School district accountability vital

I recently joined the Salida school district accountabilty committee and will be reporting on the experience and the schools. If you have any questions, please comment, or call me directly. Thanks for caring. -bd  539-0177

After hearing a litany of progressive ideas and approaches to manage and improve our schools, and seeing clearly that the administration has been working hard and pulling long hours —all without losing site of the primary goal of educating children, some of those gathered at the first official meeting of the 2009/10 district accountability committee wondered what the purpose of the group was? After an hour of discussion, we realized the degree to which our schools are being looked after, not just with a critcal eye towards the basics, but towards excelling in these tough times.

With all in agreement about the possibility of re-directing the energy of the board from watch-group to oversite and assistance, we will be looking forward to the next meeting where we will be contributing ways in which this committee can help achieve the district’s lofty, yet reachable goals. That said, the group’s mission will not be lost, and reviewing district progress reports and keeping an objective, outsider’s eye on the district will still be a significant component of the group’s job.

Attached are the minutes from the last accountability meeting. You might feel that minutes from a district accountability committee meeting are hardly news, but if you look within, and choose to inquire further about these topics, you will see the  progress the administration, the board, and district employees are making in our community under serious financial duress.

There are currently just eight members of the district accountability team. This is a voluntary group, technically considered a committee. There is room for more people, and if you have any interest in staying on top of the district’s progress, these meetings are an excellent place to start. Additionally, they are casual and quite interesting.

Please contact Fred Rasmussen or myself for more information. Other boards still have openings, please review information below these minutes.

MINUTES : SALIDA R-32 DISTRICT ACCOUNTABILIY COMMITTEE OCTOBER 19, 2009

Present-Tom Thomas, Bill Donavan, Rose Ley, John Rouse, Kirk Banghart, Lori Lee, Donna Gilmore, Dave Armstrong, Rob White, Denise Wentz, Fred Rasmussen.

• CAMPUS REPORTS
  Longfellow-no report
  Middle School, Rose Ley-Staff and administration modified their School Improvement Plan to fit guidelines for Federal Title 1 funding (Stimulus money that is a one time grant) that is available if over 30% of student body is below Federal poverty guidelines. These modifications allowed more staff flexibility to deal with individual student needs.
  MS staff and administration have completed their student needs assessment, have a summary of that data, and the teaching staff has written action plans to implement their academic goals.
  High School, Denise Wentz-the high school committee discussed; district athletic policies, use of the Honeywell grant money including smart boards, a document camera and possible other uses of the remainder of the funds, new attendance policy results were positive, and some of the effects of the closed campus. There was no discussion of the high school Improvement Plan.
• John Rouse gave an update on the workings of our Facilities Committee and the Calendar Committee. A major outcome from the citizen directed Facilities committee was the recommendation that the district should opt for a complete replacement of the high school buildings and of Longfellow as well. Such a decision the committee decided was the most practical way to utilize the BEST monies. The Calendar committee is looking at all the possible Calendar options to determine which would maximize the academic achievement of our entire student body. The possibilities range from a year-round school to some modification of the present system.
• Kirk Banghart gave the DAC a brief overview of the process the district has used to establish the District as well as the 3-campus improvement plans. In essence it is a four step circular process for developing the best data on educational problems that will be used to develop an action plan for classroom actions to work on the identified problems. It is circular in the sense that as new data on student achievement is gathered new strategies can be implemented to refine the action plans.
• John Rouse distributed the accountability version of the 2009 CSAP results from Longfellow school for the committee to examine and ask questions about at our November meeting.
• Fred Rasmussen suggested it was time to adjourn since we were missing an important Bronco football game. There was agreement.

There are six committees that are discussing important district issues.  Members are listed below.  If you are interested, we encourage you to participate.  Please contact Superintendent John Rouse at 530-5200; when prompted push 1 for the District Office.

Facilities Planning (BEST State Matching Funding Program)

Padriac Gallagher (SIED LES) Darren Bachand Dara MacDonald

Kayla Maddox (LES) Keith Baker Duncan Moyes

Amanda McKee (LES) Dave Beaulieu Nathan Orrill

Brett Pyle (CAO) John Diesslin Lauren Policky

Bob Smith (SMS) Greg Follett Mike Shomion

Walt Sneddon (Support) Bob Grether Sara Wittington

Megan Granzella Micheal Yerman

Paige Judd

Ron Ley

Community Engagement

Deb Bass (SHS) Gay Hahn (Parent)

Christi Delaney (SHS) Denise Wentz (Parent)

Samantha Lane (SMS)

Lori Lee (SECC)

Schuyler McAllister (LES)

Kevin Thanoff (SHS)

Rob Tressler (SMS)

Maria Wilcox (SHS)

Albert Lionelle

Post-Secondary Options

Bob Smith (SMS) Hilliard Howard Chuck Rose

Chuck Stenzel (SHS) Merriel  Johnson Mike Shomion

Kathy Tessitore (SHS) Roy Ley

Albert Lionelle Kym Mellsop

School Calendar

Kari Brantley (LES) Megan Granzella

Jacque Fisher (SMS) Linda Moyes

Rob Gilchrist (SHS) Nathan Orrill

Penny Kitson (LES) Danelle Peters

Michelle Ludwig (LES) Lauren Policky

Tami McDonald (LES) Susie Richardson

Chuck Stenzel (SHS) Wendy Shomion

Tanya Stewart (LES)

Staff Recognition and Public Relations

Stacy Follet (LES) Bill Donovan

Emily Lamont (SHS) Megan Granzella

Lori Lee (SECC) Brenda Leunsmann

Cheryl Stanbro (Support) Nathan Orrill

Kevin Thonoff (SHS) Lauren Policky

Standards-Based Learning

Donna Christensen (SMS) Tom Thomas

Jacque Fisher (SMS) Bonnie Yaeger

Janine Frazee (SHS)

Carol McIlvaine (SMS)

Cory Scheffel (SMS)