March 13, 2023 at 5:00 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: 

See attached Information

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for reviewing curriculum recommendations, textbook selection, requisitions/inventory, and instructional programs.

Rationale:  Dr. Gibbons met with the board curriculum committee to review the proposed textbook replacement plan for 2023.  See the enclosed curriculum and textbook replacement plan attached for consideration.

For more detail, see the fmp modules available on the district website.
https://www.schuylercommunityschools.org/page/scs-fmp-modules
 

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

Rationale:  The Nebraska Association of School Boards mailed out board member packets that will be available at the meeting.  Attached below is the cover letter and contract for 2023-24 Membership Dues.

Rationale:  Attached is the ESU 7 Special Services Contract for the 2023-2024 school year.  The services outlined on the estimates are based on our use for the 2022-2023 school year and anticipated services for the 2023-2024 school year.  We only pay for the services we use. 

Rationale:  According to the early retirement policy, the board of education may approve up to 4 requests for early retirement annually.  The early retirement policy is attached below.

Attached are three early retirement requests.  We have two fully eligible requests and one request for partial (2/3) early retirement benefits.  See attached requests below.
 

Rationale: 
1.  Deb Hartman:  Fishers Para Educator - Retirement
2.  Meridith Riha:  SES Counselor - Resignation
3.  Heidi Wallin:  SCHS Science Teacher - Resignation

Rationale: 
1.  Nadia Morales:  SES Teacher
2.  Spencer Jakub:  SCHS Language Arts Teacher
3.  Cole Martinez:  SCHS Family/Consumer Science (FCS) Teacher

Rationale:  The board negotiations  committee met to review the salary comp  study with our Established Array of Schools.  The following positions are compared in salary and benefits to similar positions.  Attached are the  committee recommendations for 2023-2024.

1.  Penny Janousek:  Business Manager
2.  Ronnie Mundil:  Director of Facilities, Maintenance, and Transportation
3.  Jeff Droge:  Director of Technology
4.  Jamie  Rameriz;  Food Service Director
5.  April  Becker:  School Psychologist

Rationale: 
The board of education will consider a two-year contract for Dr. Bret Schroder at their regular March 13, 2023 school board meeting.  The contract is a two-year contract (2023-24, 2024-25).  The proposed contract includes a salary of $179,000.  Benefit plan:  Health Insurance deductible of $1,200.  Contract details are attached below and posted on the district website in compliance with the superintendent's Pay Transparency Act.

Rationale: 

Preschool/SES 3-5 Principal's Report:  Mr. Comley
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to highlight Diana Mondragon. Mrs Mondragon is a para at SES that helps in one of our ELL rooms, and most recently has been filling in the office area. Mrs. Mondragon has/does an outstanding job in both areas. I have personally had many compliments on how pleasant and nice Mrs Mondragon is. She is a great example of another wonderful employee we have at SES and I want to say thank you for all you do for Schuyler!

SES K-2 Principal's Report: Mrs. Keairnes
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight our Kindergarten teachers! Mrs. Garcia, Mrs. Sobota, Ms. Girard, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Ostberg, and Mrs. Vavrina planned and prepared for four parent meetings of upcoming Kindergarten students. Two at the Preschool and two at Headstart were hosted where they presented positive information about our school along with information that can help those students and families be confident moving into Kindergarten.

Dual Language, Fisher’s, & Richland Principal's Report:  Ms. Bebout
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  On March 14th we will hold our 6th year of Kindergarten Dual Lang signup!!  It is hard to believe that this amazing program has been running for this long.  We will hold two sessions at 10:00 a.m. and another at 5:00 p.m.  Any parents interested in enrolling their child into the Dual Lang program must attend one of these sessions.  At the parent meeting, parents are informed about the program, the requirements for students and parents, and the benefits it provides for their child.  We will enroll two classes of students into the program, which is 32 students.  If we have more than 32 families interested in the program, then the names will be put into a lottery and any extra students will be put on a waiting list.  We are so excited about meeting our next group of scholars!!

Middle School Assistant Principal's Report:  Mr. Banahan
Spotlight Program: This month I would like to spotlight the work of our partnership with Good Neighbor Community Health Center, specifically Ms. Sarah Preston, who works with many students here at Schuyler Middle School. Ms. Preston does a great job working with our students and making them feel comfortable when working through tough situations that arise in our students' lives. Ms. Preston is a Licensed Mental Health Practioner who through her company's partnership with SCS is available to visit our students weekly here at school so they can get the services they need to feel supported and successful while not having to miss as much school to leave for their appointments during the school day. In the last two years, and hopefully this summer as well, Ms. Preston will be able to continue working with the students throughout the summer, if it is seen fit for the student to be most successful. We are grateful for this amazing partnership and look forward to continuing working with Good Neighbor to help provide these opportunities for our students.
Spotlight Upcoming Event: On March 15th we will have a guest speaker, Juan Cangas, come to Schuyler Middle School and Schuyler Central High School to talk to our students about making positive choices while sharing his personal story. Mr. Cangas will be talking to our students about how our choices now impact our future, and how these choices don’t have to define us, but can help us grow positively to positively impact our lives. He will be speaking to the middle school students in the morning, and the high school students in the afternoon. This opportunity is made possible by both the Middle and High School Student Councils. 

http://juancangas.com/

Middle School Principal's Report:  Mr. Zavadil
Program Spotlight: I would like to highlight the work of our district and building level School Improvement teams.  These teams have done a lot of work to prepare for an external visit scheduled for the end of the month of March.   Also, in the past month, our administrative team has had the opportunity to receive coaching from Discovery Education, KLK consulting, Learning Empowerment incorporated, and Capturing Kids’ hearts.  These groups have focused on three primary goals for instruction.  Engaging project based learning, rigorous instruction based upon standards, and building a strong classroom environment through relationships.
Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to highlight the work of Mrs. Hanna.  Last week we had the pleasure of observing her classrooms while her students were in the midst of a very engaging project wherein students build cars utilizing their knowledge of Newton’s three laws of motion.  These cars are supposed to protect an egg during a collision with the wall.  Students were truly learning and having a ton of fun during this project.
Upcoming Events:  The district just finished parent-teacher conferences last week and we had great attendance. We will be starting our NSCAS and MAP testing during the 1st week of April.  Our students will be getting an opportunity to listen to a speaker, Juan Congas, to discuss the challenges of being students and how to be a great person.  Our 8th grade group is very busy the following week as they will be visiting both SCHS and Doan/Concordia colleges on the 21st and the 24th respectively. 

High School Asst. Principal's Report:  Mr. Steinhoff
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to spotlight Ms. Estrada.  Ms. Estrada is a first year teacher here at SCHS.  As a new teacher, Ms. Estrada does amazing things with our students.  She constantly  seeks out opportunities for growth, works with her team,  and is eager to hone in and improve her craft.  In my last several visits, her students have been authentically engaged and eager to learn.  She is an asset to our school and we are grateful to have her as a Warrior!

High School Assistant Principal's Report:  Mrs. Ladwig
Program/Staff Member Spotlight: I would like to highlight the work of our School Improvement team which includes the following SCHS staff members: Staci Shonka (co-chair), Nick Wilcox (co-chair), Drey Keairnes, Ashlie Stone, Jeremy Hlavac, Seth Paesl, Paul Niedbalski, Katie Bertrand, Clarissa Eloge, Don Seehusen, and Elizabeth Lickei. With our external review visit coming up at the end of this month, it is only fitting that this group is recognized for all the extra work and documentation they have completed over the course of this school year. Mrs. Shonka and Mr. Wilcox, in particular, spent an immense amount of time working on data and artifact collection. Thank you to this team for all their work!

High School Principal/Student Services Director's Report:  Dr. Lefdal
Program Spotlight:  I would like to spotlight Mr. Steinhoff and Mrs. Ladwig for the work that they are doing at the high school.  Watching them work to make our school better every day is exciting.  They are dedicated professionals that truly challenge me to be the best that I can be every day.  Their ideas and suggestions on how to continually improve our programming and school have been nothing short of amazing.  They truly make going to work a pleasure.
Notable Topics:  The speech team has simply been amazing.  The team has worked diligently to make this one of the best years they have had!  The students are excited, willing to put in the time and effort that is necessary to succeed, and their behavior and professionalism at speech meets is nothing short of amazing.  Bravo!
Looking Ahead:  I am excited to see our spring athletes in action.  We have students who are excited about participating in track, soccer, and golf.  I know the students and coaches have started putting in the time to make sure their programs are a success.  We have some very competitive teams, and it will be exciting to watch them.

Rationale: 

Youth Sports Director's Report: Mrs. Keairnes
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to highlight Sara Garcia and her Youth Softball Program! There are about 30 girls signed up for youth softball this year. Mrs. Garcia has engaged multiple volunteers to participate in building this program. Outside of teaching basic softball skills every Tuesday and Thursday, she also holds a practice specifically for pitching and catching practice every Sunday afternoon. She does a fantastic job of meeting the needs of all ability levels and making the most of the time she has with her athletes.

Warrior Academy - AfterSchool Program Director's Report:  Ms. Bebout
Spotlight Staff: Guadalupe Encarnacion:  We would like to highlight Guadalupe Encarnacion. Guad was born in Mexico but moved to Schuyler, NE when she was 3 years old. She has been with her husband, Victor, for 14 years now. They have 2 kids together, Marely, who is 12 years old and attending Middle School, and Julian, who is 7 years old and attending Elementary School. She graduated from SCHS in 2008. Once she graduated, she started working at Homestead Bank from 2008 - 2014. In 2014, she took the SMS Coordinator position for the after-school program. She’s been with the program since it started in 2014. Guadalupe has been a big piece of our program and we are grateful to have her.

Middle School Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Banahan
Spotlight Program: Here at SMS we are starting up our track season with our first practices on March 20th. As we head into our final competition season of the school year, we are excited to see what our young athletes can do out on the track and field in their respective events. We bring back some good experience with our 8th-grade students who had a lot of success last season. In talking to a couple of the students, they are very excited to get going and a number of them are eyeing some records up on the record board. Overall we are excited to see what our athletes can do this spring season.
Spotlight Staff:  I would like to highlight the work of Mrs. Janelle Rocha, who has been a huge help here at SMS with our Athletic programs. Mrs. Rocha has done a great job of having our rosters ready to go for all of our home events, as well as keeping track of SMS Concessions. She has taken on these new roles with great enthusiasm and has done a great job of keeping us moving in the right direction. So thank you Mrs. Rocha for all of your hard work with SMS Athletics, we all appreciate it!
Spotlight Upcoming Event:  SMS Vocal and Band groups will be performing at the Malcolm Music Contest on March 17th. Our groups have had some great success at this competition in the past, and we are sure that Miss Semerad, Mr. Pelayo, and Mr. Niedbalski have our performers ready to go for this competition once again this year! Best of luck this week!

High School Activities Director's Report: Mr. Steinhoff
Program Spotlights:  Speech
In this month’s program spotlight I would like to highlight our Speech team.  Our speech team won District B-3 and the following students will be representing us at the state speech meet in Kearney. 
State Speech Qualifiers!
Elizabeth Harding 2nd Persuasive Speaking
Michael Arriaza 3rd Oral Interpretation of Humorous Prose
Colin Gibbons Program Of Interpretation Champion
Alex Aldana and Joel Medina Duet Acting Champion
Piper Lefdal Oral Interpretation of Serious Prose Champion
Joel Medina Oral Interpretation of Serious Prose  3rd
Elizabeth Harding Extemporaneous Speaking Champion
Piper Lefdal 3rd  Extemporaneous 
Colin Gibbons  Oral Interpretation of Poetry Champion!
Michae Arriaza, Gina Alba, and Alex Aldana Oral Interpretation of Drama 2nd
Band:  Honor Band Qualifiers performing on March 20th:
Piper Lefdal - Flute
Fredy Vazquez - Oboe, 1st chair
Vincent Wegner - Bassoon, 1st chair
Erika Quezada - Clarinet, 2nd chair
Muffin Harding - Clarinet
Ben Lefdal - Bass Clarinet, 1st chair
Josue Fuentes - Alto Saxophone
Omar Barrios - Trumpet, 1st chair
Colin Gibbons - Trumpet
Joel Medina - Trombone, 3rd chair
Oscar Carvajal - Trombone
Jesus Romero - Trombone
Diana Parada - Euphonium
Michael Ariazza - Euphonium
FFA:  FFA also had an impressive performance at the District FFA Contest.  FFA State Qualifiers.
Farm Business Management: 
District Champions, State Qualifiers!
Allison Vavricek District Champion
Addison Vavricek District Runner-Up
Bela Jedlicka Third Place
Abby Reyna 4th Place
Nursery Landscape:
Fourth Place, State Qualifiers!
Eliza Bailey Third Place
Shayan Svatora 5th Place
Meat Judging:
Third Place, State Qualifiers!
Wyatt Kluck 4th Place
Welding
District Runner-Up, State Qualifiers!
Agriscience:
All students placed in the top half of competitions

Upcoming Events:  Spring sports are off and running.  We are excited about starting spring activities.  This year we will not only host our annual soccer invite and the Fred Arnold, but we will also host both conference soccer and conference track.

Special Education Director's Report:  Mrs. Vrba
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  My spotlight is shining brightly on a set of our students' providers that truly lose a little bit of themselves every day by serving our students with their hearts and souls. Bailey Svoboda and Christina Hancock are our SLPs that present intensive explicit strategies when students are struggling with articulation and language skills. Logan Cuba, our OT, and Jessica Brugman, our PT, are forever working side-by-side with our teachers to brainstorm a line of attack to ensure success with fine/gross motor skills and supporting our students' sensory needs. Cassie Krings is a true advocate for our students with hearing losses. With a number of our students who didn't want to wear their hearing aids, Cassie's relentless tenacity and fun-loving spirit eventually wins out.
Bailey and Christina share their talents with all of the SES and SMS kids. Logan, Jessica and Cassie sprinkle their gifts throughout our whole school district. Schuyler Community Schools' students have been forever touched by this group of dedicated ladies. They have taught "our kids" to live by the quote..."Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."

Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction Director's Report:  Dr. Gibbons
Program/Staff Member Spotlight - I am going to spotlight the work of the 6-12th grade Math teachers in the work towards adopting a new set of curriculum materials.  It can be very difficult and time-consuming to do the work needed and they have come together to make a plan.  They have done a great job getting what we need.

Professional Development - Thank you for the additional time for professional development on March 6th.  It gave us the opportunity to finish up with some great sessions for our staff.

Assessments: Our EL teachers have finished up the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA21) recently.  We currently have about 830 students who need to take the ELPA assessment. Teachers have been working with those students to motivate them to do well.  The Spring NSCAS Assessment window will be opening soon.  All students in grades 3-8 must take the Spring assessments in English Language Arts and Math, with students in grades 5 and 8 also taking the Science Assessment.  High school 11th grade students will take the ACT on April 4th. Our 10th graders will take the PreACT that same day.

Other important Info  - Thank you to the Curriculum Committee for meeting with me last week. We will also need to set up a time for the Committee on American Civics to meet.  Also, the new strategies for the newly adopted Strategic Plan are on the ECRA Dashboard. 

Rationale:  Program/Staff Member Spotlight: Kim Powell serves the district as our Data Specialist.  While Kim's work is basically behind the scenes, she is instrumental in initiating and supporting all building administrators and teachers with all Infinite Campus information, NDE Staff Reporting, Accreditation Requirements, Attendance and school hour compliance, etc...  Thank you Kim for your continued efforts to ensure our data is in compliance with local, state and federal requirements. 
1.  Board Safety Committee:  Mr. Brabec needs to appoint a new ad-hoc committee to consider options on safety programs.  Once the committee is set, we need to consider possible dates and times for this committee to meet with building principals.
2. Board Standing Committees:  Set meeting times prior to the April Board Meeting to consider 2023 Strategic Plan Recommendations.
    Building/Grounds/Transportation Committee: Building and Grounds, Transportation and Equipment Plans
    Governance/Planning/Technology Committee:  2023-24 Calendar, Technology Plans
   

Rationale: 
1.  Foundation Meeting:  Brian Vavricek, Amanda Jedlicka
2.  NASB Board Notes:  See attached board notes