School Supt. talks of pulling valedictorian, salutatorian slots

At the Feb. 10 regular meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education, Belleville High School student Ivonna Goff gave a lengthy report on what was going on at BHS.
Ivonna is president of the senior class and the student council and one of the students who regularly sits at the school board table.
Among other things, Ivonna reported that BHS is doing away with honors classes because the classes keep the students from interacting with each other. She said when the honor students come from Savage Elementary, they tend to stick together through the rest of the schooling.
She said students are being encouraged to sign up for AP (advanced placement) classes, but you have to pay for AP tests, which deters some.
Ivonna said class rankings came out recently, based on GPA (grade point average), but this harms relationships, feelings are hurt, and she thinks the rankings should be withheld until the senior year.
School Supt. Pete Kudlak said that he and BHS Principal Nicole Crockett have been discussing the way they rank students now and agree it is “kind of antiquated” and they could do away with valedictorian and salutatorian and just name the top ten. That is yet to be determined.
Ivonna said she is interested in public health and global health and plans to study that at college this fall, with a minor in education. She said her top choice for a college is the University of Michigan, but that is yet to be decided.
She also announced the BHS Polar Plunge which will be Wednesday, Feb. 18, to raise funds for unified sports. She said the tank will be outside and she plans to take the plunge. The temperature is expected to be 21 degrees, she said.
Ivonna said she will be making a black history presentation later Feb. 18 focusing on the contributions of black inventors. Also, the Tiger Village dinner is coming up to honor the students who made their goals and reward them with cash awards of $50 or $100.
She said Tiger Village was named that after Hillary Clinton’s statement that it takes a village to raise a child.
She also reported student council representatives are going to the state conference soon when they will talk about DEI and BHS students, who won previous competition, will give presentations. Ivonna said she will be presenting, as well.
She said a girls’ flag football team has been started at BHS and they hope to get both JV and Varsity teams.
Ivonna said she and other youth council members are planning a block party with the Belleville Downtown Development Authority for the last day of school, which is a half-day.
In other business at the half-hour meeting, the board:
• Considered the eight candidates in Region 8 presented for the 2025 Michigan Association of School Boards Board of Directors election. Each district will receive one ballot to vote for the person they want to represent their region. Board members will consider the candidates and vote at the next meeting for their candidate. The ballot will be submitted by March 5;
• Approved the resignation of BHS paraprofessional Tatyana Hamlet as of Jan. 24;
• Approved the employment of Kizzy Scott as an Edgemont paraprofessional as of Jan. 27; Dawn Majewski as an Owen paraprofessional as of Feb. 5; Anne Witkowski as an Edgemont paraprofessional as of Feb. 5; and Gregory Martinez as a mechanic with buildings and grounds as of Feb. 10;
• Heard Director of Student Services Julien Frazier praise the report given by Ivonna Goff. He said the money from the Polar Plunge will go to unified sports basketball and a couple more unified sports. He said the local unified team played at Little Caesar’s Arena recently against Lincoln Park and the local team won. He said it was a great experience for the players;
• Heard Finance Director Priya Nayak say she is working on the budget amendments and most of the grants have been finalized. She said the final student count was held last week and it will be submitted in June with the budget. She also noted that BHS and Edgemont food service will be audited;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak explain that inclement weather days are based on forecasts the day before or in the morning when the current weather is checked. He said it depends on what’s going on. He said the district only gets six inclement weather days and they’ve used up four so far; and
• Heard board vice-president Dionne Falconer say that the district’s students playing sports think about the game and the whole student body. “We are creating wonderful leaders,” she said. Falconer conducted the board meeting in the absence of board president Amy Pearce.