By ALEXANDRIA

BOURNONVILLE

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — Marquette Area Public Schools Superintendent Zack Sedgwick presented some of the major projects and developments around the district at Monday’s board meeting.

He referred to the plan as SIP – safety, infrastructure and programming.

“Research makes it very clear that students are unable to learn effectively when their basic needs are not met,” he said, referencing his main inspiration: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

This is a theory by the late American psychologist Abraham Maslow that asserts certain physical and psychological needs must be met before shifting a human’s focus towards more creative and intellectually oriented “self-actualization” needs.

In agreement with this ideology, Sedgwick said the district is providing the very basics through free breakfast and lunch for all students. Subsequent improvements had to do more with safety and security. MAPS took on the $2.5 million worth of projects that are nearing completion such as improved security cameras, implementation of a district-wide drill in case of emergencies, a radio system upgrade, and placement and advances in cybersecurity among others.

Sedgwick noted that most of these safety improvements were funded by grant money.

In addition, a new radio system with help from Northern Michigan University’s director of broadcast and audio-visual services Eric Smith. Coverage spans all school buildings and the surrounding area reaching approximately to Big Bay.

Some of the other recent construction projects have been the Marquette Senior High School roof repair and boiler upgrades, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system improvements at Bothwell Middle School, as well as the outdoor learning spaces at district elementary schools.

In terms of programming, Sedgwick highlighted the positive results of kindergarten screenings, the establishment of junior kindergarten in every MAPS building and some academic activities.

“(Nearly) 400 students participated in a six-week program here at the high school,” Sedgwick said. “Thank you to the high school for hosting that amidst science lab and roof replacements — no easy task — but to get 375 kids six weeks of enrichment, free breakfast, free lunch, all for free is truly phenomenal.”

Other kids were able to participate in Labs Unleashed, a real-world math camp at NMU that lasted four weeks.

As far as statistics and scoring in testing, students overall showed improvement in the past academic year with kids reaching higher scores overall in the spring semester.

“Since COVID we have, I think, made great improvements, our students have made great improvements in recovering,” he said.

While considering action items, the board made the following decisions:

≤ Unanimously approved course offering/master schedules for 2024-25 school year

≤ Unanimously approved certification of trustee Cherryl Maddox-Smith and President Kristen Cambensy as voting delegates to the Michigan Association of School Boards

≤ Unanimously approved the ratification of the Michigan Education Support Personnel Association II contract

≤ Unanimously approved the ratification of the Marquette Area Building Administrators contract

≤ Unanimously approved Sedgwick to negotiate and approve nonunion contracts

Concerning nonresident pupil tuition rate, Assistant Superintendent Jim Lampman said there are infrequent situations where these rates are used.

Sedgwick, on the topic of negotiations with nonunion employees, said there were 17 of them in the district that aren’t educators but rather in business-aligned roles.

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 506. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.