November 11, 2019 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 front of the meeting room.

Nebraska Open Meetings Act:  http://nitc.nebraska.gov/documents/statutes/NebraskaOpenMeetingsAct_current.pdf

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

Rationale: 
 1. The SCHS Library gave away a free book to every high school student in October.  They are also working on getting a grant to get more books in homes.

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

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

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

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

Rationale: 
          Members of the finance committee met with Pekny and Associates to discuss the 2018-19 AFR and Audit Report.  In the past, Pekny's attended the meeting and went through the documents at that time.  Again, this year members of the finance committee met at Pekny and Associates to review both documents. 
          If other members of the board would like to have a more formal review, we will arrange a time to meet and review this information.  The two reports were reviewed and submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, and Nebraska Department of Education by November 1st and 5th as required by law. 
          The board should go on record as accepting the reports as filed.  See the attached electronic copy of the AFR, the audit report, and the ADA/ADM agreed upon procedures.
 

Rationale: 
          The board negotiations committee met on October 28^th  to begin the negotiations process on the 2020-21 Certificated Staff Master Contract.  The Educators Healthcare Alliance released premium rates which reflected a 6.9% increase. 
          The SEA and board negotiations team met a second time on Monday, November 4^th and reached a tentative agreement. The 2020-21 Master agreement was approved by the SEA.  The 2020-21 Certificated Staff Master Agreement and meeting minutes are attached below.

Rationale: 
    The board of education and the teacher's negotiations team have reached a tentative settlement on the 20130-21 Master Agreement.  Included as an addendum is the 2019-20 teacher incentive program. 
          The incentive plan is not a negotiable item, but since it does impact teacher pay, it is mutually supported document.  The board of education and teachers’ association either agree to the provisions, or agree to discontinue the program.
Wellness Day:  (Optional) any staff member and/or spouse choosing to participate in the "Wellness Day" program may do so by donating a day of PTO in exchange for a reduced membership to Anytime Fitness Center.  Donation of one day will result the district picking up the monthly membership fee above $10.  The program will cover November 2019 through May 2020 (7 months).
Workshop Stipend:  (Optional) any staff member who conducts a workshop during a professional development day is entitled to a $50 stipend per workshop.  Limit $100 per day.
Family Literacy Grant Program:  (Optional) any teacher who volunteers to host a parent involved in the Family Literacy Grant Program is entitled to a $250 stipend for each parent.  Limit:  4 parents per year.  See attached proposal.
 

Rationale: 
1.  Rosa Adame:  SES Para Educator
2.  Yelitze Salgado:  SCHS Para Educator
3.  Dalay Medrano:  Rural School Para Educator

Rationale: 
1.  Grace Scheil:  SCHS Physical Education Teacher
2.  Pedro Deleon: Richland Para Educator

Rationale:  See attached agenda and November board report

Rationale: 
Preschool/SES 3-5 Principal’s Report:  Mr. Comley
Staff Member/Program Spotlight:  This month I want to highlight Julie Cerny, Ariana Alarcon, and Emily Brandl. These 3 ladies are the heart and soul of SES and run the front office. They are the face that all parents see and do a great job welcoming all. There are so many behind the scene things that they take care of that make SES run smoothly. Thank you for all you do!

SES K-2 Principal's report:  Mr. Kovar
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight the work of Hope Pedersen, art teacher at Schuyler Elementary School. Ms. Pedersen is doing an outstanding job teaching art to our students. She has some great activities that bring out the creative side in our students. Our school is full of examples of all of the work that our students do, and helps to make our halls a happier place. We are very lucky to have her.

Rural Schools Principal’s Report:  Ms. Bebout
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight both of my rural schools and the staff.  Within the last month both schools held a family night in their buildings that were very successful.  Family nights are held outside of school time and are only successful because of the hard work and dedication of the teachers and paras that participate!
Richland School had an activity with games, face painting, pictures, creating their own board games, and many other activities.  They had over 100 people participate! Fisher’s held a Fisher’s Family Bingo night. They played bingo and had popcorn and drinks.  Everyone had a lot of fun and many students won prizes. Thank you to all who participated at both schools to make these fun activities to attend!

Schuyler Middle School Assistant Principal’s Report:  Mr. Zavadil
Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to Highlight Ms. Cruz.  I observed her 7^th grade math classroom last week and think she is doing a great job of engaging students and teaching the right content
Notable Topics:  The 1^st quarter is wrapped up and the second quarter is underway.  We are well underway with formal observations using the Marzano teaching model.  Our new teachers are using their APL training from earlier this month.  The next Month will be very busy with our staff starting their second round of data informed interventions at the middle school.  This is a job that requires a lot of planning and work and they are doing a great job!

Schuyler Central High School Asst. Principal's Report:  Mr. Kasik
Staff Member Spotlight:  Danielle Tilley is a first year 10^th grade English teacher at SCHS.  She is also our Dance sponsor and a JH Volleyball coach.  She is a Columbus high and UNK graduate.  She comes from a large family of teachers.  Her mom and two sisters are all teachers.  Mrs. Tilley is married, her husband is returning to school after a tour in the Marine Corp.  Mrs. Tilley says, "I especially enjoy Schuyler because you get a great amount of diversity in a small town."

Schuyler Central High School Principal’s Report:  Mr. Grammer
Program Spotlight:  Our high school has for the past two years worked hard to have a solid, strong, viable College and Career program.  The program and grant we received is College Access Grant. This is a four-year grant and we are in the second year of the grant.  The purpose of the grant is to provide college opportunities to students. This year’s activities include college visits to CCC, Hasings, and UNO (40 students for each visit).  Apply 2 College days, where all seniors learned how to apply to college. (100 seniors participated). Provided lunch for 30 seniors who met with Bianca Bautista from Susan Buffet Foundation.  Mrs. Bautista presented to the seniors about their scholarships.  This has been a great program to provide information on colleges for some of students who may never have looked at going to college. 
Staff Member Spotlight:  The staff members to be recognized for their work in the high school this month are Ms. Amy Johnson and Katie Bertrand. Ms. Johnson and Mrs. Bertrand are our counselors in our building, with Ms. Johnson being our 11^th and 12^th counselor and Mrs. Bertrand as our 9th - 10^th counselor.  They applied for and received the College Access Grant.  Both of them work hard every day to provide college opportunities for our students.  They have taken on the responsibility of developing and implementing the grant.  After two years of working with the grant, we are seeing success of getting students involved with the grant activities.
Event Highlight:  On Monday, November 11^th in the west gym we had our Veterans Day program.  The local veterans group posted the flags and retired the colors at the end of the program.  The SCHS Band/Vocal played patriotic songs and the speaker for the program was Mr. Richard Godejohn, was in the Navy and talked about submarines.  Our students were respectful to all performers and was a great program planned by Mr. Paesl and Mr. Friesen of our Social Studies department.

Rationale: 
After-School Program Director’s Report:  Ms. Bebout
Program Highlight: On October 31st Warrior Academy partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and the First Presbyterian Church for our annual ‘Lights On’ event.  This was our 1st year to partner for the Trunk-or-Treat activity. It was a very successful evening! We had 467 children participate and over 800 people attend.  All hotdogs and apples were handed out! Many Schuyler businesses and partners had a table at the event. If you would like to check out some pictures of the activity feel free to visit Warrior Academy’s Facebook page.  We are looking forward to many years in the future with this partnership!

Youth Sports Director's Report:  Mr. Kovar
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight James Kaiser, youth boys basketball coach. Youth basketball is just starting, with 3rd & 4th, and 5th & 6th grade boys on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00 to 7:15pm, and K-2 boys on Monday nights from 6 to 7:00pm. Mr. Kaiser will be covering the fundamentals with our kids, in the hopes to have our kids at a higher level when they start basketball in junior high. As the head JH coach, he will see what the skills are, and the areas that need improvement. I am really looking forward to working with him.

Middle School Activities Director’s Report:  Mr. Zavadil
Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to Highlight Mrs. Lopez at the middle School.  She is our front office manager at the Middle School and she has done a fantastic job of picking up extra slack with Mrs. Burton’s absence for maternity leave.  She has been a fantastic resource for my staff and myself.  She always has a welcoming smile and brings a great attitude and cheery disposition to work every day!
Looking Ahead:  Winter seasons are upon us.  Our wrestling team has about 55 students out and they competed in their 1^st wrestling meet on Saturday in Wayne.  We have a home wrestling meet on Thursday with Crete and York and our home invitational will be December 7^th.  Our Girls Basketball team has 32 girls participating and they start action tonight away Vs. Aquinas and they have another game away at Madison on Thursday.

High School Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Kasik
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to Spotlight our boys CC team which is lead by Rick Carter.  Rick hails from New York where he completed an engineering degree.  After some time he pursued a teaching and coaching career.  He has been married for 33 years and Rick and his wife have 8 children (2 boys and 6 girls ranging from 14-32 years old).  Mr. Carter has taken a CC program and built it into one that is well respected in the area.  He has a passion for CC and relates well to kids.  Mr. Carter says  "He really likes working with Schuyler students and athletes.  They really want to be the best they can be and then watching them grow as both students and athletes throughout the years is great to see." 
Upcoming Events:  We are in transition between sports right now so we have our Fall banquet on Nov. 12^th at 5:30 pm in the east gym.  Our winter teams have shown great numbers and they have already been doing pre-season workouts.  Play Production is getting  underway with their first contest in Wausa on 11/18.  Public performances will occur on 11/24 at 2:00 and 7:00 pm.

Student Services Director’s Report:  Dr. Lefdal
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to spotlight our EL department, Brandi Zavadil, Elizabeth Lickei, and Clarrissa Eloge. This year we have had a large population of newcomers come into the high school.  These three teachers have been flexible, understanding, and patient with our new program. We have seen great things out of our program and I am proud to be working with them. The team is working diligently to put plans in place for all EL students, although this will take some time, we believe this will help our students be more successful.  I believe as we keep molding our program to our student’s needs, this team will truly make a difference with our students and in our school!!
Notable Topics:  I am excited to have such a strong team running our one-act program.  I pick my kids up from practice and will listen to the critiques and accolades from our coaches and it is simply amazing.  Bravo to our coaches, sponsors, and helpers. 
Looking ahead:  I am excited to implement some of the ideas that we have generated during our priority school meetings.  I believe some of the ideas could have a major impact on our school.

Special Education Director’s Report:  Mrs. Vrba
Staff Member/Program Spotlight:  Blake Neumann!! He is one of our new hires for the 2019-2020 school year. He grew up in Minnesota, attended Midland University, and got engaged before school started! (But he promises me that he is coming back!) He has brought his dedication and enthusiasm to the 4th grade team at SES along with his willingness to coach sports at various levels. Blake goes that extra mile to ensure his students' success in the classroom. He is a "textbook role-model" for our young men to inspire to become. Blake has an incredible work ethic, impeccable organizational skills, and completes his work with an utmost degree of perfection. In my 33 years in education, Blake has been the only new hire that emailed me during the second week in June to posed the following question: "Darli, if you were just hired, what would you being working on right now?"  (He made me think for a little bit!)

Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction Director’s Report:  Dr. Gibbons
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  Schuyler Community Schools has been selected to participate in a Nebraska Instructional Materials-Professional Learning Innovation Network Fellowship.  It is a partnership between the NDE, school districts and a company called Teaching Lab with a goal of ensuring high quality instructional materials in all schools.  Aimee Sigler, Lisa Terrell and I attended a workshop in Grand Island, October 28 and 29. We have developed an improved process for choosing and implementing new K-5 science materials.
Data - Additional information, including the NSCAS Matrix, has been added to the assessment website.  As a reminder, the matrix shows a grade level comparison of percentage of students proficient to all schools in the state. See the data at: https://sites.google.com/schuylercommunityschools.org/assessmentdata/home
In case I didn’t share much of the ACT State Testing Data last month, our average composite score was 16.7.  This is an increase from 16.2 the year before. We also increased the percentage of students proficient to 29% in all content areas - English, Language Arts, Math, and Science.
Upcoming Events - Juniors at SCHS will be taking the pre-ACT on November 13.  Dave will also be attending a Title III meeting in Omaha on the 13th.
 

Rationale: 
1.  Construction Timeline:  See attached construction timeline. 

2.  Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  With the recent completion of the annual audit I am reminded of the attention to detail and cooperation between staff who work with finances in the district.  Penny Janousek, Sally Jakub, and Shelley Friesz are responsible for the managing the books in all district funds including the activity fund and school lunch program.  Additional thank you and recognition to the administrative staff assigned to supervise all activities across the district.  This shared responsibility requires consistent oversight and attention to detail in protecting the segregation of duties and ensure gates, concessions, fund raising, and many other programs that handle cash receipts are managed and deposited without error. 

Rationale: 
1.  Foundation Meeting Report:  Agenda, minutes and finance reports found on the Foundation webpage.  https://www.schuylercommunityschools.org/Page/19

2.  NASB State Convention:   Pre-Conference:  Wednesday, November 20, 2019.  Conference:  Thursday and Friday, November 21-22, 2019 at CHI Health Center, Omaha