[0:01] Okay.

[0:03] 5:15. Please stand and join us for the

[0:05] pledge of

[0:06] >> allegiance.

[0:10] I aliance to the flag of the United

[0:13] States of America and to the republic

[0:16] for which it stands. One nation under

[0:19] God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:21] justice for all.

[0:26] » Thank you. I'll now call this regular

[0:29] school board meeting of Independent

[0:30] School District 544 to order. With that,

[0:34] I will turn to the clerk to establish

[0:36] our quorum. Kirby Anderson

[0:38] >> here.

[0:38] >> Kelly Graph.

[0:40] >> Jenny Christensen,

[0:41] >> present.

[0:42] >> Missy Hermes here. Melanie Cole

[0:44] >> here.

[0:45] >> Steven Bigosa

[0:46] >> here.

[0:46] >> We have a quorum.

[0:48] >> Thank you.

[0:49] Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

[0:52] >> So moved.

[0:52] >> And a second.

[0:53] >> Second. Any discussion on the agenda?

[0:58] All in favor of approving say I. I.

[1:01] >> Oppose say nay.

[1:03] That is approved. And we have uh one

[1:06] resolution on acknowledgements which is

[1:08] a thank you to Matthew Lumpkkey for his

[1:11] donation of items to Otter Pride night

[1:13] for Fergus Falls Public Schools. And so

[1:16] with that, I will offer that resolution

[1:18] and move for its adoption. Is there a

[1:20] second?

[1:21] >> Second it.

[1:22] >> Okay. Discussion.

[1:26] Hearing none. Um, clerk, will you please

[1:28] take role?

[1:29] >> Yes. Kelly Graph,

[1:30] >> yes.

[1:31] >> Jenny Christensen,

[1:32] >> yes.

[1:32] >> Missy Hermes, yes. Melanie Cole,

[1:34] >> yes.

[1:35] >> Steven Bigosa,

[1:36] >> yes.

[1:36] >> Kirby Anderson,

[1:37] >> yes.

[1:38] >> The resolution is adopted. Thank you.

[1:41] >> We have reports tonight and welcome the

[1:44] princip principles back after a hiatus.

[1:47] So, we'll start with John Steinbrer,

[1:49] elementary principal at Lincoln. Good

[1:51] evening, John.

[1:52] >> Hi. Good evening.

[1:54] um a light report tonight, but just some

[1:57] highlights that I wanted to offer as we um as we start off the school

[2:04] year. So, um so far a great start

[2:06] between ECF, preschool, kindergarten,

[2:09] and first grade. We've had four separate

[2:11] first days, and each of them has kind of

[2:13] felt like a first day, but um it's been

[2:16] it it actually kind of stretches out the

[2:18] fun. though. Um, with those four

[2:20] separate first days, um, it was really

[2:22] nice to have our first graders again

[2:24] there to help us lead the way. Um, when

[2:26] we had our kindergarteners stop in the

[2:28] next day, those first graders really

[2:30] helped to, um, show and help lead in

[2:33] those transitions and routines. This

[2:35] year at Lincoln, we have 15 sections

[2:38] again in preK through grade 1. We're a

[2:40] 15 section school. Um, and that is

[2:43] that's the same as last year. The one

[2:45] big difference is just in the balance.

[2:47] This year we have one less section of

[2:50] first grade, but one more section of

[2:52] kindergarten. And we'll talk a little

[2:53] bit more about that as as I go through

[2:56] these bulleted items. Um, at Otter

[2:58] Preschool, our enrollment remains pretty

[3:01] strong in our full day offering. So we

[3:04] have three Monday through Thursday

[3:06] classes and then one Tuesday, Thursday

[3:08] kind of every other day, two time per

[3:10] week class. And out of those offerings,

[3:12] we have 74 of 80 spots filled. Um, and

[3:15] so I'm I'm feeling really good about

[3:16] that. Each classroom has um has about

[3:19] one or two spots for one more students,

[3:21] but we've continued to see enrollment

[3:24] even over the past few weeks, which has

[3:25] been really nice. Um, we also have a

[3:29] number of new to us three-year-olds um

[3:31] who are experiencing um formalized

[3:34] school for the first time, and that's

[3:35] always an adjustment for everybody, but

[3:38] they they seem to be just doing a nice

[3:40] job and handling it just fine. So, we're

[3:42] excited to welcome those new

[3:44] three-year-olds into Lincoln School. Um,

[3:47] just a highlight here, tuition

[3:48] statements were sent out to preschool

[3:50] families last week, and because of

[3:53] Pathway 2 scholarships and voluntary

[3:55] prek funding, gosh, we're we're able to

[3:58] keep those tuition prices down really, low in some cases. Um it's a 60%

[4:05] reduction for families who are who have

[4:08] completed the application and who are

[4:10] eligible for free or reduced lunch. Um

[4:14] they they sometimes see a tuition rate

[4:16] of $0 um for preschool. So, um the the

[4:22] big the big thing there is um everyone

[4:24] has just been so so helpful in getting

[4:27] those applications processed, but then

[4:29] more so um the help of just uh having

[4:32] access to those revenue streams is

[4:34] really nice and and pays off. Um we've

[4:37] worked really hard to make preschool

[4:38] accessible and affordable for the

[4:40] families within our community. We're

[4:41] really proud of that. Switching over to

[4:43] Lincoln Elementary. Um, at grades

[4:46] kindergarten through first grade, we

[4:47] presently have 185 students across 10

[4:50] sections. Kindergarten, we rebounded

[4:52] this year. We're up to 147. Um, last

[4:56] year we were sitting at about 126. So,

[4:58] we've gained back um 20 students. Um,

[5:03] you know, we do have some students who

[5:05] because of age or development, they they

[5:07] do a second year of kindergarten and

[5:09] that's just fine. Um, but that's true

[5:10] every year. So, I think really what

[5:12] we're looking at is we're looking at

[5:13] about a a plus 20 from the year before,

[5:16] which is really great. Um, one of the strategies that we talked

[5:20] about last year um toward the end of the

[5:22] year at at enrollment time was starting

[5:24] with our youngest learner section which

[5:27] is up and running. Um, so all of those

[5:29] children turned five during June, July,

[5:32] and August of this summer. And so the nice thing is we're able to meet

[5:37] their needs in one classroom and that

[5:39] classroom is going just great. kids are

[5:41] having a good time and they're learning

[5:42] just like their grade level peers. It's

[5:44] just unique to them and their

[5:45] chronological age. So, I feel like

[5:47] that's that's going really well. Um I've

[5:50] mentioned before it's kind of a bummer

[5:52] though because there aren't any

[5:53] birthdays during the middle of the

[5:54] school year. So, we're just going to

[5:55] have one big birthday celebration for

[5:58] that.

[5:58] >> Yeah. Um

[6:01] we last week completed our bus safety.

[6:05] Um practice our emergency procedures for

[6:08] fire drills. All of which went really well. Um just takes a little bit

[6:11] more time at Lincoln School to get

[6:13] everyone out of the building, but um

[6:14] that that went well. Uh communication

[6:16] systems were were checked out. Um and we're in good shape there. We hosted

[6:22] our first book fair also last week.

[6:24] Really nice turnout for families. Um

[6:26] hosted a bit of a carnival in that STEM

[6:28] area which has proven to be just such a

[6:30] nice multi-purpose use space. Um a lot

[6:32] of folks stopped in. Um it was just a

[6:34] nice family event. Um and so altogether

[6:37] just a really really nice nice start to

[6:39] the school year.

[6:42] >> Great. At this point I would entertain

[6:44] any questions if anyone has any

[6:45] prepared.

[6:46] >> I don't have a question per se but I do

[6:48] want to say that my daughter does take

[6:49] the bus from Lincoln and um for anybody

[6:53] who out there who may be concerned about

[6:55] their littles taking the bus. Um it has

[6:57] been wonderful. They're actually she has

[7:00] been adopted by a couple high school

[7:01] kids on the bus who walk her across the

[7:04] street when she gets to her stop and

[7:06] also she has suckered them into letting

[7:09] her watch Spidey and friends on their

[7:10] phones on the way home.

[7:12] >> Adopted or hired.

[7:14] >> Yeah, I think yeah, I did ask her how

[7:15] many cults she started on the bus, but

[7:17] yeah. So anyway, I just want to say it's been really wonderful a wonderful

[7:21] experience having a preschooler on a bus

[7:24] with so many different ages. We they've

[7:26] done a really great job with that.

[7:27] >> Great. So,

[7:27] >> thanks for sharing that.

[7:30] >> Okay.

[7:30] >> All right.

[7:31] >> Thank you.

[7:33] >> Next, we'll hear from elementary

[7:35] principal at Adams and McKinley, Scott

[7:37] Colbeck.

[7:38] >> Good evening, Scott.

[7:41] >> Good evening. Good to see all of you

[7:42] again. Uh, four weeks ago, we welcomed

[7:46] 178 students to Adam School and split

[7:50] those kids into nine classrooms and we

[7:52] welcomed 201 McKinley across 10

[7:56] classrooms. It's been a really good

[7:58] start to the school year. I would I

[8:00] would describe our class sizes as

[8:03] refreshing and very comfortable. Um, our

[8:08] four sections of first grade between

[8:11] McKinley and Adams, we range in class

[8:14] size from 18 to 19 kids.

[8:18] In second grade between our eight

[8:20] sections, we range in size from 18 to

[8:23] 21. And in third grade, between our

[8:27] seven sections, we range in size from 20

[8:30] to 22.

[8:33] I really think that in all of my years

[8:35] as elementary principal, I cannot recall

[8:40] class sizes like that across the board.

[8:43] So, it's just been really, really nice.

[8:45] Uh, for what it's worth, thank you. Um,

[8:48] our teachers would say it feels lighter.

[8:52] Uh, so it's just been great. uh that

[8:54] way. We are very much enjoying uh some

[8:58] improvements to Adam School. Uh let me

[9:02] tell you about all of them. Starting

[9:04] back to last spring, we have a new roof.

[9:08] And this summer, we received new

[9:11] asphalt. Not just a new layer, but they

[9:16] dug it all out and put all new asphalt

[9:18] in. that includes the parking lot and

[9:21] the playground and the curb appeal of

[9:23] Adam School now is just off the charts.

[9:26] Um, we have new carpeting in many of our

[9:29] spaces. Uh, any room that received new

[9:32] carpeting also is freshly painted. Um,

[9:38] the two restrooms in the first grade

[9:40] wing are entirely remodeled. You talk

[9:43] about just gutted down to nothing and

[9:45] starting over. They're beautiful. check

[9:47] them out the next time you're at atom

[9:49] school. And then in the restrooms

[9:51] nearest the main office, we have some

[9:53] new uh new floors and some new sinks. Uh

[9:58] pretty great. Our entire building was

[10:01] rewired this summer. We have new

[10:04] wireless access points in every

[10:06] classroom along with new audio

[10:07] enhancement systems in each classroom.

[10:10] So, um our 1939 building that's 87 years

[10:14] old. In 13 years, we'll be celebrating

[10:16] 100 years. Building's looking pretty

[10:19] sharp, and I'm looking forward to future

[10:22] uh improvements um to that building. I

[10:25] got to tell you something interesting.

[10:27] This summer, there was an electrician

[10:29] working in the basement of Adam School

[10:31] up above the hung ceiling and he found a

[10:34] time capsule.

[10:36] 1992. And who do you think was behind

[10:40] the time capsule? Was fourth grade

[10:42] teacher Dave Ellis. And in the time

[10:44] capsule were letters written by fourth

[10:46] grade students. So that was brought to

[10:49] my attention this past week. I saw him

[10:51] this weekend and now that time capsule

[10:53] is waiting for him to pick pick it up at

[10:55] Adam school. But kind of neat stuff. Um

[10:58] our students, they were very excited. I

[11:00] know I talk about this a lot, but I it's

[11:02] a big deal. Our students were really

[11:04] excited for Jaws to start last week and

[11:06] we thank our many volunteers uh for

[11:09] without them we would not have that

[11:10] program. And uh this week we will

[11:13] recognize our first all-star students in

[11:16] both of our buildings, one from every

[11:18] classroom. Uh our students and staff are

[11:21] looking forward to walking to the

[11:23] homecoming parade on Friday and busing

[11:26] back just in time to catch the buses

[11:28] home. Attendance through our first 19

[11:31] days of school. I'm happy to report that

[11:33] we see no concerning patterns yet.

[11:36] Therefore, we do not need to send any

[11:38] letters home as of right now. It was

[11:41] great to see so many of our young

[11:42] students at Otter Pride Night just 8

[11:45] days into the school year, two weeks in.

[11:48] Uh we're excited to have local artist

[11:50] Sarah Ranovik back working with our kids

[11:52] again this year. She is scheduled for

[11:55] Adams and McKinley, all 19 classrooms in

[11:58] October.

[12:00] And then thank you to our skilled and

[12:02] dedicated reading interventionists who

[12:04] are screening all of our students this

[12:06] week. and our classroom teachers are

[12:08] eagerly awaiting the results which will

[12:10] help them fine-tune their small groupoup

[12:12] instruction. And lastly, I want to thank

[12:14] our PTO. We recently had a PTO meeting

[12:17] and they continue to provide wonderful

[12:20] opportunities for our students and uh

[12:23] they had some new signage at our open

[12:25] houses uh and they also had treats for

[12:28] our staff on the first day of school.

[12:29] So, uh, they just continued to knock it

[12:32] out of the park, our PTO, and it was it

[12:35] was a well attended, uh, first first

[12:38] meeting of the school year last week.

[12:40] So, with that, I I could entertain

[12:42] questions.

[12:46] » Are there any questions for Mr. Colbeck?

[12:49] >> Guess not. Thank you very much.

[12:51] >> Next, we will hear from elementary

[12:54] principal Tindy Run from Cleveland. Good

[12:56] evening, Tindy.

[12:56] >> Good evening, everybody. Um I too just

[13:00] want to uh begin our report tonight with

[13:03] just an overview of our enrollment at

[13:05] Cleveland. Um we've had continued

[13:07] changes as up to today. Um so we could

[13:10] continue to adjust but we have a total

[13:12] of um 185 fourth graders at Cleveland

[13:15] this year. We've uh have went from seven

[13:17] sections to eight sections this school

[13:19] year. And then in fifth grade we have

[13:21] 173 students. So there's a total of 358

[13:25] um kids at Cleveland. Um, and each

[13:28] September, uh, one important aspect we

[13:30] focus on is safety. And we just keep

[13:32] talking that's our number one priority

[13:33] and the fun comes after that. Um, so

[13:36] we've conducted several of safety drills

[13:38] at Cleveland and also prairie science

[13:39] class. So students learn where we need

[13:42] to e where we exit to and gather um, if

[13:45] there's a fire drill or we need to leave

[13:46] the building for um, some purpose. So we

[13:49] practice that and we go slow so they

[13:52] learn that and they learn the safety

[13:53] aspects of that and then um we will just

[13:56] uh continue to do that as the year goes

[13:57] on. Um our FIAD teachers have provided

[14:00] education on bus safety as well as

[14:02] pedestrian and bike safety and um as you

[14:05] know students in fourth and fifth grade

[14:07] become a little more independent with

[14:09] walking and biking to and from school

[14:10] each day. Um, all the while, uh, we are

[14:13] encouraging students to take the shuttle

[14:16] buses after school to get from Cleveland

[14:18] to the bus transfer site, um, if they're

[14:20] taking their route bus home. Um, that

[14:22] way they avoid the three busy

[14:24] intersections between Cleveland and

[14:26] Kennedy. So, we ask parents to review

[14:28] their child's afterchool plan um, with

[14:31] their child so that that's reinforced

[14:33] with the kids. Um, if once they leave

[14:36] the Cleveland grounds, they're they're

[14:38] walking independently. So, uh, just one

[14:41] more thing for parents to review and

[14:43] consider with their with their kids as

[14:45] to what what plan's going to work best

[14:46] for them. Um, at this time, students are

[14:49] also working on their fire safety poster

[14:51] contest. And this is a big deal um for

[14:54] kids. They're the posters that are

[14:57] selected to be prize winners get to go

[14:59] out for lunch with the firemen on the

[15:00] fire truck. Um, so they're that is

[15:03] motivating in and of itself. But this

[15:05] year's theme is charge into fire safety.

[15:07] Um, they're focusing on safe charging

[15:10] devices safely. And so kids are coming

[15:13] up with um lots of great pictures and

[15:15] ideas to include in their their fire

[15:17] safety posters.

[15:19] We too at Cleveland are conducting the

[15:21] universal screening at this time. We

[15:23] started last week and then um at the

[15:25] conclusion of that this week we have a

[15:28] date scheduled to review student data

[15:30] and identify students who may uh benefit

[15:32] from a boost in reading, math and also

[15:35] behavior.

[15:37] Uh last week orchestra lessons and

[15:39] rehearsals began for our fifth and

[15:41] fourth grade students. Um and in fifth

[15:43] grade there are 101 students

[15:45] participating in orchestra. And in

[15:47] fourth grade there are 121 participants.

[15:50] So um when you do the math that's 62% of

[15:53] the Cleveland population is

[15:55] participating in this opportunity. So

[15:57] that's pretty awesome. Pretty awesome.

[15:59] And then um credit to our district. We

[16:02] are the only district in our area that

[16:04] um provides this opportunity for these

[16:06] young younger students. So, lots to

[16:08] celebrate there.

[16:10] Uh last Thursday we had we were able to

[16:14] participate in a science and nature

[16:16] conference that was held at Prairie

[16:17] Wetlands Learning Center. Lakes Country

[16:20] Service Cooperative pursued a grant that

[16:22] supported all of it. Um so a big thank

[16:25] you to Monica Thompson who is the

[16:27] quarter of coordinator of technology and

[16:30] student um academic challenges at Lakes

[16:32] Country Service Co-op. She um pursued

[16:35] the grant, coordinated it all, planned

[16:38] it all, um just saw it all through. So a

[16:40] great big thank you to them. Um there

[16:43] were seven different sessions that

[16:45] students were able to um identify their

[16:49] top three or four I believe it was and

[16:51] so they were guaranteed their top um

[16:55] their top choices. Everybody attended a

[16:57] presentation that was presented by the

[16:59] Minnesota Science Museum um on

[17:02] engineering. Um some of our fourth

[17:04] graders have seen participated in that

[17:06] in previous years. So, they were here

[17:08] doing that awesome presentation and then

[17:10] they had another session after that and

[17:13] I think the only way um despite the

[17:15] weather, everybody did a great job of um

[17:17] adjusting with the weather conditions

[17:19] last Thursday, but I think the only

[17:21] thing that would have made the day

[17:22] better is if we could have stayed longer

[17:24] and attended one or two more sessions.

[17:26] Um it was really very very well done. Um

[17:29] the presenters did a phenomenal job um

[17:32] working with the kids and providing some

[17:34] hands-on experiences and just topics

[17:37] that were kind of out of the ordinary.

[17:40] And then lastly um just want to

[17:42] recognize that um Upstream Minnesota uh

[17:46] is awarding the 2026 Unsung Caretaker

[17:49] Award to the um collective team that

[17:52] works with the Prairie Science class

[17:55] programming. And so they're recognizing

[17:57] the efforts that um are put into uh um

[18:01] educating kids with environmental

[18:02] education aspects and u bringing things

[18:05] to their attention. So this award

[18:07] belongs to each person who brings this

[18:09] work to life every day at Prairie

[18:11] Wetlands Learning Center. Um, along with

[18:13] the $250 honorarium for the program,

[18:16] Upstream Upstream Minnesota is also

[18:18] hosting an award dinner and a pan panel

[18:21] discussion to celebrate the prairie

[18:23] science class partnership along with

[18:25] five other awardees that will be

[18:27] recognized that same evening. So, great

[18:29] thing to celebrate there. And that

[18:31] concludes my Oh, I what I wanted to show

[18:33] you. Um, as part of the science and

[18:35] nature conference, each student got a

[18:37] little ziplockc baggie that includes a a

[18:41] small little journal, a pencil, and a

[18:42] magnifying glass. So, some of the

[18:44] sessions utilized these that day and

[18:46] others got it got to take it home as

[18:48] kind of a remembrance of that day. So,

[18:51] fun stuff.

[18:52] >> Great. Any questions for Gendy Run?

[18:56] Thank you.

[18:56] >> All right. Thank you. We'll hear from

[18:59] Ivan Hurst, middle school principal.

[19:01] Good evening, Ivan.

[19:02] >> Good evening. Uh we've really enjoyed a

[19:04] fantastic start to the school year. It's

[19:06] always good to get back with my people

[19:08] and uh so I'm really excited about that.

[19:10] Um uh we we've had a good start. Um it's

[19:13] great to have the halls and classrooms

[19:14] filled with students and all that

[19:16] energy. Um

[19:18] uh we're plus 36 kids in the middle

[19:20] school. Uh that's cohort to cohort. So

[19:23] fifth to sixth we added um 13 kids. A

[19:26] number of those were from OV but not all

[19:28] of them. And then seventh grade that

[19:30] cohort added 11 kids. and the eighth

[19:32] grade cohort added um 12 kids. We're

[19:34] plus 36. Um we're we're full. We're

[19:37] doing well. Um we actually didn't lose

[19:40] much enrollment year over uh

[19:42] year-over-year with with all those

[19:43] additional students. Um last week we had

[19:46] a great opportunity as uh we

[19:48] collaborated with staff development to

[19:49] have Joe Beckman join us um in our and

[19:52] what an uplifting experience. Um Joe

[19:55] focused on being a difference maker make

[19:59] someone's day or a difference taker take

[20:02] someone's day and that's pretty easy to

[20:04] remember. Um um we could use that some

[20:07] principles might even used it right

[20:09] during the presentation. Um uh but easy

[20:13] to use like right away. Um so it was a

[20:15] really uplifting story. He told a he

[20:17] told an engaging story about himself. I

[20:19] don't know if it was true or not, but

[20:20] himself as a young person and how he

[20:23] wasn't um he had a student in his group

[20:25] that wasn't the most popular and then he

[20:28] went to a different group and then he

[20:30] wasn't the most popular went back made

[20:32] that kid made a difference for that kid.

[20:34] So, um he told the differencemaker,

[20:36] difference taker. Um some of the other

[20:38] things that he talked about was um

[20:40] what's your legacy? How do you want

[20:42] people to remember you? That's pretty deep. That's pretty deep

[20:47] um for young people, but that's

[20:48] something we can use certainly. And then the best one was we got some

[20:52] mileage out of this, but I thought it

[20:53] would be more but I love your face. Um

[20:55] and and I love your face really revolved

[20:58] around getting off your phone and being

[21:00] engaged with others. Um but I think you

[21:03] just use it as it's nice to see you. I

[21:06] love your face. And so we had kids

[21:08] saying that which could have been

[21:10] awkward just a few hours before that,

[21:11] but after wasn't awkward anymore. It was

[21:14] fine. Yeah. Uh really great, super

[21:17] positive experience for the staff and

[21:18] for uh kids. Um and and we've used the

[21:22] difference make taker phrase a number of

[21:24] times uh in a in a short few days. Uh

[21:26] this week's homecoming. I'm sure Mr.

[21:28] Anderson will talk a great deal about

[21:29] that. Today is jersey day and since we

[21:32] won, I won. Um tomorrow is country or

[21:36] country club. So uh we'll probably seek

[21:39] out some flannel for tomorrow. Uh the

[21:41] days are selected by the student council

[21:43] uh as advised by Mr. uh Johnson. So um

[21:46] that's really the entirety plus the

[21:48] parade of course, but that's the

[21:49] entirety of middle school homecoming

[21:51] week is dress up phase and parade.

[21:54] Um some of the other principles talked

[21:57] about bus and pedestrian safety. We

[21:58] completed that. We checked that box. Uh

[22:00] bike safety, that's part of our FIAD uh

[22:02] curriculum. So that that box um will be

[22:05] checked here shortly. Um attendance is a

[22:08] really big deal. you can't do anything

[22:10] until they're there. And so, um, last

[22:13] year our attendance, including medical

[22:15] absences, so even if you either you were

[22:18] there or not, um, uh, quarter 1 was by

[22:21] far our best quarter, which kind of

[22:22] makes sense. Everyone's excited. Um, um,

[22:26] peer-to-peer conflict isn't as as um out

[22:30] there. Um, no one's sick.

[22:34] Um,

[22:36] I have a couple others, but I'll just

[22:38] leave those for after the meeting. But

[22:39] that that's where we're about mid64s.

[22:42] Uh, sixth grade had attendance last

[22:44] year, even with medical absences of just

[22:46] under 70% attended school 70 uh 95% of

[22:50] the time. Um, so we are continuing to

[22:54] address attendance in a variety of ways.

[22:56] You've heard me say them. I'm not going

[22:57] to read them all, but if you want to see

[22:58] our action plan for that, I'm happy to

[23:00] share that. Um, but we're going to we're

[23:01] going to keep using the bar program.

[23:03] That's my segue into bar um um next. So,

[23:06] we have a nice action plan addressing

[23:08] attendance. Um, and the one the one step

[23:11] that I I've committed to is that I'm

[23:14] adding is to reach out to anyone that's

[23:16] planning to go to a set meeting who who

[23:18] Miss Johnson, Miss Lynn has um invited

[23:21] to a set meeting. You you need to talk

[23:23] to me, probably the parents really first

[23:26] at the middle school level, but it could

[23:27] be kids. but trying to just that can be

[23:30] a big job.

[23:32] >> So, we'll we'll do it as long as we can

[23:34] certainly, but that's part of that's

[23:35] part of the action plan. Um how can I

[23:37] make a difference myself? Uh bar, we had

[23:39] two full days of bar training uh during

[23:41] fall inservice. Um the first session was

[23:43] effective team meetings. Uh um so we did

[23:46] one full day on how to have effective

[23:48] team meetings. That was really

[23:49] wellreceived because at the end of last

[23:52] year, our biggest frustration was

[23:53] effective team meetings. How did they

[23:55] know? Um, so we we some of some of the

[23:58] things that helped us, how do we we know

[24:00] so we get to reset. The beauty of school

[24:02] is we get to start over and the start

[24:04] over means we get to kind of correct our

[24:06] mistakes from last year. Oddly enough,

[24:08] it's hard to do that midstream. It's

[24:09] just hard to we're going to do it. And

[24:12] there's that internal battle kind of no

[24:13] matter what team you're on. Uh, but we

[24:15] got we're starting fresh. I've attended

[24:17] a few uh small uh small and a big block

[24:20] meeting. Like oh yeah, it's noticeable

[24:23] different. Uh it feels really good.

[24:25] Shout out to the seventh grade team.

[24:26] They are they are really killing it and

[24:29] it's really it's really fantastic. Uh

[24:31] effective team meetings. I got off on a

[24:32] little tangent there. Uh we use academic

[24:34] and holistic data to determine the needs

[24:36] of each kid. Uh some kids have no needs,

[24:38] so they're a level zero. We need no

[24:40] adult intervention um as they work

[24:42] through the system. That could be up to

[24:43] a level three, which means we need all

[24:45] the adults. Um so we're at the beginning

[24:49] of the year and we're working through

[24:50] that process. The second day was

[24:51] trauma-informed practices. How do we

[24:53] work with students? Um, a lot of

[24:55] students have trauma and how do we how

[24:58] do we work through that? So, um, the the

[25:00] two overarching messages that I want to

[25:02] share with you is emphasizing clear and

[25:04] predictable classroom structure, school

[25:06] structure, so they know what to expect.

[25:08] We're not surprised. Um, and then, uh,

[25:12] transparent expectations. We all know, that if this, then that. And

[25:17] that can really help kids with trauma.

[25:19] Okay, I knew that was going to happen.

[25:21] Um and then the other part is uh um as

[25:25] adults in our team meetings reframing

[25:26] student behavior going from what's wrong

[25:29] with you to why do you do that and and

[25:33] try to be more curious with our students

[25:35] with trauma rather than um just uh

[25:38] giving them a consequence. Uh

[25:42] we believe in the middle school that

[25:44] students they need to be taught what to

[25:45] do. We think they know but this is a

[25:47] really hard time. there's more hormones

[25:50] and all these things are going on and

[25:52] there's all these peer groups and more

[25:54] freedom than they've ever had. So, we

[25:56] have to work through that. Um, but

[25:58] again, we're going to hold them account

[25:59] accountable as well. So, I'm wrapping

[26:02] that back up into instead of asking

[26:04] what's wrong with you? Why did you do

[26:06] that? Is there any exterior stimuli

[26:10] that's causing the student to do that?

[26:12] Really try to get to the root of the

[26:13] problem. Okay. I have a whole bunch more

[26:15] on bar. Um, but that was our two-day

[26:17] training. Um, we've seen some good

[26:19] growth this year. I'm summarizing what

[26:20] I'm what I'm looking at. Um, we have bar

[26:22] support. Every Tuesday morning we have a

[26:24] 45minute call with our with our bar

[26:26] coach. Um, I believe she's out of

[26:28] Florida this year and and that's that's

[26:31] fine. Um,

[26:33] and uh we have we have her cell phone.

[26:35] We can email or call anytime, but we

[26:36] have them weekly meeting. Um, and we'll

[26:40] have four site visits by her as well.

[26:42] she'll come and observe uh some of our

[26:44] eye time lessons that we deliver as far

[26:46] as some of our team meetings and

[26:48] hopefully our community community

[26:49] connect meeting which is middle school

[26:51] staff uh student assistance team. Okay,

[26:54] last page um pair teacher communication

[26:57] has gone out that's right around the

[26:58] corner about 3 weeks away. A reminder

[27:00] that our seventh and eighth grade do

[27:02] studentled conferences for that so they

[27:03] get the experience of talking about

[27:05] themselves. uh our adviserss in seventh

[27:07] and eighth grade facilitate those

[27:09] conversations. Um so that that's a good

[27:12] experience um for our young people. How

[27:14] do you talk about yourself? And our

[27:16] teachers are are really good about that.

[27:18] Um and our monthly class meetings, we

[27:20] have a we had a class meeting. We call

[27:21] them class meetings. It's really Ivan

[27:23] talking about stuff, right? But the

[27:25] class meeting at the beginning of the

[27:26] year, student expectations. Um one thing

[27:28] that we attacked this year was we did

[27:30] energy drinks a couple years ago. Like

[27:32] we're done. And that was good. Now, we

[27:34] the staff just said we should really do

[27:36] it before school, too. So, we haven't

[27:39] seen we've only seen a couple of cans,

[27:41] usually bubblers, but you can't have

[27:43] that before school. We're not we're not

[27:45] permitting that before school. And

[27:46] that's what um that's been wellreceived.

[27:49] Maybe parents don't have to stop at

[27:51] perks. Okay. Um so, our monthly class

[27:54] meeting is next week. The focus of the

[27:55] meeting, we always do this in our

[27:56] October one. Um but we emphasize, but we

[27:59] talk about harassment. What does

[28:02] harassment look like? How do we treat

[28:05] others? And then I have a squash story

[28:07] which I'm not going to tell you. You get

[28:08] that privately if you like. But how how

[28:10] do we think about things? We think about

[28:13] things differently when we get older. Do

[28:14] I like this or not?

[28:17] We focus as humans on things we don't

[28:19] like. And that's not really that

[28:21] helpful. We should focus on things we

[28:24] like. And so that's the swash story. Um

[28:27] part of that is harassment. If you don't

[28:29] like it, don't spend time and energy on

[28:31] it. That would be silly. Um, and then

[28:33] just general otter are work which is

[28:36] treating each other with kindness.

[28:39] Any questions?

[28:44] » Any troubles with cell phones at all

[28:46] this year?

[28:46] >> No. A good question. Uh, so we

[28:48] implemented our away for the day with

[28:51] additional support. advertised that

[28:52] really well not only in class meetings

[28:54] but parent communication the parents

[28:55] s'more you know kind of everyone knows

[28:58] and we have um last check nine students

[29:00] that have been caught this year with

[29:02] their cell phone. A part of our process

[29:04] is uh you get caught you lose it for the

[29:07] rest of the school day which is what we

[29:08] were doing last year. Um we also call

[29:11] your parent now and say the next time

[29:14] they get caught you have to come in and

[29:16] get it. And we have one student that

[29:18] made it there on the second day of

[29:19] school but that's it. So only one

[29:21] student on step two and uh nine nine

[29:25] other students on step one.

[29:27] >> So just that extra phone call, you know,

[29:29] I'm not going to get it kind of thing.

[29:31] >> All right.

[29:32] >> It'll it'll take

[29:33] >> it's a marathon, not a sprint,

[29:35] >> but it's going well.

[29:37] >> We're we're 19 days in, so I don't think

[29:39] 10's bad.

[29:41] >> Oh, not bad. All right. Any other

[29:44] questions?

[29:45] >> Thanks for your report.

[29:48] And we'll hear from Mark Anderson, high

[29:50] school principal, ALC and IQ.

[29:52] >> Good evening. How's everybody doing?

[29:53] >> Good.

[29:54] >> I blew it up to 150. It's still not big

[29:56] enough without my cheaters getting old.

[29:59] >> Um IQ Academy. Uh Ryan and the crew went

[30:02] down to Koma Zoo last week. They were

[30:03] supposed to go the prior week, but it

[30:04] was pouring rain the whole day. So had

[30:06] about 30 families or 30 students with

[30:08] their families attend, which was nice.

[30:10] Um the IQ Academy group, Language Arts,

[30:13] and and Ryan are participating in the

[30:15] Strive ReadAct training. So, they've got

[30:17] that out and going. Uh, the IQ Academy

[30:19] is also working on the secondary

[30:21] students being tested in CAPI, which is

[30:23] dyslexia screening. So, they're going to

[30:25] work through that with Amelia and how

[30:26] many they're going to have assessed. And

[30:28] enrollment of as of Monday, which is

[30:30] today, is 563 students and they're still

[30:33] onboarding students as we speak. So,

[30:34] >> say the number again.

[30:35] >> 563.

[30:37] >> Thank you.

[30:39] >> The ALC Carrie would like to thank

[30:40] everybody, uh, the staff members and

[30:42] maintenance crew for the excellent start

[30:43] to the school year. uh new Ajiway course

[30:46] that was added to the schedule for

[30:47] Native Americans um has is a uh awesome

[30:50] opportunity for them. All of our Native

[30:52] American students are taking the Ajiway

[30:54] course. Uh it was funded through a grant

[30:56] that Berkeley was a able to write

[30:58] through the American Native grant funds

[31:00] and uh not only are they learning

[31:02] Ajiway, uh Miss Desbart is teaching it

[31:04] with some she's done a lot of work

[31:06] during the summer and uh was also

[31:08] teaching some of the things culturally

[31:10] that uh you would see in the Native

[31:11] American culture, not just Ojiway. uh

[31:14] Berkeley is another resource for her.

[31:15] So, she's working hard getting into that

[31:17] space. Uh teachers at the ALC um had

[31:20] fall training the first session of World

[31:21] Savvy and World Savvy is working with

[31:24] the staff and they're going to work on

[31:25] uh project based learning. It's a focus

[31:27] for uh World Savvy and then uh their

[31:29] comprehensive needs assessment which

[31:31] because they qualified through MDE,

[31:33] they'll connect that piece of their data

[31:35] with project-based learning to move

[31:37] forward with the students with a little

[31:38] more hands-on opportunities.

[31:40] One of the main goals uh for them is to

[31:42] make sure that uh they're really focused

[31:44] on the world savvy. It's a great

[31:45] opportunity. They did a training this

[31:47] summer. Staff is on board. They were

[31:49] really excited about it and they're

[31:50] really challenging some of the things

[31:52] and processes they do at this at the

[31:54] school as they move forward from day to

[31:56] day. And their current enrollment is 71.

[31:59] So, uh they've I know we've added a

[32:01] couple from the high school. Um it's

[32:03] probably the location for those

[32:04] students. Um little smaller space. So

[32:06] Carrie usually starts the year out about

[32:09] 65 and then we end up around 95 to 100

[32:12] and usually by the end of the year a

[32:13] senior or two is going down because it's

[32:15] the only way they can make graduation

[32:17] with some of the flexibility they have

[32:18] down there with classes at the high

[32:21] school. I would like to thank

[32:22] maintenance. They did an amazing job

[32:23] this summer getting the the building

[32:25] ready, especially since we started a

[32:27] week u early with pictures. They had the

[32:29] place just spotless. And then I'd like

[32:32] to thank our staff uh for the work

[32:33] they've done for the first month of

[32:34] school. It's been really an awesome

[32:36] first 17- 18 days of school. Uh we have

[32:39] 750 plus students. We've started at 3

[32:42] 765. Some moved to the ALC. There's been

[32:45] fluctuation in and out. So that's more

[32:46] than we had planned on last year. So um

[32:49] we're excited about that and hope we

[32:51] keep growing with number there. Uh we do

[32:53] have homecoming this week. Um

[32:55] coordination is night at 7 o'clock. So

[32:57] when I'm done here, I'm just going to

[32:58] head on over to help chain. Uh royalty

[33:01] will be out all day Tuesday going out

[33:03] and seeing the community and meeting and

[33:05] having a meal. It's usually a great

[33:07] connection. Um we always get phone

[33:09] calls, are you still coming? Um so it's

[33:10] nice that our community appreciates that

[33:12] and we're able to go out and connect

[33:14] with our some of our retired um

[33:16] community members. U the importance of

[33:18] what we do in our building. Uh the field

[33:20] trip will be Wednesday, Thursday pending

[33:22] weather. So depending on the weather, uh

[33:24] they'll be out practicing that part. And

[33:26] Friday is Iron Man volleyball and

[33:28] powderpuff football. And then the parade

[33:29] is at two o'clock. Our grand marshall

[33:32] this year is retired teacher Roy

[33:34] Anderson. And our dance is over here at

[33:36] the wreck again. So uh Mr. Cedberg, our

[33:40] SRO, is working with um the law

[33:43] enforcement to make sure we have people

[33:45] out in uh over in the area just to make

[33:47] sure kids are getting across the

[33:48] crosswalk and things are safe.

[33:50] >> A lot of the kids usually hang out at

[33:52] the football game until 9:30 quarter to

[33:55] 10. And then we also have some kids who

[33:56] don't go to the game, so the door will

[33:58] be open. Um, I've talked my wife into

[34:00] supervising to start with until I get

[34:01] down there. So, um, she'll open the door

[34:04] around 9:00. If weather is bad, she'll

[34:06] let them stand inside the building so we

[34:07] don't get wet. So, we're looking forward

[34:09] to that. The high school teachers and

[34:11] Shane and myself have completed our

[34:13] first live session in Redact training.

[34:14] So, we're about 40% through that. And

[34:17] that was uh some things that we kind of

[34:19] talked about getting to that point. The

[34:21] live training was a couple weeks ago. It

[34:23] was uh interesting. a lot of best

[34:24] practices and things that I already are

[34:26] seeing happening in the classroom before

[34:28] we had the training. So, it's nice to

[34:30] see that our teachers were already

[34:31] involved in some of those things. Uh we

[34:33] have f uh we are finalizing our cappy

[34:35] training at the high school. All our

[34:37] special ed students will be assessed. Um

[34:39] and then we have about another eight or

[34:41] 10 students from last year and then some

[34:43] from the middle school that we'll

[34:44] continue to um assess just to make sure

[34:46] we're working through the growth and

[34:48] development of that um assessment. Uh,

[34:51] another exciting thing we have going on

[34:52] is our philanthropy and youth, our pay

[34:54] program. Miss Christensen kicked that

[34:57] off a couple weeks ago. Our enrollment

[34:59] is up 65% from last year. Um, I think

[35:01] when you start seeing the great things

[35:03] our kids do outside the building, um,

[35:05] and participating in those things and

[35:07] giving back $6,000 to our community

[35:10] along with the opportunity our kids have

[35:11] with the time and effort they put into

[35:13] it with the amount of money they get in

[35:15] scholarships is just absolutely amazing.

[35:17] In the last two summers, we've had two

[35:19] students do summer internships that have

[35:21] made5 to $6,000. And it's all about um

[35:24] threat uh working with our community and

[35:27] supporting them. Um and they've been

[35:28] recognized really well in the August um

[35:31] meeting uh into the school year,

[35:33] beginning of the school year

[35:34] presentation.

[35:36] Um uh a couple things about our online

[35:38] courses. Our online children's lits

[35:40] course is doing really well. Uh they

[35:42] actually have visited the public library

[35:44] even though they're on an online class.

[35:46] uh and the students have decided that

[35:48] their weekly book club will meet in the

[35:50] building and participate in the

[35:52] classroom. So, and kids are stopping in

[35:54] asking questions and finding space. The

[35:57] same thing can be true about our online

[35:58] Western Civilization, American

[36:00] Government, and our sports and

[36:01] nutrition. Uh walk around the building

[36:03] and see groups of three or four kids

[36:04] sitting around. I stop and ask what

[36:06] they're doing and they're like, "Are we

[36:07] in trouble?" I'm like, "No, just what

[36:08] are you doing?" Um we're studying for

[36:10] class. We're getting our work done. It's

[36:12] exactly what we want. They want kids

[36:13] practicing things they're going to do

[36:15] when they go to college. Um, and their biggest thing they say is it's

[36:18] just nice because I can go right to my

[36:20] teacher and ask questions if I have it

[36:22] and I can go back to go where I need to

[36:23] go get my work completed. Uh, a couple

[36:27] other things. Uh, we are also working on

[36:29] um, attendance. Lind has done a really

[36:31] nice job connecting parents or parents

[36:33] and students uh, who are not attending

[36:35] school, setting meetings up with

[36:37] counselors, trying to figure out if

[36:38] there's anything going on, what are the

[36:40] barriers. She's asked a few of us to

[36:42] call, made a few call phone calls

[36:44] myself. And then Lynn also is uh putting

[36:47] a lot of time and effort into that and

[36:48] meets with us in our SAP meeting and

[36:50] talks about some of the things that she

[36:52] needs support in if there's a student

[36:54] that is having a struggle getting to

[36:55] school. Thursday, September 24th, which

[36:59] was last week, we were able to host

[37:00] Jamestown Public Schools and Northern

[37:03] Cass. They're both looking to move to a

[37:04] 5:30 period day. Uh they came in to

[37:06] visit us. They met with Shane and I

[37:08] first, then they had the opportunity to

[37:10] meet with eight student council

[37:11] representatives. Wow, were they amazing.

[37:14] The the staff from the other schools

[37:16] came back and said they were lights out.

[37:17] Everything we wanted to know, they gave

[37:19] us the information. Um, they were very

[37:21] open about the good things and the

[37:22] things that they still want would like

[37:24] to see us maybe change. And then they uh

[37:26] staff uh from our leadership team was

[37:28] able to meet with them last and have a

[37:31] conversation on how it's going for the

[37:32] teaching staff. Um, and then Shane and I

[37:34] went in and answered any final questions

[37:36] they have. Um, they are coming back. I

[37:39] guess they want to come back and bring

[37:40] another group of uh staff members from

[37:42] both buildings to visit again. Um, our

[37:45] staff was excited to see them. Um, show

[37:47] off our school and what we're doing.

[37:49] Maybe the cookies that we made that day

[37:50] were good. They wanted to come back and

[37:52] have a couple, but uh, it was a great

[37:54] opportunity to kind of showcase what

[37:55] we're doing. Our cell phone policy,

[37:58] we've had a few more than nine kids have

[37:59] their phones turned in. We actually had

[38:01] a kid turned two in twice in like three

[38:03] days. What fell out of his pocket day

[38:05] two. So Shane and I have been making

[38:08] phone calls to all the parents on all

[38:09] violations. Um we have about four kids

[38:11] who are on violation three. Mom and dad

[38:14] are not thrilled. Um and just the

[38:16] conversation of where the the phone

[38:18] should be. It was either backpack or

[38:19] pouch. Kids kind of tend to leave it in

[38:22] their pocket and then when they walk out

[38:23] of class, they're on camera and then

[38:24] next thing you know, we know that

[38:26] they're using their phone and they

[38:27] shouldn't have it. So now all students

[38:29] put their pouches, their phones in the

[38:31] pouches when they walk in the class.

[38:32] Guess how many violations we've had the

[38:34] last couple days? Zero.

[38:37] >> So solved that problem really quick. And

[38:39] we told them that if they couldn't take

[38:40] care of the first one, the next one

[38:42] would be this. And then they don't want

[38:44] to have the next conversation. So they

[38:46] stepped up a lot in the last three days.

[38:48] Um the parents have been amazing. Um

[38:50] have not had a complaint from a parent

[38:51] at any conversation we had. Just

[38:54] unfortunately, like Shane said,

[38:56] someone's going to be in Fargo and guess

[38:57] where they were the first time a phone

[38:58] was taken and it was violation three.

[39:01] They were in Fargo and it had to stay at

[39:02] school for the weekend and mom and dad

[39:04] didn't feel too bad about it. So,

[39:07] um we do have a great opportunity that

[39:10] we have a couple students are doing what

[39:12] we call influencing for us at the high

[39:14] school. Dileia Viggasa and Brooklyn

[39:16] Busher are um taking information and

[39:18] meeting with me at uh couple every

[39:20] couple weeks. This last week they came

[39:22] and visited with Mr. Toki, got all the

[39:24] pictures and then put out questionnaires

[39:26] to all the candidates for uh king and

[39:28] queen along with uh the 9th through 11th

[39:31] graders of the royalty and just ask good

[39:33] questions, silly questions. We monitored

[39:36] them and then I sent out the um pictures

[39:39] to Hannah, Brenda, and Jesse to put on

[39:41] the website and social media just

[39:43] showing off some of the things that

[39:44] we're doing and then they also create

[39:46] created some nth and 11th grade ones

[39:48] that we'll share out after starting

[39:50] tomorrow. Um they did really good work.

[39:52] Um it's uh opportunity. They're

[39:54] interested in that area. Uh the next

[39:56] couple of things they'll be working on

[39:57] is career and technical education,

[39:59] college in the schools, uh our career

[40:01] day and veterans day. So um they're

[40:04] looking forward to it. They would like

[40:05] us to have a class on it so they can get

[40:07] credit. So um we're working towards that

[40:09] as a possibility moving forward. Um like

[40:12] I said, our career and technical

[40:13] education, uh right now we have 134

[40:16] classes that we offer this year in our

[40:18] CTE program. 62 of them are in

[40:20] specialized. What I what I mean is there

[40:22] 62 courses that we offer at least once.

[40:25] Some of them are offered multiple times.

[40:27] Uh and then our CIS, our college in the

[40:29] schools, we are offering 165 credits to

[40:32] our high school students this year.

[40:33] Thank you so much for that. Um it is we

[40:36] have a lot of kids staying in our

[40:37] building offer taking those

[40:38] opportunities and financially for them

[40:40] in the future. That's a really big deal.

[40:43] Uh the career fair is October 7th. If

[40:46] you're interested, come on in. will be

[40:47] busy that day, the gold gym and all the

[40:50] other things that are going on. Ninth

[40:51] graders get to tour the gym and then

[40:53] they get to see come see me to complete

[40:54] a Google form for some of their uh

[40:56] things they saw in the uh gold gym. 10th

[40:59] graders will have two sessions with

[41:01] local businessmen curated around the

[41:02] career and technical education wheel um

[41:04] and areas they maybe want to get

[41:06] involved in uh later in the high school

[41:08] and into college or career opportunity.

[41:10] They go to the gold gym and then they go

[41:12] back and complete their form with their

[41:14] second session. 11th graders are going

[41:16] on a college visit. So they choose um

[41:19] either uh Concordia, MSUM, NDSU, NDSCS

[41:24] or Morehead State. Um so we take them up

[41:26] there on buses. Um I always tell the

[41:29] kids I don't I don't believe college is

[41:31] for everybody, but I believe an

[41:32] opportunity to go see a college campus

[41:34] and hear the opportunities that might be

[41:36] available is something they all should

[41:38] hear. So they'll make their decisions as

[41:39] they become seniors if they move on in

[41:41] that area. Our seniors have a guest

[41:44] speaker. Jenny's coming that day to

[41:46] speak to our seniors and to the

[41:48] surrounding schools at 12 o'clock. We

[41:50] have two sessions for them. A lot of it,

[41:52] some of it's around career and co uh

[41:54] college FAA scholarships. Some is around

[41:57] mental health. One is on teaching

[41:58] profession. Last year we had 40 kids

[42:00] attend. So we have those opportunities.

[42:02] And then we have finance, which is a big

[42:04] deal for kids when they're seniors of

[42:06] where you're putting your money and are

[42:08] you putting it away and being smart with

[42:10] it and what should you be thinking about

[42:11] when it comes to debt.

[42:13] >> And then our counselors have put out had

[42:16] their first senior meeting with the

[42:17] senior uh class uh talking about all the

[42:19] things they should be preparing for

[42:21] signing up for their senior senior

[42:23] meeting with the counselor. uh we put

[42:25] that on our on our weekly update so the

[42:27] parents knew about the meeting, the

[42:28] presentation, and then also all the

[42:31] things parents need to know about senior

[42:32] year um went out also in that same

[42:34] presentation. So the parents have those

[42:37] and have that opportunity. Um I'd like

[42:39] to finish with this is always a great

[42:40] day to be an otter. And the one thing I would ask Jenny, if your daughter

[42:44] knows the name of those high school

[42:46] students, I would love to get them

[42:47] because I would love to thank them.

[42:48] >> I want to thank them, too, because it it

[42:50] was I watched her on the ring camera one

[42:52] I was like, "How is she getting across

[42:54] the the road?" And I saw these two girls

[42:57] just holding her hand walking across the

[42:59] road. And then as soon as they get on

[43:00] the boulevard, she bolts to the door and

[43:02] they just walk off. So I'll I'll

[43:04] >> I'll I'll see.

[43:05] >> Yep.

[43:05] >> She's four.

[43:06] >> Yep. I totally get it. Whether she drops

[43:08] a name or something, I'll take first or

[43:10] last. And um I'd love to thank them.

[43:13] >> Um I I done mentioned it. Others are

[43:15] always think it's always great that our

[43:17] older students take care of our younger

[43:19] kids. though.

[43:20] >> Mhm.

[43:20] >> Even when they're suffering better than

[43:21] watching.

[43:22] >> Yes, 100%.

[43:23] >> Good for your daughter, though.

[43:25] >> Any questions?

[43:27] >> I have a question. Um, you mentioned

[43:28] that um teachers at the high school were

[43:31] um following up on some read act

[43:33] training and I wondered if any of the

[43:35] teachers in the music department are

[43:36] doing that.

[43:37] >> Nope. This one is only for the English

[43:38] staff per statute right now. So, we're

[43:41] following what the expectation from the

[43:42] state statute is. So, our English

[43:44] teachers, our ELA teachers at the high

[43:46] school,

[43:47] >> um were the ones that had to go to the

[43:49] next step of training and um so, uh they

[43:51] actually are having a lot of it's stuff

[43:53] they've already seen and heard, but

[43:55] there's always new stuff and our first

[43:57] live one was really nice, but no, not no

[43:59] one else has been required by the state

[44:01] to do that yet.

[44:02] >> Why would you want the music teachers to

[44:03] follow up?

[44:04] >> Every teacher has students reading in

[44:06] their class. Every class,

[44:09] >> but there isn't a part on music, right?

[44:11] I mean, are you talking about like the

[44:13] elevation

[44:13] >> any reading is happening in science

[44:16] class, social studies class, music

[44:18] class?

[44:20] >> Yeah.

[44:21] >> Okay.

[44:22] >> But it has to be part of a curriculum or

[44:23] something like we're teaching you how to

[44:25] read.

[44:25] >> She is she is correct. Every every

[44:27] content does read. So

[44:29] >> it's not just teaching how to read.

[44:30] >> In this in the Strive program that we

[44:32] have, which would be similar to what I

[44:33] know my my wife trained with some of the

[44:35] elementary staff is a science of

[44:37] reading. So they don't talk about

[44:38] English. They purposely talked about

[44:40] science, social studies. They did talk

[44:43] about music about how do you use reading

[44:44] in your content area. It wouldn't be the

[44:46] same as you read in a English classroom

[44:49] in a novel per se, but there are tips

[44:51] and tricks like focused note-taking, um

[44:53] annotating notes and all those type of

[44:55] things that uh go along with that.

[44:59] » Just uh I want to put a plug in for us

[45:02] on um this coming Thursday is going to

[45:04] be pretty nice out. So, we are hosting

[45:06] the John Hermes Invitational and cross

[45:07] country and we'll probably have 18 to 20

[45:10] schools here and each school will have a

[45:12] couple dozen runners um grade school,

[45:14] middle school, junior varsity and

[45:16] varsity boys and girls. So, um if you

[45:19] get a chance to go out to the golf

[45:20] course on Thursday, it's quite a deal to

[45:22] watch the cross country. It's it's a really good deal for us to host

[45:25] that too as as a host school. So, just a

[45:28] plug for that.

[45:31] >> Any other questions for Principal

[45:33] Anderson?

[45:35] Thanks for the report. I'm

[45:36] >> gonna head up to the hill and take a

[45:40] >> now we'll hear from Superintendent Jeff

[45:41] Drake.

[45:45] » Well, good evening.

[45:46] >> Good evening.

[45:48] >> A few thank yous again uh reiterate the

[45:51] wonderful start we've had. Uh really the

[45:53] only glitch uh was the heavy rains that

[45:56] came over Labor Day weekend and then we

[45:57] had the water issue in Otter outlet in

[46:00] the adjoining classroom. uh but

[46:02] appreciate uh the time and leadership of

[46:04] our uh building principles and getting

[46:06] their um uh schools ready to go and all

[46:10] the work that the staff has done to make

[46:12] it a marvelous roll out of our new

[46:14] school year.

[46:16] Uh want to just recognize our uh police

[46:19] department. Uh I reached out to uh Chief

[46:22] Paul last week. Um we do a lot of

[46:24] discussion uh as an admin group about um

[46:29] safety and reunification in the event

[46:31] that we would need to relocate students.

[46:34] And so uh today as part of the building

[46:37] principles meeting that we have monthly

[46:39] uh Connor, Lieutenant Connor West uh was

[46:42] there and we were talking about

[46:43] processes and procedures on the in the

[46:46] event that we would have to evacuate a

[46:48] building and uh move kids to a different

[46:50] location. Uh they also are very uh

[46:53] active in providing safety training to

[46:55] our staff. Uh they do that uh annually

[46:57] in the fall. Uh typically that's

[47:00] coordinated around the time of our first

[47:02] uh big staff development exercise. And

[47:05] again just appreciate the partnership

[47:06] and cooperation.

[47:09] Uh also this is kind of a combination

[47:11] congratulations and thank you uh to the

[47:14] student council members. Uh one of the

[47:16] first big things that they do each

[47:18] school year is uh in coordination with

[47:21] uh their adviser Mr. Tilki uh they uh

[47:25] organized homecoming week and uh the

[47:27] events etc that take place. So

[47:29] appreciate their hard work there.

[47:33] A few congratulatory notes. Uh so

[47:35] congratulations to the king and queen uh

[47:38] candidates. The king and queen will be

[47:40] crowned shortly here up at KSS in the

[47:42] auditorium. Uh that event starts at 7

[47:45] o'clock tonight.

[47:47] And uh congratulations to our uh eighth

[47:51] grade band. Uh they have been chosen and

[47:53] this is very prestigious. Uh you have to

[47:55] send in audition tapes. Uh but they have

[47:58] been chosen to play at the 2027

[48:01] Minnesota Music Educators Association

[48:03] Midwinter Convention. uh that is the big

[48:06] professional development convention for

[48:09] our uh music staff each year and well

[48:12] recognized across the state. Uh and then

[48:14] they are going to debut uh traffic jam

[48:18] and so if you'll recall uh each year

[48:21] there's a relationship with a composer

[48:24] and they compose an original score of

[48:27] music um that our students perform

[48:29] typically in the spring. uh but this

[48:31] will be a great opportunity to uh

[48:33] perform that new piece. And then finally

[48:36] just some recognition uh from m for Mr.

[48:38] Cumro uh he is the vice president of

[48:42] that uh convention right now working

[48:44] with his colleagues. So that's a nice

[48:46] honor uh bestowed upon him from his

[48:48] peers.

[48:50] Uh I know this may seem a little

[48:52] repetitive uh but this is an important

[48:55] uh piece in front of our community. So,

[48:57] I am going to do shortened versions of

[48:58] this leading up to the November 3rd

[49:00] election, but this again is the

[49:02] Minnesota Permanent School Fund. Um, the

[49:05] reason that there is a constitutional

[49:07] amendment on the ballot is that the fund

[49:10] balance has grown significantly since

[49:13] 2010, went from $675 million to 2.3

[49:18] billion. And so the question, the

[49:20] constitutional amendment

[49:23] would ask Minnesota voters if they would

[49:26] approve uh taking a greater uh

[49:28] percentage of the uh money being

[49:31] generated through the investments and uh

[49:34] contribute that to Minnesota public

[49:36] schools.

[49:38] For us, uh if passed, that would result

[49:41] in nearly $100,000 of additional revenue

[49:44] and uh we would be able to use that to

[49:46] meet uh district needs. Uh so it's very

[49:49] flexible. Uh but for folks um

[49:53] questioning it, uh this would not result

[49:55] in the increase in any current taxes. It

[49:58] would not result in any new taxes. Uh

[50:02] the fund remains and again every public

[50:05] school in Minnesota would benefit from

[50:07] the additional revenue.

[50:10] Finally, and this is really important as

[50:11] well, uh when voters come to this

[50:14] question on the ballot, um if they leave

[50:17] the question blank, it will count as a

[50:20] no vote. Uh so whether you are for it or

[50:23] against it, uh please check check a box

[50:25] according to your uh conscience and um

[50:29] allow the the citizens to give a full

[50:32] measure on uh whether to move that

[50:35] amendment forward.

[50:37] I just had a comment on that before we

[50:38] move on with with this money that's in

[50:41] this trust. Um I can see a commodly

[50:44] commodger going up and voting and saying

[50:46] no because it's well I want to use this

[50:50] money to fix the potholes and whatever

[50:53] in my it it it can't be used for

[50:55] anything but education cuz it's in a

[50:57] trust. So, it's either do we just take

[51:00] more out of it because we we can or does

[51:03] the money just sit there just doing

[51:06] hibernating in in this in this trust.

[51:09] So, honestly, unless you're a kudger,

[51:11] there really is no reason to vote no on

[51:13] this or to skip that vote.

[51:15] >> But do not take that as a push to vote

[51:19] yes.

[51:19] >> Correct. because we can't add

[51:21] >> Oh, I can't I can't say where to go, but

[51:23] I'm just saying if if uh if you think

[51:25] the money could be used for something

[51:27] else, it cannot.

[51:28] >> That is true.

[51:29] >> Thanks, Melanie.

[51:30] >> Yeah.

[51:30] >> Yes.

[51:30] >> Damage control there.

[51:31] >> Our role is to educate uh not to

[51:33] advocate. And so, we are simply laying

[51:35] out the facts.

[51:38] Uh honor staff spotlight uh was on

[51:41] Jackie Svenaler, a member of the high

[51:43] school science department. and uh just a

[51:45] shout out to her and uh her she's been

[51:48] with the district uh a long time and uh

[51:51] sets high expectations for kids, has a

[51:53] deep care and concern for kids and uh

[51:56] certainly we're very blessed to have her

[51:57] on staff. So uh thank you Jackie for all

[52:00] that you do.

[52:02] And then I mentioned the one fly in the

[52:05] ointment that we've had this year and

[52:06] that was the water issue at KSS. So

[52:09] typically um Otter Pride Night is the

[52:12] single busiest or biggest point of sale

[52:16] that Otter Outlet has during the year

[52:17] and that was cancelled this year because

[52:20] uh of the water vent. However, um this

[52:23] evening from 5:45 to 7 and then again

[52:26] Friday from 8 to 3:30 they will be in

[52:29] the foyer at KSS um for people

[52:32] interested in picking up some Otter

[52:34] gear.

[52:36] I won't repeat this. Uh Mr. Anderson

[52:38] already did a nice job going through the

[52:41] itinerary for homecoming week. Uh but

[52:43] looking forward to a great week. It

[52:45] looks like for the most part we'll have

[52:46] favorable weather. Uh so that's always

[52:48] very nice. And with that I will turn it

[52:50] over to questions.

[52:53] >> Are there any questions for the

[52:54] superintendent?

[52:57] >> Thank you for the report.

[52:58] >> Do Oh, I have a question. Do you have a

[53:00] community connection? Um,

[53:02] >> I do have one coming up in October and

[53:05] I'm drawing a blanket the date right

[53:07] now,

[53:08] >> but I will

[53:10] >> I will we get it advertised. We do it on

[53:13] social media for sure.

[53:14] >> Okay.

[53:15] >> Thank you.

[53:16] >> So, to recap, there will be community

[53:18] correction with the superintendent

[53:20] coming up in October. Stay tuned if

[53:22] you're interested to attend that

[53:23] meeting.

[53:25] All right, we'll move on to our general

[53:27] consent items, which include uh minutes

[53:30] from our September 4th, 2026 regular

[53:32] board meeting and consideration for

[53:35] approval of paying the bills. So, I'll

[53:37] turn to you, Steve.

[53:38] >> Okay. So, this month we had about

[53:41] 961,000

[53:43] in bills to pay. Um payroll was about

[53:47] 70% of that. um utilities. Uh we had

[53:51] some workman's comp about 41,000 14,000

[53:55] for curriculum um which is an excellent

[53:58] um math curriculum. Um the let's see and

[54:02] then we had um well yeah just some

[54:05] really another uh another uh big

[54:08] expenditure on children's health market

[54:10] which is a curriculum as well. Um but

[54:12] not a ton of out of the ordinary bills

[54:15] to note. So I just recommend we pay the

[54:18] bills.

[54:18] >> All right. Thank you. Under personnel,

[54:21] the last item for consideration on that

[54:24] motion would be uh personnel. So we have

[54:26] two certified staff hires, Drew Smith

[54:28] and Carrie Terson. Support staff hires

[54:31] of Lisa von Lawrence, Olivia Lee, and

[54:34] Amanda Eastston.

[54:36] And then uh two support staff

[54:38] separations, Destiny Ericson and Shaylee

[54:40] Brown. and the additional details about

[54:43] their positions are going to be in our

[54:45] minutes. So with that, is there a motion

[54:47] to approve the general consent item?

[54:49] >> So in a second.

[54:53] >> Any discussion on this?

[54:57] All in favor of approving the general

[54:59] consent item say I.

[55:01] >> I. Oppose say nay.

[55:04] All right, that is approved. We have uh

[55:06] new business that begins with uh the

[55:09] potential to approve the 2627 employee

[55:13] handbook. We had a first reading on that

[55:15] last meeting. Is there a motion to

[55:17] approve it?

[55:18] >> So moved

[55:19] >> and a second.

[55:20] >> Seconded. All right. Any discussion?

[55:25] All in favor of approving the uh updated

[55:28] handbook say I.

[55:29] >> I.

[55:30] >> Opposed say nay.

[55:33] That is approved. Uh we received a slate

[55:36] of fundraiser

[55:38] requests and I would seek a motion to

[55:41] approve um the fundraisers.

[55:45] >> So move and is there a second?

[55:48] >> I'll second that.

[55:50] >> All right. Any discussion on that?

[55:56] Hearing nothing. I will um say that

[56:00] everyone who's in favor of accepting all

[56:03] the fundraiser requests say I.

[56:05] >> I.

[56:05] >> Opposed say nay.

[56:08] >> All right, we are um on the way. The

[56:12] packet also included the um Fergus Falls

[56:16] community user agreement and that's from

[56:18] October 1st of this year to March 31st

[56:21] of next year. Is there a motion to

[56:23] approve that?

[56:28] I'll I'll make that motion.

[56:30] >> Thanks, Kirby. Is there a second?

[56:33] I'll second it. All right. Any

[56:36] discussion on the arena?

[56:38] >> Just a quick question that um I don't

[56:40] know if Jeff or Rene want to touch on

[56:42] this. It's like we got a 16% increase

[56:44] over last year. And just do we

[56:46] anticipate more increases like that in

[56:48] the future or is this kind of a catch-up

[56:50] thing? Any idea? So the um increases as

[56:55] I understand it are being driven by

[56:57] employee or staffing costs and uh

[57:00] utility increases that are projected

[57:02] right

[57:05] no reconcile expenditures at the end of

[57:07] the year and so if expenditures come in

[57:09] less than budgeted then we would get a a

[57:12] refund.

[57:16] » All right

[57:18] any other questions?

[57:21] All in favor of approving that agreement

[57:23] say I.

[57:24] >> I.

[57:25] >> Opposed say nay.

[57:28] We have a resolution and this is for

[57:30] proposed tax prop a proposed levy for

[57:34] taxes payable in 2027 and in parenthesis

[57:38] it is noted we we intend to set at the

[57:41] maximum amount be it resolved by the

[57:44] school board of independent school

[57:45] district number 544 state of Minnesota

[57:48] as follows. The board shall certify its

[57:52] proposed property tax levy information

[57:54] to the county auditor on or before

[57:56] September 30th each year unless an

[57:59] extension is granted by the home county

[58:01] auditor. Pursuant to Minnesota statute

[58:04] 275.065,

[58:06] the school board is authorized to

[58:07] certify the maximum levy limitation as

[58:10] certified by the commissioner of

[58:12] education for property taxes payable in

[58:15] 2027.

[58:17] The public information meeting, which

[58:19] used to be called truth and taxation

[58:21] hearing,

[58:22] um regarding the pro proposed property

[58:25] taxes and budget, is scheduled for 6

[58:28] p.m. on Monday, December 14th, 2026 in

[58:32] the community ed room at the Roosevelt

[58:34] Education Center. That's going to be

[58:36] right here during our school board

[58:38] meeting. And and so um the public is

[58:41] invited to that.

[58:43] Um, with that, uh, is there someone who

[58:46] will offer the resolution and move for

[58:48] its adoption?

[58:50] >> I'll offer the resolution and move for

[58:51] its adoption.

[58:53] >> And a second.

[58:56] » I'll second. All right. Thanks, Jenny.

[58:59] Okay. Any discussion on that?

[59:02] Just to make a note that uh the finance

[59:04] committee did review this with uh with

[59:06] superintendent and business manager back

[59:08] on uh September 22nd last week and uh

[59:12] even at the maximum levy um I think the

[59:15] total increase is like is like 1% or

[59:18] 1.3%. So so uh pretty flat.

[59:23] >> Okay. Very well. Thank you for that. Any

[59:27] other discussion or comments?

[59:30] With that, I'll turn to you, Madame

[59:32] Clerk.

[59:33] >> Okay.

[59:33] >> Jenny Christensen,

[59:34] >> yes.

[59:35] >> Missy Hermes, yes. Melanie Cole,

[59:37] >> yes.

[59:37] >> Steven Vigasa,

[59:38] >> yes.

[59:39] >> Kirby Anderson, yes.

[59:40] >> Kelly Graph,

[59:41] >> yes.

[59:42] >> The resolution is adopted. All right.

[59:45] Very good. That concludes our agenda for

[59:47] this evening and we will the board will

[59:49] stick around for work session. Is there

[59:52] um a motion to adjurnn?

[59:54] >> So moved.

[59:55] >> All right. Second.

[59:57] >> Second.

[59:58] >> Okay. Thank you.

Fergus Falls MN School Board Meeting 9-28-2026

Transcript