Prep kindergarten, early childhood screening discussed

BETTENDORF COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BETTENDORF, IOWA

Unofficial Minutes of the March 19, 2007 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education (pending Board approval)

The Board of Directors of the Bettendorf Community School District, in the County of Scott, State of Iowa, met in open session according to Iowa law for their regular Board meeting at the Administrative Center, 729 21st Street, Bettendorf, Iowa, on March 19, 2007. President Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. and the Board recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Colleen Skolrood, Board Secretary, verified that the meeting notice had been posted and mailed to the media as required by law.

Members present: Directors Anderson, Crockett, Ehrmann, Justis, Mayer, Tinsman, Weigle. Members absent: None. Other officials present: Marty Lucas, Superintendent; Dr. Carol Webb, Assistant Superintendent; Maxine McEnany, Director of Business and Financial Services; Cindy Ferguson, BEA Representative; Cara Voelliger, Student Representative; Colleen Skolrood, Board Secretary.

Motion by Director Crockett, seconded by Director Ehrmann, to approve the agenda as presented with the exception of discussion item 6.03, the Core Time Program, which will be brought back for discussion at the April board meeting. Motion carried 7-0.

Motion by Director Crockett, seconded by Director Mayer, to approve the consent agenda as presented. Motion carried: 7-0.

Approval of February 28, 2007 Special Meeting Minutes.

Approval of March 5, 2007 Regular Board Meeting Minutes.

Financial Reports:

Financial Reports – February 28, 2007

Unspent Authorized Budget

Food Service Report

Approval of March 19, 2007 Bills Recommended for Payment.

Approval of Administrative Recommendations--Personnel.

Certified Retirement

Katy Harle/BHS/ Guidance Counselor/Effective 6-30-07

David Sodac/BMS/Guidance Counselor/Effective 6-30-07

Certified Resignation

Heidi Moran/PN/2nd grade/Effective 3-10-07

Morgan Thomas/PN/1st grade/Effective 6-30-07

Karen Wohlwend/TAG/Effective 6-30-07

Certified Leave of Absence

Cassie Schadt/PN/Special Education/Parental leave/Effective for 2007/2008 school year

Classified – Retirement

Juanita Thomasson/BMS/Para Educator/Effective 6/30/07

Classified – Letter of Assignment Modification

Sandy James/NA/Para Educator/Same rate of pay/From 2.5 to 3 hours per day/Increase in student enrollment/Effective 3/20/07

Construction Change Orders.

Approval of Cooperative Agreement with Luther College.

Approval of Cooperative Agreement with University of Phoenix.

Approval of Request for Early Graduation.

Approval of Requests for Open Enrollment.

Into Bettendorf, 2006/07

Ashley Coers, grade 10, from Pleasant Valley, good cause due to change of residence

Lubna Omar, grade 7, from Pleasant Valley, continuation

Kenedy Rhode, grade 5, from Pleasant Valley, continuation

Charles Webster, grade 2, from Pleasant Valley, continuation

Richard Webster, grade 5, from Pleasant Valley, continuation

Into Bettendorf, 2007/08

Peter Hurd, kindergarten, from Pleasant Valley

Hunter Pieper, kindergarten, from Pleasant Valley

For information only. The following students have open enrolled out of the Bettendorf Community School District:

Out of Bettendorf, 2006/07

Nicholas Andersen, grade 9, to Pleasant Valley, continuation

Stephanie Engler, grade 1, to Pleasant Valley, continuation

Curtis Young, pre-kindergarten, to Pleasant Valley, continuation

Out of Bettendorf, 2007/08

Addison Bailey, grade 5, to Pleasant Valley

Aiden Bailey, grade 4, to Pleasant Valley

Nicholas Cervantes, grade 9, to Pleasant Valley

James Dooley, grade 8, to Pleasant Valley

Maddison Hofmann, kindergarten, to Pleasant Valley

Christopher Huh, grade 8, to Pleasant Valley

Hannah Huh, grade 4, to Pleasant Valley

Christina Lothrop, grade 2, to Pleasant Valley

Ryan McGill, grade 11, to Pleasant Valley

Amulya Pillutla, kindergarten, to Pleasant Valley

Shared Communications.

Director Crockett attended the Parent Executive Council Meeting on March 15. Superintendent Lucas reviewed the board meeting activities. Other topics discussed were the early childhood program, Eagle’s project, and registration.

Director Weigle and Maxine McEnany joined Superintendent Lucas and Kevin Hatfield for a tour of the new Neil Armstrong building last week. Director Weigle said it looks fabulous and suggested that the full board tour the site after the retreat.

Director Justis, Maxine McEnany, and Superintendent Lucas attended the IASB Legislature Update on March 15. Director Justis said it was very interesting to see what is going on at the state house.

Summer School Overview.

Dr. Carol Webb reviewed the recommended courses for summer school 2007.

Elementary

Jump Start Reading and Math Summer Program purpose will be to improve the skills of non-proficient students to the level that their overall student achievement increases in 2007-2008. There will be no cost to the parents. This course will be offered at each elementary building. Student selection will be building-determined, using ITBS, Guided Reading Levels, fluency, math performance on unit tests, and others as appropriate.

Middle School

Moving to Middle is designed to prepare incoming sixth grade students for Middle School – academically, socially and emotionally – while learning organizational and study skills.

The 3R’s for Incoming 6th Graders will provide instructional support for students in the basic skills of reading, writing, and math. The focus will be on the skills that sixth graders are expected to know as they start middle school.

The Big Five will teach basic skills in the five core subjects of language arts, literature, mathematics, science, and social studies. BMS teachers of the big five will help students learn skills that will prepare them for the next grade level.

High School

The courses to be offered are tentative at this point. Two courses being looked at are Credit Recovery and Freshman Transition. Courses will be determined based on attendance.

Core Time Program.

Postponed until the April board meeting.

Motion by Director Mayer, seconded by Director Ehrmann, to approve administrative recommendations for the prep kindergarten and integrated early childhood programs for the 2007/08 school year.

A question was raised on what to do if more children sign up for the program than there is room for. Superintendent Lucas said children who are five years of age are entitled to attend school, but not required. At this point in time, there are not enough children on the list to warrant three sections of prep kindergarten. In order for the district to run the program and be cost neutral, the program will need to be close to full at around 12-16 children.

There was a lengthy discussion on screening children to determine the best option for each child. Dr. Webb said The Ages and Stages Questionnaire is given to all parents as a tool to help them to determine if the prep kindergarten program is the best option for their child. In addition, a more rigorous screening is available for those who choose it. Of the 33 children currently on the prep kindergarten list, 13 have requested the additional screening.

Dr. Webb noted the majority of the children who are on the list for the prep kindergarten program have July and August birthdays and are boys.

Director Weigle said she understands we need full programs before we can run them, but suggested having leeway for those who start kindergarten, but are not ready and need to be moved to the prep kindergarten program and vice versa. Dr. Webb agreed, but said it is ultimately the parent’s decision.

Director Tinsman asked if outside resources are being used to help design the program and meet standards. Dr. Webb said all the teachers have been trained in early childhood. The program is being designed by the teachers and the district and meets Iowa Early Learning Standards.

President Anderson asked if the board would get an annual review on the Early Childhood Integrated Program and Prep Kindergarten Program. Dr. Webb said they will continue to do annual reports on the progress of the programs.

Director Weigle asked if an earlier dismissal time for the prep kindergarten program requested by some parents to better coordinate with the dismissal times at the other district schools had been corrected.

Dr. Webb said that it has been adjusted. However, those students who ride the bus are dismissed at the regular time.

Director Weigle also asked if the prep kindergarten program follows the same conference schedule as the district.

Dr. Webb said they do, but not for second semester.

Director Weigle noted that the board decided several years ago that they wanted the teachers to have some kind of contact with parents second semester at the elementary level. Several board members noted as parents they were not contacted.

This topic will be revisited at a future board meeting.

Director Tinsman requested a copy of the Early Childhood Committee report.

Director Justis reiterated what Director Tinsman had stated earlier, that we need to be using outside resources to make sure the prep kindergarten does what we want it to do. Director Justis asked where the second prep kindergarten program will be located. Superintendent Lucas said they have a few locations in mind and a decision will be made by the end of the year.

Director Justis asked how the prep kindergarten program was communicated to the community.

Dr. Webb said it was in the Pride, some buildings sent information home, and the district sent round up letters home to those parents who had signed up to be on the waiting list for the 07-08 prep kindergarten.

Amy Swearingen asked if the district was going to cap enrollment for the prep kindergarten program at a certain amount.

She strongly feels there needs to be more planning. Dr. Webb said she would hate to deny anyone the opportunity. She said in order to be cost neutral, there needs to be 16 children per classroom with a teacher and an aide. Ms. Swearingen asked if we should concentrate on keeping the numbers low.

Dr. Webb said the program is driven by numbers. Director Weigle indicated that if we had 36 children, for example, we could potentially offer 3 programs, and to offset costs, could reduce the 5-hour para educators’ times to reflect the small class size.

Lisa Wilson voiced her concern over how the program has been communicated and feels we are reaching only a certain population and not others.

She said it is frustrating when we get kids who are not school ready. She feels there needs to be an option for them to move into the prep kindergarten program. She said if there was a screening process in place some of these children would not have been approved for kindergarten.

Dr. Webb responded saying that NA had included the prep roundup information in their kindergarten round up packets. Three Neil Armstrong parents called after receiving the information and were put on the list. Shelly Klaas, NA Counselor, is sharing information with parents, as are the other district Counselors and Elementary Principals. Families are also beginning to network and share information.

She said they will be looking for ways to continuously improve and to strengthen relationships with private preschools. Several have referred parents to the Prep Kindergarten program. Director Weigle noted this is a good problem to have.

As a district, we have identified a need and the numbers are growing. Motion carried 7-0.

Motion by Director Tinsman, seconded by Director Crockett, to approve the Iowa Association of School Boards insurance program Resolution, as outlined in action item 7.02. Motion carried 7-0.

BOE Retreat Agenda.

Superintendent Lucas suggested rescheduling the retreat to the second weekend in May due to a conflict with Director Tinsman’s work schedule. Directors Weigle and Ehrmann have prior obligations.

President Anderson suggested scheduling it before a regular meeting. Superintendent Lucas said he will work on rescheduling it.

Next Agenda Planning.

Superintendent Lucas commented on several bills that are still being debated in the state house. He noted the 4 year old preschool bill seems to have enough momentum to make it. The bill proposing the mandatory age of attendance be changed from 16 years to 18 years does not have enough votes to be passed; however, changing the age to 17 years has enough votes to pass. This will have an impact on the programming currently provided at the high school.

Topics to be discussed at the next board meeting include the Core Time Program, budget hearing and bids.

Motion by Director Mayer to adjourn the meeting at 8:07 p.m.