The 2024 DHS Homecoming Coronation was held at Charles Bland Stadium on Friday, September 6th as the Dexter Bearcat Football Team took on the Sikeston Bulldogs defeating them 48-7.
Averee Ackman was nominated by the Football Cheerleaders.
She is a senior at Dexter High School and is the daughter of Jonathan and Amanda Guite and Trey and Leslie Ackman.
Averee is a football cheerleader and a basketball cheerleader. She is also a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, FCCLA, Sr. Beta, National Honor Society and Pep Club.
After graduation, Averee plans to attend the Arkansas State University - Jonesboro, majoring in Nursing, and eventually earn her Master's degree.. She then wants to work in aesthetics.
Averee is escorted by Sawyer Rascher. He is a senior at Dexter High School and the son of Ryan and Heather Rasher.
Sawyer is on the football team and track & field team and is a member of the Pep Club and Future Farmers of America.
When asked to describe Averee in a few words, Sawyer said she is very mindful, very classy, and very demure.
Dexter School Board held their regularly scheduled meeting on August 27th at 6 p.m. They also held the Tax Rate Hearing at 5:50 p.m. Below are the minute notes.
1,2,3. Call to Order/Roll Call/Pledge:
The Board President announced the meeting is to begin, ascertains the attendance status of all board members, with all members being present. The Board President leads in the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. Consent Agenda: The consent agenda was approved.
5. Public Comments:
6. Old Business:
A. There was no old business to discuss.
7. New Business:
A. The board approved a resolution authorizing a prepayment of $300,000 to the Series
2020 Bonds maturing on March 1, 2028 on March 1, 2026. The board authorized the
Publication of the notice of redemption.
B. The board approved the tax rate for the 2024-2025 school year.
C. The board approved the Contract Paper Group’s bid for copy paper for the 2024-2025
school year. The cost is $33.96 per case.
D. The board approved Select Physical Therapy for athletic training services for the
2024-2025 school year.
8. Discussion Items: The following items were discussed with the board:
A. The annual determination category under Part B, IDEA was discussed.
B. The summer school 2024 report was discussed.
C. The SRO report was discussed.
D. The building reports were provided to the board.
E. The CSIP tracking document was reviewed.
F. The next regular board meeting will be held on Thursday, September 26th at 6:00 p.m.
The meeting was moved due to the Stoddard County Fair.
In Closed Session:
1. The board approved the following substitutes for the 2024-2025 school year:
Noreen Hyslop (office sub only)
Deborah Stogsdill
Kyla Propst
Mattilyn Williams
Kerri Kruse
Felicia Powers (ELL only)
Kylah Hill
Delisa Sitze
Lauren Baugh
Morgan Wilkinson
Substitutes from 2023-2024 were approved.
2. The board approved the following resignations, retirements, and recensions:
Hannah Emery-Building Aide at middle School, effective August 16.
Kris Chamberlain-Assistant Middle School Football, effective at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 school year.
Canasia McBride-Special Services Paraprofessional, effective August 5.
Rebekah McGhee-PK Paraprofessional, effective August 30th.
3. The board approved the following transfers for the 2024-2025 school year:
Tallhenia Ward-From ECSE Paraprofessional to HS Special Services Professional.
4. The board approved the hiring of the following individuals for the 2024-2025 school year,
pending a favorable background check and appropriate certification:
Kiara Terry-Special Services Paraprofessional at Southwest.
Madison Whitehead-Special Services Paraprofessional at Central.
Mindy Ruppel-Special Services Paraprofessional at Central.
Patrick Collier-HS Assistant Wrestling Coach.
Terry Bryeans-MS Assistant Baseball.
Aron Pfeffer-HS Softball.
Eric Sitze-HS Girls Basketball.
LaDawn Barnes- Building Aide at the Middle School.
Melanie Stoelting-Parents as Teachers (critical shortage).
Tara Mouser-SLP at Central (critical shortage).
Denise Counts-Secretary at Central (critical shortage).
Peggy Potts-Special Services Teacher at Southwest (critical shortage).
Jerrica Wood-Special Services Paraprofessional at Central.
5. The board approved the additional duties for current employees for the 2024-2025
school year:
Susan Cooper-A+ Coordinator.
Tonya Keena-A+ Coordinator.
6. The board approved an athletic event pay increase of an additional $10/job.
7. The following items were discussed with the board:
-
Long Range Planning/Bond Issue 2025 Update
-
Donation Procedures-Policy 1470
-
Communications
Items at the Conclusion of Executive Session
-
There were no items to be considered.
The 2024 Homecoming Ceremony will take place on September 6th against the Sikeston Bulldogs with the Coronation at 6:30 p.m. at Charles Bland Stadium. Kick-off at 7:00 p.m. and the Tailgate is from 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Pictured are the candidates with their escorts.
Liz Bolin and Avery Riley were chosen by the Volleyball Team.
Averee Ackman and Rylee Dawson were chosen by the Cheer Team.
Quincey McLaughlin and Carly McMunn were chosen by the Cross Country Team.
Febe Worley and Puja Maisuria were chosen by the Tennis Team.
Emma Pennington and Alexis Sisk were chosen by the Football Team.
From left: Liz Bolin escorted by Houston Neely, Averee Ackman escorted by Sawyer Rascher, Quincey McLaughlin escorted by Austin Lasater, Febe Worley escorted by Devin Turnbo, Emma Pennington escorted by Christiaan Wirz, Avery Riley escorted by Jackson Howard, Rylee Dawson escorted by Jaxon Miller, Carly McMunn escorted by Ben Dowdy, Puja Maisuria escorted by Jaxon Medler, and Alexis Sisk escorted by Caden Lee.
Regular Board Meeting Notes
July 23, 2024
6:00 PM-Regular Board Meeting
1,2,3. Call to Order/Roll Call/Pledge:
The Board President announced the meeting is to begin, ascertains the attendance status of all board members, with Mrs. Nancy Mayer and Mrs. Bonnie Howard being absent. The Board Vice President leads in the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. Consent Agenda: The consent agenda was approved.
5. Public Comments:
6. Old Business:
A. There was no old business to discuss.
7. New Business:
A. There were no budget amendments for the month of July.
B. The board approved the PDC Plan for the 2024-2025 school year.
C. The board approved the Substitute Handbook for the 2024-2025 school year.
8. Discussion Items: The following items were discussed with the board:
A. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for August 27, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
The tax-rate hearing will begin at 5:45 p.m.
B. The Back-to-School Bash was discussed. It will be held on July 31st from
10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. in the Bearcat Event Center.
C. The MSBA and MARE annual conference dates and locations were discussed.
In Closed Session:
1. The board approved the following resignations, retirements, recensions:
Taylor Condict-Resignation-Volunteer FB Coach.
Chris Bolin-Resignation-MS Head Baseball Coach.
Jennifer Hampton-Recension of her resignation provided in June-High School Nurse.
2. The board approved the hiring of the following individuals for the 2024-2025 school year,
pending a favorable background check and appropriate certification:
Chuck Powers-High School History-Critical Shortage.
Cansia McBride-Special Services Paraprofessional at Central.
Jessica Dickey-Special Services Paraprofessional at Southwest.
Matt Terry-Volunteer Assistant for MS Wrestling.
Rob Nichols-Head MS Baseball.
Items at the Conclusion of Executive Session
-
There were no items to be considered.
The Dexter School District held Active Shoot Training at Dexter High School on July 17, 2024. The Dexter Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Department of Conservation, Dexter Fire Department, Emergency Management, and Stoddard County Ambulance District were involved in mock active shooter training exercise.
If the unthinkable were to occur Chief Hank Trout stated that they would like to all be on the same page training together and learning how to engage in the individual and take him/her down as safely as possible while protecting our students on campus. Dexter Schools has two Resource Officers on campus during school hours as well as at sporting events and other on campus events.
The training exercise began with a 911 call from someone inside the halls of DHS. "Please help, there is a shooter inside the high school!"
The Dexter PD Resource Officers were first on the scene. They entered the building with their weapons drawn and ready to shoot. Once inside the hallway, the officers could hear and see victims on the floor screaming for help or they were already dead from the shooter. They made the training as realistic as possible even with fake blood next to victims. Fire trucks blocked the entrances to the high school to prevent the public from entering.
During a real incident the officers will take down the shooter as quickly as possible before checking the injured or dead. They have to take out the threat first!
Once the threat is down, EMS and first responders will be allowed to enter the building. They check the pulse of the first patient, dead. They move on quickly to the next victim, quickly loading him onto the gurney, checking vitals and running out of the building to an awaiting ambulance.
It will be chaotic in a "real" situation. There was only one 911 call to initiate this training. During a real event, there will be multiple 911 calls. Everyone with a cell phone will be calling. Students, teachers, parents etc will be calling 911 and the school to find out the condition of their loved one. It will be very hectic.
This is important, parents will not be allowed on campus until the situation is under control, all victims have been sent to the hospital and the school officials enact their plan to release students from different campuses. It will seem like an eternity, frustrations will be high, people will be mad, but to be honest, it's all to protect your student! These officers took this training very seriously.
This was the first time the fire department and EMS have been included in the active shooter training. This helps those involved to access what went right and what went wrong so they can improve on communication as well as how to handle all the moving parts of a scenario such as this.
Gavin Miller, Assistant Superintendent of Dexter Public Schools will be at the command post waiting and listening to the radio to hear the shooter has been taken out. It's part of what they call ALICE Training.
ALICE is an active shooter protocol and stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.
ShowMe Times will be near the command center as well and will be reporting whatever needs to be sent out to the community. This is one reason I attend these trainings so I can be helpful and not in the way if a real shooting incident were to occur. As a parent I understand the need to get to your student/son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter as quickly as possible and it would be hard for me to stay away, but during the entire training those officers do not know what to expect. Everyone is a potential target and they do not want to accidentally shoot someone. Adrenaline is high and that lump in your throat is there. Even during the scenario those participating could feel the intenseness of the officers. They take this very seriously! Thank you to everyone who participated and we hope this never happens to any school, bur if it happens here, they are ready!
