Chelan Digital Academy
LCSD Board Minutes 12/10/2019
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
MINUTES
DATE: December 10, 2019
TIME: 6:00 PM
LOCATION: District Learning Center
PRESENT: Barry DePaoli, Jeff Fehr, Lynda Foster, Ken Brunner, Agustin Benegas-Garcia, Kim Thorpe, Brad Wilson, Sarah Clarke, Brian Wood, Scott Granger, Erik Peterson, Jeff Barker, Shelley Charlton, Rosey Burkhard, Piaget Huewe, Camisha Hughbanks, Amber Corrigan, Jamie Mack, Scott Renick, and Georgia Mashayekh
AGENDA ITEMS / PUBLIC REQUESTS – COMMENTS
- Call to Order
Lynda Foster called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.
- Approval of Agenda
Barry requested to remove the FBLA report from the agenda as the advisor and students were not able to attend
- Approval of Minutes – November 26, 2019
Ken moved and Agustin seconded a motion to approve the minutes as presented; motion carried
- Public Comments or Request on Non-agenda Items
There were no public comments.
INFORMATIONAL / DISCUSSION ITEMS
- Transportation – Jeff Barker
Jeff shared a presentation explaining the bus depreciation schedule and plans to purchase another bus this year. There are also two route buses that are not on the schedule and they are coming up for replacement. Currently there are cameras on the buses, but there is a need to install more cameras to provide better viewing angles to see all students.
For the past 10 years the district has not had to spend extra money outside of depreciation funding. The state allows each district a certain amount for the depreciation value of each bus. Currently there are 12 route buses and 3 trip buses in the schedule; two type A route buses are not in the schedule and should be replaced in the next 5 years. Jeff would like to save money from the general fund for transportation in order to cover the cost of replacing these buses. If not, then the district may need to look at a Transportation Levy in the future.
Jeff also shared vital information on the district motor pool including vans, cars, trucks, and trailers. He talked about the cost of replacing vans and re-purposing them for use within the district.
SUPERINTENDENT REPORT
- Barry DePaoli
Barry is working on a partnership with Manson SD and Thrive relative to Professional Development (PD) on social and emotional learning. He discussed information that he and the Board had heard about at the annual WSSDA Conference concerning students who come to school not ready to learn because of social emotional challenges. He explained a couple of the grant proposal options to the board for consideration. Thrive received a grant to pay for part of this training and would like to bring it to the valley for students and staff.
The focus of social emotional learning is getting everyone together to lift the climate and culture of schools.
In order to curb costs, inviting surrounding districts to participate is being considered.
There was a question regarding the practicality of embarking on social emotional learning and if it was simply another “phase” in the educational world. Barry explained that given the challenges that students bring, this is not merely an addition to what schools are doing, this is more foundational. This is timely as we have more students showing up in classes with trauma induced stress.
This is all part of work that the district has been doing for years with trainers including WhyTry, liaisons, and support from Thrive. The goal is to systemize this work with teachers so that we are all on the same page in understanding the impact that trauma has on students so that we have the tools to best support them.
Barry talked about systems work on Tier 1 Classroom Interventions. These documents will be used by all teachers for conversation and sharing as they build a consistent intervention system.
BUILDING SUMMARIES
- Chelan High School – Brad Wilson
Brad shared his presentation covering the CHS journey over the past couple of years explaining that this work (based on data) is by no means “linear” and often is messy as we navigate and re-work systems. His data covered: WA State Snapshot Summary, WA School Improvement Framework, NCESD student comparisons, and CHS snapshot of student assessment over 3 years.
Scott Granger provided a Perkins Grant Summary for CTE (Career Technology Education) and stressed his focus on Agriculture Simulators. He is working on the Program Specific Advisory Committees, General Advisory Committee, and general CTE Necessities. Scott has been visiting several schools in the state to see their programs and how they are working with the communities. Scott shared the CTE programs offered in CHS. Barry stressed the need to work closely with our community to determine what they envision as we continue to strengthen our CTE programs to engage more students for career opportunities.
Brad shared his work on school improvement and how CHS is using committees and time to accomplish this work: Guiding Coalition Team, ongoing PLC work, whole staff learning time, and areas for improvement. Whole staff learning is focused on strengths based and student-centered education.
Barry shared that the 4 Cs of Education (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity) are very important in the work force today and vital to emphasis with students. 2019 reports say the average person changes jobs about every 4 years.
- Chelan Middle School – Brian Wood
Brian shared the WA state Summary and School Improvement Framework; talking about the data and student growth. His presentation covered the CMS Goals and how they are being addressed.
CMS staff are working with students in discussions and asking leading questions like: “Is it wrong, or is it culturally inappropriate?” “Who on the staff do you feel safe talking with?” CMS is taking time for student celebrations and working on Character Strong curriculum to strengthen climate and culture.
OSPI came to visit Sarah Sanderson’s 6th period class. CMS is one of 3 schools in the state that they are meeting with to see what teachers are doing to encourage student growth in Math. They liked the fact that CMS teachers collaborate with each other and that the district is working on K-12 Math curriculum.
- CMS concert on Tuesday 12/17 in the PAC
- Reindeer games will next Friday 12/20 at CMS
- Special Programs – Sarah Clarke
Sarah gave an update on Special Programs including sharing ideas and curriculum that has been implemented including: padlet, Unique Learning Systems, Newsela, her own Tip-of-the-Month, and contracting with the NCESD for a Behavior Intervention Specialist. Targeted training for teachers and paras has worked well this year.
She explained what LRE (Least Restrictive Environment) means and how students should be accommodated in the district and with their IEP (Individual Education Plans). There is over 80 years of research about inclusion and equity for all students.
According to state data, only 56.6 % of special needs students are in a general ed classroom 80% of the time. Sarah shared what LRE data looks like per school in the Lake Chelan School District. The data will look different for the 2019-2020 school year because of the use of different classrooms including Life Skills. Sarah is creating a district coalition to look at district inclusionary practices.
School Districts are guided by WAC (Washington Administrative Code) and do not make medical diagnosis of students.
Jeff Fehr arrived at the meeting late and took over procedure.
FINANCIAL REPORTS
Barry and the Board discussed the enrollment numbers.
Barry and Georgia explained the overall look at Choice Transfer numbers and Homeschool Declarations for the 2019-2020 School Year. Choice Transfer is a complex issue and request reasons vary between families.
POLICY/PROCEDURE UPDATES
Barry opened the discussion referring to changes made to wording in the procedures from the last board meeting. Following his comments, there was a discussion about how discipline and re-entry into the classroom is handled at the middle and elementary schools. Teachers expressed the desire to have consultation with administrators prior to allowing students back into class while parents expressed concerns pertaining to a small group of students impacting the learning environment in some classrooms. The board will continue to look at this issue and will likely have more discussion in this area prior to finalizing the procedure. PBIS Teams at both the elementary and middle schools are working on creating a strong behavioral intervention system as well. The SWIS Suite is being used for reporting discipline at MOE and as it has been found to be more detailed than Skyward allowing discipline reports to be much more specific and valuable to decipher.
The board discussed the grievance process paragraph regarding classroom exclusions and agreed to take out the suggested paragraphs.
There is consensus among districts and school boards to implement behavior interventions just like reading and math. Barry shared that developing a strong system to manage behavior challenges is long overdue and will serve to provide relief to administrators and counselors. Unfortunately, OSPI is not giving districts any more money to hire behavior specialists.
- BP 5404 – Family, Medical, and Maternity Leave
Agustin moved and Lynda seconded a motion to approve the policy changes as presented; motion carried.
Ken moved and Kim seconded a motion to approve the policy changes as presented; motion carried.
ACTION ITEMS
Lynda moved and Agustin seconded a motion to approve the payables and Payroll as presented; motion carried.
- Payroll (12-30-19) approval in January
Lynda moved and Kim seconded a motion to approve the December Payroll in January; motion carried.
Brian explained that Sarah Sanderson created and had the CMS ASB adopt a constitution this year and presented it to the board for approval.
Lynda moved and Ken seconded a motion to approve the constitution as written; motion carried.
Barry explained the personnel changes.
Agustin moved and Kim seconded a motion to approve the personnel changes as presented; motion carried.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
- To discuss the performance of an employee with no action to be taken. RCW42.30.110
Jeff moved the board to executive session at 8:43 for approximately 15 minutes to discuss the performance of a public employee with no action to be taken.
ADJOURNMENT
Jeff Fehr reconvened to regular session and adjourned the meeting at 9:00 pm.
___________________________________ ______________________________________
Jeff Fehr, Board Chair Barry DePaoli, Superintendent
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