December 15, 2014 at 5:00 PM - Work Session and Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Discussion:  Physical Education and Health teacher Barb Leu went to a physical education conference. She said she is concerned about the students’ activity and wants to make sure they stay healthy. Some students do the morning walk every day. Leu said it is amazing how many laps they will do. She said she thinks the walk helps them in the classroom. Studies show a person gets more brain activity from doing physical activity. Leu also said research shows that students who are not physically fit will miss more days of school then those who are in shape. Data – West Park is a high poverty school with 65-68 percent qualifying for free/reduced. The ELL population is at 15-17 percent. Despite the students’ home lives, attendance is at 98 percent. There are also 96 percent of the students with two or fewer office referrals, and 96 percent of the parents give the school a grade of an A or B. Dibels – West Park Principal Paula Lawrence said the students are making gains in fluency. However, students in grade K-2 have a higher percentage of reaching benchmark, but the rate drops off in grades 3-5. The West Park students do better on the Dibels composite than Dibels fluency. Lawrence said there are readers who are fluent but don’t score that way on the test. SPED and ELL is at the same rate. With the MAP reading grade level data (grades 2-5), the staff look at what percentage are at grade level and what percentage show growth. Last year was the first time the test was taken in December, and there was a drop in the MAP RIT reading growth. Lawrence said they are addressing this issue at the building level. In NeSA reading proficiency, there was a drop last year. In NeSA writing, 62 percent were proficient. She said the K-5 teachers are working very hard on writing. Lawrence said it is frustrating when students are within one point of making that growth. In NeSA math, the proficiency last year decline. She said the staff is also discussing what to do with the SPED and ELL students. Lawrence said there was also a drop in NeSA science last year. How to support students and families - In the conference room, the Dibels data is displayed, so teachers can track if a student's level is intensive, strategic or at benchmark. The teachers took the MAP data in reading and math and looked at it, so they know how to best group students to achieve goals. How to help students set achievable goals? Teachers identify smart goals and gather data. The staff also gives common assessments and separate data to see how poverty, ELL and SPED perform, and what can be done to improve in those areas. This data is shared at the grade level district wide. Teachers also collect informal data to help give a full picture of how the kids are doing. The teachers are committed to respond to data kid-by-kid and skill-by-skill. Professional Learning Communities are grade level teams working together to support students and skill acquisitions. What I need (WIN) Time – Teachers determine what extra help kids need, and they are organized by groups based on assessments and informal feedback. The learning targets are visible for students, and teachers also use C4L to practice skills for NeSA tests. Students can be worked with either in groups or individually. Early Interventions in Reading (EIR) and Corrective Reading are used to help students, and there will be multiple groups going on depending on needs. Some things that teachers do to help include: instructional strategies; brain breaks, which are short activity breaks to stimulate the brain and body; and choral responses to engage the maximum amount of students in the maximum amount of time. Teachers also try to use activity participation because it enhances engagement and retention of lesson content while increasing motivation. Hands-on-learning is learning by doing. Signaling allows students to have think time, so they all have an opportunity to respond. Scripted or semi-scripted programs are streamlined to help instruction and help staff to teach a particular objective. Another important goal is recognizing students’ efforts. There are multiple ways do this such as: student of the month, golden tickets, L to J all time bests are charted and announced, sending quarterly positive postcards to parents and using goal setting sheets. Last spring, West Park staff held an assembly to get ready for NeSA testing and recognized students for meeting benchmark. When a student meets or exceeds benchmark, all staff sign a postcard and print it in color to give to the student.

Discussion:  Heidi Luebbe started working as the social worker serving students in grades K-8 in 2013-14. The social worker is the liaison between school and home, and tries to build relationships of trust while following a strict code of ethics. A social worker holds accreditation and certification from the Department of Health and Human Services. Both Luebbe and CHS Social Worker Jenna Clark have been collecting data from August-December 1. Clark said this year the data is more specific on what they are working on. Much of their work focuses on attendance monitor referrals; assessment center referrals; contac as needed, to county attorney, police, and DHHS; home visits; suicidal risk assessments and point person for re-entry plans; educating staff on the effects of foster care on academic performance; co-facilitating probation meetings; point person for trackers in need of academic attendance updates; point person for teen pregnancy program; point person for Center for Survivors; and reporting child abuse & neglect. Every time a social worker meets with students, the information is charted. Clark said with reference to many of the students Luebbe worked with last year, she is not seeing at the high school. She said hopefully in a couple years the numbers will go down more. Currently 70 percent of workload at CMS is for eighth graders, but this number is still adjusting because services are also open at the elementary level. The types of interventions include: family issues, financial/ housing issues, outside referrals, attendance, mental health services, abuse and neglect, medical insurance, home visits, court probation, and school issues. Clark said at this point in the year, she has seen 143 students at CHS, which is 12 percent of the student body. She said last year she only saw 14 percent of the student body. Clark said she is seeing more sophomores than any other grade. The majority of the intervention is attendance and mental health issues. She said for the mental health area, she gets them into counseling. Clark said she also works with all teen moms. There are 15 who have children already and eight are expecting. The goal is for these students not to drop out of school. Clark said she has great cooperation between the administration and police department when dealing with date abuse cases. She said this year she started tracking data on emergency protective custody. There have been five as of Dec. 1 that have had to go into protective custody. In these or abuse situations, there is always a re-entry plan made for each student before he or she can return. Clark said she needs to work with kids on the social and emotional issues, so they can be successful. Both said they have not had many problems entering families’ homes, and if there is too much resistance, this could be a red flag. They stress that they are there not to judge but to try to help fix the problem. One way to start to help is to visit the family for attendance issues because often there are other issues as well. Clark said it is good to know what the student’s background is like. The board agreed that there is a need in the school system for social workers.

Discussion:  The Board did not go into Executive Session

Discussion:  The Board reconvened the regular meeting.

Discussion:  Ken Curry read the mission statement.

Discussion:  No one spoke to the board.

Discussion:  There were no recognitions.

Discussion:  Chad Wiles from Hausmann Construction said the footings have been started on the east side of building. He said there are three more concrete pours to do this winter. Hausmann is currently working with DLR to get precast drawings out as soon as possible and hopefully this will be done within the next three weeks. Wiles said he asked the company whom did the dirt work to bid the rest of the project to give an idea on the cost. The electrical contractor is on board and working with DLR. He said this will help to finalize that cost. Wiles said in three weeks he will have figures that will give the administration a good idea of where the budget stands. He said there won't be a lot more work on the site until February or March except for the footings. Wiles said the precast and metal buildings will go up fast, but the masonry work will take a little longer. Wiles said the budget will be close, but there are still a few things that need to be discussed. Mark Brim from DLR said it has been three months since the schematic design was finished. The site plan hasn't changed. He said there is still discussion on the future fields. There was 15 feet added to increase the size of auxiliary and competition gyms. Brim said some of the space was reconfigured to capture more classrooms. He said there have been five classrooms added since the last time. Brim said there has also been some maroon added to the exterior of the gym and auditorium. He said they are trying to get a touch of maroon in every angel of the buildings. Brim said there are three manufactures that can produce the colors in the brick, so there will be some competition for bids in that area. Brandea Morton with DLR said the organic shapes of ships and ocean are carried over to interior design. There will be vinyl flooring in the commons area. This product doesn't need to be waxed and has a coating to help prevent scratching. Morton said she has used this material in other places such has hospitals were heavy beds sit on it. She said it is also sized so if a piece needs to be replaced, it won’t be too difficult. Morton said they are looking at different options for tables and chairs for kids to eat and sit on. The logo will also be on the floor in the main entrance. In the administrative office, there could be a place for an abstract drawing that shows the points of a map. She said this wall will be important because it will be the first impression that the school will make on guests and should tell the story. For other images to break up the long corridors, Morton said she is looking at using the core value pictures such as a compass and other items. When entering the STEM area, this should have a completely different environment then the rest of the building. She said it will have items that relate to that area. All the classrooms will have the same finishes that tie into the design but are a little different than the rest of the building.

Discussion:  North Park Health and Physical Education Teacher Bob Hopp is going to retire. Dr. Loeffelholz also said there are several new classified hires. There is the potential of 48 mid-term graduates if they meet the requirements.

Discussion:  Each year the board must evaluate the superintendent. There are five standards that the superintendent is evaluated on: visionary leadership; educational leadership; policy and financial leadership; communication leadership and board/superintendent relations. Alan Dostal said he thinks Dr. Loeffelholz has done an incredible job, and he sees him getting stronger every year. Dostal said it was a very intensive process to go through the bond issue and building the new high school is just as intense. Dostal said Dr. Loeffelholz has the right level of detail and knows how the process functions. Dostal said the amount of work done in this last year is remarkable. Mike Goos said he has been around a lot of superintendents, and Dr. Loeffelholz is the real deal. He said Dr. Loeffelholz walks the walk and talks the talk. He is a very humanistic person and really cares about people. Candy Becher said she noticed when at the state conference how Dr. Loeffelholz carries himself. She said he is very well respected, and she is so glad he is here. Ken Curry said he appreciates Dr. Loeffelholz’ visibility and approachability. He said he has a very strong team. Curry said together the team has accomplished a lot. Theresa Seipel said she has also been around a lot of superintendents, and Dr. Loeffelholz carries himself very well. She said he is flawless. Seipel said she doesn't think the public understands how much Dr. Loeffelholz does at the state level, and his name is known across the state. Francis Kuehler said he rarely gives a score of above satisfactory but this time he did give a few. He said he believes people can always improve. He said Dr. Loeffelholz is doing great. Dr. Loeffelholz said he has a great team of executive directors, principals and teachers. He said he appreciates all the compliments, and is doing the best he can. Dr. Loeffelholz said he loves what he does.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said each year he is required to submit a letter to extend his contract for one year. The contract will run from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017.

Discussion:  Executive Director of Student Services and Special Education Jason Harris said there are currently three teachers serving kids from birth to age 5. These teachers carry a caseload of 22-28 kids depending on their needs, and there are currently 12 evaluations pending. He said the caseload has increased due to Rule 52, which states that Health and Human Services require all children birth -3 years old to receive service coordination, and the school staff handles this requirement. The position will be grant funded. He said one teacher may not be enough, but he will need to wait and see. Right now the teachers are struggling to do all of this.

Discussion:  The CPS Foundation and umbrella organization donated $5,496.20 in November back to the schools or activities. The funding Emerson Fifth Grade Teacher Susan Braun applied for and received from DonorsChoose.org was for a classroom project called “Learning with Time and Moby.” This includes a 12-month classroom CD (BrinalPOP) with a value of $220.00.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said this is an agreement that is needed, so the swim team can use the Aquatic Center for swim events. The contract is for 175 hours of use and 25 lockers at a cost of $12,125.49.

Discussion:  Jason Harris, Executive Director of Student Services and Special Education said the changes in this policy are minor. The only changes are including pre-K because two schools now offer it and calling guidance counselors school counselors. He said the second change is necessary because they do more than just serve as guidance counselors, and they also focus on college and career readiness.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz reminded the board there are lots of activities going on right now. Basketball, swimming and wrestling are in full swing. He said he is going to each school with the strategic plan and holding a superintendent’s summit to talk with staff. Dr. Loeffelholz said the board must schedule a retreat in January because there are many things to cover such as an update on facility plans, elementary rooms need to be prioritized, high school manufacturing and many other topics. He said he is going to a STANCE meeting tomorrow. He also has several other meetings coming up. Dr. Loeffelholz said there is a lot of work on a legislative level to be done between now and January 20.

Discussion:  Francis Kuehler said he got a lot out of state conference. Mike Goos agreed and said there were a lot of great breakout sessions and good information. Candy Becher said it was exciting to see the high school plans because it makes it seem more real. She also agreed the state conference was really good with two wonderful speakers. Ken Curry said he appreciates the community support of the bond issue and feels the new high school will help give the community pride. He said Dr. Loeffelholz is doing a wonderful job. Theresa Seipel said she enjoyed the West Park presentation. She said every month she feels that the staff love the kids, and will do everything they can for them. Alan Dostal said there is always something going on at the schools.