Director of Student Services Mark Scott opened the Sept. 17 meeting of the Northwestern Lehigh School Board with the presentation of a resolution to Secretary Mara Beck who has retired.

"She leaves a void," Scott said. "She was the only one here with any consistency, as others changed around her.

"She brought the department up to what it should be for special services."

In other matters, Ann Towne, a fourth-grade teacher at Weisenberg Elementary, spent part of the summer taking a National Endowment for Humanities class at Boston University.

Some of the classes were on Chaucer, the gold rush and Chicago skyscrapers. Towne's choice was Philosophers of Education from the Enlightenment to the Present.

She reported to the school board only 16 teachers were accepted from 200 who had applied.

Towne heard about the classes from fellow teacher Anna Gilgoff.

The group was from a variety of backgrounds who came to study John Locke, Thomas Jefferson and many more philosophers concerned with education, Towne said.

Students read the books, followed by five hours of questions and answers and developing goals.

"It was a lot of work but interesting which made it more than worthwhile," Towne said. "We had to write a paper. The voice of teachers gets drowned out, so I interviewed everyone in the class.

"The most value came from a sense of perspective challenging a noble tradition. Teaching is difficult, messy, challenging and people have done it for centuries."

Towne explained Locke wanted to make Latin interesting so he needed to convince his students to do math when they wanted to be outside.

"You go into it thinking 'what is the answer,'" Towne said.

Superintendent Mary Ann Wright said the same problems exist as in the 1600s.

"You take these little beings and try to mold them," Towne said.

Newly chosen student representative Jacob Steidinger said the Science National Honor Society was having a PPL Energy Conservation presentation Sept. 24.

He also reported the Science Olympiad raised approximately $1,500 through car wash donations. The group will be participating in two new invitationals this year. Both are in Connecticut, with one at Yale.

The senior class selected the Homecoming court and is preparing for the homecoming football game and dance.

The Interact Club will be volunteering at the Miracle League in October.

A new Maker Club was formed headed by Jeremy Smoyer. The club focuses on do-it-yourself with 3D printers and other technology.

The school newspaper will be returning in an online format.

Attendance is up on the yearbook staff with 61, concert band with approximately 70 and marching band with 27.

SADD will be hosting an artist-musician.

Activities Director Jason Zimmerman said the Makers is a pilot program fitting in with service and technology.

Board member Ron Morrison said it's an opportunity to stretch the imagination. Thirty-nine attended the initial meeting.

KCBA Architects was hired to do a feasibility study and KCBA DecisionInsite will do an enrollment study for a combined price of $29,550.

Board President Darryl Schafer quoted some statistics.

Among them were the facts that there are 50 million students in public schools and 5 million in private schools with $620 billion spent on education in the country.

The dropout rate is down from 10.9 percent to 6.6 percent.

Wright said there will be changes in teacher evaluations. A commission is traveling throughout the state to learn what districts want in the matter of a basic education funding formula. It should not be based on fixed costs but on funding that is nimble.

Scott introduced a new certified school nurse. It took a long time to find Julie Wehr because of the special certifications needed.

Middle School Principal Bill Davico, Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Holman and Assistant Principal Amy Wehr gave a presentation about the Chromebooks being introduced to six and seventh grades for use with electronic textbooks. Professional development classes are being held so teachers can use the technology to its best advantage.