District Restructure

On Monday evening, the Benton Community Board of Education approved the closing of VHE.  They approved the restructuring of the Keystone (K-3), Atkins (K-3), and Norway (4-6) attendance centers with a 7-0 vote in favor of the change.  The board also approved the agenda item that called for a common schedule at the MS/HS.  

The district will continue to share information as we move forward in this process.  There is a tremendous amount of information on the Benton Community website.  All of the info on the restructure can be found on the left hand side of the homepage.  (See the picture below.)   The district updates this information regularly, so I encourage you to use this resource to help answer your questions.  If what you're reading doesn't make sense or you can't find answers to questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Junge.  

Feel free to talk about the change as much or as little as you'd like at home.  I haven't had many students bring up these changes.  When students did bring it up before, I usually approached their comments with something along the lines of, "We don't really know what will happen for sure."  If students bring it up now, I will make sure they understand that the environment where they feel safe, cared for, and valued will not change no matter what attendance center they attend.   I will help students realize that the group of Benton educators that cares about them and their learning extends far beyond those of us at VHE.  We will focus our energy on being "Bobcat Strong" and being a part of the "Bobcat Family."  No matter what happens, we will continue to strive to provide a quality education for a lifetime of learning for our students.   If there is anything I've learned in my time here, it is that Benton Community truly is a place to belong.