Updates and Progress Reports
The following notices and documents are updates to the event that took place in Laurel-Concord on March 13-14, 2008. The most recent updates are on top. Please scroll down to view older updates.
May 24, 2008 - Post-Workshop Recommendations
Regular Education Program Overview
1. Continue training and consistent implementation of APL strategies in support of classroom instruction, student management, homework, assessment, etc…
Early Childhood Programs
1. Continue support of the early childhood programs in Newcastle and Laurel/Coleridge
2. Consider expanding programs to include an early childhood program in Wynot
K-4 Programs
1. Coordinate K-4 programs and curricula to promote sharing and more efficient use of resources, materials, textbooks, etc…
2. Coleridge/Laurel: Expand K-2 Coleridge/Laurel elementary program to include the 3rd graders from Coleridge at the Laurel-Concord building for the 2008-09 school year.
3. Wynot/Newcastle: Develop and implement a plan for program coordination and scheduling at the elementary to accommodate declining numbers at each grade level while maintaining efficiency and quality.
5-8 Programs
1. Coordinate 5-8 programs and curricula to promote sharing and more efficient use of resources, materials, textbooks, etc…
2. Continue developing the middle school model focused on the needs of students in grades 5-8. (Continue to visit other middle schools and provide staff in-service to gain a better understanding of the middle school organizational model)
3. Develop middle school handbooks as a foundation for guiding programs, scheduling, management, instruction, evaluation/grading, etc…
4. Middle school teachers coordinate schedules to promote a high level of success in core academic, elective, and extra-curricular activities.
5. Continue 7th and 8th grade cooperative practices in football, volleyball, and track and where schedules allow, combination games at Laurel and Coleridge.
6. Coleridge/Laurel: Continue exploring the feasibility, in the future, of combining 5th grade through 8th grade at Coleridge, while maintaining your own identity, extra-curricular programs, etc… as long as possible.
7. Wynot/Newcastle: Develop and implement a plan for program coordination and scheduling at the middle school level to accommodate declining numbers at each grade level while maintaining efficiency and quality.
9-12 Programs
1. Coordinate and align 9-12 programs, courses, and curricula to promote sharing and more efficient use of resources, materials, textbooks, etc…
2. Coordinate calendars, scheduling, transportation, etc… to accommodate the shared programs and student/staffing needs.
3. Continue to reduce duplication of courses with low enrollment and expand class offerings with the increase of available staff. Add Family/Consumer Science in Newcastle)
4. Continue joint FFA Chapter with all four schools.
5. Coleridge/Laurel: Continue NSAA cooperatives in Cross-Country, Wrestling, and Golf.
6. Coleridge/Laurel: Continue exploring the feasibility, in the future, of combining 9th through 12th grades at Laurel, while maintaining your own identity, extra-curricular programs, etc… as long as possible.
Distance Education Programs1. Increase access to distance education teachers for students at receiving districts:
a. All staff use Myelearning (online access) in support of a synchronous video distance education class.
b. Provide a computer and printer at the receiving district classroom to allow access to course information and in-class personal interaction for students/para-educators.
c. Provide all distance education teachers with a laptop to allow voice, video, or instant messaging access during and outside of scheduled class time.
d. Install and train staff on the use of “People and Content” software to allow for the transmission of powerpoint presentations, video, document sharing, etc...
e. Limit distance education class-size to a maximum of 25 students.
f. Implement the floating study center in all four schools to allow increased access to regular and distance education teachers.
g. Expand training for staff and students in the use of distance education equipment and in the Myelearning class management system.
h. Provide additional training for distance education teachers to ensure students at both the sending and receiving sites receive the same attention and opportunities.
2. Provide para-educators at remote sites where numbers dictate the need for additional support or supervision.
a. Provide an incentive for certification of para-educators who work with distance education, special education, and regular education programs. (Project Para)
b. Provide a computer at the remote site to facilitate communication between the teacher and the para-educator.
c. Provide additional staff development for para-educators to enable them to be more effective in supporting the distance education environment.
3. Identify ways to minimize the workload and/or increase compensation for shared staff and distance education teachers.
a. Continue to provide additional planning time for teachers who teach a minimum of 3 classes over distance education.
b. Organize the schedule to minimize travel for distance/shared staff
c. Provide support to allow distance education teachers opportunities to visit students at the remote sites on a more regular basis.
d. Continue paying an incentive for teachers willing to teach distance education classes or in a teaching position outside of the district.
e. Increase the number of DL carts to accommodate increased course offerings and allow teachers to teach from his/her own classroom when possible. (6 more carts)
4. Expand course offerings over distance and increase the number of courses offered for college credit.
a. The 2008-09 schedule has increased from 57 to 75 distance education classes, not including online courses though the UNL.
b. Senior social studies curricula include increased offerings in Psychology, Economics, Sociology, World Studies, College American History, and Political Science.
c. Expand elementary and middle school Spanish programs over distance education with a certified teacher at the remote site.
d. Expand college credit courses over distance to promote a balance in class loads and increased opportunities for students wanting to earn college credit in the early entry program. (Consider offering adult education classes over distance education.)
Increase Student Enrollment
1. Recruit students into specialized programs (autism, severe and profound, vocational special education, credit recovery, etc…)
2. Host foreign exchange students to increase student numbers and expose our students to other cultures.
3. Recruit host families to house foreign exchange students. (Need 10 host families)
4. Work with community organizations and churches to identify housing, availability of jobs, and actively recruit families to our communities.
5. Coordinate transportation options to improve service and efficiency.
6. Develop and implement a scholarship program to area post-secondary institutions as a recruiting tool for attracting students to our schools.
7. Develop and market distance education classes to home-school students.
8. Meet with members of the Nebraska Home-School Association to share our interest in working with them and their children in home-school settings.
Specialized Programs
1. Continue to develop and implement special education services for students in their least restrictive environment, and closest to their home district.
a. Continue to develop and expand the Autism Center at Coleridge.
b. Continue to develop and expand the Vocational Special Needs Program in Laurel.
c. Continue to develop and expand the Credit Recovery Program in Coleridge.
d. Develop and implement the Severe and Profound Program at Coleridge.
2. Hire an additional special education teacher to work in specialized programs in Coleridge.
3. Continue to provide in-service for staff working in specialized programs
(Mandt, PT/OT, Speech, Nursing, Feeding, Medical, etc…)
4. Purchase equipment, supplies, and materials to meet the special program/student needs
5. Evaluate handicap accessibility of buildings and implement a plan to address barrier removal.
6. Evaluate special education transportation schedule and vehicle needs.
7. Continue to support the district transportation plans to keep districts in compliance with the changing vehicle requirements.
8. Provide training for all staff that will be driving vehicles that transport children. This is in compliance with the new motor vehicle transportation requirements passed in the 2008 legislative session.
Guidance and Counseling
1. Develop and implement a comprehensive K-12 guidance program that addresses career education, social and emotional, bullying, cyber social networks, etc…
2. Develop and implement an effective Advisor/Advisee program that provides classroom teachers with the necessary skills to assist students with their social, emotional, and academic needs.
3. Provide staff development activities in guidance and counseling to ensure consistency, effective, and relevant use of teacher/advisor time with students.
4. Teach parents, students, and teachers how to navigate the guidance website and initiate a direct contact with the guidance counselor.
Administration
1. Continue to explore ways to share administrative services and expand the number of community and school partnerships.
2. Expand ownership of students, staff, and parents through a collaborative administrative model where decisions are made at the level most closely affected by the resulting action.
3. Keep the focus on the impact of decisions on students, staff, parent, and community needs and interests.
4. Continue to research, support, evaluate, and provide professional leadership in managing the pace of change in each of the districts.
5. Market and sell distance education courses to other school districts in need of increased, quality educational opportunities.
6. Expand accessibility to teachers through iChat and more frequent staff meetings to improve communication within and throughout our four schools.
7. Develop a joint activities list that outlines non-NSAA activities. (Field trips, club activities, etc…)
8. Establish a mentor/cooperating teacher program as a support to the distance education classroom.
9. Develop a plan for improving communication between staff, students, parents and community patrons. (joint parent/staff development programs, school conferences, automated telephone messaging system)
Technology1. Provide adequate technology and support to accommodate student and staff needs.
2. Continue to reduce the need for specialized staff through the development and training of classroom teachers as technology trainers.
3. Provide access to video iChat so that distance education teachers have an opportunity to visit with students outside of class time.
4. Continue to expand the use of technology to enhance student learning and increase our ability to make distance education
5. Consider installing surveillance systems to improve supervision in hallways and from remote locations/.
Facilities1. Continue to evaluate and update facilities and maintenance plans to ensure school buildings and classroom facilities meet program and student needs.
2. Newcastle: Improve handicap accessibility, replace exterior doors, improve safety and security supervision, and increase space for additional course offerings.
3. Wynot: Implement the first phase of the facilities and maintenance plan and replace exterior doors on the east side of the high school, elementary, and music building. In addition, replace carpet on the middle school landing and stairways.
4. Coleridge: Sidewalk and hallway modifications to allow handicap accessibility to the middle building level and install the surveillance system. Complete the awning project bid in 2007. The booster club has offered to put a sprinkler system on our playground/practice field. (we will need volunteers for this project!!)
5. Laurel-Concord: Replace the roof on the west high school wing (originally scheduled for 2007) and replace the carpet on the south side of the elementary building.
2006-07 and 2007-08 Current Tax Request Comparison |
||||
School |
2006-07
Total Levy |
2007-08 Total Levy |
Levy Decrease |
Tax
Decrease |
| Coleridge | 1.171223 |
1.102294 |
.067706 |
($79,128.38) |
| Laurel-Concord | 1.174556 |
1.096038 |
.078518 |
($178,842.14) |
| Newcastle | 1.298252 |
1.085068 |
.213184 |
($178,940.00) |
| Wynot | 1.200000 |
1.060436 |
.139564 |
($84,908.38) |
Total Decrease |
.498972 |
($521,818.90) |
||
Newcastle and Wynot:
Due to the size of the cuts necessary to balance the 2007-08 budgets, the school boards elected to use some of the necessary cash reserve to cover the balance of the deficit. Newcastle ($100,000) and Wynot ($200,000). Our goal is to have the reserves restored in 3 fiscal years.
2007-08 Demographic Comparison 2008-09 |
||||||||
| Student Enrollment 2007-08 School Year | Student Enrollment 2008-09 School Year | |||||||
| School | K-4 |
5-8 |
9-12 |
Total |
K-4 |
5-8 |
9-12 |
Total |
| Coleridge | 33 |
34 |
57 |
124 |
27 |
34 |
49 |
110 |
| Laurel-Concord | 119 |
101 |
135 |
355 |
129 |
91 |
127 |
347 |
| Newcastle | 46 |
42 |
62 |
150 |
44 |
40 |
56 |
140 |
| Wynot | 49 |
49 |
52 |
150 |
46 |
48 |
54 |
148 |
Total |
247 |
226 |
306 |
779 |
246 |
213 |
286 |
745 |
Projected State Aid for 2008-2009 |
||||
School |
2006-07
State Aid |
2007-08
State Aid |
2008-09 State Aid |
Difference |
| Coleridge | $58,512.38 |
$28,040.41 |
$6,547.06 |
($21,493.35) |
| Laurel-Concord | $504,059.00 |
$445,055.54 |
$476,647.18 |
$31,641.80 |
| Newcastle | $281,188.70 |
$299,225.59 |
$434,439.33 |
$135,213.74 |
| Wynot | $513,999.00 |
$263,201.19 |
$537,539.69 |
$274,338.50 |
Preliminary Budget of General Fund
Expenditures |
||||
School |
2007-08
Budget |
2008-09
Budget |
Difference |
%
Increase |
| Coleridge | $1,802,894 |
$1,866,668 |
$63,774 |
3.42% |
| Laurel-Concord | $3,724,329 |
$3,863,968 |
$139,639 |
3.75% |
| Newcastle | $1,642,375 |
$1,700,403 |
$58,027 |
3.41% |
| Wynot | $1,699,684 |
$1,762,676 |
$62,992 |
3.57% |
2008-09 Recommendations
1. Coleridge: Reduce their budget by $85,000 or increase revenue to cover the anticipated deficit.
2. Laurel-Concord: Reduce their budget by $108,000 or increase revenue to cover the anticipated deficit.
3. Newcastle: Reduce their budget by $75,000 or increase revenue to cover the anticipated deficit and replace the cash reserve needed for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
4. Wynot: Reduce their budget by $90,000 or increase revenue to cover the anticipated deficit and replace the cash reserve needed to the 2007-08 fiscal year.
5. Expand contracts to sell distance education classes to other schools now upgraded to Network Nebraska.
6. Reduce our cost to send students out of district for special education services by implementing the Special Education Level III (Severe and Profound) program in Coleridge.
7. Expand Autism, Vocational, and Credit Recovery Programs to generate
additional revenue in support of these programs.
April 4, 2008 - Newcastle Teacher's Meeting Agenda
Agenda April 4th staff meeting
1. Contracts that I handed out to you this morning need to be looked at carefully to make sure there are no mistakes on them. If you have a problem with yours please let Nancy know. We would like to get them back by Friday the 11th. We want to have them in time to get them signed at the board meeting on the 14th. Nebraska does have the continuing contract law, Dan has mentioned this before, which basically says that after the 15th you are considered under contract again, if a new contract hasn’t been offered or you haven’t signed yours at that time.
2. Books for next year. Need to know your highest priority. Admin will make determination on the direction we will go after looking at all 4.
3. Go over positions that we have available in all 4 districts.
4. 403 B information was put in your box. What this is saying is if you invest with someone they need to sign a sheet stating they will share information with a third party private investor who will manage that system for the school district. This is done to insure something like Enron doesn’t happen in a school. If your investor refuses to sign the sheet you will need to find another one.
5. There are many things coming up in the next couple of weeks as the school year comes to a close. People will be coming and going in the building. Keep yourself aware of what’s going on as it can get crazy at times.
6. Keep working with the students even though they may not want to. With only several weeks left we don’t want anyone to slide and not make it.
7. Mr. Hoesing is working on complying the information from innovation labs to share with the staff. It’s a large task and he is hoping to have it ready to go on the 18th.
8. Agenda for the 18th will follow.
9. Tornado drill the 8th at 9:00. Please consult your handbooks to make sure you are going to the correct area. Don’t leave your rooms until the signal is given.
10. The proposed school calendar for next year which was given to you some time ago will go in front of the board for approval at this months meeting. Having no other suggestions from the group on the calendar it will be presented to the board as it was presented to you.
April 4, 2008 - Laurel-Concord Teacher's Meeting Agenda
April 4, 2008
7-12 teachers meeting
Laurel-Concord
1. Prioritize textbook needs before the April 18th meeting –use common form – pass one out – discuss a little – novels , supplemental materials ??? Update – PRIORITIZE from 1 meaning have to have this year to 7 or 8 or what ever gets you through your textbook needs (number of classes)
2. Tornado drill Tuesday, April 8 at 9:00 AM
3. Mid-quarter reports due in the office Wednesday April 9 – will be mailed Friday April 11
4. Seniors will be gone Friday, April 11
5. 6th grade shadow dates coming up -follow 7th graders all day – April 14, 17, 23, 24, 28, 30.
6. How are the NROC course evaluations going ???? report at the end of the year
7. Pass out current schedules – numbers in classes – problems – too big –too small – none, etc.
8. Review Friday, April 18 agenda
- Large group meeting to go over Innovation Labs surveys/results/suggestions, etc.
- Middle school teachers meeting – schedules – clusters , etc.
- Paras meeting – use of para in classrooms/distance settings, etc.
- Distance Education teachers meeting – better communications –use of my E-Learning,
- Curriculum area meetings –course titles, numbers, alignment, textbook priorities, etc,
9. Go over staff openings for all 4 schools for next year
10. Talk about the 403 b plan the district will be adopting a plan (3rd party) that your vendor will have to sign an agreement with next year. (Keeping track of funds) (ENRON)
11. Teachers contracts – hand out to teachers – due back to Deb by April 18
12. Pass out our school year calendar for next year. Will work 185 days
13. Items from the floor ???????
March 28, 2008 - Principal's Meeting Agenda
March 28 meeting
7-12 teachers meeting
Laurel-Concord
1. Prioritize textbook needs before the April 18th meeting –use common form – pass one out – discuss a little – novels , supplemental materials ???
2. Course titles, descriptions and numbers need to be completed –match in all four districts
3. Lesson Plan objectives need to be completed (CLE needed for every course –linked to standards for each course) – Lyle/Shannon
4. Requisitions are due by the April 18 meeting for the 2008-2009 year
a. Listing the Vendor company number is very important
b. on the ESU order check all identification numbers
5. Textbooks are not included in your requisitions – these will be ordered off of your PRIORITY LISTS DONE BY YOUR COMMITTES IN THE 4 DISTRICTS (EX_NEW COURSES-COURSE ALIGNMENT, ETC)
6. Terra Nova Testing schedule – go over briefly
7. Standards testing – how is it going – don’t wait until the last few days
8. Tornado drill – Tuesday April 8th at 9:00 AM in all 4 schools
9. You should have gotten in your mailboxes a copy of he Innovation Labs surveys for all or the groups. Hang on to these we will look at them on April 18.
10. Next Fridays meeting – I hope to have a handout showing you the numbers of student enrollment in all classes for the 08-09 school year. Then you may proceed to recruit , discourage if too big, etc.
11. At our April 18 meeting
a. Large group meeting –Innovation Labs information/results/suggestions, etc.
b. Middle school teachers meeting –review schedule –insure success for these students,
(core areas schedule finalized and cluster rotations figured out)
c. Distance Learning teachers meeting
better communications, use of My E-Learning, etc.
d. Paras meeting
use of paras in Distance learning settings as well as other programs (SPED Level I and III programs, etc.
12. Days at the end of the year –How many ????? –Depends on how much of the things we need done we get done before then (Curriculum alignment, Course descriptions, numbered - textbook priority finished so we now what to order - Mandt training, Van drivers training and some other things that we don’t want to have to call people back in the summer for.
March 17, 2008 - Letter from Dr. Hoesing
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:35:27 -0500
To: All Teachers
From: Dan Hoesing
Re: Innovation Labs Follow-up
Date: March 15, 2008
Thank you for your involvement with the InnovationLabs Workshop. The commitment and energy that you all brought to it was a very positive experience for your colleagues and the community members who attended. We have much to be proud of in our schools and appreciative for, and many accomplishments over the last year that have benefited our schools and our communities. And as discussed on Friday, we still have many program opportunities to develop and implement, and issues and/or conflicts to resolve.
In our workshop debriefing session on Friday evening, Michael and Bryan emphasized that we should keep the lines of communication open for all staff. We want you to remain involved and focused on the issues. They also stressed the importance of providing an open format that ensures an opportunity for frequent and consistent staff feedback on the proposed resolutions and timelines that the administration will be coordinating and/or developing over the next two months.
We will continue to refine the timeline and make decisions about the next steps of our implementation efforts as we shift from the "sprint mode" to a longer-term focus on "marathon mode." Please continue to monitor your own efforts and keep up the progress, keeping in mind that you need to take care of yourself as we learn to work and organize ourselves in new ways.
We apologize for the format the survey results were provided in. It really did not provide us with the information we had hoped to be able to receive or the information you needed to fairly interpret the message. We are working with the survey developer to get these results in a better format and out to the entire teaching staff. On April 18th, at our staff workshop, we will review these results to see if we can do a better job of interpreting the responses.
During the workshop we received much feedback about distance education and associated problems with scheduling, technology, facilities, student management, etcŠ In order for us to really address the issues, we will be meeting with small groups of teachers involved in distance education to see if we can come to some higher level of understanding of where the issues are and reasonable solutions for addressing these problems.
Finally, as a means of providing consistent and frequent communications, it was suggested Newcastle, Coleridge, and Laurel-Concord use the Friday afternoon, common planning time from 3:00 to 4:00, for the remainder of this school year to provide a forum for staff updates and feedback. These meetings will be hosted by the building principals and made available via distance to facilitate traveling staff and/or joint staff meetings. The Wynot staff will be meeting on their required Fridays and are welcome to join any of the meetings in the other districts over the distance network.
It is extremely important we continue to keep the lines of communication open and that ALL staff members are involved in helping find a positive resolution to the identified issues. If you looked at the demographics display on Thursday night you would have seen that all four districts continue to have lower enrollment - so as Michael said at the close of Friday, we are not out of the woods yet. The information outlined on the demographics display clearly demonstrates that our districts are going through a major transformation. In our debrief session Bryan explained that transformation is a natural process and is found in nature. Transformation is not easy, but it is necessary for our kids' future and to the viability of our schools and communities.
Thank you again for your continuing efforts on behalf of our communities and our students. Please be assured that you are making a positive difference in many lives, and we appreciate all that you do!