November 10, 2021 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting
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1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
Discussion:
President Gould called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.
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2. Motion to Excuse Board Member's Absence
Discussion:
All members were present.
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3. Open Meeting Law
Discussion:
The audience was reminded that Open Meeting Laws would be followed.
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4. Consent Agenda
Discussion:
Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Matulka to approve the consent agenda as presented including the regular meeting minutes of October 13, 2021; special meeting minutes of November 1, 2021; October financial statement; and November monthly bills. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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4.1. Regular Minutes of October 13, 2021 and Special Meeting Minutes of November 1, 2021
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4.2. Financial Statement/Report
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4.3. Monthly Bills
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5. Correspondence/Recognition
Discussion:
Staff expressed their appreciation to the PTO, Raymond Central Education Foundation, and Board of Education for making their day special on Wednesday, October 27, with the coffee and smoothie truck and the great sign! Your generosity is appreciated.
A shoutout to the businesses, parents, and patrons who helped make the Halloween celebrations special for the Valparaiso and Ceresco elementary students. |
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6. Public Forum
Discussion:
Twelve community members spoke against the mask mandate: Jill Tran, Crystal Haake, Monica Siebrandt, Brenda Thomas, Kory Ball, Laura Field, Nicky Barr, Corey Becker, Ashley Benes, Ashley Trutna, Ron Matulka, and Ravae Masek while one spoke in favor of the mask mandate: Bradette Varilek.
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7. Reports
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7.1. Administrative Reports (Includes Student Data and SIP Goals)
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Discussion:
Administrative Reports
Submitted by Allison Stansberry, Jr-Sr High School Principal Professional Development Campus Goal: Students in grades 6-12 will sustain or achieve growth in reading based on varied assessments. What are varied assessments? As a teacher leadership team, we are currently defining what this means and so far we have defined varied assessment growth as: PreACT to the ACT--What does predicted growth look like? Composite Predicted score is 1-4 points higher than PreACT Math Predicted score is 1-5 points higher than PreACT Reading Predicted score is 1-5 points higher than PreACT Science Predicted score is 1-5 points higher than PreACT English Predicted score is 1-5 points higher than PreACT MAP Growth: Individualized Projected Growth NSCAS Growth: To be determined based on results received from NSCAS Growth Pilot in January 2022 Campus Goals Action Steps ACT Prep Class will start at the beginning of the 2nd semester. Students will be offered an ACT Prep Class on A Days during advisory with Mrs. Winfrey. Currently, we have 19 students signed up. Researching the structure of reading class for grades 6-8. Started this conversation on October 25 with our Reading Teachers. We discussed our current program-StudySync and next steps. I have also been in communication with Caryn Ziettlow at the ESU for guidance and support. She has provided many valuable resources. Disciplinary Literacy by Releah Cossett Lent Book Study with the Teacher Leadership Team As we continue to progress, we will have more action steps and will add to our document. We will meet again on November 10 and plan the rest of the PD for the year to ensure that we keep the momentum going. I am so grateful for our Teacher Leadership Team as they have all played critical roles in getting to the point we are at now. On October 27 during our PLC, our Teacher Leadership Team delivered the professional development to staff. We first started by giving teachers the Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace survey. This will allow us to see what each teacher’s individualized appreciation language is. The languages are Quality Time, Gifts, Words of Affirmation, and Acts of Service. We then moved on to a breakdown of the data where Amanda Coufal, Special Education Director, broke down our ACT categorized data by scores. We took students' names off of scores and broke it down by students with IEPs, 504’s, and General Education. We then dove into defining varied assessments, the difference between evidence based and research based, and ending why we use smart goals and how to appropriately write smart goals. Staff were then provided time to work within their PLC’s to develop their smart goals that will tie into our campus goals and as a result will help us achieve our district goal. Other Happenings: Parent Teacher Conferences: 192 out of 405 families attended parent teacher conferences. Huge thank you to the PTO, RCEF, and BOE for filling our hearts and warming our bodies with coffee and smoothies on October 27. This was an amazing treat on a cold and rainy day! Staff are currently pitching in to buy Turkeys for our Thanksgiving Boxes for families again this year. We have also communicated with our families to let them know if they are in need of a box to reach out to myself or Ms. Osten. We have many families reach out asking to help by donating other items such as stuffing, canned veggies, desserts, mashed potatoes and gravy, beverages, etc. Our goal is to bless at least 15 families. We celebrated our 6th grade students that hit their projected growth in MAP. Students received a certificate for completing growth in one, two, or all three areas. Pictures were posted on social media. We also spent time after handing out MAP Growth awards with 6th graders creating our collective Respect Agreement. Students first filled out a worksheet that asked them what does respect look like when: Students respect Students; Students Respect Teachers; Teachers Respect Students; and All Respect Property. We then broke into small groups and shared some of our ideas within our small group. Once we shared in small groups, one member from each group shared what their group discussed with the whole group. Based on those responses and discussions, we were able to create our respect agreement. Posters were made and hung in the 6th grade common areas, classrooms, etc. and will serve as reminders as to how we will collectively respect one another. We plan on doing the same thing with 7th and 8th grade in upcoming weeks. Congratulations to Rachel Potter for receiving a Regents Scholarship from the University of Nebraska-Kearney! Congratulations to Quentin Hayes for receiving a Regents Scholarship from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln! On October 25th, the Junior High Choir and Junior High Band along with the High School Choir held their first concert of the year. It seemed to be well attended. Congratulations to Mr. Luke and Ms. Spale on a successful concert. Upcoming Events: On November 9, we will be taking students in grades 6-8 to Pinnacle Arena for the UNL Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally. Our students will have the opportunity to attend both a complimentary educational pep rally starting promptly at 9:30 a.m. followed by the Husker Women’s Basketball home season opener vs. Maine tipping at 12 noon. Nebraska Senior Associate Athletic Director for Life Skills Keith Zimmer and his staff will be coordinating the pep rally, which will give students a chance to hear inspirational life skills and academic messages from Husker student-athletes and staff. November 9: Curriculum Work with Social Studies November 10: ASVAB and Teacher Leadership Meeting November 11: Veterans Day Program @ Jr/Sr High and Science Curriculum Work November 17: Job Shadow Day for Juniors Submitted by Brian Gralheer, Assistant Jr-Sr High School Principal/Athletic Director With fall sports over, open gyms for winter sports are now in full effect. Winter sports practice will officially begin on November 15. There will be a Parent Meeting that evening at 6:30pm for all high school winter sports. This meeting will be in the main gym with a brief message from Mr. Gralheer, then break out into individual sport meetings. All Conference Softball was announced. Congratulations to Rachel Potter and Kynzee McFadden for being selected 1st team. Sierra Springer, Cali Springer, Lizzie Potter, Abbie Hudson, Bailey Grant, and Maddie Peterson were all selected as Honorable Mention. Mustang Volleyball ended their season at Lincoln Lutheran with a tough 4-set loss to Malcolm in Subdistricts. Congratulations to Emaree Harris (1st Team Honorary Captain), Autumn Haislet (2nd Team), Hannah Kile (HM), and Mady Lubischer (HM) on their All Conference Awards. Mustang Football ended their season at 3-6 with recent losses to Wahoo and Louisville. RC Marching Band recently performed at the Oxbow Marching Band Competition at Ashland-Greenwood. They received a rating of Division II-Excellent. 1.6 pts away from Superior. The Central Players Speech Team has been working hard the past few months in preparing for the upcoming season. After almost an entire season done virtually last year, it is somewhat of a relief to get back to in-person meets for our contestants. Thank you to Ms. Spale and Mr. Luke for hosting our Fall Concert. There were some great performances by our young musicians. As I re?ect back to a year ago, we were in the midst of a Winter Activity shutdown from LLCHD due to a sharp increase in localized COVID-19 cases. That was a very difficult four weeks that wore on our coaches, parents, and athletes. I am thankful for a more "normal-looking" season for all involved. I can speak for our coaches and say that we are thankful for full pre-season to prepare our student-athletes for a long, rigorous season. Submitted by Amanda Coufal, Director of Special Education It is National School Psychology Week and I would like to take the opportunity to highlight Caitlin’s strengths. She has worked tirelessly in testing students, provides parents and staff with important information and strategies for every student that she works with, she provides detailed reports to parents in a timely manner, and is a huge asset to our team. She is beyond knowledgeable and we need to continue to utilize her expertise. She is passionate about students and their growth, and we are lucky to have her! Four paraeducators, Heather Potter, Jody Albrecht (finalist), Dorie Dickey and Kristi Meier attended the Paraeducator Conference on Tuesday, November 9 in Kearney. They brought back valuable information to share with the SpEd staff. Caitlin Roussan and I attended the SpEd Law Conference last Thursday and Friday that was held virtually. A lot of great information was shared about special education policies and practices. Submitted by Shelly Dostal, Elementary Principal at Valparaiso/K-5 Curriculum Director Parent Teacher Conferences were held on October 19 and 21. Overall conference attendance was 100%. We appreciate parents showing their support of their children’s education. The on-line sign up worked well for most families. If parents did not sign up, teachers contacted parents to set up a time. Or, if parents were unable to attend in person, they held a phone conference or zoom conference. The School Improvement Committee met on October 27. We reviewed the district goal and shared campus goals with the group. We also discussed possible action steps, PLC SMART goal process, assessment plans, and professional development plans. The Elementary Teacher Advisory Committee has been working to develop action plans. These are shared in a separate document. Curriculum/Instruction/Assessment - In addition to the report card at parent teacher conferences, parents were given data about their child’s NWEA MAP assessments, and Individual Score Report (ISR) for last spring’s NSCAS. Discovery Ed Grant training is in full swing. Teacher leaders have attended trainings and also participated in one on one coaching sessions. They have more training scheduled for November 8. The new trainer, Sherri, has been working with teachers and is more receptive to suggestions. Professional Learning/PLC time on October 27 was productive. Elementary teachers focused on developing the tiers of MTSS for Social Emotional Learning. The second half of the time was used for PLC SMART goals and to develop action steps, using the Elementary Campus goal and the District Goal so that they all connect. The next late start is scheduled for November 17. The RC PTO met on November 2 to discuss upcoming events. Many thanks to the PTO for providing meals for staff during parent-teacher conference nights, as well as their contributions for the refreshments for staff on October 27. A virtual Scavenger Hunt was held on November 4. Cookie dough sales will start on November 15 with delivery scheduled for December 16. A family day at Martin’s Apple Orchard was held on October 22. Each student was given free admission on the non-school day. Thank you to all who participated. Special Events at Valparaiso: Red Ribbon Week was promoted during the last week of October. Each day students were encouraged to participate in a daily theme. For example, on Tuesday, students and staff were encouraged to wear sunglasses for the theme, "Drug Free Looks Like Me!" Many students and staff showed their commitment to having a drug free and healthy lifestyle throughout the week. A door decorating contest was held, too, with Mrs. Peterson’s first grade classroom winning first place. Thank you to Mrs. White and Mrs. Hummel for organizing Red Ribbon Week. Nurse Amanda Ehlers will conduct health screenings on November 19. Halloween Parties were held on October 29. We had a drive by parade at Valparaiso with all the students lined up around the school ground perimeter. It was great to see so many families and community members drive by, including the Valparaiso Rural Fire District! A Veteran’s Day observance will be held on November 11 at 8:15 AM. We honor all who have served or are currently serving our country. Thank you to the Valparaiso American Legion for leading the presentation. Special thanks to Miss Kalyn Brannagan for planning the Annual Turkey Trot. Students in grades 4 and 5 trotted around the perimeter of the school grounds on Friday, November 6. We will host a food drive November 8-19. Thank you to Mrs. Hummel for leading this effort. Plans are underway for the K-2 Winter Concert to be held on December 7 at 6:30 PM. Please join us as you are able. Thank you to the Board of Education, the Raymond Central Education Foundation, and the PTO for making our day special on October 27, with the coffee and smoothie truck and the great sign. Thank you to the participants and sponsors of the 12th annual HUSTLE Walk/Run for the Raymond Central Food Bank BackPack Program. Although the walk/run was virtual this year, we hope to have the opportunity to host a live event next year. Sponsors for the 12th Annual HUSTLE included: Jim Holley Family, Ohnoutka Farms, Ceresco Evangelical Covenant Church, Aqua Systems, Ceresco United Methodist Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church in Ceresco, Raymono’s Pizza Plus, Nelson Gas and Oil, Complete Finish, Inc.-Kevin Duntz, CerescoBank, and Saunders County Soybean Growers. We appreciate their generosity! Thank you to the many volunteers who pack the food bags each week. With the support of so many, Raymond Central Schools is able to help ensure no child goes hungry. Your continued generosity is greatly appreciated! Submitted by Ann Egr, Elementary Principal at Ceresco/Special Education Director Elementary Parent Teacher Conferences were held October 19 and 21. Ceresco Elementary had 91% of parents attend conferences and/or reschedule. However, all parents were contacted if they were unable to attend during the two days. Ceresco’s Scholastic Book Fair was held virtually during Parent Teacher Conferences. The results of the online sales are not available yet. Thank you so much to the PTO for the fabulous meals during conferences. The wonderful things you do for our schools are greatly appreciated! On October 26, I participated in a MTSS virtual workshop through ESU2. The focus of this was Social Emotional Learning and how to support students’ emotional needs during these difficult times. Student Council sponsored Red Ribbon Week October 25-29. The school participated in various activities to support Red Ribbon Week. One of the events was for classes to decorate their door with the Say No to Drugs theme. Mrs. Genrich’s fifth grade class won the contest. Their theme was "Hocus Pocus Drugs Aren’t Our Focus". All of the classes did an outstanding job! Thank you Mrs. Hummel for organizing the school wide event. Ceresco hosted Halloween parties on October 29. The students dressed in costume and paraded downtown. Thank you to the following businesses for contributing to the parade: Sweet Pea, Ernies in Ceresco, and the City Village. It was a "spooktacular" time. Ceresco will host Veterans Day observance on Thursday, November 11. Thank you in advance to Lonnie Rech and Ceresco’s American Legion Post #244 for donating their time for this event. The annual Turkey Trot was held on November 5 in Ceresco. Ms. Brannagan did a great job to make this a success. The fourth and fifth grade runners ran a good race! The entire school was out cheering them on! Congratulations on your hard work! PTO hosted a virtual scavenger hunt November 4 from 6:30-7:00. Thank you to all the students who participated. October Mustang Assembly will be held the week of November 8 due to scheduling conflicts. |
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7.2. Student Board Member
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Submitted by Jaci Bryce, Student Body President
Recently all of our fall sports came to an end. Junior Rylan Stover broke the mustang football record for most passing touchdowns in a game. The football team ended with a record of 3-6. The volleyball team ended their season with a winning record of 15-12. The softball team completed their season also with a winning record of 18-15. With these ending we have conditioning for winter sports officially starting this week. Competition will begin in three weeks for our winter athletes starting at the beginning of December. The speech season has also started for our central players. Last week we celebrated red ribbon week. To spread awareness, activities took place all week. Monday was wear all red, Tuesday students could participate with crazy hair and socks, Wednesday was neon day, Thursday was hippie attire, and we ended the week with Friday being PJ day. Many classes are taking on a variety of different projects. In the animal science class, students are partaking in identifying different types of tissues found within animals and dissecting. In one of Mrs. Craig’s class, the pottery students are learning how to construct items using different coil techniques. In Mrs. Envoldsen’s SCC English class the students are reading and discussing the Great Gatsby. Moving forward to student feedback. By this time almost all students have adjusted to the phone policy, I believe that its working nicely. Last week we had the blood drive. This turnout has been one of the best we’ve seen. We exceeded our goal with many first time donors like myself, which leads to saving many lives. |
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7.3. Superintendent's Report
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7.3.1. NASB Monthly Update
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7.3.2. Important Upcoming Dates:
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7.4. Facilities Report
Discussion:
The Facility Committee met on October 28 and completed a walkthrough of all facilities noting priority needs in each building.
Ceresco:
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7.5. Review of Technology Plan
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Discussion:
Submitted by Keely Schaffer, Technology Director
Cameras have been ordered and we are waiting for them to be delivered and installed. I attended the ESU Fall LAN Manager Meeting on October 29. There we discussed Network Nebraska Updates, ALICAP/Cyber Insurance, and E-Rate. We also had training on Connectwise, which will allow Mr. Rose and myself to remote into district computers to troubleshoot an issue. We have started to deploy and test it on some of the district staff computers. I have been in contact with some of our vendors to see what the timeline is for getting technology. We will probably have to place our order before Christmas break to receive them before next school year. Raymond Central App - Here are the links to download the App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1538507408 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.socs.rcentral Website Updates - Added November Lunch Menu; Added November newsletter Worked on Staff Directory - In Progress; Added new staff members; Deleted staff members who have left the district; Edit the old "Staff" page under each school and transition to the Staff Directory; Updated Buttons on App; Played around and sent out app push noti?cations; I have been working on a Raymond Central Website How to Guide. |
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7.6. Board Committee Reports
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7.6.1. Committee on American Civics (Breitkreutz-chair, Burklund, Matulka)
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7.6.2. Transportation Committee (Breitkreutz-chair, Lange, Matulka)
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7.6.3. Finance Committee (Blanchard-chair, Breitkreutz, Burklund)
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7.6.4. Facilities Committee (Blanchard-chair, Burklund, Matulka)
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7.6.5. Negotiations Committee (Blanchard-chair, Gould, Lange)
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7.6.6. Curriculum Committee (Gould-chair, Burklund, Lange)
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7.6.7. Policy Committee (Gould-chair, Lange, Matulka)
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8. Old Business
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8.1. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to address safety protocols including masking protocols
Discussion:
Raymond Central Public Schools has been following the Lincoln-Lancaster County DHM at all three sites: Jr-Sr High School (Lancaster County), Ceresco and Valparaiso Elementaries (Saunders County). Motion by Blanchard, second by Breitkreutz to remove the masking mandate at the Elementary Schools located in Saunders County when the current DHM is slated to expire on November 24. RCV 5-1. Yes: Blanchard, Breitkreutz, Burklund, Gould, Matulka; No: Lange. Motion carried.
Motion by Lange, second by Matulka to remove the mask requirement on buses. RCV 3-3. Yes: Burklund, Lange, Matulka; No: Blanchard, Breitkreutz, Gould. Motion failed. Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Blanchard to require masks to be worn on buses at all times until the DHM expires. RCV 3-3. Yes: Blanchard, Breitkreutz, Gould; No: Burklund, Lange, Matulka. Motion failed. The mask mandate will revert back to current protocols of wearing masks on buses. |
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8.2. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve the Superintendent's Evaluation
Discussion:
Tabled until next meeting.
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8.3. Approval of job descriptions of Special Education Director, Student Services Director and Curriculum Director as regulations 2315.1, 2315.2, and 2315.3 respectively.
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Discussion:
Tabled until next meeting.
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8.4. Approve Policy 2405 Organizational Units: Structural Relationships
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Discussion:
Tabled until next meeting.
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8.5. Approve Regulation 2405.1 District Organizational Chart
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Discussion:
Tabled until next meeting.
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9. New Business
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9.1. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve an early graduation request
Discussion:
Motion by Blanchard, second by Matulka to approve the early graduation request of Rachel Crouse. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.2. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve staff resignation(s)
Discussion:
Motion by Blanchard, second by Lange to approve staff resignations from Wade Houchin, Head Football; David Green, Industrial Arts (at end of semester); and JD Allington, Assistant Wrestling. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.3. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve staff hires
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Burklund to approve Skyler Sterns as Assistant Wrestling; and Greg Wilmes as Assistant Baseball. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.4. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve student teachers
Discussion:
Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Burklund to approve student teachers as follows: Grace Ellis from UNL with Carolyn Enevoldesn; Austyn McKee from UNL with Jill Huck; and Jenna Kramer from UNL with Andrea Hicks. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.5. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve the snow removal bids for Ceresco and for Valparaiso
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Discussion:
Motion by Lange, second by Matulka to approve snow removal bids from Proven Property Maintenance LLC at Ceresco Elementary for $250.00 per event; and from Pat Isaacson at Valparaiso Elementary for $300.00 per event. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.6. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve the disposal of surplus technology items
Discussion:
Board Policy 3090 indicates that the board has to approve disposal of school equipment. Technology Director Keely Schaffer and I would recommend the disposal of the identified equipment in the identified manner with the understanding that surplus items that are not sold as per the proposal can be disposed of as we deem fit as per Policy 3090.
Surplus Items - November 2021: iPad Air ($35) - 17; iPad 5th Generation ($30) - 4; iPad 4th Generation ($30) - 20; iPad 2nd Generation ($20) - 3. All iPads are sold as is, without chargers. Method of Disposal - Selling iPads to public. Means of advertisement - December School Newsletter, Facebook Start of Sale - Dec 1, 2021. Payment to the HS Office. Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Matulka to approve surplus ipads to be sold to the public. RCV 6-0. Motion carried. |
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9.7. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to amend the District Calendar
Discussion:
The Nebraska Department of Education's Commissioner issued an update to Rule 10 and Rule 1 on August 11, 2021 that provides flexibility for school districts as it relates to instructional hours. Motion by Blanchard, second by Matulka to amend the District Calendar and approve Monday, November 22 and Tuesday, November 23 as professional development, training and/or work time for staff with no students attending school on either day. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10. Approval of Next Regular Board Meeting
Discussion:
Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Blanchard to approve the next regular board meeting on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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11. Adjournment
Discussion:
Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Lange to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 PM. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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