Trustees for the Crawfordsville Community School Corp. met Thursday and covered a range of topics, including proposed changes to Crawfordsville High School’s travel program, approval of the 2025–26 school handbooks, and multiple grant-related requests.
The board approved CHS science teacher Chloe Carter’s request to expand the school’s international travel program. After quickly filling two buses for an upcoming 2026 Europe trip with 79 students, she proposed moving from trips every other year to annual trips starting in 2027. The goal is to include more students, reduce group sizes for better engagement, and build a reliable system the community can count on. The 2027 trip is planned for Costa Rica, focusing on adventure activities like kayaking and snorkeling, and it will be more affordable than the Europe trip. The trip price is locked in, and students will have two years to raise funds.
The board also approved a request to apply for an unrestricted grant application for the spring cycle from the Montgomery County Community Foundation. The grant would fund a new exit being installed in the toddler room of the child care area. Currently, the room only has access to an exit through another room and safety requirements require that rooms for anyone under the age of 2.5 years old need a direct exit.
In personnel matters, the board accepted resignations from CHS teacher assistant Ashley Fisher; Hose assistant Ember Neal; CMS band director Brian Bartlett; and Hoover assistant Michelle Pichardo. The board also approved Sidney Vatch as a new teacher at Hose Elementary.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the CHS, CMS and Athens Virtual Academy student handbooks for the 2025-26 school year.
• Formally approved a $238,000 loan submitted last Friday to fund software for student systems, as well as equipment and Chromebooks for student instruction.
• Conducted a first reading of 4420 Law Enforcement Relations Policy.
• Approved the submission to request an address change for the new administrative building with the School Accountability Office.
• Approved a request to submit to the Department of Education adding accreditation for sixth grade to the Athens Virtual Academy is . It currently serves students in grades 7-12.
