Anson Elementary School Principal Ronnie Manis presents to the school board on November 19 along with Anson Counselor Ashley Chyma, center, and Extended Learning Program teacher Nicole Holman Lankelma.
Principal Ronnie Manis, Counselor Ashley Chyma and Extended Learning Teacher Nicole Holman Lankelma presented this report, which focused on attendance, behavior and STEM activities.
Manis said they have tried several new tactics this year to increase student attendance and so far it’s working. Daily attendance is at 97 percent, which is up a few percentage points from last year. They went to morning meetings and put breakfast back in the classroom. They also have flags for classrooms to hang if they have 100 percent attendance that day.
Chyma talked about the peace room which is a calming room where a student can feel safe and a way to calm down.
Lankelma talked about a makerspace cart with many creative projects, many of which are STEM related.
“It’s available for all students at Anson, not just the XLP kids,” Holman Lankelma said.
Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte thanks District Registrar Stacey Mommer for her work on the certified enrollment which resulted in the district being named on The Gold Star List.
Marshalltown Community School District Registrar, Stacey Mommer, and Assistant to the Director of Instruction, Maeia Milot (not in attendance), were recognized for their work on certified enrollment. The District was placed on the The Gold Star List, receiving special recognition from the Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) team from the Iowa Department of Education.
The school board was recognized for its collective Better Boardsmanship Awards from the Iowa Association of School Boards at the recent convention. Also individual board members who received awards for their continued professional development included Ross Harris, Sean Heitmann, Janelle Carter and Bea Niblock. Click here for more information on the board recognition.
Teachers Matthew Nevins and Rachel Nelson-Loupee spoke in favor of continuing the early retirement incentive.
MHS senior Jane Ragland talked about the all-state music festival held last Saturday and the monthly Friday night dances at MHS.
The Miller handbook was not updated when others were updates made to head lice to other handbooks in district. This item updated that handbook.
A tentative 2019-20 school calendar was presented to the board. It mirrors the current calendar year in many ways. It has also been brought before the administrative team and calendar committee for feedback.
The tentative calendar will next be sent to parents and staff for feedback before being brought back to the board for approval in December.
The board and administrators continues with the discussion of Chapter 5 – Developing a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum.
Approve SBRC Application for Increasing Enrollment, Open Enrollment Out, and LEP Instruction Beyond Five Years as presented. The recommendation is to apply for the authority for LEP instruction beyond 5 years in the amount of $1,154,626 and open enrollment out not on the fall 2017 count in the amount of $625,083.20 for a total request of $1,779,709.20.
This program offers health insurance to those eligible for early retirement for 96 months or to the age of 65 who take early retirement.
Dr. Schutte presented additional information to the board as requested.
Employees are eligible by serving the district for 15 or more years and meeting rule of 88. The board held a lengthy discussion on the agenda item before approving the incentive for this spring.
604.7 Dual Enrollment – very similar to IASB policy minor word changes- Marked as reviewed.
Bea Niblock, right, was re-elected by the board to serve as Board President for the next year.
Janelle Carter, left, was re-elected by the board to serve as Board Vice President for the next year.
The next regular meeting of the school board will be at 5 p.m. on December 3 in district offices.
“Monday’s board meeting found the board holding its annual organizational meeting due to changes in state law. This meeting used to be held in September. Board leadership was elected during this meeting.
Janelle Carter was elected vice president for the coming year. I have worked with Janelle for 3 years and am delighted to continue working with her. Janelle is an educator for fellow board members helping them understand issues and works tirelessly to move the district forward. Without Janelle’s leadership, the board would not work as seamlessly as it does.
And, I was elected president. I am honored that my fellow board members have confidence in my leadership skills and ability to drive our own learning to better understand the things that make our district great.