The Monroe County School Board held its regular board meeting last week. A major topic of discussion was the District Kindergarten Kickoff Event, during which schools welcomed incoming students and their families from the Class of 2039 as they registered for the 2026-27 school year. Schools have been holding special welcoming events to introduce new families as they prepare their children for Kindergarten.
Christina McPherson, the Executive Director of Student Services, spoke to the board about the Kickoff events, including a specially designed board game being handed out to all newly registered students. The game is designed to build literacy and math skills as a child prepares to enter school. She said the game has been very popular and is definitely a hit with students and their families. She said the district will also be sending out short video tips to families, produced in three languages, to help them better prepare their child for kindergarten.
Superintendent Edward Tierney spoke about how impressed he was with the effort. “I have been involved in four of these efforts over the years and this one is by far the best,” he said. “These are not just single events; they are relationships we will be building on as these students progress.”
Board members all commented about the Kindergarten Kickoff events they have attended. Vice-Chair Darren Horan said he has heard from many business owners who would like to be sponsors featured on the popular board game going forward. “Don’t worry,” he said, “there will definitely be an opportunity in the future for all of you to participate as sponsors of the game.
In the regular GEM (Great Educational Moments) presentation to the board, Deputy Superintendent Amber Acevedo honored three students who received special recognition at the State Science and Engineering Fair as well as the Marathon High School Champions for Change leadership group.
Braelyn Dixon, 8thGrade Student,Key Largo School: Special recognition in the Earth and Environmental category.
Lily Soca Senior, Coral ShoresHigh School: Special recognition in the Earth and Environmental category.
Aiden McElheny 7thGrade Student, Ocean Studies Charter School: Special recognition in the Engineering category.
Champions for Change Marathon High School For promoting prevention, supporting classmates, and building a stronger Marathon High community.
Dr. Marlene Kolodziej, the Director of Information Technology for the district, spoke to the board about her office’s efforts to improve the way technology works for the district. She said her team has been implementing a “shift left” philosophy with an effort to prevent issues from happening instead of just reacting to issues after they happen. She said members of her team are spending more time on-site at schools and other district offices offering assistance with questions and reacting swiftly to any issues people are having. She said they also were on site as new teachers began the year so they could assist them as they settled into their new jobs.
She also spoke about the monetary savings these proactive efforts are bringing to the district. She said IT has saved the district $600,000 with some of these efforts. She said her team has completed 51 projects this year with another 65 currently in progress. She is using Microsoft Planner to track all of the projects which allows her to clearly see the time and efforts put forth as well as measure the success of each project. To see more of her presentation, click this link.
School Board meetings and agendas are available to the public and can be viewed on the district’s website at https://monroe-k12.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=1.