KAREN STAFFEN IS THE LEAD PERSON IN FORMING A COMMITTEE TO EXPLORE THE 4 DAY SCHOOL WEEK CONCEPT
THE MANDATED “READ BY 3” INTERVENTION PROGRAM IS OFF TO A GOOD START
DISTRICT STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS ARE BRINGING THE OUTDATED POLICIES INTO LINE WITH CURRENT STANDARDS…A LOT OF WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE HERE
By Sharon Snell
The complete Board Packets are available on the Storey County School District website in the dropdown menu under “Community.” Following opening routines, Consent Items approved included paying warrants, minutes for Sept.18 and Oct. 16, 2019 Board Meetings, Class Size Reduction Report, and the District Holiday Party for Dec. 18. Approval for the District Progressive Discipline had to be postponed since the State has not yet responded to a request for the Restorative Practice Guidelines.
Reports and Presentations
Most of the reports and congratulations centered on the success of the winter sports teams. Many community members already know that the football team made it into the playoff bracket, but lost a tough game to Tonopah. The girls’ volleyball team State Championship for their division. The Cross Country team sent 3 students to the State meet.
In other District news Supt. Hess reported that teacher Karen Staffen has been appointed to be lead person in forming a committee to explore the idea of a 4 day school week and hosting future public meetings. This type of school schedule has been found to be beneficial in other Nevada rural school districts. More information will be available early next year. No decision has been made, nor will it be made, without public education and input.
Student Leadership classes have led successful fundraising drives, one for Breast Cancer Awareness and another to help people who have suffered loses in the California fire disasters.
Pat Beckwith reported that the mandated “Read by 3” intervention program is off to a good start with Allison Brolsma hired specifically to help K-2 students with the goal of reading at grade level by third grade.
Storey is participating in a New Teacher Project (NTP) for teachers working in grades 3-12. The goal of this project is to improve learning outcomes by creating a professional learning community through classroom visitations and collaborative conversations. A high priority for teachers is to see curriculum-aligned well with State standards.
New Business
New Business during these two meetings primarily consisted of approving and/or discussing a host of updated District policies/contracts. As has been stated before, two volumes of policies essentially have had no meaningful changes in the decade before Todd Hess became superintendent. With the help of District staff, Board members are making a serious attempt to bring outdated policies to light and replace them with current standards of operation. This task is akin to painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Once you have finished you get to start all over again.
The following is a list of the most interesting approved additions/updates:
- Final Audit for 18/19;
- Specific language for a contract for Greg Hess as Bond Project Manager and naming him Project Manager for Safety Grant Projects;
- Contract with Zander Consulting;
- Board of Trustees to attend the national conference in Chicago in April;
- Permission for teacher Gary Punchard to lead a group of middle and high school students on a trip to Washington D.C in June;
- Authorization to restructure Bond Indebtedness for the benefit of SCSD;
- and finally, separate policies concerning the Limitation of PE classes to be taken concurrently, Administrative Evaluations, Board Meetings, and the Election of Board Members.
The next Board Meeting will be held on Dec. 11, 2019, at 5:30pm in the VCHS Training Room