July 9, 2014 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Special Meeting

Rationale: 

Notice to visitors: If you wish to speak, please obtain a “Request to be Heard” form from the entry table and return the completed form to the table attendant or the Board of Education Director.

The agenda will be kept current and available for public inspection in the office of the Secretary of the Board of Education at the Administrative Building during regular working hours. 

Board members may request specific agenda item(s) be moved to a different place on the agenda.  Please attend the entire meeting to ensure you hear discussion on a particular agenda item.

Pursuant to Section 84-1412 of the Nebraska Statutes, the public is hereby informed that a current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted in the Board meeting room on the north wall.

Agenda items are subject to reordering at discretion of the board president, please attend the entire meeting to ensure your able to hear any discussion. If you would like to rehear any discussion, please listen to our podcast located on the District Web Page, district.ops.org.

Rationale:  Led by

Rationale:  Thomas Lee, Assistant Principal at Central High School, to be Principal of Northwest High Magnet.

Rationale: 

This item is being brought forward from the June 16, 2014 agenda to provide more time for discussion. We are also providing the pricing information associated to the testing recommendation for NWEA which will replace the CAT testing for elementary and middle school students. Pending Board of Education approval, we wish to purchase a subscription for NWEA/MAP for the 2014-15 school year.

Annual administration of a standardized norm referenced test (NRT) is required by state law at specified grade level ranges.  Since 1993, the district has administered CAT/5 to satisfy this state requirement.  However, CAT/5 is an outdated NRT that is no longer available from the publisher.  Consequently, a district committee of teachers and administrators convened throughout the 2013-14 school year to examine a possible NRT replacement.  After extensive information gathering and in-depth study, the committee supported the district adoption of the Northwest Evaluation Association’s Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA/MAP) for administration at the elementary (grade 2) and middle school (grade 7) levels.  Additionally, ACT, Inc. is replacing the PLAN test, currently administered at grade 10, with a more robust version of the test that will be known as the Aspire Early High School Test.  Because of this change, OPS will begin administration of the Aspire Early High School Test in 2014-15.

Rationale: 

This recommendation is for the purchase of four comprehensive STEM labs to be field tested in four schools.  The schools selected will represent the quadrants of the city. This recommendation aligns with principle 2.2 of the Strategic Plan.

Pitsco Education’s Elementary STEM program introduces STEM to elementary learners while teaching core science concepts. Students are engaged in team-based, small group activities. These relevant, engaging, hands-on activities reinforce engineering and science concepts. The result is a STEM exposure program that integrates math, technology, language arts and career-related content. The STEM mission aligns with the Nebraska State Science Standards and will reinforce the core curriculum concepts. Curriculum Instruction and Assessment recommends the purchase of the STEM labs for $218,418.60.

Rationale: 

This recommendation is for a seven-year purchase of consumable Pearson Interactive Science Student Editions with digital courseware with a two-year contract extension and classroom inquiry kits for each grade level. This purchase includes materials for Dual Language classrooms. This recommendation aligns with principle 2.2 of the Strategic Plan.

Materials were evaluated by the Science Curriculum Leadership Committee and the Science Resource Adoption Committee, which consisted of K-5 teachers. Meetings and ongoing conversations were held to discuss, pilot, and evaluate the materials. Decisions for the materials recommendation were based on input from teachers, students, and district personnel. Pearson Interactive Science was the highest ranked resource for K-5. These materials are customizable and will align 100% with Nebraska State Science Standards. They will be a tremendous support for students as they prepare for the Nebraska State Accountability-Science (NeSA-S) assessment.  Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment recommends the purchase of these resources for an amount not to exceed $4,019,574.81.

Rationale:  Curriculum Instruction and Assessment has followed a timeline to communicate the eligibility of NSAA sanctioned activities along with preparing a brochure that will be mailed home with Student Information Packets at the beginning of the year. A short presentation will be given to review the completion of tasks on the timeline. 

Rationale:  The K-2 Reading and Mathematics Assessments were developed to meet the criteria set by the Learning Community and the OPS Assessment Steering Committee.  The K-2 Reading Assessment is given at the beginning of the year and the end of the year, focusing on key phonics, word analysis, and vocabulary skills.  The pre and post test format of the assessment measures student growth throughout the school year.  The K-2 mathematics Assessment is given at the end of the year, focusing on number sense, geometry/measurement, algebra, and data analysis.

Rationale:  The Omaha Board of Education is authorized by state statute to hold closed sessions.  Closed sessions may be held when clearly necessary for the protection of the public interest or for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual.  Reasons that meet this standard include but are not limited to:  (a) strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining, real estate matters, pending litigation, or litigation which is imminent as evidenced by communication of a claim or threat of litigation to or by the public body; (b) discussion regarding deployment of security personnel or devices; (c) investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct; (d) evaluation of the job performance of a person when necessary to prevent needless injury to the reputation of a person and if such person has not requested a public meeting; and (e) legal advice.