Northwestern Elementary School's Haley Schantz was honored at the Oct. 15 school board meeting for what school board President Darryl Schafer termed a fantastic idea.

The fourth-grade student prepares care packages and cards of well wishes.

She received thanks in front of the entire fourth grade class and again at the board meeting. Schantz also organized a food drive at Germansville Fire Company to collect snack food items.

Her mother, Jamie, thanked the board for its support. Board member LeRoy Sorensen said he was sure her mother also put a lot of time into the projects. Haley will receive a certificate of appreciation.

National Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society will be inducting new members the second week of November.

The Science National Honor Society is offering tutoring and SAT preparation. Members will be proctoring the SAT tests.

At the PPL Energy Conversation presentation the high school earned a total of $1,000.

The Interact Club is helping with the Miracle League and packing snack packs for students to have food over the weekend.

The new Maker club took laptops and a 3D printer to the elementary schools. The students are using the Sketch Up program to design faces to be printed on ghosts and pumpkins.

Superintendent Dr. Mary Anne Wright said information has been received on both Ebola and the Enterovirus D68.

The information is posted on the website and new information will be added as it is received.

At a press conference attended by Wright, the biggest issue was charter and cyber school attendance. She said all schools should offer their own cyber charter option. Northwestern has a digital component which is lower cost than for private schools.

Schafer said chartercyber schools are advertised as free but that is not true because the public schools pay tuition for the kids. Last year it cost the district $731,000. He believes charter schools are the best option for some students.

Board member LeRoy Sorensen asked how the Academic Center at LCTI is working out.

Wright said the labs and academics make connections for the vocational components.

Schafer announced the March 20 resignation of Nancy Zellner after 30 years. She is secretary to the superintendent.

Wright said Zellner has been especially dear to her heart and they worked together for 14 years.

"She is a Tiger who works in the elementary schools and on the yearbooks."

Board member Paul Fisher said he has known Zellner a long time and no team ever worked as well as the two of them.

Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Holman began a discussion for strategic planning. She said a large number of volunteers helped with the 2013-16 plan. Each of the building administrators told what is included in their planning for the 2016 strategic plan. The plan has to be updated each year.

Board member Bill Dellecker asked if, when they used the term Common Core, they meant the Pennsylvania Common Core.

Wright said they want to keep the word "Common" out of it.

Schafer said there is a bill in the House Education Committee on truancy and school dropouts.

Parents are contacted and made part of the solution.Wright said they are right to engage the parents but when push comes to shove it is the school's responsibility.

Arthur Oakes, director of operations, said the district is getting rid of unnecessary equipment, making improvements in safety and security, and has purchased new vehicles.

The Northwestern Lehigh Foundation Association voted to allot $110,000 to purchase four white boards for the high school, two for each of the elementary schools and some Chromebooks.

Fisher said there is a $10 million federal grant for Lehigh Carbon, Luzerne and Northampton community colleges to share. LCCC will receive $1.8 million.