Board Report for December 10, 2024
The Board of Education met on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. You can watch the whole meeting on our YouTube channel, or click on each heading to jump straight to that report.
The 6th-grade choir from Newman Elementary opened the board meeting with performances of Winter Song and You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. Thank you to the students from Newman their director, Natalia Bellini, for brightening our holiday season.
The Board then honored two outgoing board members: Jenny Sika (four years of service) and Kristi Swett (20 years of service). We are deeply grateful for their service and the legacy they’ve built through their hard work and dedication to our students.
More than 1,000 students benefit from the district’s afterschool program, which includes academic support, sports, health and wellness classes, field trips, summer programs, and family engagement. The combination of academic and enrichment activities enhances the students’ education and provides learning opportunities many may not get otherwise.
RESET (Restorative Education for Student-Empowered Transformation) is part of the district’s Safe Schools program. Students in the RESET program receive academic instruction, social and emotional learning, and counseling. Their progress is monitored weekly, with a goal to transition to a school environment where they can successfully complete their education.
Comprehensive Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) Training Update
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) training is an essential part of our districtwide school safety plans. CSTAG is an evidence-based model for schools to use in conducting threat assessments. It emphasizes early attention to student behavior issues (bullying, teasing, etc.) before they escalate to violence and focuses on problem-solving rather than punitive strategies to address student misbehavior. CSTAG also equips administrators with the tools they need to adequately assess and respond to threats to their school. Nearly 90 percent of our school administrators have completed CSTAG training, and new classes are offered throughout the year.
Safe School Resolution Reaffirmation
The board reaffirmed its Safe School Resolution (first adopted in 2017, which outlines the board’s commitment to:
- provide an equal opportunity for all students to attend our schools, regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, national origin, or immigration status;
- protect student privacy, including having the district continue its practice to not collect or maintain information about our students' immigration status;
- not allow any individual or organization to enter a school site if the educational setting would be disrupted by that visit, including any individual or agency attempting to enforce federal immigration laws;
- do everything in the district's lawful power to protect our students' confidential information and ensure our schools are not disrupted by immigration enforcement actions.
The resolution includes other commitments about actions the district will and can take in support of the resolution. The resolution, and a list of frequently asked questions on how schools respond to immigration issues, can be found on the district’s website.
The Board of Education has adopted three goals to guide the district’s efforts over the next few years. These goals provide clear direction for focusing time and resources in key areas:
- Achieve 70% literacy proficiency by 2029.
- Ensure 100% of students are on a college or career pathway by 2029.
- Reduce chronic absenteeism from 28% to 10% by 2029.
More details about each goal are available on the district website.
Proposals for new literacy and career and technical education positions were sent to the Board Finance Subcommittee for review.
The board approved updates to Policy G-5 and its Administrative Procedures. The changes establish a process for deciding the future use of closed schools. The process first looks to see if the closed school could be used to meet immediate district needs. If there is no immediate need from the district, a feasibility study would be conducted to determine the best use of the property.
The changes to the policy and administrative procedures can be reviewed on the district website.