October 8, 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:  Foundation Report -- Sarah Dittmer
Building Reports -- Board members

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

Rationale:  Westside Elementary 4th Grade Panther Pride Leaders: Monthly character education assemblies

Rationale:  Julee Pfeil, Director of The Zone, would like to thank NPS for their many years of collaboration and assistance.

Rationale:  September 2018 Success Pin Recipients
The Cash Now winner is Melissa Jantz. She will receive $50, compliments of U.S. Bank.
 

Mr. Erik Wilson

Brenda Simpson

Heidi Korth,

Cheryl Baumann

Alicia Busch

Charline Sparks

Erik Wilson

Rebecca Topp

Kim Erickson

Julie Shoemaker

Maureen Johnson

Melissa Jantz

Kelly Hansen

Blair Brink

 

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 October, 2018 by specific fund are as follows:

General Fund = $515,771.88

Nutrition Services Fund =$260,578.89

Cooperative Fund = $3,965.28

Depreciation Fund = $53,820.09

Special Building Fund = $127,795.87

QCPUF = $5,860.88

Student Fee Fund = $21,456.52

The total amount of claims for the month of September, 2018 in the Activities Fund were:
Activity Fund =$188,390.81

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

Rationale:  CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION & ASSESSMENT:

• Teaching and Learning has been extremely busy but most definitely we’ve covered a lot of ground this fall. Teacher teams have been working very hard on target based instruction and grading. Renee Rucker and I have been working specifically with SH Science, SH Math, SH ELA, SH Social Studies, JH ELA, JH Science, JH 7^th G Health, JH Careers and Wellness & PE, 5-8 Writing, 5-6 Science and K-6 Media/Technology. At this point, K-4 has been led by grade level principal leaders with the assistance of Heather Thompson. While I’m pleased with our progress and impressed with the deep conversations teachers are having revolving around proficiency expectations, it just reminds me of how far we still have to go.
• Heather Thompson has attended facilitator training from NWEA which has stimulated work with teachers in multiple buildings. She’s leading data digs with teachers so they can better utilize data to drive instructional decisions.  She has scheduled extra training sessions afterschool for teachers that want/need more support and study on MAP Growth data. The timing is good since our fall testing window just closed.  
• We had a follow up EnVisions technology training for K-2 teachers as they are working through their first year of implementation. Some teachers feel more comfortable using the technology for lessons while others remain more comfortable with traditional teaching strategies. Either way, they are working hard to learn the new program.
• We are in the midst of a pilot using Discover Ed Science. We are still in the early stages. We are collecting weekly survey feedback to determine its effectiveness and usefulness. I will keep you posted on the progress. Selecting materials needs to be a slow and conscientious process and there is a lot to consider and investigate before a purchase decision can be made.
• Fall testing at the senior high will be this Wednesday, Oct. 10^th.  Grades 9 & 10 will test on ASPIRE and 11^th grade on PreACT.

Rationale:  1.      Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department provided on-site flu shots the week of October 1st, for staff at each building in the district.

2.      This Friday, October 12th marks the end of our First Quarter of the 2018-2019 school term.

3.      Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday-Thursday, October 15th through October 18th as follows:
Monday, October 15th           K-12 normal dismissal. 

• K-8 parent-teacher conferences from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, October 16th          K-12 normal dismissal.

• K-4 and 9-12 parent/teacher conferences from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, October 17th   K-12 students dismissed at 2:00 p.m.

•  5-12 parent-teacher conferences from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 18th       K-12 students dismissed at 11:30 a.m.

•  K-12 parent-teacher conferences from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Friday, October 19th   No school for K-12 students. 

4.      "CPR/AOA" training will be provided for selected staff from all of our NPS attendance centers.  The training will be here at Central Office on Thursday, October 25th and Friday, October 26th.
 

Rationale:  District Safety and Security Team Information

• Student and staff safety is always our top priority and we continue to work hard reviewing our policies and procedures to ensure that we are prepared to immediately respond to any emergency situation.
• Our district Safety and Security team recently visited South Sioux City Schools. The team spent the day collaborating with SSC staff sharing "best practices" and we were able to observe a Parent /Student Reunification Drill. 
• Additionally, this past week all of our buildings were involved in school safety visits. These visits are aligned with NDE standards for school safety and our District Strategic Goals.
• Next week, several members of our district safety team will be traveling to Kearney for the Nebraska School Safety and Security Summit.

Suicide Awareness Training:

• In compliance with state requirements, all of our staff that interact with students on a daily basis have participated (or will participate) in our annual Suicide Awareness training. This training is valuable in helping all staff recognize warning signs of when someone may be in "crisis" and remain proactive about immediate intervention options. 

Staff Development:

• Our next staff development day is Monday, October 22nd. This day is dedicated to following up on the information and training our teachers were given at the beginning of the school year. High quality staff development is essential to increasing teacher effectiveness and maximizing student learning and engagement. 

Personnel Update:

• Current Openings:
  • Activity Bus Drivers
  • General Maint. /Transp.
  • District Route Driver
  • Senior High: ELL Paraprofessional
  • Speech/Language Pathologist
  • Substitute Custodians
  • Substitute Paraprofessionals
  • Substitute Teachers
  • Tech Building: Assistive Technology Para
  • Westside Elementary: LIFE & ED Paraprofessional/Driver
  • Woodland Park: SpED Paraprofessional

• Current Coaching Openings:
  • JH Wrestling

Rationale:  Preliminary Enrollment Update:
Preliminary/Unofficial Enrollment data indicates that we have 84 more students than we did last year at this time. This is approximately a 2% increase.

Bel Air grew by 33 students.  25 of these students are a result of the completion of our 3rd track at that building.

We also saw large (17 student) growth at Woodland Park (where we had to add an OverFlow Second Grade classroom), the Middle School (20 students) and the Junior High (26 students).

We experienced slight increases and decreases at our other building, which were within normal limits.

Dr. Robinson and I are in the process of reviewing our enrollment growth and facility needs and will bring recommendations to the Board in the near future.

Currently, our biggest  facility and staffing needs are at the elementary and middle school level. However, it is anticipated that our enrollment growth will begin to impact the Senior High in 2019-2020, with significant growth occurring by 2022-2023.

I will create a more detailed Enrollment Projections report once NDE finalizes our 2018-2019 enrollment numbers.
 

Rationale:  The committee met at 1:30 today and discussed the following items:

• Review of October claims
• Initial Review of the 17-18 audit, final report will be presented to the board at the Oct. 25th meeting
• Discussion on bidding for fertilizer, chemicals, and application of those items for district fields and grounds
• Discussion on 403 B plan administration
• Discussion on upcoming banking resolution(s)
• Updates and discussion on Pre-School and Head Start
• Updates on the 25th street project
• Updates on the strategic facility plan

Rationale: 

Policy Committee Report 10-8-2018

The Policy Committee met at noon on September 27th.  We reviewed policies 1100-1260 related to community relations to prepare them for First Reading.

No changes are recommended to policies 1100 (Community Use of School Facilities), 1102 (Recording of Others), 1110 (Bulletin Boards, Display Cases, and Posted Material), 1120 (Tobacco Policy), 1210 (Title IX-Discrimination), 1220 (Title IX-Procedure for Informal/Formal Hearing), 1240 (ADA and Section 504 Grievance Procedure), 1250 (Designation of Coordinator), and 1260 (Service Animals).

Policy 1101 (Use of Schools Facilities: Student Groups and Boy Scouts) was revised to indicate that all of our schools can have a limited open forum. Previously, this policy was limited to our secondary schools.

Policy 1200 (Anti-Discrimination) was revised to designate coordinators who oversee anti-discrimination laws and to address concerns and complaints. The policy originally stated that these duties are the responsibility of the Superintendent, but those duties have been assigned to various directors.

The Policy Committee also recommends changes to policies 3131 and 1010, which are up for Second and Final Reading.

A slight, non-substantive change was made to Policy 3131 (Procurement Plan-School Food Authorities) to clarify that paperwork related to formal bids must be maintained for five years, whereas paperwork related to informal bids only needs to be maintained for three years.

A slight change was made to policy 1010 (Visiting School). The statement that "all visitors must sign in at the building's principal's office" was changed to say that "all visitors must sign in at the office" to reflect the fact that visitors at Lincoln Elementary are not required to go to the second-floor principal's office to do this. They sign in with the building secretary at her office by the main door.

Rationale:  The Government Relations Committee has not met.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  The minutes of the October 2, 2018 Nurses' Meeting are attached.

Rationale:  Minutes of the September 10, 2018 meeting are attached.

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of October, 2018.  These claims were reviewed earlier today by our Finance and Facility committee

Rationale:  Board President, Arnie Robinson, and I both received  formal written requests by the NCEA (Norfolk City Educational Association) to be recognized as the exclusive collective bargaining agent for non-supervisory certificated staff. This action is required each year. We have not received any other requests; therefore, I recommend that the request be approved.  

Rationale: 

Rationale:  I am requesting permission from the board to advertise and receive bids for fertilizer, chemicals and application of those items on all district fields and grounds.  The district would accept bids for up to a three year contract.

Rationale:  This policy must be reviewed annually.  No changes have been made.

Rationale:  This policy was revised to reflect changes made at the Federal level, regarding the purchasing of food. A slight, non-substantive change was made since its First Reading to clarify that paperwork related to formal bids must be maintained for five years, whereas paperwork related to informal bids only needs to be maintained for three years.

Rationale:  A slight change was made to policy 1010 (Visiting School) since its first reading. The statement that "all visitors must sign in at the building's principal's office" was changed to say that "all visitors must sign in at the office" to reflect the fact that visitors at Lincoln Elementary are not required to go to the second-floor principal's office to do this. They sign in with the building secretary at her office by the main door.

Rationale:  The policy was revised to indicate that the Norfolk Police Department is our designated law enforcement unit.  This matches the statements in our Student Handbooks and allows us to share information with our School Resource Officer. No changes have been made to this policy since its First Reading.

Rationale:  Dr. Gubbels discussed these policies and their revisions during her Policy Committee report.  

Rationale:  The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been scheduled for noon on Thursday, October 25, 2018.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, November 12, 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.