June 12, 2017 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public School District's board of education meeting is called to order.  

Rationale:  If any board member is absent, there will need to be a motion to excuse the absence.

Rationale: 

Assessment Institute and future Professional Development plans -- Beth Nelson

Building Reports - Board members

Rationale:  Please stand and join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rationale: 

This is the time during the meeting when the public may request to address the Board. If you wish to comment, we ask that you identify yourself and the topic that you wish to address. Each individual's comments will be limited to five minutes.

 Please note that  the Board cannot discuss or act upon matters that are not listed on the agenda. Therefore, Board  members will not respond to your comments or questions.  If you wish to request that an item be placed on a future Board agenda, you may contact the Superintendent or her assistant during normal business hours.

Also note that concerns related to school personnel need to be addressed to the Superintendent using the approved district protocol.

Rationale: 

Total amount of claims to be approved in the consent agenda for the month of June, 2017 by specific fund are as follows:
General Fund = $546,121.97

Nutrition Services Fund = $214,807.70

Cooperative Fund = $11,045.11

Depreciation Fund= $8,008.00

Special Building Fund = $232,262.43

Student Fee Fund= $148.00

The total amount of claims for the month of May, 2017 in the Activities fund are as follows:
Activity Fund =$128,251.46

All of these claims were reviewed earlier today by the Finance and Facility Committee.  I anticipate our 2016-2017 fiscal year ending on a positive note with the ability for some of our budgeted areas to depreciate for some upcoming larger cost items in the future.  Looking towards the 2017-2018 fiscal year, our district should continue to be in solid fiscal health.  State Aid has been certified and the good news is our district was able to maintain what it currently was receiving, which will allow us to continue with our current programs and staffing.  I appreciate all the efforts of Dr. Thompson, our Board and other staff and community members who emphasized the importance of public education during this past legislative session. We have a great public school system in Norfolk which offers many opportunities in a fiscally responsible manner.

Rationale: 

Curriculum:

• EnVisions Training was held Thursday and Friday, May 25-26.
• There are several curriculum documents completed that are ready for committee review and board approval over the next few months. There are several so we will arrange to do a few each month. We are continuing to follow our SAP Curriculum timeline with a few minor exceptions that result from changes from the State Department of Education.
• Summer is when we train, train, train and plan, plan, plan for the next year.
• 45 Norfolk Teachers and administrators attended the Assessment in Action Institute at Elkhorn South High School on June 6-7^th. That had been in the planning stages for several months. The conference was led by a group of well know authors, speakers and education consultants. The conference was opened by a keynote presented by Garth Larson whom we’ve contracted to work with for professional development all of next year. Although there were several breakout sessions to fit the needs of participants, the key theme supported connecting all of the education dots of assessment to aim at true learning not just grading and measuring. The PD for 2017-18 will carry a similar theme with specific engagement with our principals and teachers.

Technology:

• The Tech Sale Plus, has been scheduled for Friday, July 7^th from noon to six and Saturday, July 8^th from 8-noon.  Plus indicates other items besides technology will be sold. Ads will appear in the media the week prior, indicating items that can be found on the sale.

Assessment:

• The State Department of Education is yet going through another change regarding the test engine. NeSA will look and perform differently starting in 2017-18 but remain with the same targets for measurement.
• 2016-17 NeSA results will be unavailable until Fall of 2017.
• 2016-17 ACT results have not been reported out to districts as bulk/group numbers yet.  We have individual scores that have trickled in. ACT is a new experience and everyone is just trying to learn and understand the process and expectations.
• ACT will operate the same as it did this year in 2017-18. 

Rationale: 

• Summer school is in the second week at the K-8 levels and in the third week at the 9-12 levels.  K-8 will end on June 30th and 9-12 will end on July 14th.
• The Special Education 2016-2017 Targeted Improvement Goal data has been submitted to NDE for review.
• You can find the list of activity camps on the high school website under Athletics and Activities.
• Our school nurses attended the State of Nebraska’s School Health Conference in Kearney on June 5th and 6th.  The purpose is to stay current with the new health regulations and immunizations that affect students wishing to enter our public schools.

Rationale: 

Instructional Model:

Work on the district Instructional Model continues this summer and we anticipate having this model in place sometime before the end of first semester. The NPS Instructional Model will align with our district certified staff evaluation instrument and our district staff development planning objectives. 

Special thanks to all of the staff involved in the Instructional Model work. We are blessed to have such outstanding educators in our district.

School Safety:

We continue to update our district safety protocols to align with all of the new NDE safety standards. Included in these updates is the refinement of our Standard Response Protocols and Crisis Management plans. To assist in these updates, each building principal is responsible for conducting their own building safety and security self-assessment in accordance with NDE standards.

Personnel Information:

Hiring season is still in progress as we head into the summer months. Listed below are the current openings for various staff positions.

Current Classified Openings:

• Activity Drivers
• General Maintenance
• Delivery Driver
• Substitute Custodians
• Senior High School Night Supervisor Custodian

Current Certified Staff Openings:

• Elementary Teacher at Washington Elementary School
• Elementary Special Education Teacher at Bel Air
• Assistant Speech/Language Pathologist

Current Coaching Openings:

• HS Assistant Girls Track
• HS Assistant Softball
• HS Assistant Volleyball
• 9th Boys Basketball
• 8th Assistant Boys Basketball
• 7th Assistant Football
• JH Intramural Volleyball
• JH Intramural Football
• JH Assistant Wrestling
• JH Assistant Track Coach
• Cheer Sponsor

Rationale: 

Summer School:

Norfolk Public Schools offers an extensive Summer School program to extend student learning for students who are struggling with reading and/or math in grades K-8. We also offer a wide variety of courses at the Senior High to assist students who need credit recovery or who have scheduling conflicts during the regular school year.  This year we are providing all Summer School students the option of breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast options have been extended to include cereal, muffins, yogurt, juice and milk.  Lunch is a very nice sack lunch, which students can eat at school or take with them.  Both breakfast and lunch meet federal guidelines and are reimbursable.  We have 361 Summer School participants at the elementary level, 77 at the Middle School/Junior High level, and 360 at the Senior High. In addition, we also have 26 students attending Little Panthers Preschool.

Administrator Retreats:

I have three administrator retreats planned this year.  The first retreat included attendance at the Assessment Institute that Mrs. Nelson discussed during the Study Session.  Remaining retreats will include additional training and planning in the areas of assessment, data utilization, and PLC's.  Other topics will include our new Instructional Model, communication, and personnel (hiring, training, and evaluating). These days tend to be very intense, but are critical to the professional development of our administrative team.

Rationale: 

Norfolk Public Schools

Americanism Report to the Board of Education

2016-2017

In compliance with Nebraska State School Law 79-724-Americanism, all building Americanism reports have been submitted to my office and are available for your review if you so choose. Instructional requirements for grade levels and courses have met this law as well as other practices specifically mentioned in the law. Suggested activities include reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, singing of patriotic songs, appropriate handling of the American flag, education of the US Constitution and the Nebraska Constitution, and appropriate exercises suitable to occasions including Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Flag Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Building reports include daily exercise of the Pledge of Allegiance, Constitution Day, Nebraska American Indian Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Birthdays, Statehood Day, Loyalty Day, George Norris Day, and Chief Standing Bear Day. A large variety of activities were used to support the recognition of these focus days and topics. Many more learning activities are mentioned in the building reports.

Rationale: 

Norfolk Public Schools

Multicultural Report to the Board of Education

2016-2017

 The mission of the multicultural education program is to prepare students to: (a) value and respect their own culture and race and cultures and races other than their own and (b) eliminate stereotypes and different treatment of others based on culture and race. The mission shall also include preparing students to eliminate stereotypes and discrimination or harassment of others based on ethnicity, religion, gender and socioeconomic status, age or disability. The Nebraska Department of Education assists schools by surveying the effectiveness of multicultural education programs. The last survey was conducted in 2013. The next survey is likely to reoccur in 2018 as the law requires data every five years.

As an accountability measure, we collect teacher reports at a building level by principals on the multicultural lessons taught throughout the year. Complete listings of lessons can be obtained from building principals.

Rationale: 

The committee met today at 12:00 noon and reviewed all claims for June, activity claims for May and current fund balances.  We also discussed the following items:

• Facility Updates on the Career Academy
• Proposal on the Access Drive at the Middle School
• Review of State Aid, Budget Authority, and early discussion on 2017-2018 budget
• Discussed how our district will handle negative breakfast and lunch account balances within policy #3571
• Review of current and upcoming staffing needs of the district

Our next meeting will be on July 10th at 12:00 noon.

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee met on Monday, June 5th.  We discussed the policies that are up for second reading tonight, including our School Wellness Policy, which was revised based on the recommendations of our School Wellness Committee.  

We also discussed Policy 5201 (Promotion and Retention), 4005 (Weather Related Absences) and 1320 (Memorials). We decided not to place the Memorial Policy on the agenda tonight, as we want to make further revisions.  The Promotion and Retention Policy was revised to match state and federal guidelines regarding the classification of senior high students by their cohort graduation year (rather than credit accrual). The Weather Related Absence Policy was revised, in order to remove the old language, which required us to make up two days if we missed more than 3 days due to inclement weather.  This policy now states that we will make up each day missed after the second missed day. Consideration was given to both the safety of students and their instructional needs, when drafting this revision.

 

Rationale:  The Government Relations Committee has not meet since our May Board meeting.  However, members of the committee were very busy during the last few weeks of the legislation session, contacting Senators regarding bills of concern.  The creation of this committee was very beneficial. Tammy, Sandy and Patti were strong advocates for Norfolk Public Schools throughout the session. Their participation was valued, not only by me, but by my colleagues and our State Senators.  They did an excellent job contacting Senators in person, via letters, and via email. They also testified at the Capitol, which was extremely important and valuable.

Rationale:  The Activities Committee does not plan to meet again until Fall.

Rationale:  There are no minutes to review this month.

Rationale:  Minutes from the May 8 and May 25, 2017 board meetings are attached for review.

Rationale: 

Dustin Wood- Middle School, Vocal Music Teacher

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education in Music PK-12 from Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska.

Recently a High School Accompanist for the Elkhorn Public Schools in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

Rationale:  None at this time.

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for June 2017.  As reported earlier, these claims have been reviewed by our Finance and Facilities Committee.

Rationale:  This is the first year that we are asking the School Board to approve our Little Panthers Preschool Handbook.  Preschool has become an important component of our educational program and should be included in this process, moving forward.

Rationale: 

No additional changes were made to this policy.  

The Policy Committee is recommending the approval of this policy for Second and Final Reading.

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee made several revisions to this policy based on the recommendation of our District Wellness Committee. The large majority of this policy is mandated by federal law, including a new requirement that our District Wellness Committee includes a School Board member.  I will be asking for a volunteer to serve on that committee later this evening. 

The Policy Committee is recommending the approval of this policy for Second and Final Reading.

Rationale: 

This policy was revised slightly based on the recommendation of Mike Hart, the Chair of our District Safety Committee. The words "or the Superintendent's designee" were added in order to allow Mr. Hart to continue to coordinate and maintain this Safety Committee.

Other minor changes were made that were non-substantive in nature.

The Policy Committee is recommending the approval of this policy for Second and Final Reading.

Rationale: 

No additional changes have been made to this policy.

The Policy Committee is recommending the approval of this policy for Second and Final Reading.

Rationale: 

Our Promotion and Retention Policy was revised to match state and federal guidelines regarding the classification of senior high students by their cohort graduation year (rather than credit accrual). 

No changes have been made to this policy in regards to retention. It is our intent for students to progress from grade to grade each year.  However, a  student may be retained if it is in the best interest of the child. Administrative Rule contains guidelines for school personnel to consider when making this important decision.

The Policy Committee is recommending that this policy be approved for First Reading.

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee held a lengthy and robust discussion regarding this policy.  There was wide consensus that we needed to revise this policy in order to change the wording that required us to make up two days of school if we missed more than three days due to inclement weather.

The majority of our discussion focused on how many days of school students and staff should be allowed to miss for inclement weather before they were required to make them up.  The policy that is being recommended allows students and staff to miss two days, after which each additional missed day will be made up.

The Policy Committee is recommending the approval of this policy for First Reading.  

Rationale:  Board Policy 5417, related to School Wellness, was approved earlier this evening.  This policy was updated to reflect changes to federal law, including the requirement that a School Board member serve on the District Wellness Committee. Therefore, I am asking for a volunteer to serve on this committee, which will meet approximately 4-6 times per year. Our District Wellness Coordinator, Bruce Strong, schedules and leads these meetings.

Rationale: 

The District Received the following qualified bids for the building of the Access Drive at the Middle School:

M & B Quality Concrete - $146,161.00

Elkhorn Paving Construction Co. - $97,827.20

 

This project is scheduled to be completed by the start of school in August and will be financed from the districts Special Building Fund

 

 

Rationale: 

 

The second meeting of the month is scheduled for noon on Thursday, June 22nd at the NPS Central Administration Office. This meeting will be cancelled if no action is necessary. The next regular meeting of the Board is scheduled for Monday, July 10th at the NPS Central Administration Office. The Study Session will begin at 5:30 and will be followed by the regular business meeting at 6:30. All components of the meeting will be open to the public unless an Executive Session is required to protect the interest of the district or to prevent needless harm to the reputation of an individual.