LCSD Board Minutes 12/08/2020

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

MINUTES

DATE: December 8, 2020

TIME: 6:00 PM

LOCATION: Online meeting

PRESENT: Barry DePaoli, Jeff Fehr, Lynda Foster, Ken Brunner, Agustin Benegas-Garcia, Kim Thorpe, Brad Wilson, Brian Wood, Sarah Clarke, K.C. Knudson, Alicia Lopez, Cailey Couch, Camisha Hughbanks, Carrie Austin, Chelsey Martin, Dennis Rahm, Erik Peterson, Erin Morin, Gary Begin, Heidi Summers, Jennifer Polley, Jess Poland, Jody Petersen, Katherine D’Orazio, Laura Clinton, Lizbeth Lopez-Vazquez, Marty Rothlisberger, Melissa Dietrich, Michelle Fanton, Mindy Christopherson, Natalie Bishop, Richard Uhlhorn, Rosemary Moller, Scott Benson, Scott Granger, Scott Paine, Tammy Williams, Tara Cunningham, Todd Hausman, DeAnna Griggs, Derek Todd, Jayme Berg, Kris Austin, Makenzie Griggs, and Georgia Mashayekh

 

AGENDA ITEMS / PUBLIC REQUESTS – COMMENTS

  • Call to Order

Jeff Fehr called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.

  • Approval of Agenda

There were no changes to the agenda.

Kim moved and Agustin seconded a motion to approve the December 2nd minutes as presented; motion carried.

  • Public Comments or Request on Non-agenda Items

There were no public comments.

 

INTRODUCTION OF NEW STAFF

  • Jess Poland

Jessie Poland was hired this year as the HS Career & Tech Education Business Teacher.  She grew up in Pullman, WA and saw the impact that education has on people.  Her experience is varied as she has lived and worked in different cities. She recently graduated from Eastern WA University in the CTE program.

 

BUILDING SUMMARIES

  • Teaching & Learning – K.C. Knudson

K.C.’s presentation included an update on various components that he oversees as part of the Teaching and Learning portfolio. He reviewed his recent visitation to classrooms since students came back to MOE and CMS. As a newcomer to the district he was extremely impressed at the partnerships that are a part of individual building and the district.  The Migrant team is the most caring and committed group of individuals. K.C. recognized the specialists and paraeducators at MOE for the work they have done and their wiliness to go above and beyond in terms of support and flexibility that they provide to families.

MOE online learning (Calvert) is supported by Frank Phelps, Mike James, and Kathy Stimpson under the supervision of K.C.  This has been a huge undertaking as this is the first year using this tool and there is a learning curve for both parents and facilitators to learn how to administer and support the program.  There are about 37 students K-5 in the Calvert program.  There are approximately 70 students at the Middle/High School who chose to remain online as the district transferred into “In-Person” learning utilizing the AM/PM Hybrid Model.  K.C. gave an update on the Inclusionary Practices Program.  This program is a multi-year focus in how to understand and support “historically marginalized” students.

  • Student Services – Sarah Clarke

Sarah shared a presentation on Student Services. She explained quantitative data vs. qualitative data, hierarchy of needs, barriers to student learning, student economic demographics, how families rely on the district for food service needs, homeless student numbers, CPS (Child Protective Services) Reports, Securly data (student online searches on school devices), home visits with counselors and SRO (School Resource Officer), services takeaways, need for screenings, implementation of screenings and support systems.

Students depend on schools to meet their physical, social, and emotional needs.  It is a great part of their day and identity.

  • Chelan Middle School – Brian Wood

There are approximately 32 students working online through the APEX Program with Angela Collins as their facilitator.  Angela is connecting students with one another and as cohort peers during the week with activities and academics.

The 7th and 8th graders came back to hybrid in-person learning this week.  They have been following all of the COVID-19 mitigations such as: hand washing, mask wearing, limited passing periods, no group visiting, restroom use during class with minimal issues.  Students are so glad to be back in school that they don’t want to cause trouble with the possibility of going back to full remote learning. Attendance has been 93-97 percent since the 6th graders came back to school in November.

  • Chelan High School – Brad Wilson

For the most part, students are looking forward to coming back to the building on Monday 12/14, there are several students who are a bit nervous about coming back as we get closer to the re-entry date.  Teachers and advisors are communicating with all their students about concerns. There are about 38 students planning to stay in online classes at the High School.

Brad and the teachers have created a checklist to guide students through the standards of learning.

Cohorts have been created with transportation needs and class sizes. Kudos to the teachers for preparing their classrooms and getting ready to welcome students back to the building on Monday.

Barry thanked Rosey, Tammy, and Jose for all of their help and support from their departments in coordinating the return of students to campus utilizing the hybrid model.

 

SUPERINTENDENT REPORT

  • In-Person Learning Update

In Barry’s presentation he provided Local County Comparisons, Current County Data, LCSD – current cases, CDHD Updated Guidance, and COVID 19 Threshold.  COVID 19 transmission rates are up each week across the nation and the world since the weather cooled and the beginning of the holiday season.

The CDHD website examines the prolonged chain of transmission in a particular household or family group.

Barry informed the board that the Othello School District has set a metric for instructional model transitions and expects the DOH to provide a metric in the upcoming weeks as well.

The National Guard is in Chelan every Tuesday in December to do COVID testing at the Mt. Goat field parking lot.

Barry has built a data dashboard that will be updated on the district website. This includes confirmed cases, close contacts, cases originating on campus and originating off campus.

Barry and the Board agreed to hold another special meeting on Wed. 12/23 for the sole purpose of reviewing the latest COVID-19 data and to discuss how things have went since returning High School students to in-person learning.

Barry provided an update on the latest information regarding House Bill 5395 (Comprehensive Sexual and Health Education Bill).  The underlying purpose of his presentation was to dispel myths about the bill and how it applies to our local curriculum.  LCSD has a strong curriculum that was set up many years ago with Vicky Taylor (past CTE teacher/nurse/MED Club Advisor) who worked directly with the State to create Health and Sexual Education curriculum.  The presentation went over the current curriculum with required topics for each grade.  Within the HB5395 the District can choose their own curriculum, information will be posted on the district website, and parents can opt out of the curriculum.  The state has over 38 different curriculums that have been approved for school districts.

Barry said that this is a good opportunity for the district to update their curriculum prior to the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 school years, as required by the State.  There will be opportunities for parents, board, and staff to participate in a committee to update the current district curriculum prior to adoption.  This work will start in 2021.

 

ACTION ITEMS

Barry and administrators answered questions about the payables.

Ken moved and Lynda seconded a motion to approve the Payables as presented; motion carried.

Barry explained the personnel changes.

Lynda moved and Kim seconded a motion to approve the Personnel changes as presented; motion carried.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION

  • To discuss the performance of a public employee with no action to be taken. 30.110

Jeff moved the board to executive session at 7:35pm for approximately 20 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 7:55 pm.

 

___________________________________________                       ____________________________________

Jeff Fehr, Board Chair                                                                                                 Barry DePaoli, Superintendent

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *