ACSD Board of Directors holds monthly meeting

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met Monday evening, October 21 for its regular monthly meeting. ACSD Superintendent Dave Herold informed the Board that there will be a Youth Frontiers event held November 12-14 for fifth, seventh, eighth and 10th grade students, with student leaders from grades ninth through 12th.
He said about 420 students will be participating, and there will be 60 student leaders. The program teaches students to have a positive impact through teaching kindness, courage, respect and responsibility. Herold also gave a short presentation on the Teacher Leadership and Compensation Planning Grant. ACSD will receive about $9,500 from this grant.
During the principals’ reports, East Elementary and West Elementary Principal Ann Hart noted student field trips will be taken to Vesterheim and Luther College in Decorah. She also presented the Board with the student learning menu, which she explained allows students to be more active in their own educational process.
Students evaluate what they are learning, what they are struggling with, what they might need to do to bring that up, and how the teachers can help them. Areas covered by the student learning menu include homework assistance, grade level re-teaching, skills based learning (tutoring), inquiry based/STEM projects, career readiness activity, mentoring/service learning, and wellness activity.
Waterville Elementary and Waukon Junior High Principal Joe Griffith discussed after school program participation for both Waterville and the junior high. He noted that junior high fall sports have wrapped up and winter sports are starting. The Waterville preschool had a safety inspection, and only “minor” issues were found, such as keeping toys in plastic bags, when they should be kept in bins.
He also discussed the number of “F” grades compared to last year in the junior high. Last year at the end of the first quarter, there were 27 students with a total of 64 “F” grades in classes. Griffith said he and the staff felt that any “F” was “unacceptable” and have been working to improve on this. This year, 14 students have a total of 23 “F” grades, so the number is going down, and they will continue to work on it.
High School Assistance Principal Jennifer Garin discussed 21stCentury participation. She also discussed that the school will be looking to partner with local businesses for Project Lead the Way. Postseason play will be beginning for high school fall sports. Five high school students will be competing in a conference swim meet October 26. Cross Country will compete at the district meet in West Union October 24, volleyball will compete in regional play October 28, and football will be hosting a play-off game October 30. Garin noted that if Waukon ends up with a number-one ranking for the district, they could have the opportunity to host two or three postseason games.
High School Principal Dan Diercks noted that the grades 7-12 concert last week was well-received, with a “full gym.” He also updated the Board on the house building project, noting that the rafters are up and the class is finishing some roofing things, and will hopefully be shingling next week.
During other reports, Gretchen DeVore, ACSD Curriculum Director, talked a little bit about the Smarter Balance consortium that ACSD is part of, explaining that it is a computer test during which as each question is answered correctly, the questions get harder, like MAPS testing. It also challenges students to apply facts they learn to real life situations.
ACSD Technology Director Jean Brink noted that, if all goes as planned, during Veterans Day at the high school students will be able to Skype with her son and his unit stationed in Afghanistan. Food service director Julie Magner noted that October is Farm to School month, so students have been eating local dairy products, as well as new kids of food, like kale chips, and some will be trying hummus.

During the communications time, Waukon High School Guidance Counselor Amy Wasson gave a presentation on building program and course enrollment data. Her data gave a breakdown of male and female enrollment numbers in high school courses. There are a total of 210 females enrolled at the high school and 175 males.
The data also looked at areas like industrial technology, which is traditionally male dominated but has eight females, a very high number, taking these types of courses as well. Health occupations is traditionally more female-dominated, but there are a couple males enrolled.
Wasson noted that she and a few other staff had traveled to Iowa  State University, and the college had done a study that showed that females tend to take advantage of opportunities to earn college credits while still in high school more than males, and the gap is growing. Wasson also explained that this data was compiled due to last year's SITE visit. Board Secretary Janice Rea informed the Board that total enrollment stands at about 1,177 for the current school year.
Under new business, the Board approved the hiring of staff for the 21st century after school programming, Bridget Ronan as a 5.75 hour per day associate, and Frank Weymiller as a volunteer football coach, all pending background checks. The Board also accepted the resignation of Debra Johnson from her position in food service.
An out-of-state field trip for Waterville Elementary students to attend a performance of STOMP at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI April 22 was approved. An additional student was approved for early graduation, pending meeting all graduation requirements.

Herold gave a presentation on the Superintendent Goals and Evaluation Form, which was then approved. Herold explained that the goals were taken from the ‘Iowa School Leadership Standards’ for performance and evaluation. Goal #1 shared vision and culture of learning: the superintendent will be evaluated each year, at the end of the year, using six leadership standards for administrators (shared vision, culture of learning, management of the organization, family and community, ethics, and political/social context).
Goal #2 family and community and ethics: the superintendent will foster student growth in character, respect for each other, improved citizenship, and workplace skills. Current programming, like Olweus anti-bullying, Iowa Youth Survey, Youth Frontiers, Community Connections/21st Century Grant, will be discussed and implemented.
Goal #3 shared vision and culture of learning: the Board has an expectation that the Annual Progress Report (APR) goals approved in September will be met or exceeded to increase the number of students meeting the targeted growth in the areas of math, science and reading.
The Board then approved the first reading of the board policy 401.7 – Employee Travel Compensation. In September, the Board approved some changes to employee compensation during travel, and this puts those changes in the actual policy. Board committees for 2013-2014 were also approved.
An application for Harkin Fire and Safety Grant funds was also approved. Herold noted that the money available includes funds that were not used by previous grant recipients, and that ACSD would be applying for $16,994.48 to help fix some of the minor issues found during last year’s inspection. The Board also approved Sunday football practice, in anticipation of postseason play.
The Board then adjourned, with President Al Rissman reminding everyone that the board meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in November.