geissbuhler and Darnell Perkins as district representatives and trustees.

Conrath said both parents are active in the arts community and in the school district.

Also at the meeting, parent Francia Jenks spoke to board members on behalf of parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

"We hope to open a dialogue with appropriate members of the district to discuss how we serve these children and how we are preparing for the growing number of children with ASDs entering our district," Jenks said. "Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with very specific, rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects.

"While there is no cure, autism is treatable," she said. "With effective interventions, all children with autism can make great progress in their education."

Jenks said one in 150 individuals will be diagnosed with autism this year, which is 10 times the rate reported in the 1980s, according to the Center for Disease Control, which has declared autism "a national public health crisis."

"We propose a collaborative effort between parents and the school district to explore challenges faced by the district and parents and improve our programs," Jenks said.

She said many parents have conducted independent research and informal networking to develop sources of information that could improve the education of autistic students in Worthington.

"Other public school districts, such as Columbus Public Schools, offer an autism program that works in conjunction with the Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital to provide the most effective and up-to-date interventions," she said. "We, too, should be striving to make our school district a model district for children with these special needs."

Jenks said training of school staff members is a key component to the academic and social success of autistic students.

"We are willing to take an active role in developing creative ways to obtain funding (for more programs) through sources such as grants, fundraisers, private funding, etc.," she said.

Jenks presented board members with research documents on autism and a copy of her remarks, which were signed by 18 parents of children with autism.

Board President Jennifer Best told Jenks that Lynne Hamelberg, district director of special education, was not at the meeting, but that board members would pass on the information to Hamelberg.

The next board meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Road.