February 21, 2022 at 5:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Discussion:  Doug Molczyk read the Mission Statement.

Discussion: 

CPS Social Emotional Proposal presented by Jessy Hill, School Psychologist and Sarah Papa, Social Worker. Ms. Hill and Ms. Papa shared data regarding caseload and preventative measures for CPS students. They painted a picture of how mental health looks in schools, and shared that school is often the first place where mental health crises and needs of students are recognized and initially addressed.  Self injury, suicide, is the number one cause of death for 10-14 year olds, and the second leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. They said that research shows that students are more likely to seek counseling when these services are offered through school. Ms. Hill and Ms. Papa said when students receive the support, there is great improvement within school climate, classroom behaviors, on-task learning, academics, problem-solving, students’ sense of connectedness and well-being, physical and psychological safety.  Left unmet, social-emotional problems are linked to costly negative outcomes. They shared the work each mental health professional does to assist students. School Based Therapist would facilitate individual & group sessions, suicidal assessments, crisis management, collaboration meetings, social emotional coaching in classrooms, paperwork and session planning. A School Social Worker deals with a lot of the attendance issues, supports families to get students to school, attends IEP meetings, builds relationships with students to keep them in school to be successful and graduate.

Some data shared from Fall of 2021, there were 88 referrals, 19 elementary, 28 CMS, 41 CHS. Discussion regarding learning who needs to be referred where and how that is done. There were 349 student contacts, 178 PK-6th grade, 171 7th-12th grade. Also noted was the number of referrals and student contacts may have been lower because one of the therapist was on maternity leave, mid-September through early November.  They shared the recommended ratios provided by the National Association of Social Workers, a ratio of one school social worker to each building or a ratio of 1:250 students. Currently, there is 1 school interventionist at CHS, 1 social worker at CMS and a .5 social worker for the 5 elementary schools. Ms. Hill and Ms. Papa gave a comparison from Kearney Public Schools who have approximately 6000 students, they have 8 full time Licensed Clinical Social Workers on staff. 

They are proposing to add a full time elementary social worker in year 1, a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner in year 2 and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, along with a full-time social worker in years 3 and 4. They stressed the importance of having this staff in the building at the time that they are needed.  Vital for staff to be present and even more important that someone can be present with staff, they drive the referrals.  The educator is the first one to see and identify the needs of these students. Help the wrap around support, the continuum of care. 

High risk safety concerns vital to get support early. This staff can connect families to the outside resources for help. 

Q. How do parents react when told their student needs to have evaluation? 
A. Ms. Hill said positive at the high school level.  Consent from parents is required. Studies show that school based therapy has less stigma than outside therapies. Students lose less time away from school. 

14.3% outside resources, not able to track.
12.2% unknown, means we don’t know if they are receiving therapy. 

Vouchers come from a program through Community and Family Partnership.  Ten per student/family.  Social worker works with parents on co-pays with insurance.  Sometimes the vouchers are offered in cases of high deductibles. 

Ms. Hill said she can’t always see all the students if they are full, she will refer them out to the community.  

Discussion regarding hiring; applications from outside of the district and Jason Harris’s experience last year when looking for a mental health practitioner, he said there were 5 applicants, he said hopefully we will get as many again. 

Dr. Loeffelholz said we have all read that there is a higher level of kids coming from the pandemic with social and emotional issues. This would take one more thing off the teachers plates. 

Usually school counselors would work with tier 1 situations and social workers with tier 2, as needs arise in both areas, it is better to be able focus on one or the other. There are two full time therapists for CPS buildings which means, they are not necessarily where they may be needed at the time they are needed. 

Questions regarding what happens after the school day or when it is an issue at home. Social workers can help and encourage parents to get outside help. Help with resources that can assist families during other hours.  They can provide all the information they need. Once we start working with the child we are working with the whole family and make a connection to the community. 

 

 

Discussion: 

Amy Haynes, CMS Principal and Sara Colford, Student Services Facilitator, presented the board with information on a building level alternative education program to be offered at CMS.  This program would be for students that are not being successful in the regular classroom or with the current resources. The students have maladaptive behaviors that are impacting the learning of other students. This program is for students that have exhausted all other interventions offered in Tier One and Tier Two. Tier One includes interventions such as one on one reteaching of classroom rules and expectations, incentive programs, processing with the teacher along with many others. Tier Two includes creating a plan, assign contribution to build a bond with an adult, meeting with a counselor to work on coping skills/anger management and many others. Tier Three is creating a new plan with parent communication, team focus, outside resources, including social worker involvement and therapies. Mrs. Haynes shared the mission statement and philosophy. They also shared some solutions to location and space needed for this program.  The schedule would separate grades 5-6 and grades 7-8, with 7-8 graders having classes later in the day. Both groups would still be provided lunch.  Arrival and dismissal would be at a different time then the general student body. Before students could be placed in the program, a contract would be reviewed and signed by parents. Parent engagement will be very important.

Discussion regarding the interventions that are already in place and the effectiveness.  Mrs. Haynes said the MTSS Committee is working on getting interventions staffed sooner, sometimes they wait too long. They are also in need of a tracking system for these students' interventions.
The space for the proposed program would need some specific spaces, renovations would be needed. They would like two dignity rooms, a sensory room and a storage space. Mrs. Haynes and Mrs. Colford said early intervention is paramount with these students. The proposal includes hiring a full-time teacher, 2 paraeducators and 1 interventionist. They would not take more than 9 students into the program. 

Questions regarding the correlation with larger class size versus smaller class size and the need for more intervention in those larger classes. Smaller classes are easier because staff can attend to their needs.  How is this program different from the A+ Program at CHS, Mr. Harris said in the A+ Program, the goal is for students to earn credits and graduate, this program at CMS is to get the student back on the right track and back to a regular classroom 

Discussion: 

Bob Hausmann, North Park Principal, shared events and programs at North Park. He said every year they have a t-shirt contest and highlighted the message from the winning t-shirts.

Mr. Hausmann talked about new staff at North Park, two new teachers, one new paraeducator, a new custodian and a new health aide.  He talked about the High Reliability Schools Foundational Levels beginning with Level 1, Safe Supportive and Collaborative Culture. He said like the other schools they start the year off with expectation stations.  Teachers teach the first few days, how to be safe, respectful and responsible in hallways, bathrooms, and at special events. Mr. Hausmann brings students in for a 5-minute assembly the first day of school to show them the expectations at a school assembly. Mr. Hausmann is sure to teach the expectation that in their building guests will be respected and cheered for regardless of what elementary building they attended. Each year to encourage positive behavior, the staff votes on a theme, this year is "Diving Deep into Good Behavior". Students earn "Diving Deep" tickets by demonstrating that they are safe, respectful and responsible, when they are caught doing good things. Those students are then recognized at an assembly, with a school-wide graph that is updated with the number of tickets placed in the submarine. The students can see how the graph is growing and celebrate the accomplishment.  Mr. Hausmann said there is a weekly meeting to look at attendance, students struggling to attend school are contacted by the social worker. Mr. Hausmann said that at the elementary level it usually is not the students issue, but it is affecting the student. The social worker works with the family to help the parent, so the parent can get the student to school, rather than just sending letters. 

Mr. Hausmann elaborated on the monthly assemblies, he said positive behavior is recognized, guest speakers come in to share a message. He invites seniors from CHS activities to speak about their activity, how to get involved when they are in high school and how to prepare now. It's a good connection to the high school, and it gives high school students an opportunity to talk to elementary students. 

Mr. Hausmann said the Student Council is a supportive group, they are active in spirit week, ringing the bell at Christmas, food collection for the food pantry along with other activities.  North Park uses BIST Goals for Life which applies to all of us, it’s a great model to students. Mr. Hausmann said North Park is doing more to celebrate cultural diversity; they have had several projects that the students have really enjoyed. During the Big Give, staff used their funds to purchase multicultural books. Mr. Hausmann said in support of staff, they are planning a social activity each month. He also talked about creating trust accelerators with his staff. Students will benefit if the adults are better. The North Park PTO is very supportive, the events have had great success with families coming out to participate. He talked about the Wednesday PLC, he said staff looks at the data, and they are able to use the data more effectively, and it is helping to have more direct strategies. The teachers can create their own goals, find the learning gaps student may have or the teaching gaps. The graph shows growth at every grade level, more than 75%. Mr. Hausmann said they are using the Marzano elements, effective teaching in every classroom, focus on learning goals and proficiency scales, and the PLC questions guide the process. He said at North Park the guaranteed and viable curriculum is solid using learning goals and proficiency scales. He showed several examples of how they are tracking, always visible. The students know all about learning goals and proficiency scales, they know how to use the scale to determine where they are in the learning goals. Students are very engaged in having conversations on how to get to a level 4, setting goals for themselves.  They know the importance of what they are learning. 

Discussion: 

Mrs. Haynes, CMS Principal said the there are few changes in the CMS Course Description Catalog. Every year names of counselors and administrators are changed as they move with grade level. The computers classes have changed for 7th and 8th graders and that is reflected.

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz, Superintendent, said this policy is a cleanup from the changes in state statute.

Discussion: 

A change in state statute includes that meeting minutes must be available on our website for 6 months.

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz said this is a new policy regarding allowing virtual meetings if the governor makes an emergency declaration.  Additionally, the link must be made available to the public. 

Discussion:  There were no items to be removed from the Consent Agenda.

Discussion:  Chip Kay, Director of Finance and Human Relations said that the CPS cash balances are in good fiscal position. He said the building fund will continue to decrease as things get done at the Kramer Education Center. Also, said there is $3 million from the land requisition that was used but is part of the Kramer Project budget.  Mr. Kay said revenue is about where we should be, a little behind in property tax but the big draw will come in April and May. The general fund detail shows a typical month. Mr. Kay did remind the group that when an item is purchased with grant money we still see that in our reports. The anatomage table was purchased with Perkins funds. 

Discussion: 

The M5 financial report shows the end of month expenditures which include a lot of utilities and SPED payments. Because of the meeting calendar and the payroll cycle end date being on the 18th the report is showing payroll for February.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kay said kudos to the administrators, they are hiring fast and furious and making strong hires. Total openings 26, have half filled. The list of resignations includes Caitlin Vering taking a 2nd year of LOA. 

Discussion: 

The classified report shows the typical in/out.

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz shared some of the travel from the last month, music activity, teacher fairs including UNO, UNL, Kearney, our staff is out actively recruiting. Mr. Harris reported that 8 school psychologists attended the fair, he made 3 offers and none accepted. He’s not in a panic yet. 

Discussion: 

Total Contributions $37,779.64. Dr. Loeffelholz said there is a change, the CPS Foundation will now have a fiscal year that runs Jan.1 - Dec. 31 beginning this year. 

Discussion: 

Mr. Kay said the changes on Policy 702.02 are directed by state statute. This pushes the submission date back. 

Discussion: 

This policy is new legislation to make sure we are being completely transparent. The district will be required to send a postcard to every stakeholder in the district with the date, time and location of the budget hearing. This will be a quick turn around based on meeting dates and valuation determinations. The cost of sending the postcards will fall on each district. 

Discussion: 

There are a lot of years of experience listed.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kay said the Negotiations Committee worked and listed the changes.   Classified staff will receive $1.00 per hour raise to finish the year and then receive $1.50 per hour beginning next year. This increase for paras, custodians, and food service will put us at the top of the median. None of the cuts or reductions from the loss of state funding will be staff or programs. Mr. Kay said we will be looking at cutting some travel and possibly some district building projects that were planned. He said we have to take care of our staff.  We will capture as much of the $1.05 levy as possible. We will claim some of our ESSER reimbursements.

Discussion: 

This fundraiser is asking for monetary donations, it will run through the Foundation. It funds dual credit classes through CCC.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kay said we have a broken table, baseball uniforms, and the Nebraska textbooks to surplus.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kay shared the District Action Plan, the data was collected from the three surveys from UpBeat. Discussion included target areas and goals for each target area. The goals give buildings and leadership a model. Focus on the things we will do. There will be a spring survey. 

Questions regarding the professional autonomy and the understanding that the teachers understand the science of the curriculum but would like more flexibility in the art of teaching. Dr. Loeffelholz added that the Curriculum Department is trying to make it easier and more helpful for teachers to provide a template if they want to use it. Some teachers want the structure and some want to use their own template. Assessment data will take care of itself. Get back to the four questions and the true essence of the PLC. Mr. Kay said he would work with Dr. Loeffelholz to make the language better on target area #2.

 

Discussion:  There was no discussion of the Eakes Lease Agreement.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kwapnioski gave an update on the Kramer Project. He said that they met with the school attorney regarding starting bid packages 3a and 3b. This takes care of the daycare center, training center along with demolition of the other areas. He wants to get the demo to minimize dust down the road. Only thing left will be the administrative office. Attorney has recommended working on 3a and 3b. Cut doors, put in some support.  Once the training center is done, we will need to work on the parking lot. Continuing to move forward.

Discussion: 

Amy Romshek, Director of Curriculum and Training, asked the board to approve the Health Science Pathway Resources and Curriculum. Texts for the new course were included and Dr. Romshek said they want to order enough texts for two classes.  There are two teachers, there is a possibility that there will be two classes being taught at the same time. The proficiency scales were developed for the course based on state standards for this course. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Romshek shared some information regarding the Food Science Pathway. She said the board had approved the pathway in November, however, NDE has revised the pathway and requires an additional nutrition course that is not being offered at CHS. CHS may consider some other options. Dr. Romshek said the question whether students would want to take two nutrition courses? So this is on hold at this time. 

Discussion: 

Mr. Harris, shared information regarding a survey that will be sent regarding parents input on SPED. The parents will receive a link, all information will go directly to NDE. Once the data is compiled he will share the information.  We will send a message through REMIND to families that do not have access to technology, with information about receiving a paper copy. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz talked about the Athletic Hall of Fame and the Board’s contribution. The district is looking at a Fine Arts Hall of Fame. The committee may come to the board for financial help with this endeavor. A donation has been made for this from Jeanne Raimondo Memorial. There are renderings of these areas being worked on for the spaces at CHS. Two of the bar joists from Kramer will be used in creating the area. 

Dr. Loeffelholz is recommending one board meeting in March because of spring break, and one meeting in April because of Easter break. He also mentioned that in June and July we have one meeting for the summer months. Dr. Loeffelholz said we have put out a message to families regarding the wind chill the next couple of days and to dress students appropriately for the weather. 

Discussion: 

There has been a request to use the CHS property for the Red, White and Kaboom! Event again this year. He said they have done a great job of cleaning up, and it has worked out well. 

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz will send out dates and times to meet about Notice and Wonder Statements.