July 11, 2022 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  July 1, 2022

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:  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. According to state law, if you wish to comment you must identify yourself, including your address, the name of the organization you represent and the topic that you wish to address. "Public Comment" cards are located at the Media table, in the back of the room.  Please pick up a card and provide the required information, if you plan to speak.  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: 

The total amount of claims to be approved on the consent agenda for the month of July, 2022 by specific fund are listed below:

General Fund =$657,607.13

Nutrition Services Fund =$152,989.35

Cooperative Fund =$2,597.31

Depreciation Fund =$41,591.25

Special Building Fund =$216,137.44

QCPUF = $141,735.00

Student Fee Fund = $50,182.92

The total amount of claims for the month of June, 2022 in the Activities Fund is listed below:
Activity Fund =$217,854.34

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

Rationale:  CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT

• Typical summer processes and tasks are under way. We have been busy receiving ordered inventory and cross referencing the accuracy of the products as well as getting it delivered to the correct buildings with the correct number of books.
• K-5 Administrators have taken part in LETRS for Administrators training. While it is not nearly as long and extensive as the teacher training, it helps principals to have the same understanding as teachers and use the same language when discussing student learning progressions.
• I attended the policy committee meeting held on June 23^rd to review the administrative rules that were written to support Policy 6250 Grading and Policy 6300 Selection of Media Materials.
  • The administrative rule written to support Policy 6250 Grading was written to support and be consistent with Policy 6240 Homework. The language found in the administrative rule 6250 spells out what teachers have been and are already doing. The document was created to explain the processes we are following with grading practices and to assist principals when training new to the district teachers. The guidance supports both traditionally graded courses and standards-based graded courses.  Nothing new exists within this document and will serve as a reference for consistency in grading practices from year to year and when new teachers and principals join the district.
  • The administrative rule written to support Policy 6300 does include updated procedures and processes for selection of media materials. This rule was put together with multiple pieces of guidance. The media teachers and I read through examples of media selection rules from other school districts similar in size. Dr. Thompson and I attended a webinar on media selection as well as held a conference call with our school lawyer. After the first draft was written, principals, a few parents and teachers gave us feedback and suggestions. The guidance was updated a couple of times before it was finalized.
    • Here are a few of the biggest changes that have occurred in the selection process:
      • Removal of monthly student surveys on specifically named titles to a once-a-year survey seeking topics of interest. The survey will go to 5^th- 12^th grade students. Parents will be notified when this survey will be administered and have the right to refuse their child’s participation.  
      • Books selected for our libraries are required to have support from a reputable review company
      • Where a book title is questionable for age or topic appropriateness, the media teachers will bring it to their quarterly PLC for peer review. If a consensus is not found among the media teachers, the book will be forwarded to the administration for review and a final decision.
    • Both Administrative Rules are linked on the board agenda for review.

Rationale: 

Summer school wrapped up, with 40 students attending our LIFE program K-12. 

As the liaison for McKinney-Vento for our district, I will participate in three one-hour webinars that the state is requiring for the next three Tuesdays.

Rationale: 

I would like to announce that we will be having our summer tech sale on Friday, July 15th at the NPS Bus Barn, 206 East Northwestern Ave. from noon to 6 pm. All sales are final, no returns, no warranty, and cash only. Depending on demand, there may be restrictions on the number of devices you can purchase.

Also we continue to enroll new students and are creating schedules for next year. I would like to encourage parents of new students to contact the Student Services Office here at CO or use that tab on our website to answer any questions they may have or for forms they may need to complete enrollments. Below is the listing of open houses for the start of the new school year so parents can get those on their calendars.

Back to school open houses

• Elementary schools - August 9th 5:30pm - 6:30pm

• Middle school - August 8th 5:30pm - 6:30pm

• Junior High - August 8th 6:30pm - 7:30pm

• Senior High - August 8th 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Rationale: 

HR Update:

The NPS Job Fair was held on June 21 for our classified positions.  We had approximately 25 job seekers come and talk with our building principals.  Some filled out applications on site and other applications came in throughout the week.  A total of 43 new applications have been submitted since the Job Fair was held and advertised.  Fifteen positions have been filled since the Job Fair and principals are in the process of reviewing applications, interviewing and offering additional positions.   

The 2022-2023 school year will begin in less than a month for our staff.  New staff will report on August 2 for training and all staff will report on August 8.  The Back To School staff schedule has been shared with all staff.  Applications are now being accepted for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals for the 2022-2023 school year.

Rationale:  Federal Updates
Celebrations
Announcements

Rationale:  The committee met at 12:00 today.  The claims for the month of July and activity claims for June were reviewed.  The committee then reviewed the following items:

• Updates on current projects
• Update on Insurance RFP process
• Review of proposal for compensation of student teachers and Interns
• Update on new guidelines with district time clocks
• Annual update on 403B plan 

The next meeting will be Monday, August 8th, at 12:00 noon.

Rationale:  The Policy Committee met on June 23rd to review administrative rules to ensure that they are consistent with Board Policies. 

Rationale: 

The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on June 20th, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. Thirteen board members were present.  

Applications are currently being accepted for NPSF’s Dual Credit Scholarships. The deadline is 8/12/22. 125 scholarships at $100 each are available to NHS students, courtesy of the Margaret Robinson Memorial Endowment.

Big Give was held on 5/24/2022 and $1,475 was raised to fill the Panther Pantry. The Panther Pantry program will help serve the needs of the students at the High School, Junior High, and Middle School. The funding will allow NPS to purchase ready to go food items, personal hygiene products, clothing, and other identified needs. 

Congratulations to the 2022 Classroom Grant recipients! The Classroom Grant selection committee met in May and selected 34 classroom grants. This year's grants included (2) Furstenau K-6 Science Grants, (2) Class of 1969 classroom grants, (1) Woodland Park Science Day grant, and (29) NPSF classroom grants for a total of $20,574.84 that will benefit students across Norfolk Public Schools at all grade levels. NPSF is proud to support students and teachers in the classrooms.

NPSF committees are planning for the upcoming Staff Campaign and Traditions Breakfast which will be held 10/27/22. No Board meetings are scheduled for July or August. 

Rationale:  Minutes of the June 13, 2022 and June 23, 2022 meetings are attached.

Rationale:  None at this time.

Rationale:  None at this time.

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of July, 2022.  These claims were reviewed earlier today by our Finance and Facility Committee.  There are no conflict statements for this month that will need to be read before voting.

Rationale:  See attached.

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Rationale:  The U.S. Department of Education requires that we review and update this plan every 6 months throughout the ESSERS grant period, which ends September 2024.
The COVID-19 Return to In-Person Instruction Committee reviewed this plan electronically and approved the updates. Committee members did not feel that an in-person meeting was necessary, as COVID levels are low and the plan that we have in place has been working well when levels spike.
At this point, we are following the Quarantine and Isolation Guidelines published by the CDC on May 30, 2022 and utilizing the Quarantine Calculator located at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html.  If these guidelines change, we will update our procedures accordingly.
See attachments for further details.

Rationale:  The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been tentatively scheduled for noon on Thursday, July 28, 2022.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, August 8, 2022. There will not be a Study Session. The regular business meeting will start at 5:30 PM.  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.