November 13, 2023 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  Date Public Notice appeared in the Norfolk Daily News: November 6, 2023. 

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:  Focus on the Students - Washington Elementary - ELL Program

Rationale: 

Award for Excellence awarded to: 
Gary Obermire
Custodian
Bel Air Elementary

Rationale:  Strategic Action Plan Presentation - Retention and Recruitment

Rationale:  Special Presentation: "Annie's Story"

https://youtu.be/GyuNYLRmjAM?feature=shared

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. Individuals who make false, defamatory,  or slanderous statements during public comments may be held legally liable. Slanderous comments are not protected just because they are made at Board meetings.

Rationale: 

The total amount of claims to be approved on the consent agenda for the month of November, 2023 by specific fund are listed below:

General Fund =$729,544.77

Nutrition Services Fund =$746,844.62

Cooperative Fund =$3,420.54

Depreciation Fund =$444,600.00

Special Building Fund =$36,404.75

QCPUF: $719,200.00

Student Fee Fund = $5,904.29

The total amount of claims for the month of October, 2023 in the Activities Fund is $131,851.53

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

Rationale:  CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT

The month of October proved to be eventful, marked by the ending of the first quarter, parent/teacher conferences, and professional development activities. It was a Central Office partnership that intentionally designed a diverse array of professional learning experiences for our educators. I want to emphasize one initiative that merits recognition - the collaborative gatherings of junior high and senior high teachers to discuss curriculum scope and sequence. This contributes to the ensuring of rigor and the progression of educational content.

The Teaching and Learning team have been diligently focusing on the development of the Social Studies curriculum, alongside an effort to engage with and support new teachers within the district. Additionally, we have participated in conducting instructional rounds with building administrators. These rounds offer a swift and efficient means to enhance our ability to provide constructive feedback to our teachers and engage in peer discussions about our classroom observations. It is important to note that our primary goal of these instructional rounds is not to evaluate teacher performance but to refine our skills in identifying indicators of quality instruction.

In collaboration with building principals, I have reviewed the official 2023 spring data and its implications for the state accountability system in evaluating our progress. This data-driven review empowers our principals to chart a course for goal setting and planning with their staff, thus facilitating improvements in areas where they believe growth is needed.
Lastly, I have had the privilege of working closely with our preschool teachers, focusing on the development of Professional Learning Community (PLC) skills, and fostering a culture of collaborative work. My engagement with them will continue with follow-up sessions scheduled for early in the upcoming year.
 

Rationale:  Our October 1st count for 2023 shows an increase in the number of students in ELL and Special Education.  The increase for ELL went from 5% to 6% (an increase of 46 students). The Special Education count increased to 20 students, but the overall percentage is still at 18% of the total student population.

CPR will be required for all coaches starting at the fall of the 2024-2025 school year.  Our nurses and some teachers will be trained as trainers of CPR in the second semester to assist in the certification of the coaches.
 

Rationale:  On October 19th and 20th members of our District Safety Team and I attended the annual Safety Summit and the Great Plains Association of Threat Assessment Professionals Conference in Lincoln. The conference focused on the importance of relationship building and looking at the whole picture when completing a threat assessment. This was important training to help our team be as effective as possible when dealing with safety concerns.

Finally, we completed our fall parent teacher conferences near the end of October. Attendance numbers are posted below. As a district for the fall 2020 conferences, we were at 65.7%, fall of 2021 = 70.08%, fall of 2022 = 72.66% and this fall we are at 73.47%. As always it is great to see parents at those conferences. If you were not able to attend conferences for your student, I encourage you to reach out to your student’s school. They would be happy to discuss your student’s educational plan and progress with you.
 

	Attendance at P/T Conferences including Zoom	Total School Enrollment	% attended 2023
Little Panther Preschool	234	236	99%
Bel Air	311	323	96%
Jefferson	244	249	98%
Grant	206	206	100%
Lincoln	216	216	100%
Washington	229	232	99%
Westside	194	195	99%
Woodland Park	198	199	99%
Middle School	585	607	96%
Junior High	417	646	65%
Senior High	454	1366	33%
District Results	3291	4475	73.47%

Rationale: 

Since the last board meeting, I have attended the Wayne State College Student Teacher Fair.  There were almost 400 students, freshmen through seniors, in attendance.  Mary Luhr and I attended the two-day Nebraska Educator Shortage Summit in Kearney.  We met with a variety of stakeholders from all over the state, including school administrators, college staff, ESU staff, NDE staff, and teachers.  This group will continue to work with data and decision making to reduce the educator shortage.  I also was on campus at WSC to speak to the NENTA teachers, which are college students that have a local sub permit and are allowed to substitute teach, while taking classes.  In addition, WSC and Growing Together hosted an employer symposium.  I was unable to attend, so Mr. Hughes, Middle School Principal, attended in my place.  This symposium was designed to provide students with information and experiences on navigating from college to a career.  I am continuing to work to gain the interest of potential teachers to apply at NPS for teaching positions.

October 23 was a district-wide professional development day.  Staff were provided with professional development that was geared more specifically to their level, area, and needs.  This day included professional development on MTSS/PBIS, vertical PLCs, program deep dives, digital learning, and more.  Our leadership team has received positive feedback on the effectiveness of the day.

Rationale:  * Strategic Facilities Plan
* Listening Session Summary

Rationale:  The Facilities & Finance Committee plans to meet on Monday November 13, 2023. 

• Insurance Presentations
• Facility Updates
• Finance Updates and Review of Claims

Rationale:  The Activities Committee met electronically to discuss the continuation of our cooperative agreement for softball with Norfolk Catholic and Lutheran High Northeast.  The committee is in favor of continuing this cooperative arrangement and is recommending that the Board approve the extention of that agreement tonight.

Rationale: 

The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on October 16th at the NPS Administration Building. Twelve board members were present.

The Foundation is preparing for its Traditions Breakfast on Thursday October 26th at the Lifelong Learning Center. This is the main fundraiser for the year where we plan to celebrate the tradition of academic excellence at Norfolk Public Schools. All funds raised by this event will benefit the NPS Foundation and will help support students and teachers in our District. 

The Board will meet again in November.

Rationale:  Minutes from the meetings on October 9, 2023 & October 26, 2023 are attached for review. 

Rationale:  None at this time. 

Rationale:  Resignation - Jacquelyn Ruzicka, Industrial Tech teacher, Junior High, effective at the end of the 2023-2024 contract year.

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of November, 2023.  These claims were reviewed earlier by our Finance and Facility Committee. 

There are two conflict statements this month that will need to be read before voting.

Rationale:  The Strategic Action Planning Committee on Retention and Recruitment presented their plan earlier this evening.  The proposed plan can be approved or sent back to committee for revisions.

Rationale:  I am requesting permission to sell 1 set of old style wrestling mats. These are 3 mats that combine to make 1 large wrestling circle. We have upgraded to the newer style mats and no longer use this one.

Rationale:  I am requesting permission to purchase 4 new chillers for the High School for $675,000 from Mechanical Sales. There is a very small window left where these chillers will still be available. The manufacturer has been on site and verifies that their units will work in our setting with minor piping and electrical changes. Once engineer drawings are completed, I will request permission from the board to release an RFP for installation.

Rationale:  After multiple discussions with the senior high administration and Mr. Wilson regarding safety concerns during State One Act Competition, I have decided to ask the Board to revise our 2023-2024 PK and K-12 school calendars.  We would like to change Friday, December 8, 2023 from a normal school day to a "Staff PD/Work Day: No School For Students". 

The State One Act Competition runs Wednesday-Friday, but is much busier on Friday when the Class A and B Schools compete. It has become very difficult to keep patrons out of the school and separate from our students on that day. 

My draft calendar for 2024-2025 already includes this day as a "Staff PD/Work Day: No School For Students"; however, we would like to make this change this year.

Staff would participate in Safety Standards training, Math PD and Special Education training that day, and they would also be provided with some extra work time.  

We would still have enough instructional hours built into our calendar to meet NDEs requirements even if we hit our maximum snow days.

Mr. Settles and Mr. Wilson can share more details about our safety concerns.

Rationale:  The renewal of our cooperative agreement with Norfolk Catholic and Lutheran High Northeast for softball is due to the NSAA by Dec. 1st.  This has been a strong collaboration for a number of years with a tradition of success.  Furthermore, facility usage would become problematic if we had separate, competing teams.  Mr. Erwin and the Activities Committee recommend the renewal of this coop.
 

Rationale:  No changes have been made since the first reading.

Personnel - Policies 4001 - 4012

• 4001 Recruitment and Selection
• 4002 Equal Opportunity Employment
• 4003 Anti-discrimination, Anti-harassment and Anti-retaliation
• 4003a Notice of Nondiscrimination
• 4003b Complaint Form
• 4004 Duty Hours of Employees
• 4005 Absence of Employees
• 4006 Absence From Building
• 4007 Family and Medical Leave Policy
• 4007a Family and Medical Leave Policy Documents
• 4008 Adoption Leave
• 4009 Drug and Substance Use and Abuse, with attached Appendix
• 4010 Intellectual Property and Work-for-Hire
• 4011 Bloodborne Pathogen Compliance Plan
• 4012 Infectious Diseases

 

Rationale:  No changes have been made since the first reading.

Rationale:  Lindsay Dixon has expressed an interest in joining this committee. With her addition, the membership of the committee would be comprised of: Sandy Wolfe, Beth Shashikant, and Lindsay Dixon.

Rationale: 

The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be scheduled for the end of November. 

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, December 11, 2023. The regular business meeting will begin 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.