Regular Open Meeting Brief – January 16, 2020
The entire meeting agenda can be viewed at: January 16, 2020 BOE Meeting
Program Evaluations
Program Evaluations for Finance, Curriculum, Instructional Effectives, and Professional Development were presented to the Board. Highlights of each include:
Finance – Operating fund reserves as of June 2019 were 16.46% which fall within the stated goal of the Board. The District’s bonded debt is 43.6% of our constitutional debt limit, which positions the district well for future bond considerations regarding capital improvements.
Curriculum – All math and English Language Arts (ELA) standards K-12 have been aligned to Missouri Learning Standards. Embedding technology in daily activities to increase student engagement, relevance and motivation are ongoing.
Instructional Effectiveness –Teachers have multiple opportunities to collaborate with each other to refine instruction based on numerous avenues to access student achievement data. Instructional coaches observe classroom lessons and provide feedback for teachers. Assessment data indicates overall growth in student achievement but a need for greater improvement.
Professional Development (PD) – All PD is aligned to the District’s Strategic Plan and state requirements. A two-year mentoring program is provided to assist new teachers, counselors and administrators. Professionally learning community philosophy and process is embedded into district culture.
iReady Assessments
Results from the iReady Winter Diagnostic showed solid growth in all grade levels in both Math and Reading. This assessment provides schools and the district with a detailed analysis of where a student’s level of proficiency is regarding grade level expectations. The skills analysis provides accompanying plans and materials to facilitate multi-tiered support for struggling students.
2020-2021 School Calendar
The Board adopted the calendar for the 2020-2021 school year. Students will attend school for 169 days. The most significant difference to the current year calendar is a later start date (as required by new law) which results in first semester ending in January. The first day of school will be August 24, 2020 and the last day of school, with the required six snow days included, will be June 4, 2021.