July 9, 2018 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public School District's board of education meeting is called to order.  

Rationale:  If any board member is absent, there will need to be a  motion to excuse the absence.

Rationale:  This is a legal meeting of the board of education, as advertised by the means specified in board policy. A complete copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the board room for your review. A copy of the agenda is available at the desk of the recording secretary.
 

Rationale:  Career Academies Update
Board Building Visits 

Rationale:  Please stand and join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rationale: 

This is the time during the meeting when the public may request to address the Board. If you wish to comment, we ask that you identify yourself and the topic that you wish to address. Each individual's comments will be limited to five minutes.

 Please note that  the Board cannot discuss or act upon matters that are not listed on the agenda. Therefore, Board  members will not respond to your comments or questions.  If you wish to request that an item be placed on a future Board agenda, you may contact the Superintendent or her assistant during normal business hours.

Also note that concerns related to school personnel need to be addressed to the Superintendent using the approved district protocol.

Rationale: 

Total amount of claims to be approved in the consent agenda for the month of July, 2018 by specific fund are as follows:

General Fund = $571,451.95

Nutrition Services Fund =$20,886.37

Cooperative Fund = $59,798.13

Depreciation Fund = $15,268.62

Special Building Fund = $188,807.22

Student Fee Fund = $37,631.96

The total amount of claims for the month of June, 2018 in the Activities Fund was:
Activity Fund =$125,914.37

All of these claims were reviewed earlier today by the Finance and Facility Committee.

Rationale:  Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

• Eleven administrators and 10 teachers from the Senior High attended the PLC Institute in Minneapolis on June 18-20^th. This is always wonderful professional development. The team time work was powerful and quite helpful for my new team to learn and build relationships.
• Junior High and Middle School science teachers have met and worked quite a few hours this summer. Getting to know and understand standards was our first priority and I think we are moving along nicely. I’m pleased that they’ve taken it upon themselves to work independently at different times without the leading of the Teaching and Learning Team.
• In process of working on next year’s PD to determine all of the who, what, when and where pieces.

Technology

• It is still the intention of the technology department to host the annual tech sale sometime yet in July. They have been reluctant to state a date yet. There will be fewer devices this year and so the sale will be much smaller. We will promote this via the newspaper, radio and social media.
• Almost all new devices are set up and in place for the next year.

Rationale: 

• The second session of high school summer school ends this Friday, July 13th.  Students in grade levels K-8 ended June 29th.
• Monday, August 6th, I am meeting with the special education leadership team to plan for the 2018-2019 school year.
• Tuesday, August 7th we will be conducting our special education para training.
• All certified staff will report for the new school year on Monday, August 13th.  

Open Houses for the start of the 2018-2019 school year have been scheduled for the following dates:

Open Houses:
Tuesday, August 14th

• •  
  • Middle School - 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
  • High School - 6:00-8:00
  • Junior High: 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, August 15th

• ALL Elementary Schools - Open Houses
  •  5:30 - 6:30 PM

Rationale:  Beginning of School Information:

• Our first day with all certified staff will be Monday, August 13th. Dave Burgess will be our keynote speaker that morning and he will motivate teachers with innovative classroom instructional strategies designed to increase student achievement and maximize student engagement.
• Dave’s message will be an excellent way to kick off the new school year!  More information about Dave can be found at the following web address: http://daveburgess.com/
• School resumes for students on Thursday, August 16th.

"New to the District" Teacher Training:

• Beginning Tuesday, August 7th all newly hired certified staff will be reporting for training and orientation. We have hired an outstanding group of educators this year and we are excited about them working with our students and our community stakeholders. This year we have 41 new certified staff members!

Substitute Teacher Training:

• We have our substitute teacher training workshops scheduled for Thursday, August 9th from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. at Central Office and Tuesday, August 21st from 9:00 -10:00 a.m. at Central Office. Our classified staff substitute training will be held on Friday, August 10th from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
• We greatly appreciate our substitute teachers and support staff and they do a great job of meeting the needs of our students when our regular staff members are absent.
• We are still looking for quality substitute teachers and paras and individuals interested in subbing for our district can apply online at www.norfolkpublicschools.org

Instructional Model:

• We will begin full implementation of our district Instructional Model in the fall. We will provide new teachers with an overview of the model during our initial training and continue to train the rest of our staff on the model throughout first semester.
• The NPS Instructional Model will facilitate increased consistency for essential instructional practices across the district. The model also aligns with our district certified staff evaluation instrument and our district staff development planning objectives.

Current Openings:

• Bel Air Elementary- Health Tech
• Bel Air Elementary- Special Education Para (Autism)
• District Route Driver
• General Maintenance/Transportation
• Grant Elementary- English Language Learners Para
• Maintenance Supervisor
• Norfolk Junior High- Achievement Center Para
• Norfolk Junior High- Health Tech
• Norfolk Junior High- English Language Learners Para
• Norfolk Middle School- Special Education Para (ED)
• Norfolk Middle School- Special Education Para (LIFE/Autism)
• Norfolk Middle School- Special Education Para (Resource)
• Norfolk Senior High- Special Education Para (LIFE) (2)
• Norfolk Senior High- English Language Learners Para
• Norfolk Senior High- Senior High Office/Activities Assistant
• Substitute Deaf Education/Sign Language Interpreter
• Washington Elementary- Classroom Para (2)
• Washington Elementary- Special Education Para
• Westside Elementary- ELL Paraprofessional

Current Coaching Openings:

• Assistant Baseball
• Senior High Weight Room Supervisor
• Junior High IM Football (2)
• Junior High Show Choir
• Junior High Wrestling

 

Rationale:  Kansas Supreme Court Ruling re: School Finance:
The Kansas Supreme Court recently held that the Kansas Legislature failed to comply with the Kansas Constitution by under-funding public schools in the state.  After the Kansas legislature substantially decreased taxes (and related revenues), school funding fell short approximately $1.7 billion to $2 billion, according to economists.  This shortfall, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled, has amounted to a failure to provide an adequate public education for Kansas students.
 
This ongoing litigation in Kansas could have an impact on property tax relief/ school funding reform efforts in the Nebraska Unicameral.  Nebraska's Constitution includes a similar provision that could serve as the basis of a legal challenge to future school-funding changes.

K-4 Homework Guidelines

The following K-4 Homework Guidelines have been developed for distribution in August, after feedback from parents, teachers, administration and Board members, including a thorough review by the Policy Committee to ensure that these guidelines are congruent with current Board Policy:

Norfolk Public Schools values our partnership with parents and believes that strong family involvement is critical to student success. Teachers will communicate with families regularly regarding the work that is occurring in the classroom, so parents can  help children practice skills and reinforce learning and concepts at home.  

Norfolk Public Schools also believes that family time is important to students’ healthy development. We have developed the following guidelines to limit the amount and types of work that is sent home in order to protect that time.  

• Reading at home is encouraged. (This should occur daily, if possible.)

• Practicing skills that were learned during the day is encouraged (examples: spelling words and math facts).

• Class work can be sent home for completion if adequate class time was given and the work was not completed.

• Students will not be graded on homework, unless it is class work that was assigned with the intention that it would be completed during the day.

• Parents may contact teachers if they want more guidance regarding how to practice and reinforce skills at home.

• The elementary team will communicate with the middle school team to examine the transition of students to the homework expectations of the Middle School.  Adjustments to the guidelines will be made at the 4th grade level, if needed.

Strategic Action Plans:
Feedback from the Board Retreat is being considered by the Strategic Action Planning teams.  Overall, the Safety, Early Childhood, and Target Based Grading goals and plans were well received by the Board; however, minor revisions were suggested that warrant consideration by the SAP Teams. My hope is to bring these plans to the Board for approval in August.
 

Rationale: 

AMERICANISM REPORT:

In compliance with Nebraska State School Law 79-724-Americanism, all building Americanism reports have been submitted to my office and are available for your review if you so choose. Instructional requirements for grade levels and courses have met this law as well as other practices specifically mentioned in the law. Suggested activities include reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, singing of patriotic songs, appropriate handling of the American flag, education of the US Constitution and the Nebraska Constitution, and appropriate exercises suitable to occasions including Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Flag Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Building reports include daily exercise of the Pledge of Allegiance, Constitution Day, Nebraska American Indian Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Birthdays, Statehood Day, Loyalty Day, George Norris Day, and Chief Standing Bear Day. A large variety of activities were used to support the recognition of these focus days and topics. Many more learning activities are mentioned in the building reports.

Rationale: 

MULTICULTURAL REPORT:

The mission of the multicultural education program is to prepare students to: (a) value and respect their own culture and race and cultures and races other than their own and (b) eliminate stereotypes and different treatment of others based on culture and race. The mission shall also include preparing students to eliminate stereotypes and discrimination or harassment of others based on ethnicity, religion, gender and socioeconomic status, age or disability. The Nebraska Department of Education assists schools by surveying the effectiveness of multicultural education programs. The last survey was conducted in 2013. The next survey is likely to reoccur in 2018 as the law requires data every five years.

As an accountability measure, we collect teacher reports at a building level by principals on the multicultural lessons taught throughout the year. Complete listings of lessons can be obtained from building principals.

 

Rationale: 

The committee met today at 12:00 noon and reviewed all claims for July, 2018, Activity claims for June, 2018 and current fund balances.  The committee also discussed the following items:

• Updates on the 25th Street property
• Updates on summer projects

Our next meeting will be at 1:00 p.m. on August 13, 2018.

Rationale:  The Policy Committee met on Tuesday, June 19th.  The committee reviewed the policy recommendations from Perry Law Firm, which included three new policies: 1102 (Recording of Others), 3580 (Insufficient Funds), and 6213 (Reading Instruction and Improvement).  They also included additions to 5101 (Student Discipline) specifically related to Emergency Exclusions and Law Violations.  The other changes, not specifically mentioned above, were minor changes based upon changes to state or federal law.

The Policy Committee also reviewed Policy 4110 (Release from Contract). Due to difficulties finding quality replacements late in the Spring, we are recommending that our Release from Contract date be moved from April 30th to April 1st.  

All of these policies were recommended for first reading approval at the June 28th board meeting.

Finally, the Policy Committee reviewed the Homework Guidelines proposed by elementary principals to assure they are consistent with our current Homework Policy (6240). Although the Committee agreed that the guidelines fit within the general parameters of our policy, recommendations for revision were provided to the principals for consideration.  Administration intends for these Guidelines, as well as Talking Points, to be finished prior to the start of the school year, so that expectations can be communicated clearly to all constituents regarding Year 2 of this Pilot Program (which is being modified based upon experiences in Year 1). The final draft of guidelines and talking points will be reviewed by the Policy Committee to determine if it is consistent with Board Policy 6240 prior to it being distributed to stakeholders.  One of the Policy Committee goals this year is to review and update Policy 6240 (Homework) so it is more understandable and comprehensive.
 

Rationale:  The Government Relations Committee did not meet this month.  

Rationale:  This committee did not meet this month.

Rationale:  There are no minutes to review.

Rationale:  The minutes from the June 11, 2018 and June 28, 2018 are attached.

Rationale:  Jo Roberts-Interim Principal for Washington Elementary School

• Jo Roberts is currently retired, after serving 25 years as an elementary principal for Norfolk Public Schools at Grant, Lincoln-Montessori, Woodland Park, Jefferson and Victory Elementary Schools. 
• She received numerous awards for her leadership during these 25 years, including the 2014 Nebraska Distinguished Principal Award.
• This is a one-year interim position.  We will advertise and interview for this position early second semester.

Roberto Mora-Third Grade Teacher for Bel Air Elementary School

• 2018-2019 - Bel Air Elementary, 3rd Grade Teacher
• Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
• Currently a 5th grade teacher for the Kansas City Public Schools, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Rationale:  Emily Jensen-Elementary Media Specialist (at Jefferson, Bel Air and Woodland Park)

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of July, 2018.  These claims have all been reviewed by the board finance and facility committee.

Rationale:  Slight changes have been made to policies 1102 and 6410 based upon recommendations by the Perry Law Firm.

Policy 1102 (Recordings by Others) has been revised to indicate that prior consent or authorization for recordings can be given by either (1) the person or persons being recorded or (2) the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee.  The addition of the Superintendent or Superintendent's designee allows for the recording of students by our security cameras, as well as other pre-approved legitimate educational purposes.

Policy 6410 (Reading Assessment and Instruction) contains minor, non-substantive changes to make it easier to understand.

No other changes have been made to these policies since their first reading.

Rationale:  No changes have been made to this policy since its first reading.  As noted, previously, our current April 30th deadline for contract release is later than many area schools. This caused us significant difficulty this year, as we offered positions to candidates who could not get out of their contracts.  In order to improve our hiring position, we are moving our deadline for contract release to April 1st, starting with the upcoming 2018-2019 school year.

Rationale:  The second monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been tentatively scheduled for Thursday, July 26, 2018 at 12:00 noon at the NPS Central Office Administration Offices.

The regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, August 13, 2018. The Study Session will begin at 5:30 and will be followed by the Business Meeting at 6:30. All components of these meetings will be held at the NPS Central Administration Offices and will be open to the public unless an Executive Session is needed in order to protect the interest of the district or the reputation of an individual.