February 14, 2022 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: 

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

Rationale:  Teacher resignation effective immediately
1.  Paula Stormberg:  SES 5th Grade (medical exclusion)

Teacher Resignations at the end of the year
1.  Kalli Feddersen:  SMS Physical Education Teacher
2.  Jenna Saalfeld:  SMS Math Teacher
3.  Emily Steinhoff:  SCHS Language Arts Teacher

Support Staff Resignations
1.  Nancy Alarcon:  SES Para Educator
2.  Maria D Arciva:  SES Food Service

Rationale:  Support Staff
1.  Martha Viquez:  Food Service
2.  Noelia Encarnacion:  Food Service
3.  Mariluz Delgado: High Needs Para Educator at Head Start

New Certified Staff for 2022-23
1.  Hal Moomey:  High School Teacher:  Vocational Agriculture

 

Rationale: 

Priority Plan update

This past month we were able to meet with our consultants on multiple days.  We once again had a long list of to-do items, but the meetings were as good as I have been part of over the last few years.  They went well and were very productive.  We worked on our Priority Plan Evaluation with our team and then Dr. Kennedy.  This was a great time to review and celebrate the progress we have made over the past year as well as give direction for the remainder of the school year.  It is a great process to go through as a team.  The insight that Dr. Kennedy brings to the review is always refreshing and appreciated!  This has also been a great opportunity for our new administration to get to know the process. 

We continued working on classroom visits and value-add feedback.  Watching our teachers improve their teaching strategies and prioritize differentiated instruction as well as utilizing intervention strategies to help our students gain essential content is exciting to see!  This process has been very good for our staff, students, and school.

We also spent time during their visit discussing goal setting, as well as rigor and Depth of Knowledge, updating class look-fors, and how to best get our attendance campaign out to the community.  We have two more days this month scheduled with KLK on February 16-17.  During this time we will continue work on classroom visits and value-add feedback, as well as a long laundry list of items.  

Below is a link to our priority plan, as well as our SCHS newsletter.  Again, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t be afraid to contact one of the high school administrators.

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/908802/Draft_2018-2021_Schuyler_Priority_Plan__1_.pdf

https://5il.co/nlww

Rationale: 
Preschool and SES 3-5 Principal's Report:  Mr. Comley
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to highlight Tori Oehlrich. Mrs Oehlrich has gone above and beyond for myself and SES with any questions we may have medically.  Mrs. Oehlrich always has our students' best interest first, and I truly appreciate her point of view in any matters that arise. I know I am not the only one that feels this way, but I want to publicly say thank you, Mrs Oehlrich for all you do. has been Requested.
 

SES K-2 Principal's Report:  Mrs. Neesen                     
Spotlight Upcoming Events: The Scholastic Book Fair was originally planned to be a virtual book fair similar to last year, but Mrs. Black was able to confirm that the Book Fair would physically be coming to Schuyler Elementary School! The Book Fair will be at the Elementary from February 28th to March 8th.

DO Dual Language, Fisher’s, & Richland Principal's Report:  Ms.Bebout
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight Logan Paben.  Logan is a new teacher in Schuyler.  He teaches half day at the high school and PE for Fisher’s & Richland.  He also coaches football, girls basketball and boys soccer. Logan was born in Chadron and grew up in North Platte.  He spent eight years in Otis and Rangely, CO.  Logan received his teaching degree from Chadron State College. 
          Logan held a fundraiser at both rural schools for the American Heart Association.  The students were able to raise $370.88 at Richland and $348.12 at Fisher’s.  What a great way to teach students about giving back!  Great job Logan!!

Middle School Assistant Principal's Report:  Mr. Banahan
Spotlight Upcoming Events: Our students began taking their ELPA 21 test last week. This assessment is for any student whose family's home language is not English. Students will have to continue to take this test until they are able to test out of the four areas that the test focuses on. The four areas that ELPA 21 focuses on include, writing, speaking, listening, and reading in the English language. Students are then given a score in those areas on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest level for each area. How students do on this assessment will determine whether or not they are on the LEP (Limited English Proficiency) identified. Once students have tested out of their LEP program, they no longer need to take the ELPA 21 assessment, as they have been identified as having mastery of the English language.
Program/Staff Member Spotlight: As we are wrapping up School Counselor week, I felt it was only fitting to spotlight our amazing counselor at SMS Mrs. Paula Kment. Mrs. Kment does so much for us here at the Middle School for our students and staff members, and often receives very little recognition for everything she does. She is the definition of a team player, and always willing to help out in any way that will benefit our students, from helping run a concession stand at various sporting events, to covering classes, making up MAP/NSCAS Tests, fixing scheduling issues, and covering lunches. This year she took on the role of Student Council sponsor, and recently our student council was selling suckers and flowers for students to give to each other, or to take home to their parents on Valentines' Day! We are beyond blessed to have such an amazing team member on our staff, and are truly grateful for everything she does here at Schuyler Middle School!

Middle School Principal's Report:  Mr. Zavadil
Program Spotlight: I would like to promote the work of Mrs. Becky Lefdal.  In the past year and a half, Mrs. Lefdal worked with ESU 2 staff member Kristi Arlt to help organize our STEMLC Empower Grant.  This grant has three aspects that are all designed to make our schools even better.  Prong #1 is the STEMLC teacher leadership core.  Three teachers from the Middle School participate in teacher professional development and coaching sessions intended to increase our staff’s overall STEM teaching techniques and student-led learning.  Prong #2 is the Empower portion of the grant.  Young men and women from the rural schools and the middle school are matched with mentors that work in the STEM field and meet with them monthly as well as participate in a monthly activity meant to show them real world STEM careers.  Finally, the 3rd prong of this grant provides administrators with focused professional development and coaching.   Mr. Banahan and myself have received principal coaching both together and individually and this coaching has been invaluable to help us improve our craft as building leaders.
Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to spotlight the work of Mr. Schlueter.  Mr. Schlueter is our 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Schuyler Middle School.  During an observation of Mr. Schlueter, this past month, I witnessed a teacher that works hard to build relationships with students, and works hard to hold students accountable to high academic, behavioral, and character standards.  Mr. Schlueter mixes simple math skills with real world examples and practice.  Every lesson of Mr. Schlueter’s takes time to teach the students about a short life lesson, or takes a short break to practice manners.  Mr. Schlueter has become a very strong member of the Schuyler Middle School staff in the past 6 months and we are glad to have him as a part of the Schuyler Community Schools team.
Upcoming Events:  This month we will be finishing our ELPA testing, which is a large undertaking wherein every student in our ELL program each takes four different tests to show their growth in language acquisition.  In middle school, we have 136 students that take these tests.  Mrs. Wemhoff works hard to coordinate this effort in the Middle School.  We are also entering into our planning for parent-teacher conferences.  We are hoping to continue our great attendance.  During the fall semester, SMS had great attendance and we hope to improve upon that number.

High School Assistant Principal's Report:  Mr. Steinhoff
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  In this month’s staff spotlight I would like to recognize Justin Hayes.  Justin Hayes is a special education teacher at the high school. Justin works extremely well with all of the kids at the high school, and is always willing to take the extra effort to do what is right for each individual student.  Whether it is individually working with a student, writing an IEP, or leading an IEP meeting, Justin does a great job.  Justin is a true asset to the high school and special education department.

High School Assistant Principal's Report:  Mrs. Ladwig
Program/Staff Member Spotlight: I would like to spotlight the work of Mrs. Melanie Gustafson both in the classroom and with the Speech team. Mrs. Gustafson has put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to teach the majority of our English 11 classes this semester, and the kids know just how much she cares about what she is doing, but more importantly, how much she cares about them. This same work ethic and caring attitude is seen when Mrs. Gustafson works with the Speech team. Our students are empowered by her, and in turn, they work hard to improve from meet to meet.
Notable Topics: I have been impressed with our entire staff and the work they have done in their department common plans this semester. Everyone has had a good attitude and forward-thinking mindset as we have worked on embedding ACT practice into classes and dug into the middle of the year MAP data.
Looking ahead: Beginning this week, a group of sophomores and juniors who have been recommended by teachers will begin the first ever Youth Leadership Schuyler class. This is a 12-week program created in partnership between the Nebraska Extension in Colfax County, Schuyler Economic Development, and the Columbus Area United Way to develop leadership and entrepreneurial mindset skills within the youth of Schuyler. I’m excited to see our young leaders grow throughout this class!

High School Principal's Report:  Dr. Lefdal
Program Spotlight:  I would like to spotlight the work of our STS and Ag programs.  Mr. Harper, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Seehusen, and Mr. Wemhoff.  The programs they are offering are vital to the success of some of our students.  The pathways they are creating for students are full of "real world" projects and learning.  Over the past few weeks, students have been welding, working on mechatronics programs, butchering, evaluating animals, working on plants, and even having ideas on how to have their own business. The ideas and suggestions on how to improve our programming have been nothing short of excellent.  Great work! 
Notable Topics:  I am very excited to see how our wrestling teams perform at the state level.  I believe we are headed in the right direction with these activities and believe we will be a force in the next few years! 
Looking ahead:  I am excited to see the speech team in action again at conference, districts and state.  I believe we have some very talented members.  It is exciting to see our kids excited and proud of our school.  Go Warriors!

Rationale: 

K-6 Youth Sports Director's Report: Mrs. Neesen
Spotlight Upcoming Events: Youth Sport recognition night has been completed for both the Boys and Girls basketball program. During the girl’s night, the girl’s went out onto the court to show off some of the skills that they had learned during the season. The girls were very excited about going out onto the court and be highlighted on the big screen!

Warrior Academy - ASP Director's Report:  Ms. Bebout
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight Aylin Adame this month. Aylin was born in Norfolk but was raised in Schuyler all of her life. She is currently enrolled to attend CCC in the spring for her Associates in Business Administration. She’s been with her boyfriend for 3 years, she has full-custody of her younger brother since her parents are currently living in Mexico. This is her 3rd year with the ASP.  She first started as a high school helper and later became a club leader. In 2020, after graduating high school, she was offered a full-time position at the preschool as a para. During that year, she was a club leader for 2 quarters. This school year she came back to the ASP full time as SES ASP Assistant Coordinator and Business Liaison. Warrior Academy is thankful to have Aylin. She has started building relationships with our community members, families, and students. 

Middle School Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Banahan
Program/Staff Member Spotlight: This month’s staff spotlight is Mr. Chad Wiseman, is a positive role model for many of our young men and women at SMS! This year he is coaching MS Football and Track, and is the assistant coach at SCHS for the Boys Basketball team. Mr. Wiseman does a great job of building relationships with our students to help them become more responsible and respectful student athletes, as well as holding them to a higher standard of self-worth by building them up.  We are incredibly thankful to have him on our staff at SMS, and grateful that he continues to help mold our young men and women not only in the classroom, but also on the field of competition.
Spotlight Program: We are currently just over half way through our MS boys basketball season, and our boys have been tough competitors all season long. Our 8A team has had a number of games come down to the very end and with only 2 points making the difference in the outcome, including a 3OT thriller @ Scotus, where we barely missed our 3 point attempt at the buzzer. The boys have continued to compete in every game, and were able to pull out a 2 point victory over Seward last week.It is very promising to see the growth of our student-athletes over a two-year period for some, and over a month and a half for some of the others. 
Spotlight Upcoming Events: Finishing up the boys basketball season with 4 more game dates, including a Tournament at Aquinas on 2/12, vs Twin River on 2/15, vs Columbus on 2/17, and then finishing in Madison on 2/22.

High School Activities Director Report: Mr. Steinhoff
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to spotlight the speech team.  We recently hosted a speech contest with 22 teams.   We placed 3rd and had 15 of the 17 varsity members medalled.  The speech team is about halfway through their season and has consistently finished high as a team.  The team is progressing and  is looking forward to conferences on February 21st and the district team goes to Scotus on March 5th.  If you would like to see the speech team in action, our speech showcase is scheduled for Tuesday, February 15th at the high school.

Special Education Director's Report:  Mrs. Vrba
Program/Staff Member Spotlight (Bernice Maxwell): Bailey Svoboda, one of our Speech Pathologists, and I were visiting during our last SES's MDT/IEP Day about me having to choose an outstanding educator. I was sharing this is such a hard task for me because all of my team members are working so hard to make a huge impact on our students' lives. Bailey co-teaches with Bernice two-days a week and she stated "Darli, I have never seen a teacher that reflects so much on her lessons. She does an immediate check for understanding and starts preparing the next lesson to meet the needs of her students!" I added to the conversion that I call Bernice the "Queen of Data"...she is continually checking for understanding and mastery! She makes data sheets for every skill and with a recurring spiral system in place...students get perpetual practices. Over the past two years, Bernice has worked on building a strong writing program to enhance all the skills that our students have learned in Kindergarten through 5^th grade! Both, Bailey and I stated at the exact same time...that there isn't a teacher in the SCS school district that has the natural ability to build a relationship with her students like Bernice does. I don't believe it is the snacks she gives them if they have late lunch nor the times she works through her lunch hour to help them with homework and/or to study for a test...Bernice has a true passion for teaching along with ensuring success for all of her students...even those students that try to push her buttons! Most of the time, it is those students she truly loves the most!
 

Curriculum Director, Instruction and Assessment Director's Report:  Dr. Gibbons

Program/Staff Member Spotlight: I wanted to point out that we are in good shape in regards to a new state law requiring Financial Literacy as a graduation requirement starting in the 2023-24 school year.  Mr. Tom Nelson is already teaching this course and it is already a graduation requirement.  He and I have worked together to be absolutely sure that our course meets the state requirements, but otherwise we are set.  He is currently using a Dave Ramsey Personal Finance Course that is specifically designed for high school courses. Here is the text of the law for your information:
79-3001. Act, how cited. Sections 79-3001 to 79-3004 shall be known and may be cited as the Financial Literacy Act.
79-3002. Financial literacy, defined. For purposes of the Financial Literacy Act, financial literacy includes, but is not limited to, knowledge and skills regarding budget and financial record keeping; banking; taxes; establishing, building, maintaining, and monitoring credit; debt; savings; risk management; insurance; and investment strategies.
79-3003. Financial literacy instruction; required; high school course; requirements. Beginning with school year 2023-24, each school district, in consultation with the State Department of Education, shall include financial literacy instruction, as appropriate, in the instructional program of its elementary and middle schools and require each student to complete at least one five-credit high school course in personal finance or financial literacy prior to graduation.
Since Last Board Meeting: As mentioned in my previous report, we held two days of Strategic Plan/Curriculum/APL workshops, January 17th and 18th.  In one of the sessions, our 6-12th grade ELA teachers worked together to score practice ACT writing papers from this year’s juniors.  We have done this for a couple of years and the word all around was that this was the best set of papers they have ever scored.  Another improvement over the past is that feedback was provided to the students and then Mrs. Gustafson had students rewrite their papers to give them a feel of what it is like to write a higher scoring essay.

Important Spring Semester Dates

February 7th - March 18th ELPA21 Language Proficiency Assessment Window

March 21 - April 29 NSCAS Summative Assessment Window

April 5 ACT

Rationale: 
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  It is rare that I would spotlight a single administrator, but, Dr. Lefdal has done an outstanding job of taking the reigns at the high school and pulling the administrative team together.  His work with the Priority School process, recruiting applicants for open positions, dealing with the day to day operations of the building, and continuous building of relationships to promote a positive, safe learning environment are appreciated.  Dr. Kathy Kennedy, consultant with the Nebraska Department of Education, commented to me that he is exactly what that building needs to move forward.  Thank you to Dr. Lefdal and his administrative team for the efforts you take to make a difference to the students and staff at Schuyler Central High School.  The picture on the high school website of Dr. Lefdal being supported by his team is spot--on.

1.  Chamber Recognition Nite:  The Schuyler Chamber recognized Schuyler Community Schools' Educators and Staff as their selection for the "IMPACT AWARD".  See Plaque and attached video.
2.  Strategic Planning Update:  The various committees are working with the information from  the two-day workshops to organize their action plans for the 2022 Strategic Plan. 

 

Rationale:  February Foundation Meeting is postponed to Monday, February 21st.