February 13, 2017 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

STRIVE  •  COMMIT  •  SUCCEED  -  District Mission Statement

Schuyler Community Schools in partnership with parents, students, and the community is committed to educate students to become skilled, knowledgeable and responsible citizens in a global society - District Vision Statement

Notice of this meeting was given in advance according to State Law 84-1411, by giving notice of the meeting to the public.  Notice of this meeting was also given in advance to all members of the Board of Education

Rationale:  This meeting has been preceded by advance notice and is hereby declared to be in open session.  A copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the hallway outside the Media Center.

Rationale:  Discuss, Consider and Take Action on the consent agenda

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for reviewing curriculum recommendations, textbook selection, requisitions/inventory, and instructional programs.

Rationale: 

Attached are contracts with Central Nebraska Rehabilitation Services for Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy services for the 2017-18 school year. 

 

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for annual review of board policies, handbooks, and crisis/safety plans.  This committee is also responsible for the support and development of support programs(nursing, food service) in the district.

Rationale: 

Attached is an updated return-to-work Program from EMC.  Changes to the document include:

Page 1:  Medical Provider -  CHI Health Schuyler Hospital has access to copies of all of Schuyler Community School’s job descriptions.

Page 1:  Written Job Descriptions - Job descriptions are reviewed annually to ensure they include up-to-date information and measurements and posted on the district website.

Appendix A:  Contact - When you return to work, you must call Penny Janousek:  (402) 352-3527

Appendix B:  Injury Report - Fax (402) 352-5552  Penny Janousek

Appendix C:  Transitional Task List -  Note: The task list provides options and limits for modified work assignments.  Additional tasks/jobs may be added to the list as needed.  The rows are color-coded to match the department. Any task can be used in any category, color-coding is just shown for reference. The frequency of each requirement listed in the table below will be recorded using the key at the end of this document (rare to occasional [R/O], frequent [F] or constant [C]).  Detailed information will be determined on a case-by-case basis to meet restrictions determined by the medical provider.

Appendix D:  Changed telephone number (402) 352-3527

Appendix E:  Changed fax number (402) 352-5552

*  We were advised to provide access to job descriptions rather than send our job descriptions to other providers.  This way, if there is an update to a job description, we are not liable for making sure all providers have the most current copy on file. 

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for recommending approval of building/grounds and transportation programs, vehicle replacement schedule, building and maintenance and upgrade schedule.

Rationale:  Attached is a negotiated agreement with BCDM as Architect for the Schuyler Central High School Classroom addition.  The contract was negotiated with Rex Schultze, school attorney, representing the district in the construction and modification of this contract.  In addition to the contract, I included the Additions and Deletions Report for this project.  See attached documents.

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for recommending the annual district calendar, strategic planning process, technology, and promoting positive public relations and communications program.

Rationale:  Attached is the NASB Membership information and invoice for 2017-18.  Included in your packet is also a web link to a video production entitled "We are Public Education in Nebraska:  https://vimeo.com/194260783

Rationale: 

2016-17 2nd Semester Calendar Amendments

Date                 School       Need                                   Reason

February 20     SCHS        No School for Students         Conference Speech

February 20     SMS          No School for Students         Certified-Employing Rigor PD with Discovery Education, Classified-Mental Health First Aid for Paras, Secretaries, and Food Service

April 12           District       No School for Students         APL Coaches and Follow-up Workshop - para workshop

April 13           District      No School for Students         APL Follow-up Workshop

April 21           SMS          No School for Students           NETA day 2

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for budget, finance, and contract negotiations with administration, certificated staff, and support staff.

Rationale: 

See attached resignations.

1.  Jill Hoesing:  High School Language Arts, Speech, and Drama

2.  Sean Wickham:  High School Social Studies and Coaching

3.  Amanda O'Malley:  Early Childhood Home Provider

4. Crystal Ernst:  Middle School Language Arts Teacher

5.  Channa Hess (Evans):  Middle School Physical Education Teacher

Rationale: 

The board finance committee met and reviewed 2017-18 administrator contracts.  The committee reviewed the 2016-17 contracts of our array schools and moved toward getting our salaries and benefits in alignment with administrators in similar size districts.  Attached is the information from the other districts as well as committee recommendations for principals and directors for the 2017-18 school year.

Contracts that were low in the array and less than 220 days were given a higher raise, but days were added to those contracts to bring them in to alignment with other district administrators and peers from other districts.  See attached information.

Rationale:  Thank you to the school board members, administrators, and community leaders who participated in our meeting on January 31st and our community meeting on February 6th.  Attached is the list of priorities as recommended.  We will publish this list on our website for final staff and community review and formally adopt the plan at the March 2017 meeting. 

Rationale: 

Schuyler Preschool and Elementary 3-5 Principal's Report:  Mr. Comley

3rd Grade- 132       4th Grade- 120                5th Grade- 129       Total- 790

We have been making some small changes in traffic due to some parent concerns.

Teachers have been doing an outstanding job during my observations.

The free family event "Play Their Way" was a huge success February 9th at SES.  Families visited a variety of hands-on play stations focusing on social emotional development to ensure well-developed mental heath for all children.  Plus parents got a chance to connect with local organizations that promote health, education, and well-being of children.  Over 23 community agencies came together to make the event possible.  Each child received a free cinch sack upon arrival.  Activities included teddy bear checkups, emotional masks, kid's yoga, a kindness mural, face painting, NET's Daniel the Tiger, parachute activities, ring toss, trivia games, emotional whirligigs, Lego construction, Valentine photo booth, giant cup stacking, arts and crafts, and so much more!  Families were treated to pancakes and sausages by The Pancake Man.  For every 12 stations attended, families were able to enter into a drawing.  Prizes given away in the drawing were bikes, tricycles, toddler walking toys, and baby bouncy seats.  Students from SMS volunteered their time to assist with the activities, serving drinks, conducting surveys, and cleaning. 

Schuyler Elementary Schools K-2 Principal's Report:  Mr. Kovar

Observations are a priority right now, along with various items for school improvement and professional development. Things are going well, and teachers are working hard. We are trying to get through winter. It is always tough when you have to keep kids inside for multiple days in a row.

Rural Schools Principal's Report:  Mr. Reinsch

Richland and Fishers teachers have been discussing plans for the 2017-18 school year based on Strategic Plan recommendations.

Richland is researching pre-school requirements and looking for options to attract students.  The Richland teachers applied for and are hoping to be selected to participate in a summer STEM training through UNL. They recently met with Otis Pierce from ESU 7 to research STEM opportunities.

Fishers has immediate needs for additional classroom space for grades 6-7-8.

Enrollment Projections for 2017-18

Richland: K-2,  1st - 3,  2nd - 2, 3rd - 2,    4th - 6,  5th - 0,   6th - 8,                            Total 23

Fishers:   K- 8, 1st - 13, 2nd - 6, 3rd - 10, 4th - 10, 5th - 9,  6th - 8,  7th - 8, 8th -  6,   Total 78

Schuyler Middle School Asst. Principal's Report:  Mr. Zavadil

February is a very important Month for teacher observation and instructional leadership.  Our goal is to spend at least an hour in every classroom in our building during the month of February observing instruction and even more time reflecting on those practices with our teachers.

Schuyler Middle School Principal's Report:  Mrs. Burton

SMS Enrollment: 396 Students

Please take a moment to look at this month's SMS Monthly Newsletter:  https://www.smore.com/we56z

SMS is enjoying the completed SCS Field House project!  The PE Teachers, coaches, and staff have been able to create very strong opportunities for our students due to this opportunity!  We have also had a steady stream of senior community members in walking throughout the day.  Please stop out to the Field House to see our youth in action!

Mr. Gutierrez will be taking his quarterly field trip with the I Tech 7th and 8th graders.  Students will be attending the UNL College of Engineering Day, which helps engage students in educational opportunities in engineering.  

SMS Teachers and Administrators will be working with Discovery Education on our final whole staff day with them.  The focus of the day will be employing rigor with text-dependent sources.  All SMS classified staff will be taking a Mental Health First Aid Course that is offered through CHI.  We are thankful for these opportunities!

We will soon begin ELPA 21 testing with our ELL students, as well as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for fifty of our eighth grade students.  

As we close out our three-year school improvement grant process, we will look forward to our final visit from the state.  We welcome any SMS parents that would like to take part in that opportunity!

Schuyler Central High School Asst. Principal's Report:  Mr. Kasik

• Our teachers continue to help out with covering other classes as we have seen an increase in the need for subs during the last month, due to training sessions, illnesses and flu season.
• We continue to train our staff in Discovery Ed. Training within our building and I am seeing these strategies as well as APL improving our lessons.
• We are starting to look at scheduling changes and ways to make our school better for next year.  There will be challenges with this as we continue to see our student numbers increase.

Schuyler Central High School Principal's Report:  Mr. Grammer

*  Brief overview of what has happened at Schuyler Central High School for the months of January & February:

•  This year Schuyler Central High School was awarded 11 scholastic art awards for works produced from 6 different students.  Angela Medina received a Gold Key, the highest award given at the state level, as well as a Silver Key for her two self portraits.  Astrid Mejia also received a Gold Key for a self portrait as well as two Honorable Mentions.  Luis Cancino was awarded a Sliver Key and an Honorable Mention for two of his sculptures, and Guadalupe Rodriguez received two Honorable Mentions for painting and drawing. Both Chloe Beltrand and Pammela Garcia also received Honorable Mentions.  These students will be representing Schuyler later this month at they award ceremony in Omaha, and our two Gold Key winners will move on to the National Scholastic Art Competition. 

•  Congratulations to our SCHS Wrestling Team for their efforts at Grand Island Northwest and being crowned Conference Champions.  We have not been conference champs since 1971, what a great effort and accomplishment for coaches and team.  Again, congratulations to Mr. Hlavac, Mr. Wilcox, and Mr. Keairnes and our team for earning the title of Conference Champs!!

•  We have continued this year the use of John Baylor ACT Prep.   We started the program on January for the ACT test that is administered on Saturday, April 8th.  After the test on the 8^th, we will then be taking the state ACT for all Juniors on Wednesday, April 19^th.  More information will be coming throughout the next couple of months.  We wish the best for our students on the 8^th and 19^th  and we hope they do their best on the tests and excel throughout the remainder of the school year.

•  Throughout the month of April , we will be finishing up our spring formal observations using iObservation. We continue to see many benefits to the iObservation evaluation process.  Over the last couple of years, teachers have demonstrated growth and enhancement of their instruction.

•  Current enrollment numbers at SCHS at this moment is: Senior – 118; Juniors –    130; Sophomores – 147;  Freshmen – 150; TOTAL: 545.  We have enrolled 12 new students and 6 returning students since January 5^th.

•  The Schuyler Central High School Athletes of the month are:  Miguel Roman, for Wrestling; Haley Korth, Girls Basketball, and Eric Tena, Boys Basketball. Congratulations to theses students for being nominated and recognized by their coaches.

•  Congratulations to the FFA Livestock Judging team for their great performance. They competed at Districts in Norfolk on January 31. The team earned 7th Place. IndividuallyTyler Kohl placed 7th place in the senior division.  Also, Congratulations to Kasey Brabec for his Proficiency Awards that qualified for State competition. Kasey had 4 Proficiency Awards that competed at the District level on Saturday, and all 4 earned 1st place Gold at Districts, earning him State Qualification. He will take those 4 Proficiencies to the FFA State Convention and compete in April.  Finally, Congratulations to Kendra Marxsen on earning her State Degree. Through her records of her SAE( Supervised Agricultural Experience) and her commitment to FFA, she interviewed at the District level on Saturday and will be receiving her State Degree in April at the FFA State Convention. 

•  Our first Speech competition was on Wednesday, February 8^th in Howells.   Here are our results from the Howells Speech meet yesterday:  Kasey Brabec & Brayden Rocha placed 5th in Duet Acting. Chloe Beltrand placed 2nd and Jesica Hernandez placed 6th in Serious Prose.  Claire Martin placed 1st in BOTH Entertainment Speaking AND Persuasive Speaking.  Esperanza DeLeon placed 6th in Extemporaneous Speaking.  Kasey Brabec placed 5th in Humorous Prose and Cassie Machalon placed 6th in Poetry.  Overall, as a team, we placed 4th.  A good start to the year and congratulations to our Speech team.

Rationale: 

K-6 Youth Sports Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Kovar

Basketball is well under way. We have over 200 kids participating in various basketball clubs and teams. It is a struggle to find parents and volunteers to help. We continue to learn and tweak the program and the Fieldhouse as problems arise. We are definitely doing more for kids now, than at any time in my 5 years at Schuyler. We will continue to grow and learn from what we are doing.

Schuyler Middle School Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Zavadil

Boys Basketball has been going well picking up wins vs. Lakeview and David City.  We added a game Vs. Clarkson Leigh in order to get more playing time for our lower level teams.  We lost those games, but we will be looking at possibly arranging for our A and B teams to play against their A and B going forward.  Our boys will finish the season with Games Vs. Madison, Seward, and Central City.

I am continuing to work with Warrior Academy to recruit teachers and coaches for spring sports clubs for our 6^th grade students.  We are hoping to use the courts at the middle school to help teach Volleyball skills.

Schuyler Central High School Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Kasik

• Winter seasons are well underway.  Our Wrestling team is peaking, as they have gone 4-0 in duals since Christmas.  They won the 15 team Raymond Central Invite and they just won the Conference invite with 10 wrestlers placing in the top 4.  (1971 was the last time this happened)
• Girls basketball notched out another win, beating Boys Town and our Boys basketball team won their final game in the conference tournament.  They are sitting at 2 wins and 4 wins respectfully at this time.
• We are fast approaching State Wrestling and District Basketball.  All three groups will be busy these next couple of weeks.
• Speech is now well underway.  Our speech team sent 8 individuals to the finals of their first meet, which was rescheduled due to the weather.
• Sunday, 2/12  at 2:00 pm is our Pops Concert in the West Gym.
• It is also hard to believe but February 27^th will start spring practices already.  I am sure we will be using the Field House on inclement days for practices.Our coaches are finalizing action plans for next year.  Mr. Zavadil and I will be meeting in the next couple of weeks to look these over and make final decisions regarding our Head Coaches for next year as well as Activity Sponsor assignments.

SCS Special Education Director's Report:  Mrs. Vrba

"Leadership is a transfer of purpose, passion, optimism, and belief." This powerful quote comes from the book, You Win in the Locker Room First, which the Administration team is readng together right now! We have reached that crucial time of year when there are numerous SAT and 504 referrals, retesting for IEPs, making sure all of the i's are dotted and t's crossed for the NeSA accommodations so our Special Needs may be successful of their tests! This is the tough time of the year...weather plays are a part...teachers and students are working together through the "meat" of the school year...the end of the year is coming way too fast...deadlines are getting closer and closer. But as you saw during our strategic planning meeting, this is "our time" to share the purpose, passion, optimism and belief in earning an education in our school system with students and parents!

SCS Curriclum, Instruction, Assessment, SIP, and Student Services Director's Report:  Mr. Gibbons

Curriculum – Since we last met, the K-5 math curriculum team and 6-8 math curriculum team met to discuss alignment of the new math standards to materials.  After last month’s Text Dependent Analysis Workshops, we have decided to meet as a team to develop a specific way to teach and write TDA’s in the district in order to put as many students as possible in the best possible position to get a good score.  That work will start on February 11.  Here is an example of a TDA prompt in case you were wondering:

The passage, “Margaret Knight: Paper Bag Machine Inventor” tells about a female inventor in the 1800s.  Explain how Margaret Knight’s actions helped lead the way for women today.  Write a well-organized, structured response using specific evidence from the passage to support your answer.”

I will begin meeting with teachers from other curriculum areas this week.

Assessment - The ELPA 21 started this week.  This is a challenge due to the high numbers of ELL students and the low number of ELL specific teachers, but our staff does a great job scheduling and getting it taken care of.

Here is a reminder of the tests that we will need to complete this spring:

• ELPA 21: February 6 - March 17, 2017 

  • Given to all Limited English Proficient students

• NAEP: SES 4th Grade is February 21; SMS 8th grade is February 22

  • A random sampling of students taking a variety of tests.

• NeSA - ELA, Math, Science: March 20 - May 5, 2017

  • Students in 3rd - 8th grade (Science is 5th and 8th)

SIG Grant - We will be meeting with our Discovery Ed partners to talk about our next steps in our partnership with Discovery.