EACSD Board moves forward with plan for 1:1 Computer Initiative
by Susan Cantine-Maxson
The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors met for its monthly meeting Monday, April 20. The Board met for two and a half hours, covering a broad range of topics.
Area resident and parent Andy Wagner, presented an informative proposal on the implementation of emergency anaphylaxis protocol. Wagner is finishing a Masters of Nursing degree at Allen College, and his graduate project focuses on anaphylaxis, school age children and the procedures needed to deal with severe allergic reaction during school. Wagner worked with Julie Welsh, school district nurse, to implement an in-service for teachers in January on recognizing and treating an allergic reaction and how to treat such reactions with an epinephrine pen.
Wagner’s suggested protocol procedure included: Teachers should call 911 as well as administering the epinephrine. Call parents/guardians. After giving the shot, the person suffering the reaction needs to go to an emergency room. Emergency services in both Lansing and New Albin are qualified to administer epinephrine. He stressed that prevention is key. Children must be taught to be careful to avoid triggers. For every incident there needs to be a follow-up procedure which delineates what worked and what needs to be improved. One important issue is to make sure the child returns with a new epinephrine pen.
Wagner asked the Board to consider implementing such a protocol for the following reasons: A law has been passed at the Federal level which authorizes schools to administer epinephrine which is not specifically prescribed for a student. Some students have “epi” pens but don't carry it on them at all times. Therefore, it is best to have it available for use by the teachers and school nurse. He encourages schools to have a stock supply of epinephrine pens and people trained to use them. If the child has a prescription, the teacher can assist them, but if the school had a stock supply, teachers could be taught to administer it in a case where a student did not have his/her own pen. The time element is extremely important in dealing with severe allergic reaction. The Board agreed to take it under advisement.
NEW OVEN FOR FOOD SERVICE
Tara Drape, head cook for the district, and Dianna Schwartzhoff, assistant cook, presented a need for the purchase of new convection oven for food service for the district. The current oven is 20 years old and does not work well. The oven has been repaired several times; all major components have been worked on or replaced so additional repair would be financially inadvisable. After considerable research and consulting with several firms and securing several quotes, Drape recommended the district purchase a new convection oven from Wilson Restaurant Supply at an approximate cost of $6,995.
The Board approved the purchase unanimously. The Business Manager will recommend the best fund to use to finance this purchase but it will probably come out of PEPL or sales tax funds. Since the item is less than $35,000, sealed bids were not necessary and securing the quotes from several companies was adequate.
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Dan Ellefson, district technology director, presented several informational items to the Board. The technology committee strongly recommends that all district e-mail be moved to the Google Apps for EDU system by next fall. Currently, several staff use two different e-mail systems, which can make it difficult for students and parents to contact them. His plan is to have everyone on the Google EDU system by the last Friday in September. EACSD Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier said it may be necessary to keep some district e-mail with the Outlook server for state, AEA and business e-mail.
Ellefson presented several options for implementing the 1:1 initiative of supplying each high school student with a laptop computer. After discussing several scenarios and options with the Board, the Superintendent recommended that the Board lease 45 computers for students and buy 15 computers for staff the first year. Each year for the next four years, a new class would be given a computer until all the students would have them by the 2019 school year. Leasing would be a yearly expense of approximately $12,300 the first year, and each year the price would increase by approximately that amount for the new set of computers.
The advantage of leasing is this would allow the district to spend less initially and then by the time the larger leasing bill becomes due, the district’s bond will be done and there will be more money available. Also, leasing would allow more flexibility to change if technology shows that a different route is preferable to increasing technology use in the classroom, such as using cell phones. The committee recommended the DakTech 1470 Laptop. One strong reason they recommended this model was because of the solid state hard drive which makes it more durable and less likely to have issues because of a great deal of movement. They spent a great deal of time visiting other districts and researching a variety of brands and models. The Superintendent commended the committee members for their diligence in researching this issue.
Additional discussion included insurance, protective coverings for the laptops and other technical related issues. There will be additional expenses for carts, wireless internet upgrades and switches. Board members raised the possibility of doing a survey of students to determine how many did not have internet access at home.
Finally, Ellefson explained that moneys received from a final payment from a Microsoft settlement, about $5,000, would be used for upgrades to several computers in the New Albin Elementary.
ELEMENTARY SUMMER SCHOOL
New Elementary School Principal Chad Steckel presented an elementary summer school proposal. It would include two sessions four days each week, three hours a day; with two hours of literacy and one hour of math. This will eventually become a requirement from the State but Steckel would like to start this year. The program, which will need two teachers and a teacher’s aide, will be funded by Early Literacy Intervention funds. Students would not be required to attend, but Steckel hoped that at least half of those invited would attend. The first session would run June 8-11 and June 15-18; the second session would run July 6-9 and July 13-16, Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The summer school students would be those identified as Not Proficient based on assessments and teacher recommendation. The goal is to eliminate loss of learning over the summer months. The program will be more interactive, encouraging students to gain a more solid grasp of concepts needed for success the following year. Teachers will collect data to determine the overall effectiveness. Current teachers in the system have expressed interest in teaching. The Board approved the plan as presented by Principal Steckel.
CITY/SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Superintenent Crozier updated the Board on discussions with Lansing City Hall representatives to rent space in the Middle School. The District would have approval of all improvements. The City will do snow removal and mowing. The school district and the City will work together as partners and are working to set up a legal agreement. Both boards will need to approve final agreement.
APPROVALS
All usual authorizations were approved. The Board also approved:
• the purchase and installation of storage cabinets for three rooms in New Albin Elementary, which will complete this project;
• the appointment of Mary Hogan as Level I Child Abuse investigator and Dale Crozier as the Level I Child Abuse Investigator Alternate;
• Mary Hogan as Affirmative Action Coordinator;
• SIAC Recommendations and long-range goals (marketing the school and developing marketing strategies; continue developing 21st Century skills program and sustainability of current programs);
• maternity leave for Erin Mettille;
• graduation candidates for 2014-2015 (31 students);
• memorandum of understanding for the Teacher Leadership system;
• 2015 contracts for certified staff and support staff;
• Public hearing date of May 18, 2015 for 2014-15 budget amendment;
• Resignation for Amanda Grout, grades 5-12 Instrumental Music;
• Contract for Melissa Cota, middle school teacher/at-risk aide;
• Contract for Joe Bailey, National Honor Society Advisor;
• Patrick Wagner as boys and girls cross country coach;
• Master Contract with Eastern Allamakee Education Association.
MASTER CONTRACT APPROVAL
The Master Contract agreement is a three-year contract. The first year would allow for a 3.62 % overall salary increase. The second and third year would have a 3.0% increase. The overall package, which includes insurance, IPERS, FICA, teacher leadership funds, base funds and the supplemental salary schedule will allow the district to provide the minimum $33,500 base salary.
Contract language allows for adjustments in these percentages if allowable growth funds from the State increase or decrease in years two and three. If there is a one- to three-percent allowable growth, the increase would remain at three percent. For every half a percent above three percent allowable growth, there would be a .25% increase. For every hald percent below one percent allowable growth, there would be a .25% reduction in allowable growth.
ADMINISTRATIVE
Principal Steckel reported that grades third through sixth participated in a Math is Magic event at Waukon: Tyson Cota won first place in Put the Pencil to Paper; the district board game received second-place honors; and Maggy Weymiller and Haley Meyer placed first in the Teach to Learn category.
The elementary school applied for and received a grant for the Pint Size Classroom for STEM to increase science, technology, engineering and math in kindergarten or first grade.
PRESCHOOL
Steckel informed the Board that the current preschool situation will probably need to change for next year because of an increase in numbers. The preschool class is limited to 20 students and there will probably be 21-24 students who qualify for this program. He outlined several scenarios, such as creating two classes for four-year-olds who currently attend five days a week or working with parents to allow some students to remain in the three-year-old section longer in order to prepare them better for success before moving into the four-year-old section. He favored the second scenario and said he would then increase the number of days from three to four for the three-year-old class. He will make this decision shortly after discussing possibilities with several parents and teachers.
Assuming his athletic director role, Steckel reported that the awning over the softball field will need to be smaller than originally planned because of costs. The concession stand construction will also be delayed because of costs.
ACTIVITIES
Muffins with Mom will be Thursday, April 23. Moms are invited this Thursday to have breakfast muffins with their children. Dads were invited in the fall. Tuesday, April 28 at 7 p.m. there will be a vocal concert for elementary and fifth grade band.
Monday, April 27, the middle school and high school vocal and instrumental music concert will be at the high school at 7 p.m. The next board meeting is scheduled for May 19 at 7 p.m.
