The Perry Community School District Board of Education heard from the building principals at all three levels at their November meeting. The board was also updated regarding the ongoing TLC program as well as hearing from several middle school educators who recently attended a national conference.
Elementary co-principals Joel Martin and Ned Menke noted that the recent Parent-Teacher conferences had a 95.25 percent attendance rate.
“We were very pleased with that, as anything over 90 percent would be considered good,” Menke said. “We made a point of outreach and it paid off.”
The principals reported on Creativity Days held for grades 1-3-4 and Friday’s KidsFit day for the fifth graders. The board learned the fourth graders had visited the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge and had a day with the Iowa Wild hockey team, experiencing “Wild About Education” day and attending a game.
Students have been observing and learning the Pledge of Allegiance, and the first grade performed during the annual Veteran’s Day celebration at the Perry Performing Arts Center. Classes from TK through fifth grade were also visited by five veterans, who discussed their service and answered questions from students.
Middle School Principal Shaun Kruger focused on security improvements, noting that the final installation of cameras was underway. He said Parent-Teacher Conference attendance was 91 percent.
Dan Marburger, PHS principal, noted the PTC attendance was 87 percent at the senior high. He noted the school had counselors available for students after the recent homicide of a Perry freshman. Marburger said many students had not experienced such a loss, and that etiquette for funerals and visitations was discussed with students.
Marburger noted the new security measures were almost entirely in place. He noted a recent power outage had caused some problems — since corrected — with door/fob system and noted some doors were having locks removed as part of the security upgrade.
Middle school teachers Michelle Laughridge (special education), Amy Benjamin (living skills) and Dan McGinnis (7th grade math) reported on their trip to Austin, TX for the AMLE (Association of Middle Level Educators) annual conference.
Laughridge noted she had learned several new tools and approaches toward increasing social skills, with Benjamin telling the board she had attended talks focusing on how elective classes can increase overall achievement.
“Very often these students try harder in their electives because it is something they are usually interested in,” Benjamin said. “Supporting the students in these classes, and letting them know they are valued just as much as some of the core courses, can help motivate them to do well in all their classes.”
McGinnes noted his students already spend much of their time in a “Google classroom” and said he picked up ideas on how to create a paperless class and on how to incorporate even more technology into his lesson plans.
TLC (Teacher Leadership and Compensation) coaches Brenda Mintun and Nathan Horgen discussed the continuing implementation of the program into the Perry schools.
Mintun noted most in-class observations by coaches and/or leaders are from 10-15 minutes in length and said that the response has been positive and constructive.
“The coaching cycle is in three parts,” Horgen said. “The first is planning, then a video review and finally reflection on what is working well or what might need adjusting.”
Asked by Board Director Kenia Alarcon if there were differences among younger and more veteran teachers in having TLC coaches in their classroom, Horgen said the leaders had, indeed, seen a marked differential.
“The more experienced, veteran teachers are more comfortable in what they are doing and how they go about it, so they don’t seem to mind as much,” he said. “A lot of time the younger teachers don’t know what they don’t know and so are a probably a little more open to trying something different. The older teachers are not against this, they just have so much more experience and have a comfort level the young ones don’t have yet.”
The board approved a School Budget Review Committee application for Modified Allowable Growth. Increased enrollment and open enrollment out costs totaled $384,313,60 and an increased limited English proficiency program (beyond five years) cost of $166,777,60 for a total of $551,091.20.
Also approved was a spring trip to Minneapolis by the eighth grade band and choir. The one-day trip is being funded by fundraising projects and the individual generation of funds for this purpose since the current eighth graders were in sixth grade. Students will visit the Mall of America and museum as well as attending the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre for a musical production.
Some dissension arose during the initial reading of a mandatory policy concerning how the district classifies homeless children and youth.
Board President Kyle Baxter said the district could be “opening up a big can or worms” and said that, under the current policy “you might be able to say that maybe three-fourths of (the population of) Perry could be identified as homeless “based on how you write this, or choose to interpret it.”
PCSD Superintendent Lynn Ubben noted the policy was federally mandated and that refusing to pass it could leave the district exposed to possible litigation.
Directors Linda Andorf and Kenia Alarcon were joined by Vice President Jim Lutmer in voting to approve the reading, with Baxter voting against. Director Marjean Gries was absent.
Several board policy revisions were approved, as were personnel matters and the early graduation requests of Austin Stuhldryer and William McFarland.
The board also approved an easement of land to the Raccoon River Valley Trail. The initial request was made by the Dallas County Conservation Board as part of the RRVT Connector Trail route, which aims to link the former trail with the High Trestle Trail in Woodward.
In a pair of late items, the board agreed to enter a sharing arrangement that would allow several interested Perry students to attend Future Farmers of America (FFA) and agriculture classes at Woodward-Granger.
Also approved were bi-annual payments of $50 each to Dave Pratt in exchange for an inventory of the high school’s art collection.
The Perry Community School District Board of Education meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Brady Library at Perry High School.
