October 8, 2012 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Meeting Agenda

Rationale:  A motion will be necessary if a member of the elected Board is absent.

Rationale:  The Bellevue Board of Education abides by the Nebraska Open Meetings Law.  A copy of the law is posted on the wall of our Board room.

Rationale:  Approve by consent items in section B of the Agenda identified with an asterisk and receive the information and proposals in sections D and E identified with an asterisk.

Rationale:  The Minutes of the September 10, 2012, Board of Education meeting were sent to all members of the Board of Education for review.

Rationale:  Acknowledge receipt of the Treasurer's Report for September, 2012.

Rationale:  Approve the payment of claims totaling $1,761,279.37.

Rationale:  Elect (1) Allison Slager to the certified staff for the 2012-13 school year effective October 15, 2012, subject to her release from any contractual agreements with other school districts.

Rationale:  The Board of Education discussed the 2011-2012 goals and began selection of the 2012-2013 goals at the July Retreat.  At the September meeting, the Board reviewed the goals with four areas emerging as the primary focus of the Board for the 2012-2013 school year:  Student Achievement, Resource Allocation, Attendance Boundaries and Building Capacity, and Community Partnerships.

The proposed attached 2012-2013 goals are presented tonight for the Board's approval.

Rationale:  Each year Bellevue Public Schools develops a Poverty Plan which outlines what the District does to provide for students from poverty and/or diverse backgrounds.  The plan addresses the areas of attendance, transportation (if there are mobility issues), parental involvement at the school and District level, class size reduction at the elementary level, access to Early Childhood, after school programs, extended year programs, summer school, mentors for new teachers, professional development for working with students from poverty, coordination with the Elementary Learning Center, and access to social workers.

The District has implemented many measures to meet the needs of students in poverty and from diverse backgrounds.  With the Board's approval, the proposed attached 2012-2013 Poverty Plan will be submitted to the Learning Community for approval. 

Rationale:  The Limited English Proficiency Plan provides specialized instruction that develops a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand English.  The purpose of the program is to prepare students to participate fully in the curriculum of the school, while supporting the cultural heritage of each student.  Currently there are six teachers and six paraprofessionals who provide services to 210 ELL students.  There is also a native Spanish speaking Parent/Community Liaison who supports students and families in all schools.

The District develops a Limited English Proficiency Plan to include an explanation of how the school district is addressing the needs of the ELL students in the District.  The plan is then submitted to the Learning Community for approval.  The plan focuses on the identification of students with limited English proficiency, instructional approaches, assessment of students' progress toward mastering the English language, and the effectiveness of the elements of the Limited English Proficiency Plan.

The proposed 2012-2013 Limited English Proficiency Plan is attached.

Rationale:  Google selected Brent Catlett, an Instructional Technology Trainer at Bellevue Public Schools, to attend the Google Teacher Academy in New York City on October 3, 2012.

The Google Teacher Academy is a free professional development experience designed to help K-12 educational leaders get the most from innovative technologies.  Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's products and technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, and receive resources to share with colleagues.  Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local regions and beyond.

Google Certified Teachers are exceptional K-12 educators with a passion for using innovative tools to improve teaching and learning, as well as being creative leaders and ambassadors for change.  They are recognized experts and widely admired for their commitment to high expectations for students, life-long learning and collaboration.

The Google Certified Teacher program was launched in 2006 with the first Academy held at Google headquarters in Mountain View.  The program has since held several academies across the US, expanding the ranks of Google Certified Teachers.  This is the first Google Teacher Academy focused exclusively on educational leaders.  The Google Teacher Academy is produced by Google, in collaboration with CUE, an educational non-profit organization.

Rationale:  The Bellevue West speech and debate programs earned significant recognition by the National Forensic League.  The West chapter achieved 100 degrees or more last year, placed in the top 10% of NFL chapters nationwide, and earned membership in the League's prestigious 100 Club.  This milestone is remarkable because it demonstrates outstanding commitment to teaching students essential life skills-including communications, research, listening, writing, and organization.  The NFL commends the leadership of sponsor Becca Hier for an active forensic program.

Rationale:  Fifty-two students at Bellevue West High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program Exams.

The College Board's Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP exams.  About 18 percent of the more than 1.9 million high school students worldwide who took AP exams performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar.

Students took AP exams in May, 2012, after completing challenging college-level courses at their high schools.  The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on the number of yearlong courses and exams.  At Bellevue West:

Twenty-five students qualified for the AP Scholar by completing three or more AP examinations, with grades of 3 or higher (on a 5-point scale).  The AP Scholars are Sarah Bigge, Christopher Beeman, Cole Burmeister, Olivia Cunningham, Amanda Gangwish, Lauren Garcia, Calvin George, Elease Greedy, Matthew Hahn, Kevin Hanna, Taylor Hess, Nicole Janosek, Alec Koukol, Taylor Kuhlman, Maxwell Lydiatt, Ashley McConnell, Samantha Menard, Jacob Moran, Brittany Schraeder, Taylor Scott, Cole Seefus, Drew Shifter, Andrew Simmons, Megan Sullivan, and Andy Turnbull.

Twelve students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.  These students are Justin 
Begeman, Taryn Derickson, Maranda Fisher, Theresa Harkin, Samone Hinsley, Jonathan Holtmann, Jordan Jenison, Drew Jeter, Michelle Pham, Heather Rau, Emily Vokal, and Katherine Wilson.

Fifteen students qualified for the AP Scholars with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.  These students are Christopher Clark, Alexander Clarke, Alexander Gangwish, Michael Humm, Mark Kruger, Matthew Kruger, Daniel Moses, Andrew Peterson, Joshua Ramsey, Bradley Schrag, Derryk Stiner, Kyra Valentine, Ashley Weed, Maxmillian Werner, and Jacob Wilkinson.

One student qualified for the National AP Scholar by earning an average score of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.  The National Scholar was Mark Kruger. 

Rationale:  As part of Board Goal 1a, staff will present data from the 2012 NeSA in reading, math, writing and science.  The report will include program trends with grade, building and demographic breakdown.  Staff will highlight areas of improvement as well as ongoing efforts to improve student performance.

Rationale:  As a part of the AdvancED District Accreditation process and in accordance with Nebraska Rule 10, each school building in the Bellevue Public Schools must participate in an ongoing, continuous school improvement process.  School staff analyze student performance data to plan and implement strategies to continually move the school toward improvement and increased student performance levels.

Tonight, Wake Robin Principal Chad Zavala and members of the Wake Robin staff will present some of the structures, strategies and activities they are implementing in their building's ongoing school improvement process.

Rationale:  In the last legislative session, LB 870 was passed directing the State Board of Education to develop an accountability system for Nebraska school districts.  The new accountability system was to look at student performance, program improvement and student growth in several academic areas as well as four and six year cohort graduation rates.  Additional measures can also be considered.

Tonight, staff will present an overview of NePAS.

Rationale:  Each year school districts file an enrollment update with the Nebraska Department of Education.  The update is the official enrollment taken on the last Friday in September.  As of September 28, Bellevue Public Schools' enrollment was 10,148.

Attached is a copy of enrollment by school.

Rationale:  An oral report will be provided on the recent meetings of the Learning Community.

Rationale:  None

Rationale:  November 5, Board of Education Meeting, Welcome Center, 6:30 p.m.

Rationale:  Adjourn the October 8, 2012, meeting of the Board of Education.