May 13, 2019 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

STRIVE  -  COMMIT  -  SUCCEED  -  District Mission Statement

Schuyler Community Schools in partnership with parents, students, and the community is committed to educate students to become skilled, knowledgeable and responsible citizens in a global society - District Vision Statement

Notice of this meeting was given in advance according to State Law 84-1411, by giving notice of the meeting to the public.  Notice of this meeting was also given in advance to all members of the Board of Education

Rationale: 

This meeting has been preceded by advance notice and is hereby declared to be in open session.  A copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the front of the meeting room.

Nebraska Open Meetings Act:  http://nitc.nebraska.gov/documents/statutes/NebraskaOpenMeetingsAct_current.pdf

Rationale:  Discuss, Consider and Take Action on the consent agenda

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for budget, finance, and contract negotiations with administration, certificated staff, and support staff.

Rationale:  See attached information from D.A. Davidson.  The original forms will be mailed for you to sign at the meeting. 

Rationale:  Resignation and Release from Contract
1.  Molly Smith:  SES Teacher
2.  Amber Beltrand:  SCHS Spanish Teacher
3.  Lauren Brukey:  SES Teacher
4.  Kaydee Dunker:  SES Teacher
5.  McKenzie Smeal:  SES Teacher (New Contract for 2019-20)
6.  Kelly McClintic:  SCHS/Rural Schools Teacher

Resignation and Notice of Retirement
1.  Carol Hastings:  SMS Food Service

Rationale:  1.  Marilyn Houdek:  SCHS CTE Teacher (Partial early retirement contract)

Rationale: 
1.  Jennifer Svoboda:  SCHS Science Teacher
2.  Patricia Sparling:  SES Teacher
3.  Logan Farley:  SES Music Teacher
4.  Jean Rocheford:  SES Teacher
5.  Tasha Eldridge:  Rural School Music (part-time)
6.  Sarah Gahan:  SES Teacher
7.  Justine Quintero:  SES Teacher

Rationale:  Attached are the support staff salary schedules for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Changes:                                                  2018-19                  2019-20
1.  Food Service beginning step:            Step 1-20                Step 5-20
2.  Route Drivers:                                       $15.00                    $15.50
3.  Activity Drivers:                                     $14.00                    $14.50

Rationale:  See attached list and corresponding assigned positions for the 2019-2020 school year.

Rationale:  Summer school runs for 3 weeks in June and 3 weeks in July.  Attached is the recommended list of summer school employee contracts for your approval.

Rationale: 
Preschool/SES 3-5 Principal's Report:  Mr. Comley
Staff Member Spotlignt:  This month I would like to highlight Jason Wehner. Mr. Wehner has done/does  a great job connecting with students and spending a great deal outside the classroom working with students.  Mr Wehner goes above and beyond when it comes to giving back to the community and working beyond the school day. For all those reason and many more I congratulate Mr Wehner on all he does for SCS and Schuyler!

SES K-2 Principal's Report:  Mr. Kovar
I would like to highlight the work of Nicole Talyor, Morgan Semerad, and Troy Ehmke. We recently had our Spring Music Concert, and our kids put on a fantastic show, thanks to the work of these 3 teachers. Our K-2 students sang wonderfully. Our 4th grade recorder choir sounded great, and our 5th grade band was outstanding. The work that these 3 put into our  elementary music education, is top notch!

Rural Schools and Dual Language Principal's Report:  Ms. Bebout
Program Spotlight:  Richland was awarded a grant from the state for an Artists in Schools this month!!  Denise Stevenson wrote a grant a few months ago and Dylan Jacobson was able to come into our school Monday thru Thursday last week.  He taught the students about art, writing, creating a character, and how to make their own paint out of vegetables. Then the students put on an art show Thursday afternoon to display all of the art they created over the four days.  This was an amazing opportunity for the students. Thank you Ms. Stevenson for taking the time to write the grant!
Program Spotlight:  Fishers 6th - 8th grade held a Science Fair.  With Ms. Sigler’s and Ms. Luce’s help the students created a purpose statement, a hypothesis, a list of materials, wrote down the procedures, had a summary research report, recorded their results, and came up with their conclusion.  Mr. Sayer brought out students from the high school to judge along with Warrior Academy and a few parent judges. Students had to present the board they created and talk about why or why not their projects were successful. This was a great opportunity for the students!

Schuyler Middle School Assistant Principal’s Report: Mr. Zavadil
Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to recognize Mr. Wiseman for his hard work this season at the middle school and in his coaching responsibilities with Football and Boys Basketball this season.  Mr. Wiseman is wrapping up his 1^st year at Schuyler Middle School and I could not be more pleased with how well he has done building relationships with students and staff and teaching skills to our students in PE.   I am especially thankful for the work that he and Ms. Faltin put in for 6^th grade field day.  The event was well organized and kids had a great time!!

SMS Principal’s Report:  Mrs. Burton
Staff Member Spotlight:  While there are a number of individuals to spotlight, I would like to focus on our four retirees:
*Kay Johnson- Mrs. Johnson began her time as a Warrior when she taught at Richland.  Mrs. Johnson has done an excellent job as a social studies teacher on the 6^th grade team, and she has served the school as a grade level team leader during the 2018-2019 school year.  Mrs. Johnson cares deeply for those that she works with and shows high character, regardless of whether the day is easy or presents more challenges.
*Pat Knutson-  Mrs. Knutson has been a Schuyler Warrior for the past 29 years.  Devoting the majority of her career to the school district, Mrs. Knutson has been a teacher, coach, and frequent supporter of all events Schuyler.  She is honest and sincere, and works to challenge all students, regardless of circumstance.  She believes that they can achieve high levels of learning, and she has consistently held herself to it!
*Lori Benesch- Mrs. Benesch has been a Schuyler Warrior for the past 24 years.  Patient, supportive, and highly empathetic are the traits that can be used to describe her.  A regular volunteers at her church, a consistent fixture in the stands for our SMS activities, and a believer in all individuals, Mrs. Benesch’s presence has been consistently felt for almost a quarter of a century.  Her care and empathy for her fellow co-workers and students is second to none.
*Kim Kobza- Mrs. Kobza has spent her career as a Schuyler Warrior!  She has served our district at the rural school, elementary, and middle school levels.  She has a sincere love for her husband, two children, and other family members.  Her devotion as a mother is inspiring.  Her willingness to hold students to a high standard of character and care has been unwavering.
      To say that these educators will be missed is an understatement.  They have been with the district as we have grown and changed.  They have devoted a good portion of their livelihoods to raising generations of Warriors, both currently in our district and around the world.  We hope nothing but the very best for them!
Upcoming Events: 
Tuesday, May 14^th-Honors and Awards Night at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 17^th- 8^th Grade Graduation at 10:00 a.m.

High School Assistant Principal's Report:  Mr. Kasik
Program/Staff Member Spotlight: I want to take a few minutes and spotlight the support staff that we have in our Principal office.  Alejandra Dimas always has a warm smile to greet you and she works extremely hard to serve our student body each day.  She is dependable and hard working.  Florencia Ramon is the newest member of this team and she also is very welcoming.  She is a worker and very meticulous.  I would also include Dr. Lefdal in this group, while he and I are very different, out leadership styles complement each other and we always work out a great solution for situations.  Thanks for all that these staff members do.

High School Principal's Report:  Mr. Grammer
Program Spotlight:  Our high school has for the past two years implemented a new class at the high school.  The new program, is our digital newspaper class at Schuyler Central High School. In the class, students develop computer and technical skills related to digitally producing a newspaper at the high school. Mrs. Robbie McKenney is the teacher for the new digital classes at Schuyler Central High School. The digital newspaper is linked to the districts website and the high school website.  The purpose of developing this program was to give our students useful technical skills to take with them as they enter college or the work world.  This is the second year that we are running the class at the high school and it has been successful these past two years.
Staff Member Spotlight:  The staff member to be recognized for their work in the high school this year is Mr. Drey Keairnes, our ninth grade language arts teacher at the high school.  Mr. Keairnes has been in our district for four years and specifically, in the middle and high school.  He started with the middle school and the past two years. In the high school.  He has taken on the challenge of working with our Project Based Learning (PBL) Team through Discovery Ed.  This a new way of presenting lessons in the classroom and mostly done during FOCUS time. He has helped to develop to develop the PBL program and bring fun to the classroom of SCHS.  Mr. Keairnes also serves on our leadership team in the building and coaches football and wrestling. Students are lucky to have him as a teacher and staff are lucky to have him as a colleague.
 Event Highlight:  On Monday, April 29^th the 8^th grade visitation took place.  The high school and middle school work together to provide the 8^th graders of our district time to tour the school, listen to elective class presentations, and find out information on athletics/activities.  As always it was a good day for the students and for our staff.
      We are continuing our work with the state priority team, UNL EL team, DE cohort groups, with the SIG grant, and PBL through DE.  We will be giving presentations to the NDE in regard to the SIG Grant on June fifth and a report on our priority Plan to the state board on June sixth.
       On Monday, May 6^th and Tuesday May 7^th, our Academic Awards Night and our Athletic Awards Night were held in the west gym.  Congratulations to our students for working hard and earning their awards throughout the school year.

Rationale: 

Warrior Academy Afterschool Program Director:  Ms. Bebout
Program Spotlight:  Warrior Academy held its first ever Color Run/Walk a few weeks ago!!!  This was only possible with the help of our partnership with CHI Schuyler.  CHI Schuyler donated all of the powdered color, sunglasses, a bracelet, and a tattoo for every participant.  We had over 375 participants. This included all students from the after-school program who stay on Fridays, teachers, workers from the hospital, and people from the community!  A big thank you needs to go out to the city who allowed us to close down the street for 45 minutes, CHI for all of their donations, and to over 35 volunteers who helped this event run smoothly.  CHI and Warrior Academy look forward to having this event again next year.

Youth Sports Director's Report:  Mr. Kovar
Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight Dr. Lefdal. Dr. Lefdal stepped in to help coach one of our 3-5th grade girls soccer teams. His coaching with the girls was positive and fun, and made for a great experience with his players. He and his family also helped referee those games if we were short helpers. This kind of commitment is exactly what we need, in order to make these kinds of activities successful. His positive attitude and willingness to help whenever or wherever needed are much appreciated. 

Middle School Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Zavadil
Program Spotlight:  We wrapped up the middle school track season with our athletic awards.  They took place Friday May 10^th at the middle school.  This is fun event that we use to celebrate the athletic year.  Our middle school track season ended on a high note.  Our 7^th grade boys won or were runner-up in every meet they competed in and we just brought students to the Middle School State Meet held in Gothenburg on Saturday.    Dennis Martinez Qualified in the Pole Vault.

High School Activity Director's Report:  Mr. Kasik
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:   Renee Brabec does a tremendous job for me.  With all the things that go on in a day she is constantly working behind the scenes to make things run smoothly.  She does this work without any glory and she does a great job of making the AD office run smoothly.  Coralie Shonka is also someone who is one of the nicest people I know.  She works very hard and is meticulous in all that she does.  She also has near perfect hand writing.  This entire group is just a joy to work with and I would not trade any of them for the world.  Thanks for all that you do!

Student Services Director's Report:  Dr. Lefdal
Program Spotlight:  I had the opportunity to be the administrator on duty at a few of our soccer matches throughout the season.  I would like to spotlight the soccer coaches as well as our soccer players. They have done an excellent job representing our school and played hard throughout the season.  Kudos to those who put in all of the long hours of practice and hard work! Our coaches and team made SCHS look amazing!
Notable Topics:  I am impressed with how well some of our students did on the ACT and with utilizing the "On to College" programming that we used.  I believe John Baylor’s program will truly make a difference with those students who put the time and hard work into the program.
Looking ahead:  I am excited to continue planning for next year.  I am excited about being part of the EL program at the high school as well as continuing work with the counselors and administration.

Special Education Director's Report: Mrs. Vrba
          Wow...I truly can't believe it is already May! This last month has been absolutely crazy. We have been finishing up testing of students referred to us from the SAT Teams across the district. District-wide, we have been busy sneaking in a few more MDTs/IEPs so our students are ready to hit the books in August. With major help from the building principals, I have been trying to hire the best candidates  to build our programs stronger. In this past month, I have been occupied with assembling caseloads and co-teaching teams that will ensure success of our students.
          I would just like to say "a huge heart-felt thank you" to you as our Board of Education for everything you have done, the on-going support you give us and all the time you have spent trying to ensure that Schuyler Community Schools' students get the best possible comprehensive education!
Staff Member Spotlight:  Pat Knutson, also, very much deserves to shine after 29 years in the classroom for Schuyler Community Schools. A few years ago, she could also be found in the gym coaching volleyball. (That is the very first time and place I ever met her!) In my three years working with Pat as her Special Education Director, her teaching style has changed to be more hands-on activities with a "little encouragement" from Discovery Education. Pat is a true advocate for her students in "regular classrooms" and is constantly collaborating with the core subject teachers. She is willing to pull out every "tool she has in her teaching kit" to ensure her students' success. Pat and Lori, together, have built a phenomenal special education program at SMS! Thank you Pat for all your years of dedication to SCS!

Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction Director's Report:  Dr. Gibbons
Staff Member Spotlight - I would like to thank Deb Schueth, Sherri Klaassen, Angie Wemhoff, Evelyn Recinos, Clarissa Eloge, Brandi Zavadil, Elizabeth Lickei and Dr. Lefdal for attending the EL Collaborative Conference in Omaha last week.  It was an informative session and will help us improve our EL program in the future.

Assessments - We have completed the statewide assessments.  We were able to test 100% of our students in grades three through eight.  It can be more difficult to test all students at the high school level because there are only certain days for testing but we managed to get 97% of our students tested.  (We must test at least 95%).

I attended the NDE’s Assessment and Accountability Advisory Committee meeting last week and learned that the psychometricians who verify the reliability of the state testing data are confident that the information will make it to schools in late August.  After this year, they hope to have enough data to reliably release the data almost immediately after testing is complete.

A very preliminary look at the NSCAS ACT data looks promising.

High School SIG Grant - We had an onsite visit from NDE officials that went really well.  We have finished year three of our five year grant. We are examining our work with Discovery Education and have met with their team to come up with the best way to finish our work with them.

ESSA - We also had an ESSA Monitoring visit.  In this visit, we needed to show evidence to the NDE that we meeting federal programs requirements.  We did very well in our audit and we only need to make some minor adjustments.

Rationale: 
Program/Staff Member Spotlight: High School Guidance Program:  
Mrs. Katherine Bertrand is in her 12th year as a professional educator and is finishing her 4th year at Schuyler Central High School.  Among Mrs. Bertrand's duties as a 9-10 grade counselor, Mrs. Bertrand manages the testing program for the high school.  This year, she worked with staff to coordinate and implement the John Baylor Test Prep Program, ACT for all juniors, and NWEA MAPS testing for 9th and 10th grade students.
Ms. Amy Johnson is in her 36th year as a professional educator, 34 years in Schuyler.  In addition to her duties as an 11-12 grade counselor, Ms. Johson coordinates the scholarship program resulting in thousands of dollars in scholarships to local, regional, and state colleges.  Congratulations to these two ladies for making a difference in our schools and in supporting our students in their access to post secondary education.