The Board Report

Hoglan presents during Student/Staff showcase

Hoglan Elementary School students and staff presented to the school board as part of the student/staff showcase on March 20.

Recognitions
Communications Director Andrew Potter presented the Bobcat Pride video. He also recognized Kyley Leger of Vision Marshalltown and Steve Muntz of Marshalltown Community College for their help with the video.

Personnel
For Personnel items, click here.

Student/Staff Showcase- Hoglan Elementary School
Hoglan Elementary School has 386 students, reported Principal Amy Williams. Williams brought members of her leadership team and students who displayed their learning in stations in and around the board room. Staff members on hand included Amy Pollard, Tamara Murphy, Lacie Moore, Kami Uhde and Sara Nickel.

Each grade level had stations as part of the presentation including:

Kindergarten-  shared Read Across Iowa, which is a way to motivate students to read at home.
First grade- SIOP strategy- Thumb challenge – gets first graders talking about vocabulary words.
Second grade- Number sense activities with beans.
Third grade- Historical fiction writing- created own historical story.
Fourth Grade – Literature discussion model.

MHS Dean of Students Dan Terrones and students in the Marshalltown Area Health Careers Club present to the board.

Marshalltown Area Health Careers Club trip to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
MHS Dean of Students Dan Terrones and MHS students from the Health Careers Club presented an update on the club as well as an out-of-state trip request.
Terrones said the club’s purpose is to  “To give students the opportunity see first hand career opportunities in health care.” Terrones said.
The students talked about activities they have participated in the throughout the school year.
The group requested approval for a trip of 30 students to go to  St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee from April 20-23. Aside from the hospital, the group will also visit the Civil Rights Museum, the Peabody Hotel and the Graceland Mansion.
Funding for the trip comes in the form of a  $2,000 donation from the Central Iowa Healthcare  medical staff and $2,000 from a health careers club fundraiser. The total cost of trip is $3,000 and the group wants to donate $1,000 to St. Jude’s. The board approved the trip.

2017-18 School Calendar
The 2017-18 school calendar was approved by the board. Click here for the calendar.

FEH Contract Contract amendment to professional services agreement
This amendment to the Roundhouse Phase 2 architectural contract is due to the expanded architectural services as part of a reroofing of the auditorium, reworking of the auditorium entryway, and due to some leakage of the Roundhouse roof.

Board Policies
314.1 – Administrator Early Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program – Changes made for timing of board approval from September 30 to October 30.
401.12- Employee Use of Cell Phones- Come back from second reading
401.12-R – Employee Use of Cell Phones- Come back for second reading
402.2- Child Abuse Reporting- Come back
402.2-R- Child Abuse Reporting – Regulation- To come back
407.6 – Licensed Teaching Staff Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program – To come back
413.7- Twelve-Month Secretary Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program – To come back

Initial Review
501.10- Open Enrollment- Receiving District- Changing of deadlines in policy and several other changes to be made-
501.10-R – Open Enrollment Receiving District Regulation – Changes to be made
501.11-  Student Transfer in – Changes to be made to mirror IASB
501.16-  Homeless Children and Youth – Change in former Director of Human Resources name to title, will be brought back.
502.1 – Student Behavior and Discipline – Adding e-cigarettes to portion of policy, several other changes to be made
502.2 – Search and Seizure-  Marked as reviewed

A discussion was held regarding standards based grading and the need for more information to come before the board and the community. A work session will be planned for the board.

The board then held an exempt session for negotiations.

From Board Vice President Janelle Carter
“Our March 20th meeting kicked off with the presentation of the new Bobcat Pride video featuring students and graduates from the district.  The video showcases success stories of graduates from MHS living here and around the country and dreams of our own students and where they want to go.  It is very uplifting and fun to watch. Watch here, it is worth your time! (Bobcat Pride video link)

With a room full of parents and students from Hoglan Elementary, Principal Amy Williams showcased some of the different teaching methods that are being used throughout the district with live demonstrations of students and teachers in action.  The audience was able to move from station to station to witness this traveling classroom and interact with the students as they showcased their lessons.  It was a pleasure to break from the usual board business and witness a piece of the school day in action!

The board meeting coincided with the March 20th Vernal Equinox signaling spring. As we now move into the spring season and round the corner into the last stretch of this school year, we look forward to continuing the work to improve the lives of kids through education. The meeting tonight was full of examples of the hard work that is going on in the district and how we are all trying to pull together to make education the best possible for our students.  The spring season always makes life a little brighter and I hope brings renewed energy to you as you work to fulfill the dreams of our young students.” – Janelle Carter

Roundhouse Phase II project moves forward

Kevin Eipperle of FEH Architects talks about the latest design of the MHS Roundhouse Phase II project. A public open house was held prior to the board meeting on March 6.

Roundhouse Phase II Project
Kevin Eipperle of FEH and Mark Williams of HKS Architects presented an update on Phase II of the MHS Roundhouse, which will include an auxiliary gym and a wrestling room. A public open house was held prior to the board meeting in the board room to go over the latest designs.

Total project cost is estimated at $6.8 million, with the construction portion of the project at $6 million. The timeline of the project includes acceptance of bids in May then moving forward with construction in the summer.

“We would expect by July 1 turning dirt,” Eipperle said.

The project is expected to take 1.5 to 2 years to complete. Board members commended Eipperle and his team for being open with this process and seeking public input into the project.

The board approved the design development phase documents and budget update and approved to proceed with the construction and bidding documents phase of design.

Three members of the Bobcat boys bowling team are pictured with their Class 3A state runner up bowling trophy. From left are Carson Potter, Josh Arment and Richie Thomas.

Recognition – Boys Bowling Team
Members of the MHS boys bowling team were recognized at the meeting. They recently took runner up honors as a team in the Class 3A state bowling tournament.

“It’s not really a team, it’s more of a family,” said team member Richie Thomas.

Personnel items
For personnel items approved by the board, click here.

Marshalltown Learning Academy presented to the board. From left, Principal Eric Goslinga, student Ivan Martinez, teacher Nicole Critchfield and student Jacob Borton.

Student/Staff Showcase – Marshalltown Learning Academy
Marshalltown Learning Academy, led by Principal Eric Goslinga, teacher Nicole Critchfield, and MLA students Ivan Martinez and Jacob Borton, presented about personalized learning at MLA.

Martinez is interested in pharmacy and is job shadowing at NuCara Pharmacy before heading to college this fall. He is working on coursework to become a certified pharmacy technician.

Borton is in a CNA class at Marshalltown Community College. Borton job shadowed paramedics at Central Iowa Healthcare. He also brought to the board an underwater robot he assembled at MLA.

Goslinga said these students are examples of extending learning out in the community as they gain authentic work experience.

“We are trying to get our kids out in the community,” Goslinga said.

MLA has received the Instructional Excellence National Recognition from the Clayton Christensen Institute last spring.

“We are the only Iowa entity to receive that recognition,” Goslinga said.

For the presentation document, click on the link here Personalized learning at MLA.

2017-18 School Calendar
The board was presented the two options that were presented to staff as far as the 2017-18 calendar for discussion only this meeting . There were slight modifications to each since they were presented to staff. For the updated options click here.

There was some discussion on both options and ideas for future calendars.

Prior to spring break, district staff were polled on the two calendars. Option 1 with a full week of spring break was favored by 62 percent of staff while 38 percent favored Option 2. There were 460 respondents to the staff survey.

Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte said he plans to bring back Option 1 for approval at the next board meeting, which is March 20. Option 1 includes a start date of August 23,2017  a full week of spring break from March 12-16, 2018 and a last day of school on June 4, 2018. Graduation would be May 27, 2018.

Board Policies
314.1 – Early Retirement- Needs changed dates, to come back
401.5- Employee Records- Changed Board Secretary to Human Resources Director as custodian of employee records- Approved
401.8 – Recognition for Service of Employees- Changes to be made after future meeting with MEA – to come back
401.10-R – Credit Cards- No changes- Mark as reviewed
401.11 – Travel Allowance – Marked as reviewed
401.12- Employee Use of Cell Phones – Marked as reviewed
401.12R – Employee Use of Cell Phones Administrative Regulation – Change needed to last paragraph of last section. Josh Wesley will provide a revision.
402.2 – Child Abuse Reporting- Change recommended in second paragraph to mirror with Iowa Association of School Board policy, from come back before board
402.2-R- Child Abuse Reporting Regulation – Changes to be made to mirror Iowa code, Ben Fletcher to provide changes, will come back before board.

Contract agreement
Director of Human Resources Anthony Spurgetis said due to the collective bargaining bill signed by the governor that the teacher contract agreement between the district and Marshalltown Education Association is null and void

“We need to start the process over,” Spurgetis said. “We’ve communicated to MEA that we intend to honor what we agreed to in good faith.”

The next school board meeting is scheduled for March 20 at 5 p.m. in district offices.

From Board President Bea Niblock
“It seems that the movement on Phase II of the Roundhouse development has received quite a push forward. The recent months have found the facilities committee working with the architects from FEH Design through a series of designs and options, seeking community input, and deciding on the one best option for the district.

Kevin Eipperle, and fellow architects, from FEH Design presented the design development documents and budget update to the board. Questions were addressed and the board gave approval to proceed with the construction and bidding documents phase of the design process.

With that approval, and the completion of the next phase, we will see dirt turned on the construction of the $6 million project by July 1! It’s exciting to see Phase II moving ahead after the delays we experienced with Phase I of the remodel project at the Roundhouse.” – Bea Niblock