August 11, 2021 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:       President Gould called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said. 

Discussion:       All members were present.

Discussion:       The audience was reminded that the Open Meeting Laws would be followed.

Discussion:       Motion by Lange, second by Matulka to approve the consent agenda as presented including the regular meeting minutes of July 14, 2021 and special meeting minutes of July 26, 2021.  RCV 6-0.  Motion carried.

Discussion:       Bradette Varilek was present and answered questions regarding an email that she sent to Board members regarding COVID-19 and some statistics.

Discussion:       Committee assignments were be updated as follows:  Derek Matulka-Committee on American Civics, Transportation Committee, Facilities Committee, and Policy Committee; Matt Blanchard-Finance Committee Chair; Cathy Burklund-Finance Committee; Harriet Gould-Policy Committee-Chair.

Discussion:  Submitted by Allison Stansberry, Jr-Sr High School Principal
     Open house was held on Wednesday, August 4th from 3:00-6:00 for grades 7-12 and 6:30-8:00 for grade 6; and Thursday, August 5th from 1:00-6:00 for grades 7-12 and 6:30-8:00 for grade 6.
     We rolled out the ability to fill out the forms online. There are definitely some kinks to work out but it did seem to get individuals in and out a lot quicker. We had the following tables set up: Fees, Forms, and Lockers; Yearbooks; Schedules; Chromebooks; and Booster Clubs.
     During the 6th grade orientation, we had a 15 minute presentation to help ease some of the fears students may have with coming to a new building as well as the forms listed above. They were also able to go to their lockers and see their classrooms.
     New Teacher Training - we welcomed new staff into the building on Thursday August 5th. It was a room filled with energy and rich conversations.
     Homecoming will be the week of October 4th through the 8th with the dance being held on Saturday, October 9th. More information to come.
     Class Numbers as of 8/6/21:  6th Grade-62; 7th Grade-67; 8th Grade-53; 9th Grade-61; 10th Grade-61; 11th Grade-51; 12th Grade-54.
     Administrator Days were held July 27th-30th. Brian and I were able to finally experience Admin Days in Kearney. What a great experience! There were so many great presenters and sessions. It was also great to network and meet new administrators. I attended trainings on teacher evaluations, advice for Principals in years 1-5, Rule 10, etc.

Submitted by Brian Gralheer, Assistant Jr-Sr High School Principal/Athletic Director
     The school year is fast approaching, and we are excited to welcome our students into the building for the 2021-2022 school year.  The beginning of the school year is always an extremely busy time for our staff and students as we work to get back into the groove of the school year. Our fall sports coaches are primed for fall practices to start up next week.
With a strong summer of camps and clinics under their belt, I am excited to see our student-athletes return to the arena of competition (hopefully in front of full crowds).
     Some key dates to note for the upcoming fall sports season:

• • 8/9/21 - First day of Fall Practice
  • 8/9/21 - 6:30 PM - Parent Meeting in the Main Gym - Followed by breakout sport-specific meetings in various locations.
  • 8/11/21 - Fall Sports Pictures - Senior Athlete Pictures - 3:00 PM
  • 8/16/21 - Softball Jamboree vs Wahoo @ Valparaiso - 6:00 PM
  • 8/23/21 - Volleyball Jamboree @ Hastings St Cecilia - 5:30 PM
  • 8/26/21 - XC Meet @ East Butler - 4:30 PM
  • 8/27/21 - Football @ Fillmore Central - 7:00 PM

Submitted by Amanda Coufal, Director of Special Education
     In the past couple of weeks, we have had some students transfer in and some students that have transferred out. Currently, we have 117 K-12 students receiving special education services. 80 students at the middle/high school and 37 students at the elementary schools.
     With the passing of LB527, the transition service plan on IEPs will now begin at the age of 14 and not 16. We have 90 days to make these changes on IEPs so there will be quite a few meetings held at the beginning of the school year.
     All K-12 special education teachers will now start using a template for Student-At-A-Glances (SAGs). This will allow general education teachers consistency when receiving information for students with disabilities in their classrooms. We will also implement a pre-planning IEP form for teachers to complete prior to IEP meetings.  This will allow for detailed information for parents and allow the special education teachers to write a well-informed and complete IEP.
     On Friday and Monday, a meeting was held with paraeducators, special education teachers, related service providers, and myself to discuss roles and responsibilities, the year moving forward, and appreciation for all that they will do in assisting students with their educational needs.

Submitted by Shelly Dostal, Elementary Principal at Valparaiso/K-5 Curriculum Director
     Meet and Greet Night - We will welcome students and families to school on Monday, August 9. Students and families will visit between 5:30-6:30pm. Teachers will greet and meet outside.
     First Day of School - The school year begins on August 11. We will gather outside, raise the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance together, and start our new year of learning! Changes in staff appointments include Mrs. Kindra O’Malley (soon to be Tvrdy) as Administrative Assistant; Ms. Aliyah Spale for Vocal Music; Ms. Rachel Beck for Speech/Language; and Mrs. Sandy Novotny as Cook. Mrs. Kristine White will serve as half time school counselor and half time class size reduction support for Valparaiso Elementary. Mrs. Nicole Kliment will serve students with special education needs. We have a couple of para positions still open that we are hoping to fill soon.
     Enrollment at Valparaiso - Total enrollment K-5 is 142 students as of 8/6/21.
     Summer Learning - Staff attended various training sessions this summer. Administrators Days hosted by NDE and NCSA in Kearney at the end of July were full of information for the upcoming school year. We also trained with Teach Boost for the new Teacher Performance and Evaluation Framework. New teachers attended the ESU#2 New Teacher Academy on August 2 and 3. The teacher leaders for the EIR grant attended training in person for the first time with their coach. Many teachers also attended graduate level classes. Our teachers continue to grow and learn and we appreciate their efforts to continue their lifelong learning journey.
     Opening Workshops - Administrators met with new to RC Teachers on Thursday, August 5. We had a great day training them in the RC way. All staff workshops began on Friday, August 6. We are excited to begin a new year! Agenda items include an Honor Retreat led by Youth Frontiers, District Goals and Initiatives, Standard Response Protocol, the new Teacher Performance and Evaluation Framework, PLC time, Health related training, and building level meetings.
     District Curriculum and Assessment - NSCAS and ACT results have been reviewed for data errors  and will be released to districts soon. All results are embargoed until made public. We will plan to share the results with you when we can.
     Other happenings at Valparaiso:
     A big shout out to the custodian staff for making sure the building and grounds are ready for the year!
     The PTO sponsored an elementary family pool party on August 6 at the Wahoo pool. PTO will have the first planning meeting for the year on August 17. Items on the agenda include the Meet and Greet Night, the annual fundraiser, carnival, Multi-Cultural Night, and other event dates for the school year. PTO also plans to provide the elementary staff with lunch on the first day of school. Thank you for a great way to celebrate the first day of school!
     The Food Bank Backpack Program will again offer backpacks of food at RC. The RCEF helps with the accounting and a committee including staff, parents, and community members is in charge of oversight. Backpacks filled with food are distributed to families at the end of each week at each school. Families may apply for the program similar to the Free and Reduced Lunch Program and Student Fee Waiver. Funds for the program are from private donations by organizations and individuals and our fundraising event, the Hustle Fun Run and pancake feed. A big thank you to all the organizations and individuals who have donated their money, time, and energy to make this program successful. A special thank you to the Methodist Church in Ceresco for housing the food and all volunteers who pack the bags each week.

Submitted by Ann Egr, Elementary Principal at Ceresco/Special Education Director Elementary
     New Teacher Orientation was held on August 5 in the Ag Classroom. The district is excited to welcome all the new teachers to RC.
     Meet and Greet Night is Monday, August 9. Weather permitting, this event will take place outside from 5:30-6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity for students and parents to meet their new teacher.
     The first day of school begins on August 11. Students will gather on the front walk, raise the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance together, and start the new school year!
     Currently, Ceresco Elementary has 137 students enrolled for the 2021-2022 school year:  23-Kdg, 20-1st, 23-2nd, 25-3rd, 26-4th, and 20-5th graders registered. Mrs. Traci Hummel will provide half time class reduction support along with life skills/counseling.
     The custodial staff has worked very hard this summer to make our district look fantastic. Thank you for your dedication! A huge high five goes to Mr. Dave Christensen for being dedicated to this process!
     PTO hosted a pool party at the Aquatic Center in Wahoo, August 6 from 6:00-8:00 pm. The staff and students appreciate the generosity of the PTO. Raymond Central is very lucky to have such a supportive group!
     Administrator Days were held in in Kearney on July 27-30. NDE reviewed changes made in Rule 51: Regulations and Standards for Special Education Programs along with many other insightful sessions.
     We are looking forward to a great year!!

Discussion:       Administrative Training - The administrative team participated in two different trainings this week.  On Tuesday, August 3, we met with the administrative coach, Albert DuPont.  The team worked on defining our roles and responsibilities and we worked on administrative roles in the implementation of the teacher evaluation and performance model.  We also participated in a Teachboost training session.  Teachboost is the software that we will be using to facilitate the teacher evaluation program.  We should be paperless in the evaluation process. 
     EIR Grant - On Tuesday of this week, the K-8 teachers that are participating in the STEM grant met with their coach from Discovery Education for a full day of training.  On Wednesday, the coach met with the 9-12 teachers for a day of training.  Steve Rose facilitated these training sessions.
     Preservice Days - On Thursday we welcomed new teachers.  The agenda included a welcome, introductions, technology overview, a review of the instructional design model, and meeting time with their mentors and building principals. 
     On Friday, we welcomed back the entire staff.  Youth Frontiers was here to help us kick off the year.  They provided an engaging and uplifting program that helped us to realize the importance of supporting each other and working together, celebrating accomplishments, and voicing our appreciation for others.  The staff were engaged in the session and seemed to enjoy the activities and experience.
     Safe Return to School Plan - We will plan to evaluate this plan every two weeks and to put it on the board meeting agenda as a static board agenda item for the foreseeable future.  
     Facility Update - The PK room is currently being carpeted. On Friday, Jared hopes to complete the plumbing.  The inspection by the fire marshal is scheduled for Friday.  The portion that is lagging behind is the independent work that we scheduled for fire horns, smoke devices, cable and telephone.  We should know by noon tomorrow if it will all come together or if we have to delay the PK 3 year olds a week.

Discussion:  Submitted by Keely Schaffer, Technology Director
     Summer Projects I have been working on this summer:  Adding/updating Cameras; Phone Paging System; Porting the Phone System; Setting up teacher accounts; Setting up teacher computers; Setting up Chromebooks; Setting up Student Accounts; Website Updates; Computer Updates; and Re-Imaging the computers.
     Chromebooks - All students grades 1-12 have a Chromebook. Students grades 1-4 will keep their Chromebook in a cart in their classroom. Students in grade 5 will be able to take them home and students in grades 6-12 are taking them home with parent permission.
     Teacher Computers - All new staff members have their computers.
     Website Updates - As always if you see something out of place send me an email and let me know.

• Worked on Staff Directory - Added new staff members and deleted staff members who have left the district
• I have removed staff from the "Staff Directory" page, I still need to remove them from the individual "Staff" page under each school.
• Edit the old "Staff" page under each school and transition to the Staff Directory
• Added back to school links and articles
• Added ESSER Plan
• Added new Covid documents
• Started going through the forms pages and are updating and reorganizing them

Discussion:       Motion by Matulka, second by Burklund to approve staff appointments as follows:  Harold Danley, PK Bus Driver; Megan Johnson, ½ Time PK Paraeducator; Sandy Novotny, Valparaiso Cook; Johanna Jackson - JH Student Council; Aliya Spale - 7th grade Sponsor/Asst JH Student Council; Domonique Harris - Paraeducator at Valparaiso; Patricia Depalma, High School Head Cook; and David Green, Industrial Arts Teacher.  RCV 6-0.  Motion carried.

Discussion:       Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Lange to approve Lonnie Moore and Rhonda Wiesner as substitute teachers.  RCV 6-0.  Motion carried.

Discussion:       Motion by Lange, second by Matulka to increase the substitute teacher pay rate from $135.00 per day to $140.00 per day.  RCV 5-1 (Yes-Breitkreutz, Burklund, Gould, Lange, Matulka; No-Blanchard).  Motion carried.

Discussion:       Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Lange to approve hourly pay rate of $11.00 for non-certified substitutes (paraeducators, food service, office assistants) and $13.00 for custodial substitutes.  RCV 6-0.  Motion carried.

Discussion:       The Board reviewed Policy 8130-Annual Organization Meeting and chose to retain current procedures for election of officers.

Discussion:       Motion by Matulka, second by Burklund to adjourn the meeting at 6:45 PM.