October 10, 2016 at 7:30 PM - Regular October 2016 Meeting

Rationale: 

Agenda for Negotiations Between REA & Board of Education:

1.  Review the timeline for negotiations process

2.  Review and discuss ground rules for negotiations process

3.  Review proposed list of schools to be used for array comparability calculation (with the understanding the superintendent will also provide an array comparison of the LouPlatte Conference Schools for discussion purposes)

4.  Provide Board of Education & REA of current "2016-17 Negotiated Agreement" for review

5.  Discuss items that need to be researched by the Board of Education or by the REA for consideration at future negotiations meetings

Rationale: 

1.  Update on State Audit Follow Up

2.  Annual Audit Update/Advise

• Auditor saw no issues with expenditures that the state auditor was taking issue with
  • Supporting documentation (some issues, but no where near the level of concern as expressed by state auditor)
  • Activity Checks-Make a board motion authorizing staff to sign off on them throughout the year or use electronic signature stamp of Board President & Board Secretary
  • Meal Expenditures-Cements allowable expenditure in board policies (meals for staff while at trainings, during in-service, recognition meals, end of the year, etc.)
• "Insurance" Account in the activity fund (needs to be re-coded)
• Outside groups' accounts (PIK, Trap, Youth Volleyball) need to be removed
• Review all bills and credit card transactions each month & SIGN OFF indicating the Finance Committee has done so
• Overall, things looked good and there were very little concerns

Rationale: 

The new RPS Staff Members (Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Cron, Mr. Neitzel, Mrs. Maulsby, & Ms. Vetrovsky) will be in to share the following information with the board:

Rationale: 

Congratulations to Todd VanWinkle, September's ABC Blue Jay Staff Member of the Month!

Congratulations to October's ABC Blue Jay of the Month Nominees:

I would like to nominate Teresa Mingus.  The countless hours of balancing a K-12 chorus, instrumental band, marching band, flag corps, swing choir, etc...The list goes on and on...  She works with a smile and kids of all ages learn and enjoy music at RHS because of her!

I would like to nominated Shari Spalding.  She is a tireless worker that is highly compitent, organized, and has high standards.  Not to mention that she helps keep the office environment fun!

Mikki has a great amount of work on her plate and she continues to maintain flexible. She always keeps her students best interest in mind and she will do anything to be sure that they are getting the instruction necessary to be successful. Mikki keeps learning fun and my students love the games they play to learn the specific skills they are working on.

I would like to nominate Mikki Bohling! She is always willing to share her wealth of knowledge and goes above and beyond when she is asked for help.

I would like to nominate Mrs. Judy Strate.  She is an "awesome" teacher.  I believe that she prepares her science students for college as I've talked with many who've said as such. I see her putting in extra time in order to be prepared for class.  I also know that her student's respect her and that she is there for a student when they are in need.  Her experience and vast array of knowledge make her a master teacher.

Karalee Fiddelke always does a such great job of looking after the medical needs of our students in a calm, patient, and caring manner.  She's truly an asset to the school and always going out of her way to help others.

 

Rationale: 

Resolution to Adopt 5000 Series Policy

WHEREAS, the organization, management, and control to the Ravenna Public School District is vested in its Board of Education; and

WHEREAS, the organization, management, and control of the Ravenna Public Schools is articulated through its adopted board policies; and,

WHEREAS, the Board of Education has determined that it is in the district's best interest to adopt a more current and revised set of policies; and, 

WHEREAS, the Board of Education has determined to systematically update its policies by reviewing each section of policies in order; and, 

WHEREAS, there may be conflicting organizational, managerial, or control policies while the Board of Education is in the process of systematically updating its policies;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that, as the Board of Education adopts a more current and revised set of policies, the most recently adopted 5000 series policies shall supercede any prior conflicting policy.

 

Rationale:  Policies 3018, 3039, 3040, 3041, 4019, 4059 are all policies which are required to be adopted to be in compliance with NDE's recently adopted Safety & Security Standards.  Due to the fact that we are in a period of transition with the review of our policies, the school district may not be able to review and revise the 3000 and 4000 series policies before the practices outlined in these policies need to meet by the school district.  Therefore, the superintendent is recommending they be adopted in advance of reviewing and revising the 3000 & 4000 series of policies.  NDE will expect us to adopt these policies and to be in compliance with the regulations they have made in respect to the safety and security standards.

Rationale:  After speaking with the teaching staff at the last in-service, the general consensus of the staff is that they see the great educational opportunities the eclipse presents, but are highly concerned with the logistical considerations for such an event on school grounds, while school is in session, and when we have so many potential visitors in town.  The superintendent shares these concerns.  The formal recommendation of the administrative team is that we design a school calendar that does not have school in session on the day of the 2017 eclipse.

Rationale:  The City of Ravenna has provided the school district with notification of their plan to redevelop "Areas #3 & #4".  It is being added to the board meeting agenda, as a matter of public record, to reflect that the City of Ravenna provided written notice to Ravenna Public Schools.  No additional discussion on this item is needed, unless additional discussion is desired by the Board of Education.

Rationale:  Last month, the board discussed the possibility of bidding the insurance for the school district.  The question before the board is whether or not they would like to retain the services of a professional for the purposes of bidding the insurance or do this by some other means.

Rationale:  The formal recommendation of the administrative team regarding whether or not to secure the Gaggle service for the school district is to not do so at this time.  The rationale for this decision is that it would require continuous monitoring, add additional, potential legal exposure to the school district, and it may provide a false sense of security to parents, as the service would not monitor accounts not associated with students' school accounts.

Rationale:  The administrative team has been working with Buffalo County, Ravenna Police, & Ravenna EMS to arrange for an "active shooter" drill training with staff during in-service on Friday, November 4th.  This is part of our safety and security protocols we are reviewing and developing as an administrative team.

Rationale: 

Marzano Book Study - We continued our book study on September 16 with Chp. 7 of The Art and Science of Teaching by Robert Marzano.  We discussed adherence to rules and procedures, research on punishment, reinforcement, and consequences and reviewed behavior data.  The teachers developed positive consequences for following the expectations (some examples included: behavior specific praise, high fives, parent contact, stickers/certificates)

Positive Postcards - On September 30 we started sending home Ravenna Way postcards.  Teachers recognize two-three students that have been getting the job done the Ravenna Way.  A special thank you to Andrea Schroeder for designing the cards!

We have created a bulletin board in the workroom that allows staff members to recognize each other.  The "Staff Shout Out" board has sticky notes that staff can use to post messages to praise/encourage each other.

Parent-Teacher Conferences - 90% attendance

Thank You to Mr. Ahrens and his students for another wonderful Farm Safety Day.

Coins for Books (A message from Mrs. Dunning)

I want to thank everyone for their assistance in helping to make this fundraising event SO successful.  The amount of coins brought to school was impressive, to say the least.   Preschool and 1st grade were in a battle for first place and Preschool won by a narrow margin.  Please stress to the students our appreciation for all the donated coins.  Our school is AWESOME!! ($870)

Rationale: 

Secondary Principal’s Report October 2016   

Here are a few highlights of what we have been working on this month:  

We have implemented a couple new programs for promoting positive behavior specific praise at the secondary level this month.  

Pizza With The Principal  

Staff members nominate students for meeting and/or exceeding our behavior expectations.  I call the parent(s) of the student and notify them that their student was nominated and tell them which staff member nominated them and why.  The nomination card enters the student into a monthly drawing to have pizza with the principal rather than eat school lunch.  Thus, far it has proven to be an outstanding way to build relationships with students and parents through positive communication.

Positive Postcards

This month we implemented a 7-12 positive postcard system.  At our staff meetings staff members are each receiving a postcard and are required to write a positive behavior specific praise comment to a student, turn them into me by the end of the day, and the school mails them home.  This has also provided the student, parents, and faculty members an opportunity to have positive interactions/conversations and build mutual respect.   

Parent Teacher Conferences

  

Homecoming

Students and staff demonstrated tremendous school spirit and pride throughout homecoming week.   Tali Schroll and Derek Fisher were crowned Queen and King after the football game on Friday night after the football game.  The homecoming dance at the city auditorium was well attended and the students had a great time!

ACT Test Information

General information provide to schools directly from the Nebraska Department of Education.

  

1. ACT Test Dates are:

1. Districts choosing to administer the ACT paper/pencil have a single date to do so.  Administration will occur on April 19, 2017.  Students who are absent that day are able to participate in the make-up test administration on May 3rd.

2. Districts choosing to administer the ACT online have a two-week window--April 19-May 3, 2017.  Online testing can be scheduled all on one day or may be spread throughout the window to allow adequate computer access, but all sessions must follow ACT security procedures. There are risks in scheduling online testing toward the end of the two-week window as students may end up not being tested if they become ill.  I encourage you to think about the window the same as NeSA testing, where the last week is make-up only.

3. The limited ACT test dates are more challenging than the seven-week NeSA window. However, districts who participated in the ACT pilot have shared that students were very motivated to be in school on the day of the ACT administration, and attendance was excellent.

4. Because ACT is replacing the NeSA tests at grade 11, every student must participate or receive a zero.  Exceptions are:   No Longer Enrolled (NLE) and Approved Emergency Medical Waivers (EMW) for students who have an emergency such as car accident or hospitalized medical treatment.

5. I am checking on information for Recently Arrived Limited English students (RALs), who are currently exempted from NeSA-Reading/ELA only for the first 12 months in US schools.

6. All students in grades 3-8 and 11 who are identified as needing alternate assessment will participate in NeSA-Alternate Assessments, not the ACT; therefore, high school students who are in their third year cohort and who are identified as needing alternate assessment will not participate in the ACT.

7. The ACT accommodation processes will be new to many of us.  We are currently reviewing information regarding accommodations in order to better inform districts.

8. We are receiving questions about districts participating in an ACT Writing field test.  I contacted ACT representatives who told me that some districts had agreed last year to field test ACT Writing.  This process is not connected to the current ACT contract with NDE, and districts should not be concerned that they should be participating.

Rationale: 

1. Cancellations due to inclement weather.

   -Make the decision the night before by 10:00 PM if possible.

  -Late start called the night before if not capable of calling by 10:00 PM.

  -Make the decision by 6:00 AM the following morning and disperse to parents and media.

  -No school, no activities, no practices, when school is closed due to inclement weather.

  -Generating individualized calling lists for each bus route (running late, mechanical issues, poor road conditions).

2.  Purchase of mini-van to add to fleet, as per "Fleet Replacement Schedule" and budget planning.

3.  Lunch Program Update-Hilary & I have been working with Lynda to implement the list of items we came up with last year to help decrease costs.  Changes include:

• Serving the appropriate amount of bread/starches at breakfast
• Serving the appropriate amount of fruits/vegetable and re-purposing fruit & vegetable items
• Reducing/eliminating overtime by kitchen staff
• Reduction of 1 FTE from staff ($34,000 salary & benefits cost)
• Continue to use "lunch balance protocol" to reduce unpaid student balances
• Continue to offer ala carte items to generate additional revenue (snack machine sales)
• Comparison shopping with vendors and holding vendors accountable for pricing
• Use all commodity credits; last year this couldn't be done because of the timing of hiring Lynda.  This year we should maximize our $20,000 worth of credit, compared to only using about half of that credit last year
• Bringing laundry services "in house" rather than contracting this service ($150-200 monthly)
• Providing pricing targets for monthly expenditures for food purchases

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SCHEDULE A VISIT TO ONE OF THE AREA SCHOOLS TO SEE HOW THE OPAA IMPLEMENTATION IS GOING THERE.  WOOD RIVER SAID WE COULD COME OVER ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST, IF THERE IS ANYONE INTERESTED.

4.  Local Audit Update-Dana F. Cole came out and worked with us on our internal audit.  The process went very well, overall.  The findings of that audit will be shared at a future board meeting.  There were no major concerns expressed by the auditors during their visit.  They asked to pass along to the board that, "Things went very well and things looked good."

 

 

Rationale: 

There was a nice article in "The Kearney Hub" about Mr. Kjar.  We are proud to have Brad as our secondary principal at Ravenna!  -Marilyn Bohn

I appreciate the communication from Caley Greer & Haley Gadeken.  They do a great job of proactively communicating with parents and always answer my questions in a timely manner.  -Tara Schirmer

Our new band uniforms looked awesome at the Harvest of Harmony Parade!  -Misti Fiddelke

Congratulations to the One Act Troupe and to the Ravenna Fine Arts Department on winning the "Nebraskans for the Arts Award."  -Marc Vacek

We are pleased to add our new staff members to RPS Staff and we thank them for coming to the October Board Meeting to introduce themselves.  They are all great additions to our staff.   -Dawn Standage

Thanks to Mr. Ahrens for another very successful "Farm Safety Day".  -Ken Schroeder

Thanks to Mrs. Dunning for all her work with the elementary students during the Elementary Book Fair.  -Paul Anderson