ACSD Board of Directors hears variety of updates as first semester nears its conclusion

by Brianne Grimstad

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for its regular monthly meeting Monday night, December 18. Under the consent agenda, the following personnel were approved, pending a satisfactory background check: Kids Club staff. The board also accepted a resignation from Mandee Dundee from her elementary paraprofessional position.

The board heard from the Science Professional Learning team, who explained how they determine what students should learn,  how best to teach it and what to do if students are not understanding content or if they are proficient in the content. Methods such as science journals and lab reports are used to measure how students are doing. Students often collaborate and the ones who know the material can help those who may not quite understand the material.

In his Superintendent report, ACSD Superintendent Jay Mathis noted that the district is working on Civil Rights Data collection, which will be due February 26, 2024. He noted that every two years, this information is required by the Federal government.

He also reported that the date to adopt the district budget has been moved from April 15 to April 30, per Iowa legislation. The process will include two public hearings and a Property Tax Hearing Statement being mailed to taxpayers prior to the public hearings. The Allamakee County Auditor is responsible for generating and mailing those statements based off information that is supplied by ACSD.

Mathis also said that he is impressed by the holiday concerts, noting that there are a lot of talented students and hard-working staff in the district. He also touched on the fact that Governor Kim Reynolds feels that Area Education Agencies (AEA) should be overhauled, possibly defunded or extinguished. He noted that many schools, rural schools especially, depend on their AEA for guidance with training for new initiatives and also for resources for educating special education students. While there could be alternative methods or ways to find those resources, what works in a larger urban area might not be prudent or even possible in a rural district like ACSD and surrounding schools.

Waukon High School Principal Jennifer Garin gave an update on the student-built house project, explaining that the windows have been installed and remaining exterior doors and garage doors are being installed this week. The hope is to have the majority of the ceiling in the house and garage done prior to the holiday break.

There are 78 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students signed up to participate in the State Leadership Conference in March and 60 students will be attending the District Leadership Conference in January. FFA members who were eligible received their Discovery, Greenhand or Chapter Degrees November 21. Two FFA members attended the Transform Conference, and FFA members also donated fruit to the Allamakee County Food Shelf.

The end of the semester tests will be December 19-21. Principal Garin also reported that they are working on the Secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) Reporting Application, as well as updating the board on the Professional Development Day in January, PLC EVAAS training coming up and professional growth. She also thanked the community for the support of all events in the ACSD.

Waukon High School Assistant Principal/Activities Director Brian Hilsabeck gave the participation numbers for winter activities. He congratulated the Waukon High School band and choir members and directors for their great show December 11. He also thanked the board members, administrators, teachers, custodians and support staff for their hard work and support. He thanked the Transportation and Facilities Departments for what they do during the “fun Iowa weather.”

Waukon Middle School Principal Luke Steege thanked the teachers, students, staff and parents for making the first semester a success. He noted that they have been working to improve math competency with the intervention program. Girls basketball is finishing up this week and the wrestlers will have one meet after the holiday break. The Middle School holiday concert was December 4.

Principal Steege commented how great it is to see so many students involved in activities. The middle school staff will continue to offer help to students when they need it. Teachers will be available for tutoring after school Tuesdays and Thursdays. Support will also continue during the day and during homeroom.

East and West Elementary Schools Principal Samantha Thornton noted that the students shopped for family members at East Elementary during the Holiday Market. She thanked the community, family members, PSST, and the staff for making the Holiday Market successful. Principal Thornton noted that the students were very proud of their gift purchases. The elementary staff is planning for winter FAST testing, which will change the WIN (What I Need) groups for upcoming months. She also pointed out the WIN time also includes five days a week of TAG (Talented and Gifted) programming. Thornton also thanked everyone who came out to support students for the East Elementary Concert and Art Show.

ACSD Curriculum Director Kelli Olson reported that her department has been busy with learning and collaboration, including Google Read Write prep, math coaching webinars and the Our Kids newsletter. They are also doing the UPAR survey to identify how students best access content.

Olson and an instructional coach have been participating in the math coaching sessions to learn how to support teachers to incorporate math practices into their classrooms. She has also been working with Special Education Director Carissa Otto to bridge general education and special education.

In her Special Education report, Otto noted that they have been looking more into high-leverage practices and have been able to join the grade-level and content-level professional learning teams. This allows for collaboration, discussion about students and gathering of information for IEPs (Individual Education Plans). They can also get more knowledge on the Iowa Core and what materials teachers are teaching and when, helping them co-plan lessons.

In an update on the IDEA-DA, Otto said that last year ACSD was identified for Level 2 – Literacy, meaning Special Education students are not making the necessary progress. They are finalizing a plan and it will be uploaded to the Iowa Department of Education by January 15. Otto also thanked several staff members for attending data analysis for IDEA-DA in Decorah and beginning the action planning.

Buildings and Grounds Director Bill Hennessy stated that the high school gym floor will be waxed over the Christmas break. Olympic Builders will be installing the attic hatches in the middle school during the break as well. The new entrance door by the Superintendent’s office has been installed. There will be other maintenance projects happening over the break as well.

Technology Director Andy Reichard reported that there are less than five systems at Sterling for repair. Later in the meeting, the board approved a request for proposals for the ACSD 2024 District Copiers that Reichard submitted. He also said they are working on gathering information to upgrade the discontinued phone system. ACSD will be filing an E-Rate Category 2 request for FWaas (FireWall as a service) from iboss, the content filter provider. Reichard also explained that they are adding a reporting plug-in to the PowerSchool Student Information System to allow more detailed communication with parents.

Food Service Director Jess Keenan reported that the first semester went great. She said her staff is a hard-working group willing to help whereever needed. The kitchen staff is doing some extra cleaning as they finish out the semester. Keenan noted all the centers do a great job caring for the appliances. She also thanked everyone who makes the food service program a success: the custodians, the subs and the regular staff.

Transportation Director Justin Piggott stated that they are getting ready for winter driving conditions. The winter athletic seasons are getting busier for drivers. Piggott also noted that he submitted a request for bids to three bus companies for a new LP bus, and one bid was received and later approved in the meeting. Piggott also noted the Chevy Trax is in transit.

Under old business, the board approved the second reading of the following board policies: 401.1 - Equal Employment Opportunity, 503.1 - Student Conduct, 503.1R1 - Student Suspension, 503.2 - Expulsion, 503.8R1 - Student Threats of Violence and Incidents of Violence Regulation, 605.3R1 - Reconsideration of Instructional and Library Materials Regulation, 701.5R1 - Financial Metrics.

Under new business, the board approved the following SBRC requests: Increased Enrollment - $172,076; LEP Instructional Beyond 5 Years - $9,679; and MSA for At-Risk/Dropout Prevention - $332,494.

The board accepted the bid from School Bus Sales, the only company to return a bid, for a 71-body, 60-passenger, propane-powered bus, including the trade-in of the 2007 Bluebird 65-passenger bus ($1,500 trade-in), for a total of $137,336. No bids were received by the district for the 2007 Bluebird bus. No bids were received for the truck and snow plow, either. However, RW Pladsen said they would be willing to give a $2,000 trade-in for the truck to be used towards the Chevy Trax.

Prior to adjournment of the meeting, the board then approved an estimate from Winona Controls for $6,350 for heat exchanger repairs in the gym.