All-day kindergarten approved, informational meetings set

Pleasant Valley School Board meeting minutes from Jan. 7, 2002

All-day kindergarten plans approved; information meetings set for: Riverdale Heights - January 28, 6:30 p.m.; Bridgeview - January 31, 6:30 p.m.; Pleasant View - February 5, 6:30 p.m.; and
Cody - February 11 - 6:30 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by
President Phyllis Ahlstrand. Members present: Ahlstrand, Barsness,
Coon, Dayman, Thornton. Absent: O'Hara and Romans.

Also present: Dale
Barber, Jim Spelhaug, Mike Clingingsmith, Larry Brown, Jim Wichman,
Diana Dalton, Tammy Hewitt, Ladonna Czachowski, Julie Ward, Cyndy
Behrer, Don Dehner, Joan Bruce, Joanne Maciejko, Kathy Miller, Keith
Osborn, Jennifer Krier, Lisa Bradley, Judy Simonson, Ann Gaspelin, Chris
Harvey, and others.

AGENDA APPROVED: Motion by Dayman, second by Barsness that the Agenda
be approved as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

COMMUNICATIONS: Technology Facilitator Ladonna Czachowski and
Technology Trainer Julie Ward presented the district's revised web site.
The Board thanked them for their efforts in creating an attractive, user
friendly site at www.pleasval.k12.ia.us.

The Board and Dr. Barber thanked Larry Brown, Principal of Pleasant
Valley Junior High, who is retiring at the end of this school year for
his thirty-one years in education and his nineteen years of service to
Pleasant Valley Schools.

Dr. Barber informed the Board that the district will proceed with
caution in approving the High School Band's trip to Florida this spring
and will approve future school trips on an individual basis.

Dr. Spelhaug thanked the Alcoa Employees & Community Credit Union for
again sponsoring the "Booker Bear Reading Initiative" for Pleasant
Valley Schools' first grade students.

ITBS test scores have arrived and will be mailed to families soon.

CONSENT AGENDA: Motion by Thornton second by Coon that the Consent
Agenda be approved as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

The
Consent Agenda consists of the following:

approval of the minutes of the
December 17, 2001 Regular Meeting; the resignation and request for early
retirement of Larry J. Brown, Junior High School Principal, after 31 years in education and 19 years of service to Pleasant Valley Schools and the resignation of Janelle Kuebrich as a high school teacher for the 2002-03 school year;


the regular employment of Shari Terry as a special education aide at
Pleasant View Elementary and Roy Weiss as PVCHS custodian; and the
probationary employment of Melissa Myers as a special education aide at
Riverdale Heights and Bruce Hokanson as a school bus driver; and the
extra-curricular assignment of Steve Patterson as Junior High Track
Coach;

ten open enrollment applications- seven out; one to Davenport
Schools for the 2001-02 school year, three to Bettendorf Schools for the
2001-02 school year, and three to Bettendorf Schools for the 2002-03
school year.

There are three open enrollments-in; one from Bettendorf
Schools for the 2001-02 school year and two from Bettendorf Schools for
the 2002-03 school year.

EXPENSES APPROVED: Motion by Dayman, second by Thornton that General
Fund warrants be issued in the total amount of $55,095.73 in payment of
invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.



Motion by Barsness, second by Coon that Nutrition Fund warrants be
issued in the total amount of $8,533.89 in payment of invoices
presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Thornton, second by Dayman that Elementary/Junior High School
Activity Fund warrants be issued in the total amount of $2,172.92 in
payment of invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.



Motion by Dayman, second by Coon that High School Activity Fund warrants
be issued in the total amount of $36,985.87 in payment of invoices
presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Coon, second by Dayman that Schoolhouse Fund warrants be
issued in the total amount of $150.00 in payment of invoices presented.
All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Barsness, second by Thornton that Internal Service Fund
warrants be issued in the total amount of $2,375.00 in payment of
invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

JUNIOR HIGH FOREIGN LANGUAGE IMPLEMENTATION: Jim Spelhaug, Junior High
Principal Larry Brown, and foreign language teachers Diana Dalton, Joan
Bruce, and Joanne Maciejko outlined the steps that will be taken to
provide for the teaching of a full year of foreign language study in the
8th grade.

They recommended: 1) that all three languages (Spanish,
French, and Japanese) be offered. Classes offered will be based on the
number of students who enroll; 2) that students who enroll should intend
to pursue a rigorous five-year program, have a strong foundation in
English grammar and vocabulary, have a minimum B average in all of their
classes, be committed to completing their work on a daily basis, and
have a recommendation from their 7th grade English teacher and faculty
advisor; 3) that students should expect the same work and expectations
as the high school level I program, daily homework and a minimum of 30
minutes of preparation per night, a large number of vocabulary words
that need to be memorized for meaning and spelling, and a balance of
skill development in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. An
informational meeting regarding implementing foreign language in 8th
grade will be held for 7th grade students and their parents on Tuesday,
January 22, 2002, 7:00 p.m., in the Junior High Cafeteria.

Motion by Thornton, second by Dayman that the Board approve the Junior
High Foreign Language as presented. Roll call vote. Ayes - Thornton,
Ahlstrand, Barsness, Coon, Dayman. Nays - none. Motion carried.

ALL DAY EVERYDAY KINDERGARTEN IMPLEMENTATION:

Kindergarten teachers
Tammy Hewitt, Kathy Miller, Jennifer Krier, Lisa Bradley, Judy Simonson,
and Ann Gaspelin along with elementary principals Cyndy Behrer, Don
Dehner, Keith Osborn, and Jim Wichman presented the recommended daily
schedule for all day every day kindergarten programming.

They noted
that parents will have the option in each building to choose part-day
programming; the design of the schedule allows for all day and part day
children to be included in the same classroom; and that it will be the
responsibility of parents choosing the part day option to pick their
child up at the conclusion of the part day schedule.

Parent information
sessions regarding all day kindergarten will be held as follows:


Riverdale Heights - January 28, 2002, 6:30 p.m.; Bridgeview - January
31, 2002, 6:30 p.m.; Pleasant View - February 5, 2002 - 6:30 p.m.; and
Cody - February 11, 2002 - 6:30 p.m.

If approved, the district will
post and advertise for five additional kindergarten teachers.
Arrangements have been made at each building to provide space for the
additional classrooms.



Motion by Barsness, second by Coon that the Board approve the all day
every day kindergarten recommendation as presented. Roll call vote.
Ayes - Barsness, Coon, Dayman, Thornton, Ahlstrand. Nays - none.
Motion carried.



EXEMPT SESSION: Motion by Dayman, second by Thornton that the Board
hold an exempt session for the purpose of negotiations as provided in
section 20.17(3) of the Code of Iowa. Roll call vote. Ayes - Dayman,
Thornton, Ahlstrand, Barsness, Coon. Nays - none. Motion carried.

The Board met in exempt session from 8:30 p.m. to 8:52 p.m.

In open session the meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Next Board Meeting
Monday, January 21, 2002
7:00 p.m.
Belmont Administration Center


Dear Parent:

As you are likely aware, with the passage of the Instructional Support
Levy on December 4, 2001, the district will be implementing an all-day
everyday kindergarten program for the 2002-03 school year.

The purpose
of this letter is to outline several key issues and to ask that, if the
information is not pertinent to your family, you share it with friends
and neighbors who may be impacted or interested.

The district is very excited about the opportunities all-day programming
will provide. The kindergarten team has developed an outstanding model
and I encourage you to learn more about it.

1. The district will host four information nights and invites
everyone interested in learning more about all-day kindergarten to
attend. The schedule is as follows:



Riverdale Heights - January 28, 2002 - 6:30 p.m.
Bridgeview - January 31, 2002 - 6:30 p.m.
Pleasant View - February 5, 2002 - 6:30 p.m.
Cody - February 11, 2002 - 6:30 p.m.



2. Parents will have the option of selecting either the all-day or
part-day program for their child. This option will exist in each of the
elementary buildings. The daily schedule has been structured so that
the part and full-day children will be mixed in the same classes. This
will allow parents flexibility in altering their part/all-day decision
if the student's needs change throughout the year.



3. The part-day students will attend until 11:30. It will be the
parent/caregiver's responsibility to pick the student up at school.



4. The full-day students will attend the full array of classes
taught by specialists (art, library, music, physical education). The
entire schedule is highly student-centered and developmentally
appropriate.



Once again, I encourage you to pass this information along and should
you be interested, to attend one of the information sessions mentioned
earlier. You may also contact me, any of our principals, or
kindergarten teachers with questions. I have included phone numbers and
email addresses below.



Don Dehner, Principal, Bridgeview School, 289-4781,
dehnerdon@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Judy Simonson, Kindergarten teacher, Bridgeview School, 289-4781,
simonsonj@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Cyndy Behrer, Principal, Cody School, 289-5132,
behrerc@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Kathy Miller, Kindergarten teacher, Cody School, 289-5132,
millerkathyk@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Keith Osborn, Principal, Pleasant View School, 332-5575,
osbornkeith@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Ann Gaspelin, Kindergarten teacher, Pleasant View School, 332-5575,
gaspelinann@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Tammy Hewitt, Kindergarten teacher, Pleasant View School, 332-5575,
hewittt@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Jim Wichman, Principal, Riverdale Heights School, 332-0525,
wichmanjim@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Lisa Bradley, Kindergarten teacher, Riverdale Heights School, 332-0525,
bradleyl@pleasval.k12.ia.us
Jennifer Krier, Kindergarten teacher, Riverdale Heights School,
332-0525, krierjen@pleasval.k12.ia.us

Sincerely,

James R. Spelhaug, Ph.D.
Assistant Superintendent
spe

lhaugjim@pleasval.k12.ia.us

Pleasant Valley Boys Youth Basketball League
Grades 4-5-6
Location: Pleasant Valley High School
Time: 12:15 - 1:30
Dates: January 5, 12, 26 and February 2 and 9

Contact Dallas Duwa @289-4781 or e-mail duwad@pleasval.k12.ia.us

Forms have been distributed to the elementary buildings.

Parents of Kindergartners (2002-03)


If your child will be in kindergarten for the 2002-2003 school year,
please contact your school by the end of January. This will assist the
school in planning for Kindergarten Roundup. Thank you!



Pleasant Valley Schools
Educational Foundation Alumni Data Base

If you are an alumnus of Pleasant Valley Community Schools, we'd like to
hear from you. We are developing an alumni data base and will make this
available for class reunions. Please let us know your address, phone
number, and year of graduation so you can be kept informed of your class
events. Call (563)332-5550 or e-mail harveychris@pleasval.k12.ia.us.