0012026 school board meeting to order. Would everyone please rise for the pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Like to start with item 2.01, student and staff recognitions. I believe Jim Bogner will come to the podium to narrate the some of the initial recognitions. Good evening. The Department of Teaching and Learning would like to recognize several students and teachers for their tremendous leadership, growth, and perseverance this fall. The first award that we would like to recognize is for two students who have achieved the inspire award. The inspire award is based on Trojans who have demonstrated exemplary leadership. Leadership embodies mindsets, behaviors, and skills to succeed in school and beyond. The two students
002that we'll be recognizing for the Inspire Award are Brandon Wade and Ray Kaine. if they would like to come on up. Brandon is a junior at Chesterton High School and shows exemplary leadership qualities both within and outside the classroom. He always steps up to support his peers and is a strong role model. Rey since beginning at Liberty Middle middle middle school this year has made extraordinary progress both in his academics, his behavior, and his overall mindset. He has never met a challenge he refused to take on, and he pushes himself every day to achieve greater things. We're happy to have him as a part of our Dunland community. Thank you for both Brandon and Ray for your accomplishments. That's going to be the last two students for students. >> Just those two for that. The
003next one's going to be Thank you. >> Now we would like to recognize two students with the engage award. The engage award is based on Trojans who demonstrate exemplary behaviors. Behavior embodies mindfully using your unique talents to respectfully connect to the school and community. The two students we are recognizing tonight is Jordi Nentburg and Keelani Johnson. If they'd like to come on up. Jordy has made exemplary progress since joining Liberty Intermediate School last year. His behavior at school has made him a role model for others as he works hard to achieve his academic goals and he seeks out and develops positive relationships with his peers and staff alike. Khalani is a sophomore at Chesterton High School. She is incredibly empathetic towards others, going out of her way to make sure that they feel welcome and
004included. She greets staff and students with genuine positivity and smiles on a daily basis. We have one student. still engage. >> We're going to switch to EMP. Empower. The next students we'd like to recognize have achieved the Empower Award. The Empower Award is based on Trojans who demonstrate exemplary growth and achievement. growth and achievement as demonstrated by resilience and excellence in the pursuit of academic success. We've got three students who we'd like to recognize for the Empower Award. Those students are Channing Fernandez, Ernest Phillips, and Sarah Waters. if they could come forward. Ernest attends Liberty Middle School and has shown exemplary growth in his ability to adapt to changes in learning situations and his ability to self- advocate from seventh to 8th grade. He consistently demonstrates respect, outstanding effort in all classes, and he always
005wants to do his absolute best. Sarah is a senior at Chesterton High School and demonstrates great perseverance with her academics and also continues to be highly involved in community and extracurricular activities. We thank you very much for your achievements. Okay, I think Channing's here. >> We got one more. He's coming on up. His his certificate is right here. This is Channing. He's a kindergartener. >> Okay. It's perfect. Channing is a kindergartener at Liberty Elementary School. He has made wonderful progress since be the beginning of the school year. While he was initially hesitant with peers and adjusting to new school routines, his confidence has grown so much in the last couple of months. He now seeks out friendships, moves through his day with greater ease, and has learned so many great skills to help manage his
006emotions. We are very proud of Channing's hard work and are excited to see how he continues to grow. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU CAN. OKAY. The teaching the department of teaching and learning also has some teaching some teachers that we would like to recognize. Which board have we got out here? Empower. All right. Let's go with empower then. So, the teachers who we would like to recognize for our empower award are Deanna Leert, Leah Shaneborn, and Monica Martin. Deanna has Diana is a teacher at Chesterton High School and she has demonstrated exemplary growth and achievement working with her department to implement creative ideas for curriculum updates to incorporate UDL practices. She continuously seeks ways to improve and demonstrate excellence in the pursuit of her students academic success. Leah Shaneborn has been a wonderful addition to
007the Liberty Elementary team. She brings warmth, passion, and a strong leadership to her role, embracing new challenges with confidence and care. By thoughtfully blending her expertise and behavior analysis with her growing knowledge in education, she creates a unique and individualized approach to each child that truly supports student growth. Her dedication is evident in the meaningful connection she builds and the positive impact she continues to have on both students and the Liberty Elementary community. Monica demonstrates resilience and excellence in her pursuit of academic success for her students in her role as a deaf and heart of hearing teacher in Dudland. She regularly collaborates with teachers and families from preschool through high school. Monica emphasizes independence and self- advocacy with all of her students, and she goes above and beyond to provide resources for school staff and
008families to utilize with their students. We are grateful for their support. We have three teachers that we would like to recognize for the inspire award. I don't know is Shandra here didn't see her come in. Shandra Crum who is not present. Kate Meyer and Rachel Burnside. I'm not sure if Rachel snuck in either. You are here. All right. Come on up. Kate is a teacher at Liberty Intermediate and Middle School. She leads by example and is a role model for all teachers. She is a growth mindset and is able to think outside of the box. Her passion for what she does is contagious. Kate tackles any difficult situation effectively with poise and grace. She collaborates with her peers and is often sought out for her expertise. Her communication with staff, students, and parents is excellent.
009Kate is well-rounded educator that exemplifies the Inspire award. Rachel Burnside has de demonstrated exemplary leadership skills in her role as an instructional aid with the developmental preschool program. She carried those leadership skills with her as she served as the long-term sub at the developmental preschool while the teacher was out on leave. Rachel's natural leadership skills are apparent and have been instrumental in helping to train new instructional aids, managing challenging situations in the classroom, and seeing projects through to the end. Thank you very much. Is Shandra here? Oh, >> okay. Good. Perfect timing. Shandra. Shandra is a teacher at Chesterton High School. She's an excellent leader and collaborator with a true growth mindset. She continuously looks for ways to contribute to her department and provides excellent instruction to her classes and has also led a schoolwride
010project this winter that uni unites staff and gives back to the community. Thank you very much. Engage. All right. Finally, we have three teachers who we'd like to recognize for the Engage award. They are Jessica Evans, Fatima Chavez, and Kyla Jigala. Jessica consistently seeks opportunities for her applied skill students to be fully immersed and engaged in the larger school community. She has organized and led the community alleyoop event at CHS for 12 years and has been integral in establishing unified botchi ball and unified bowling sport programs this year. She uses her unique talents and creativity to respectfully connect to the school and community. Fatima has consistently worked to develop the applied skills program at Westchester Intermediate and Middle School. She has sought out new opportunities in vocational skills for her students and developed fun and
011engaging ways for students to be included in the community. Fatima leads by example and is a great addition to the Westchester Intermediate Middle School staff. She is constantly looking for new ways to engage her students and how she can grow as an educator. In the short time Fatima has worked at Westchester, she has made a lasting impact on staff, students, and families. Kyla has mindfully used her talents in her role as an applied skills teacher at Brummit Elementary School. She is actively dedicated to engaging her students within her classroom, the general education classroom, and the school. She is flexible in her thinking and approach to teaching and learning as she welcomes new students to the classroom and adjusts schedules to fit the needs of students. She creates warm inclusive spaces where all students can thrive
012both academically and emotionally and we are grateful for them. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. We have a couple more student recognitions to do. I'll do my best with uh each year the Indiana Association of School Principles recognizes exceptional academic achievement through the rising stars of Indiana program. This honor is awarded to the top junior students across the entire state. Congratulations go to Ishaw Ali, Lana Glazer, Maline Ryan, and Mia Sagawa who have been named rising stars of Indiana for their remarkable academic accomplishments. These four juniors have demonstrated excellence, leadership, and dedication. And at this time we would like to invite these four students to come forward. Uh We'd also like to congratulate the Chesterton High School cheer team for winning the Indiana Association of School Principles Indiana Cheer Championship in large uh varsity co-ed division. This
013accomplishment has earned the team a bid to the National High School Cheer Championship in Orlando, Florida in February. In addition, this year the team has achieved the highest score in its program history at a UA UCA regional competition. Please join us in congratulating these dedicated athletes for their hard work, passion, and commitment. At this time, I would like to invite the cheer team members and coaches, Tara Graph, Kala Dulf, Cordelia Armstrong, Emma Seaman, and Grant Gilbertson to come forward for a photo. And apparently a lot more. That's all right. Just get in the front. I feel like there were a few more names than they gave me on my I thought you were going to read all these names. >> They told me just to name a few. >> I would say this is the
014time the students can leave, but I think they got the memo. Anybody sign up? >> Okay, nobody signed up. >> Oh god. Uh like to since nobody signed up for public uh participation in 3.01, we will move on to item number four, consent agenda, entertain a motion. >> I move to accept the consent agenda as presented. >> I'll second. I have a first and a second. Any discussion? >> All in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? >> Thank you. New business 5.01 Inclement weather employee reporting expectations 2526. >> Good evening. Um, we would like to take an opportunity to just put into writing and suggest for policy that while in-person learning will always be the preferred method, there are times when districts choose to shorten the regularly scheduled school day or designate the
015whole day as an e-learning day. in an effort to establish clear and consistent employee reporting and pay guidance for inclement weather school building closures for the remainder of the 2025 2026 school year. DSC administration recommends the following. If road conditions are deemed too unsafe for students and staff to traverse, DSC administration may call for a start delay, an early closure, or an all-day closure with an e-learning designation. In such instances, it is recommended that all employees have the option to work from home. This means managers of employees whose jobs are not typically conducive to virtual work are expected to prepare projects and/or training assignments that will make remote work a possibility for their respective department members. Employees with jobs that are computer-based and or conducive to virtual work should plan to perform their regularly scheduled
016duties remotely. While the expectation is that all employees will perform some work in the aforementioned scenario, remote work is easier for some employees than it is for others. As such, it is recommended that the board forgives pay all pay if a road condition related delay or closure comes to pass. The reasoning for this is that the payment of salaries and wages for these unforeseen and unusual situations is not required by the Department of Labor or by policy. However, the administration views the circumstances as being beyond the control of our employees and recommends that these employees not be penalized as a result. And finally, approval of this recommendation eliminates any possible ghost employment issues for audit purposes. All that said, since the December 2025 board meeting and in the interest of student and staff safety, the
017following closure due to road conditions are recommended to be treated in accordance with the above guidance. Thursday, January 15, 2026 for a 2-hour delay due to road conditions and Monday, January 26, 2026, all day in-person learning cancelled due to road conditions. different than closures, delays due to road conditions, there are also inclement weather um related closures or delays that are called because of unsafe temperature and and bus rider concerns um due to outside temperature and or windshill factors that create a safety hazard for students waiting for buses. It is recommended that non-administrative certified staff and school nurses may be work may be able to work from home. All other staff have the option to either work on site as normally scheduled and with responsibilities assigned by their manager supervisor, use a benefit day, personal or
018vacation if applicable, or use an unpaid day if no benefit time is available. >> That it >> that's it. >> Um just so note this is an amendment to the employee handbook, right? Yes. >> Okay. So um this is not required two meetings. It's just a amendment to the handbook. So I'll entertain a motion. um to get ahead of this for next round. >> I'll make a motion to approve the inclement weather employee reporting expectations. >> Uh first and a second. Any discussion? >> All in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? >> Thank you, Reagan. >> Thank you. >> 5.02 Administrative employee handbook and benefit addendum. >> Me again. Um, it is the district's typical process to annually update employee handbooks. So, in July, we took care of this for a our part-time
019and full-time classified handbooks as well as the ECA handbook that was going into this current school year. In December, with the ratification of the um DSC DTA contract, we updated certified employee handbook. Now, with all of those um board approved and market adjustments and compensation increases approved and processed, DSSE administration finally recommends approval for the updated administrator handbook and benefit schedule. The updated language mimics the bereavement leave policy adjustments that were detailed in the other handbooks. The administrator handbook also reflects a benefit summary addendum reflective of the vacation and personal day benefit changes that were board approved last spring. um in April, which occurred in between the annual update cycles. Um just to recap, that had two additional vacation days for 260day administrators um who work full-time and then two additional benefit days for non-260
020administrators in the interest of having them fall in line with the five personal days that all other employee classifications receive. So, I make a recommendation for approval on the administrator handbook as well as the benefit addendum. >> Thank you. I'll entertain a motion 5.02. >> I'll second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? >> All in favor, please say I. I. >> Any opposed? >> Thank you. 5.03 final reading policy 7455 7540.02 and 8121. >> Thank you. The administration respectfully requests your approval to revise the following board policies 7455. This policy has been revised to identify the correct department of the state board of accounts utilized in helping determine the price or appropriate fair market value of an item at the time of acquisition. 7540.02 2. Revisions to this policy reflect US Department of Justice final rule
021provision under title two of the Americans with Disabilities Act requiring state and local government entities including public schools to make web content and mobile applications accessible to individuals with disabilities. In 8121, the revisions to policy 8121 are considered technical corrections to correct citations to the Indiana code and omit duplicated text. >> Thank you, Mr. McDermott. I will entertain a motion on the policy updates. >> Second. >> Any discussion on the motion? All in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? Thank you. And no one has signed up for patron participation today. So, Mrs. Martinson, the floor is yours. >> Good evening. This month we will be celebrating our school counselors and school resource officers. This week, February 2nd through the 6th, is National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association and
022highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day will be celebrated on Thursday, February 15th. No school. There will be no school for all Doomland School students on Friday, February 13th and Monday, February 16th to observe a winter break and the president's holiday. Online enrollment is now open for incoming kindergarten Doomland kindergarten students for the 2627 school year. Families are asked to complete online enrollment prior to attending kindergarten roundup on Thursday, March 5th at their child's future school. Information is available on our website. Dunland Teachers and Employee of the Year 26 help us celebrate the outstanding teachers and employees that make up the district. Each year, Dunland conducts teacher and employee of the year recognition program with the mission
023of inspiring and celebrating those in the education industry. Nominations will be accepted for the following categories: elementary teacher, K through six. Secondary teacher, grades 7 through 12, and employee of the year, classified staff employee. Students, former students, parents, colleagues, administrators, or members of the community may nominate DSC teachers and/or classified employees. There's no limit to the number of teachers or classified employees a person may nominate. Please complete a separate nomination form for each teacher and/or classified staff employee that you wish to nominate. Please visit our website to access more information and the nomination forms. And that's all. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> 6.03 superintendent comments. >> Nothing tonight. Thank you. >> Um having come to the end of our written agenda, we are adjourned. >> Thank you.