Following the passionate advocacy of middle school teacher Kathy Pantzar, the Perry School Board voted to implement the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program for next year at both the middle and high school levels.
[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]Aimed at improving relationships between teachers and students, the cost for the program will be $45,000, or $22,500 for each school. Funds will be deducted from the Teacher Quality Fund, which currently has $116,000 on hand. Superintendent Clark Wicks sought to assure the public the expense would not come from the general fund.
“This is an entirely separate source (of funding) we’ll be using,” he said. “That is certainly one of the considerations we had to look at.”
Pantzar, an at-risk coordinator, is a 29-year teaching veteran, with the last six spent in Perry. She first trained under the Capturing Kids’ Hearts in 2004 while teaching in Texas and in 2014 took a refresher on the program.
“This is all about building relationships and how to make kids see school as a safe place for them, because for many their own homes are not the best environment,” Pantzar said. “What we are trying to do is raise confidence in the students, to create an atmosphere they are proud of and want to be involved in.”
By capturing kids’ hearts, teachers also capture their minds, she said, resulting in improved performance outcomes.
“Just something as simple as shaking hands with each kid as they enter the classroom can make a tremendous difference,” Pantzar said. “We have seen that using this program not only improves test scores and attendance, but it also directly relates to a decrease in discipline issues, which you can see in the big drop in office referrals.”
Described as a “very intensive, two-day training program,” Capturing Kids’ Hearts also includes ongoing support and follow-up. It will be offered as part of the teachers’ institute training before the start of the next school year.
The board had many questions and was assured the program would not decrease the amount of class time spent on instruction.
The board also heard from Larson Engineering, who provided an update on the Dewey Field renovation project. Weather delays have slowed some areas, but the project is still on schedule.
Footings and sub-floor plumbing and electrical work have been done, with masonry work expected to begin next week. Additional concrete work will follow soon, with some archway work on tap for the June.
Wicks noted the recent Go Big, Go Blue fundraiser generated more than $18,000 and that those donations, along with other recent gifts, bring the total raised to $182,000 out of the target of $300,000.
“We have been blessed with tremendous corporate and private business support, and the community has been great as well,” Wicks said. “What we need now is for all those alumni out there to start becoming involved in showing their Bluejay pride.”
Food Services Director Gail McFarlin presented to the board a request to raise meal prices by 10 cents.
Elementary lunches will rise to $2.55, middle/high school lunches to $2.70 and adult lunches to $3.70, while adult breakfasts rises to $1.85 with the dime increase.
McFarlin noted the USDA sets the reduced lunch price (currently 40 cents), a figure that cannot be acted upon at the local level. As such, the 10 cent increase was required.
President Kyle Baxter joined the other directors in approving the increase but not without expressing some frustration.
“Why, if we have only 30 percent of our students paying (full price) for lunch, are we making them now pay more?” Baxter said. “The government screws this up every year.”
McFarlin noted breakfasts for all students would remain free of charge, as would summer lunches for those 18 and under. Summer adult breakfasts will be $2 and lunch $3.50, both an increase of 25 cents.
“It is difficult, I know,” said McFarlin, who reviews each family’s application for free or reduced lunches, “because I am the one who has to tell some families no. I had to deny over 50 applications this year alone. It is usually around 30 or so, but the economy is slightly better, and many of these families are still struggling, but now they are barely over the line.”
In other actions, the board gave approval to the support staff roster and summer food service wages as well as the list of fundraisers for the upcoming school year. Several policies requiring minor alterations in language were approved in addition to approval of a Skills USA trip in June to Louisville, Ky. The Skills USA students raised all funds for the trip except for food costs, and the trip would come at no cost to the district.
Substitute teachers will see their pay rise from $120 per day to $125 daily under an approved adjustment by the board, with Treasurer Kent Bultman noting the additional expense would be roughly $10,000 annually. Substitute support staff would see pay remain at 85 percent of base pay.
The board also approved a lengthy list of personnel matters before entering closed session for the annual evaluation of the superintendent and to set goals for the 2018-2019 school year.
The Perry Community School District Board of Education meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Brady Library at PHS. The public is welcome to attend.
