001[Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Oh, hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Oh yeah. Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey. Hey. [Music] Okay, we'll call the meeting to order. We'll start with um roll call. Morgan Brown >> here. >> Dave Wrunner >> here. >> Becky Engel >> here. >> Brian Jones >> here. >> Jan Weer >> here. >> Um Dusty Wear is absent and Christina Shark is here. Next up is adoption of agenda and declaration of a quorum. >> Motion to adopt. >> Second. >> We have a first and a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all
002those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next is citizen speak. I do not have any green cards tonight. Next is the consent agenda. >> I make a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there any other discussion or questions? If not, all those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next, board priority. We will promote and monitor growth in student achievement and all students will be challenged with high expectations that meet or exceed measurable targets. We have anformational session tonight, which is the Farney Elementary Building Update. Right. Uh, we'll start with introductions. >> Carrie Bousales, fifth grade. >> Steve Zimmerman, principal. >> Kelly Phillips, assistant principal. Sydney Snackoff, counselor. Thank you for this opportunity to talk to you guys tonight. We are
003doing a lot of exciting things at Farney and it's a great opportunity to share those with you. Um we can start with our slide presentation. That first picture there that that's our um Farney leaders and uh we have a great group of kids and they help out a lot with our culture of our building. So some of our SIP goals for this year um we have several goals. Some of these are extended goals to the year of 2028. And we start with our first one there. By June of 2026, 73% of students will be meeting benchmark on dibbles assessment. And that goes along with HRS 4.1 higher reliability schools. And 4.1 um talks about establishing those clear and measurable goals that focus on critical needs regarding improving achievement and individual students. And you see those
004first top three goals um focus around HRS 4.1. The second goal there we have is by June of 2026 46% of students will be meeting benchmark on I ready. And then by 2028 66% of those students will be meeting benchmark. Our third goal by the spring of 2026 90% of students agree that teachers discuss learning goals and scales during almost every class. That uh that goes along with our marzal element number one with scales and rubrics. Then again HRS 4.1 next goal by June of 2026 all principles will have completed five weekly observations and at least uh at least and that goes along with HRS 2.3 and 2.3 focuses on the school is aware of and monitors predominantly instructional practices. The next goal we have is by the spring of 2026, 95% of students agree
005they know exactly how they're doing on their current learning goals and scales and can explain their progress to someone else. And that is HRS goal 3.3 which talks about all students have the opportunity to learn critical content and the curriculum they have. And the last one by June of 2026 98% of our students will attend school on a regular basis. And then by June of 2028, 98% will attend. And that's HRS 1.2. And that talks about a safe environment that um they feel comfortable coming to our building. Our next slide talks about uh the success we've had with our behavior. Uh we have last year had 119% decrease in behavior. You could see the graph. The red line indicates the 23 24 school year. And the blue represents last year. So we had incredible growth
006and we attribute that to a lot of different things. Um having good systems in place. We have a um refocus form we use and also we have opportunities to retach our expectations monthly. Next slide. In this we take the panorama survey twice a year. We take it in the fall, we take it in the spring. And this is our spring data. And if we look at this again, this goes with HRS 1.6 where community members, parents have an opportunity to um share their beliefs and how they feel the school is doing. And we look at first the family survey data. And so we have a positive school climate is in favor uh favorable of 82%. Uh 80% feel our school is safe. Then next one, how motivated are the classroom lessons at your child's school?
007And parents feel 87% strong in that. How well does administration at your child's school create a school environment that helps children learn? 87%. How much respect do you think the leaders at your school have for your child? 80 87% as well on that. Next one is staff survey data. And this is important because this is a a big factor in our culture and climate in our building every day. Um, how positive is the tone that the school leaders set for the culture of the school? 944%. Overall, how positive is the influence of the school leaders on the quality of your work and that's 94%. And again, that goes along with HRS 2.6, which focuses on teachers have opportunities to observe and discuss effective teaching. So we set high standards for our teachers. >> So the
008first slide you saw with the school improvement goals, the first two goals were in the area of literacy and math. Here you can see where we currently sit in the area of literacy and math for um students at benchmark. So we are currently 49% proficient as a building in the area of literacy on our screening assessment in the fall. We take that three times a year. It's just a little dipstick measure that tells us um how students are growing throughout the year and then as an individual and then how we're growing as a building and we can gauge our instruction off of that. We are 48% in the area of math which has already surpassed our June 2026 goal. So we will continue to strive for a higher percentage proficient in that area as well
009as grow our students in the area of literacy. Next slide. And then one day, one way we're doing that is we had teachers work in our PLC's as a collaborative team to look at the data um student by student and think about interventions for students as well as title services for students and then what how are we going to monitor how students are progressing with those interventions and their academic achievement. So we identified monthly data days for both reading and math where we'll look at those pro progress monitoring graphs and see how students are doing and then make changes accordingly based on that data. And then uh teachers are going to be trained on interventions as needed. If there's an intervention they don't know how to do, we can train them in that uh to
010make sure they're successful. And then our what I need now we call it when will begin this week. This is our ISAS data from last spring. So the third grade scores you see on this slide are actually fourth graders this year. The fourth grade scores, those students are fifth graders this year. And then the fifth graders are now sixth graders at Liberty this year. So we use this data even though it it came from last spring and last year's students we can gauge how well we are instructing around our grade level standards as this is a standardsbased assessment and then make changes the following year based on this data >> and we're also looking at our ISAS data for our students as far as literacy and we have put them in intervention groups based on
011their need and we are going to monitor that uh throughout the year to see if that intervention is making a difference for those students. students um based on where they fell with our ISAS. So growth plan, how will we do this? Um backward planning using a district identified essential standards at each grade level. We we're going to retach and intervene on grade level essential standards for students in need. Identify common assessments used on daily task and at the end of the unit to monitor student progress towards grade level standards using proficiency scales. and then creating some grade level smarting goals in the areas of math and reading. And these are set by teachers and monitored by teachers and students. And then there's more learning opportunities around reading science uh charts and data to increase achievement
012levels in science. >> So our district instructional vision um we use in that vision we use the high- five elements from Marzano. So element one is providing school scales and rubrics to students. So you can see that picture there is just an example of a scale at Farney in a classroom that students are using daily. And then um under above element two there are two pictures for tracking student progress. Uh our third grade team is tracking student progress towards their grade level smart goal as a grade and they've got that posted in the hallway. Uh element three is celebrating student success. Students complete their I Ready lessons. If they get 100% on their I Ready lesson, they get to fill in a box and once the whole chart's filled out, they get a reward. And
013then element 32 is motivating and inspiring students. Um, I took a picture of this. This is in the fifth grade hallway. Our fifth grade teachers post a problem on the board that's an extension of what they call vertical learning in their classroom. And then when students have free time or they're finished early, they can go out and try to solve the problem. um they are so motivated by this and it's really fun to watch them in the hallway working together to try and solve the problem and then running up to their teachers to ask you know did I get this right and this is around grade level skills that they are super excited to work on. So and then the fifth element is demonstrating respect for reluctant learners but we do that all the time
014every day and that was hard to capture in a picture. So, >> one thing that uh Kelly and I are doing are a lot of walkthroughs to make sure that we are seeing fidelity with our instruction and curriculum. And so, one of our goals that I mentioned earlier is that by June of 2026, all principles will have completed five weekly observations. That's a goal that we came up with for our district elementary PLC. And right now, we are averaging 12 per week um between Kelly and I. And we've been in a total of 27 different observations already. And then the data that we're tracking focuses on our high- five. And as you can see in the graph, um teachers are really hitting motivating, inspiring students and also um demonstrating value and respect for reluctant learners
015and then celebrating those successes when they have them. >> So one I think it was our last school improvement goal was around the area of attendance. And so Steve went through our panorama survey. That's how we gauge the climate and culture of our school and how welcome um and how people perceive our school and we want kids to come to school every day. So that leads to our attendance and then we also have this friendly attendance competition going on between grades. So um we collect the monthly attendance for each classroom in powers school and then the top class or classes in each grade are posted to the attendance bulletin board in the hall and then celebrated on the morning announcements. So you can see this is this picture is the month of September where we
016were at. So we had a four-way tie in third grade for 99% of their class was in attendance during the month of September. >> And also you can see our chronic abs you can see our chronic absenteeism. Um we are down to 9.52%. Uh the state average is right around 16. So we feel pretty good about that data as well. Again here's some more attendance data. Um past 30 days we at 96.24% and our trend compared to last year um we're down just a little bit but we're still right around 96 97%. Another thing that we're doing this year um not just Farney but the district we're addressing the associate culture um in all of our buildings and one thing that we come up with is a plan how to improve that. And what we're
017going to be doing at Farney is making sure we have those in-person uh informal meetings with our with either Kelly and I once a month. Then we'll have individual informal check-ins once a month. Then we'll have a concerns suggestion box in the teacher workroom. So if there's something that maybe they would rather discuss in a large group or in individually, then we have that information and then give that information back to them. Um we cannot do our job without our associates. They're one of the most valuable assets we have. >> All right. What questions do you have for us? >> Not a question, but a comment. Um, really glad to see you're getting out into the classrooms and and doing that walkth through so kids get to know you and and uh I'm sure it's
018not Well, I hope you're not putting much pressure on the teachers. I'm sure you're not. So, but it's just good to hear that you're going through the classrooms. >> And also, uh, Miss Angel, I know you are really concerned about getting books in kids' hands. And so, from the beginning of the year up till October 11th, we have had, uh, 6,431 books checked out. So, they're they're getting books in their hands. >> Excellent. Yeah. This is more of a comment too, Steve, is that uh the thing I've always been impressed with Farney is that just your laser-like focus on data. You're constantly looking at the data, constantly looking at how we can improve and your host staff has bought into that and uh that doesn't it doesn't happen by happen stance. Uh that's leadership and
019and Kelly and you have uh we're very fortunate to have both you in that building. And um I think the numbers that reflect as far as culture, those type of things also intertwine and uh people really appreciate both your leaderships. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Any other questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um up next, board priority to be the best. We will creative a positive learning and working culture for our stakeholders and embrace our community partners through communication and transparency. We have two action items here. The first one is the certified staff substitution rates. >> I'm going to uh give the board an overview of this and then feel free to ask questions at any time. Um this is a proposal I'm coming forward uh with the
020board. It's it's similar to the proposal we had before. Um, basically the proposal before recognized individuals that were going to teach 10 days or more long-term subbing. And what we decided to do as a district uh that the board approved um a little while ago was um that group if you were certifi so if you're if you're not certified you would be paid $150. If you were certified you'd be paid $225. And then if you were certified but endorsed in an area, you'd be paid 250 a day. Um the premise behind that was the hope uh two things. One is is that uh the quality uh like I mentioned that past board meeting was that we're we feel grateful that you we have more options to fill our subbing because of sub authorizations and so
021forth, but we know that the quality probably isn't as high as what we'd like it to be. And so um at times particularly long term and uh and so that's what we ca why we came up with this. And then the second reason is is that the hope that we might draw people back to our district that maybe are retired um that are certified and endorsed paying them more. So as I kind of thought about it, it it it just made sense to me to then look at having that same impact on a daily basis. I think what I realize is that we have teachers that maybe don't want to do a long-term sub, but they might want to sub daily. And uh and and we would uh be able to maybe get more people
022to sub, but also uh highly qualified people to sub. So, my proposal tonight is to ask the board to approve uh that if you are certified in the area you're subbing subbing on a daily basis, instead of getting paid $150 a day, you would get paid $225 a day. And um I think that sends a strong statement of the value we put on on our subs and how important it is for us to have quality subs. Um, and I'll just open it up for any questions the board members might have. >> I don't think it's a question. Just comment. I agree. Um, obviously it's nice to have subs and not have shortages. >> Um, but yeah, I think we can all agree or at least we all should agree. I mean, having certified staff, I
023mean, that's that's about the best you're going to get for subs. I think it just makes a lot of sense. >> Yeah. Thanks. >> I'll make a motion to approve. >> That's what I was waiting for. Second. >> We have a motion, a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next up is board policy update first reading. Brad's going to join us if you have any questions on the board policies. >> If there's no questions, I'll make a motion to approve. >> Second. We have a first and a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next up, board priority. Through the board's financial stewardship, we will provide operations, technical, and curricular resources to
024staff, teachers, and administrators so that all students have consistent and sustained achievement. We have four action items here. The first one is the OS gym furniture. >> Um, good afternoon or evening. Uh this is a request to purchase uh 400 chairs and 200 tables. Over the last few years, we have utilize Bridge View Center and we're very thankful of um their support over the last few years. Um when we look at kind of a three-year average, we've been spending approximately $18,600 uh renting Bridge View Center. Now that we have a new gymnasium, uh we're able to host things like ACT and and those types of events that would we would typically uh use Bridge View Center for. So, we put out an RFQ uh to six furniture b uh vendors. Five of them responded to
025us and the low bid, which we're asking for tonight's uh from school specialty. Uh in addition, we're also requesting to purchase a used but in good condition uh 40x 20 foot stage which to put that in perspective is the same size stage we used at Bridge View Center last year for graduation. So that we have that available for events such as graduation and banquetss and things like that where our current stage pieces are in rough shape. So, all in all, um it looks like we'd probably have about a three-year return on our investment uh in purchasing uh this seating and tables. >> Any questions for Landon? Otherwise, we'll need a motion to approve. >> Motion to approve. >> Second. We have a first and a second. Any other discussion? If not, all those in favor
026raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next is OS wood gym floor replacement with Don and Brandon. So following a uh break in the OS old wood gym floor uh sprinkler system, the existing floor sustained significant water damage, making replacement necessary. The project will include the complete removal of the damaged flooring and installation of new athletic flooring to restore the space to proper condition for student and athletic use. It is recommended that the board approve awarding the demolation and replacement of the gymnasium gymnasium flooring in the old Atom High School gym to Philips floor in the amount of $140,340. The project will be funded through insurance proceeds related to the sprinkler system failure. Uh just another quick note on this, something that we're uh have had some discussions about and we're kind of excited. It provides
027an opportunity for us to um honor our history. I think Atom High School has pretty rich history as we know. Um when we give class tours, it's probably one of the spaces that people love to see the most. I think it's super unique with the walking track and the bleachers and all that. And so um folks are really excited to see it. So we feel like we could uh maybe honor that in a way. So Mrs. Sammons in her art class uh is working on some concepts on uh the gym floor designs like the paint or the graphics that would be on the the floor itself to uh pay homage to some of the history that we have. So some of the things that you know we've we've spitballed a little bit is um athletics
028history but also like the foam finger was invented in Atoma. So uh kind of honoring that in some way and and uh paying some homage uh as best we can to to the rich history that we have. So, just a fun little touch I think that people will enjoy to see when they when they come in. >> Is that floor going to be wood that we're replacing? >> Yep. >> Okay. >> And one thing I wanted to make the board aware of um by us doing this I I think the other aspect of it is just that it's used every day for PE and so forth is kind of our our student body getting to see the history of of of our school. But uh it will it will cost additional money to paint the
029mural too. So just so you know that it it there there's a cost to putting in the floor and then doing the floor as far as though and those type of things, but that would be additional cost. >> Don, was was the sprinkler system was a just a pretty easy fix then the the failure on that? >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean the Yes. The sprinkler system wasn't e easy enough fix. Yeah. break and replace kind of deal. >> So So the pictures are going to be on the the new wood floor you put on or are they the history is going to be like a around the gym? >> Yeah, potentially both. I think we we have some students that are working on some concepts. Uh one of the initial ideas we have that it
030would be part of the floor design. >> Part of the floor. >> Yeah, part of the floor design. So we we use that space for practice. Um we don't really play games there anymore. So u but we would have you know the same standard lines for basketball and volleyball that we would need but um in some way having that design built into the floor as well. >> So you're suggesting we paint a foam finger or something on the floor >> that's been brought up. >> Something like that. >> It's a great idea. >> If there's no more questions I'll make a motion to approve. >> Second. Any other questions or discussion? If not, all those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next is the Indian Hills Schaffer Stadium lease agreement. Yeah, I'm going
031to have Brandon join me for this. Um, this is an agreement uh between Indian Hills and the district uh for a five-year agreement. That would be the first year would be for 20,000, the second year for 21 and then the last three years for 225. Uh and it would cover their usage of for track as well as soccer. Uh track right now is the one that's much more extensive. We don't see soccer probably being very extensive, but uh but that it also includes soccer as well. So it's a five-year agreement. Um, Brandon, I didn't know if you wanted to add anything to that or >> Yeah, I'm happy to answer questions about it. >> Does this include the practice field also? >> Uh, so they're not using the practice field any longer. >> Okay. >>
032So, no, it wouldn't. >> My only concern was that there had been some damage to practice field from throwing. So, I just wanted to make sure that was if that was in here or not and if the repair was covered. >> Yep. Yeah, that's something we addressed a little while ago. Brena, is there any maintenance that needs done every so many years to the track? I mean, and what you know, like is it every 5 years, 10 years, something like that involved? >> Uh, yeah. I mean, there is there the the lines themselves need uh repainted periodically. I don't know. It's probably like a 7 to 10 year span. Um, the track surface itself also doesn't last forever, so it'll need replaced at some point. And then just wear and tear on the turf as
033well. Like we'll have to replace that at some point, I'm guessing, in the next five years or so. >> Okay. >> So, the purpose of this was just to offset some of those maintenance expenses. >> Yep. >> Okay. >> I make a motion to approve the lease agreement. >> Second. >> We have a motion, a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next up is the real estate sale at 1112 North Van Beerren Street. >> Thanks, Christina. Um, this is um I'm recommending tonight that the district approve the sale of our 20 2425 construction trades program project um for a total amount of 62 625,000. Um what the agreement also includes that I think is important is it uh includes that the property would
034they would take possession of the property in its current condition uh which which basically means that there hopefully wouldn't be a lot of additional uh future uh requests to improve the the property as well. Um I think what really makes this project very unique is is two two main reasons. one is is that it adds a real valuable asset to our community. It's four uh condominiums that are three-bedroom. Uh there aren't many three-bedroom condominiums in in a Tumbla. And I think that's that's a huge asset to our community. Um, I think also the experience our kids had and the board's been so great about supporting is the experience they've had to um have this experience of doing a different type of project where it's apartments or condos instead of a a home. So, um I
035think that was invaluable for our kids as well. So, I would be glad to answer any questions uh the board has. >> Mike, when you say current conditions, does that mean that they're not doing any inspections? Is that >> there will be an Yeah, that's a great question. Is there there will be inspections, but like let's say you want to add uh additional things like a sink or something like that, we they they've agreed not to do those type of things. But if something comes up in inspection that is appropriate for us to fix, we would fix. >> Plus, it goes back on the tax role for the city of >> Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a positive, Dave. I mean, uh, it gets Yeah, it gets back in the tax role. I think it's
036a positive too that uh we have somebody from the community that's been very supportive of our community uh purchasing it as well. I think that's a real positive too. >> I'd make a motion to approve the real estate sale as presented. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all those in favor raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next up is superintendent report. Thanks, Christina. Um, I've got several things. Um, the first is, um, uh, kind of, uh, wanted to give the board some feedback. We, we had a staff development session Friday that, uh, you know, probably the best way of putting it, it it probably missed the mark to a certain degree. And uh um and uh we recognized that um I'm never one to
037make excuses or it was an unfortunate circumstances that um uh the individual was filling in on an emergency situation. Um I think my people did a great job of trying to vet the individual to make sure it was the right fit. Um but it just it did not uh basically convey what we thought it was going to convey the the session. So, we've we've kind of looked at that and how we can address that in the future. And, you know, I think the thing that's and I hope our staff knows this is that we always want to hear their feedback and we always uh take it seriously. And so, um we have a district leadership team meeting tomorrow that involves basically it's encompasses um uh teachers that are on the BLT team. uh principles as
038well as instructional coaches and then central office people and we we're going to have a discussion about how we would like to you know obviously ensure that doesn't happen again but uh going back to our staff and enlisting feedback from them on how you know how is our staff development are you happy with our staff development do you have concerns about it uh and I think we've come up with some ways that we can do that that people will feel they can give open and honest feedback on it. And and so that will be our goal. Um because I recognize, you know, as much as you try to put people where they can give you honest feedback, sometimes it's really difficult to to do that if unless it's the right format. So we will look
039at that as well. And so we'll have that discussion tomorrow. Uh so I want to mention that to the board. I don't know if any questions board members have on that or any thoughts. >> That's more my It's not really a question. Um, kind of echoing Mike said, I I think I mean it's happened. I've been on the board a long time. Um, you hear a lot of things obviously Friday we heard probably everybody heard something about that. Um, but I want to encourage every staff member at the different schools. They all have building leadership teams. >> Yeah. >> Talk to them if you have concerns. you know, voice concerns about anything in your school. I mean, that's what we want as a school board is we can't provide resources. We can't, you know, help
040you solve a problem. And most of the time it's it's the administration solving the problem, not the board necessarily. Um, but if we don't know it's broke, we can't fix it. Um, and we can't help teachers teach to make help kids learn, whatever, whatever it is. So, I know that's sometimes not easy to I know you have an open door policy, Mike. I appreciate that. Most people probably won't take you up on that. Um, >> but I I want people in their own school to be able to feel comfortable to talk to at least their >> peers that are on the leadership team if they're not and to bring that stuff. Um, everybody's a professional. It's okay to have some constructive criticism about some things that may be happening or not happening or think there's
041a better way to do things or guess what there could be some things going well that we could talk about too. >> Um I just I want our staff to feel like they can do that without any um you know nervousness I guess about being honest. Um and I think that's we talk about being the best. Well that's the only way we're going to get there. So everybody just needs to in my opinion need they need to communicate with each other and and pass it on and then you know hopefully we can answer some questions. >> Yeah, I appreciate Dave bringing up the that that's kind of going to be the recommendation tomorrow is to have our BLT teams have the opportunity to provide us feedback because they represent um our departments and then they
042represent our grade levels uh at each building. So it makes a lot of sense for them to hear what you know how they feel about staff development and how it's going. So I appreciate that feedback. Anything else? If not, uh the next thing I have is we're really excited, you know, with our new gym opening. We just found out that uh we'll be hosting the girls 2A wrestling super regional. And that's basically uh the event before state. And there's only eight of these events in Iowa. So, we were we were really excited and honored that we we get one of the the sites. Um the next thing I have is we hope to hear this week uh if we will get uh an invite to join the Little Hawkeye conference. So, they meet on Wednesday.
043Uh so, I'll I'll know sometime later this week uh if we'll have that invite and I'll certainly let the board know. Um, again, I think that's a great conference for us. Um, it's built, they want to get to 12, um, basic schools, six small, six large. We would obviously fit in the large category. And the large category would have schools like Oscaloosa, Pella, uh, Newton, Indianola, Dallas, Center, Grimes, and Norwalk. And so, um, we think we fit nicely. Oh, I'm sorry. AS I forgot Ames, too. Yeah. And we're already in the conference with AS. Uh we we feel that this is a great conference from twofold. One is um natural rivalries and then the other one is uh competitiveness. And so, um we'll be excited to find out how that turns out. I'll certainly let
044the board know as soon as I know something. Um I think that's all I have. Christina, >> thank you, Mike. Next up is board member topics. Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll accept a motion to adjurnn. I make a motion to adjurnn. >> We have a first and a second. Any other discussion? If not, all those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Square Journal.