St Clair County Schools highlights book drive, 'no-tech Tuesdays' and registration planning

Board members and staff used the meeting to showcase student and community activities and instructional initiatives.

Staff reported results from a December book drive described in the meeting as 2,404 donated books with 122 retained for the school library (valued at $780), plus smaller media center donations. Kate Thompson was singled out for organizing the 'Island of Misfit' books event, and staff said families value the annual distribution. (One larger donation figure reported in the oral record—given as "$9,700,100" for the Bison Memorial Fund—appears likely to be a transcription error; the meeting did not supply a clarifying written amount.)

Elementary schools have launched teacher-driven 'no-tech Tuesdays' to reduce students' screen time and rebuild attention and social skills; staff said teachers will use projectors and offline activities (flashcards, paper-and-pencil) on those days and are discussing expanding the approach beyond Tuesdays. The district is also considering moving away from 1:1 devices for grades K–4 toward shared grade-level sets while retaining more device access in grades 5–6 to prepare students for junior high.

Preschool registration remains open with no stated deadline, and the district's 'Kids vs Cancer' fundraising week continues with a stated goal of $5,500 and planned incentives such as an ice cream party for the top-earning class and a teacher dance-off. At the high school level, counselor Joe Stoffer is leading development of a revamped registration guide for 2026–27 that emphasizes four pathways and new career-course alignments; the high school will also add a required freshman course, "Foundations of Reading and Writing," in response to the READ Act, and will use targeted interventions for students who do not meet MCA/CAT benchmarks.

Administrators and trustees praised the volunteer and teacher efforts and asked for continued updates as initiatives evolve.