Board Briefs from February 22, 2021 Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the February 22, 2021 regular Board of Education business meeting. This is an unofficial record. Official minutes of each Board meeting are posted on the district website and are available for viewing at the Administrative Center after the Board approves them, typically two weeks after the meeting.

Click here to view a recording from the February 22 Board Meeting

Board President Remarks

• I’d like to welcome our four Board of Education candidates to tonight’s meeting: Marissa Rosen, Jennifer Growe Soshnik, Andrew “Andy” Cohen, and Adam Pablo Flinn. The election is April 6 and the district will host a Meet the Candidate Night on March 30.

• I want to let you know that we held our first Prop L Zoom meeting last week, and you can find the link to future meetings at futurereadyschools.net.

• Board candidate information is available on the district website and I recommend you take a look at this information as it’s very helpful in learning about the candidates.

• On Feb. 10 I attended the National Equity Symposium hosted by the National School Board Association; there were some very inspiring speakers who took part in the event and we learned from other districts about how different situations were handled and different creative ideas they had used.

Superintendent Remarks

• I attended a meeting of SAGE today where about 10 students and I discussed energy efficiency and sustainability.

• I want to recognize Grace Hu, whom I spoke with before that meeting, and when I congratulated her on her Speech and Debate achievement, she thanked me then talked about her teammates. I think that summarizes her as an individual that she wanted to recognize her teammates and their achievements.

• Our maintenance and custodial staff worked incredibly hard last week to get up early in the morning and clear our parking lots and sidewalks so school could take place. I can’t thank Mike Noonan and his team enough for their hard work.

• I want to thank everyone for braving the weather on Wednesday when we returned to school.

• All 29 of our National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists are now Finalists - congratulations to all of them.

• I continue to meet with other superintendents in the region to share best practices for COVID mitigation measures; we have started discussions about annual spring events like prom and graduation and what those might look like this year, along with discussions about instructional planning for next school year.

• I have also participated in a Racism and Equity Professional Development series with regional superintendents; it’s facilitated by Floyd Cobb and John Krownapple, the two authors of “Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity.” They are walking us through their book and it has really broadened my lenses on many issues.

• We hosted our first Prop L Community Conversation last week; our next session is tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.

• I want to recognize Dr. Amy Zielinski and her department for facilitating our district professional development on Feb. 12 as we heard a great message from guest speaker Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Choose Love Movement.

• Black History Month celebrations continue in our schools; at Reed Elementary, there is an interactive periodic table that features 90 African Americans who have impacted our nation. Patricia Brown at Old Bonhomme has put together a very creative Black History Month challenge that shares information about influential African Americans and presents students and staff with a daily challenge that incorporates different ways of using technology.

• On Feb. 18 we conducted our third quarter CURE meeting with our African American parents; we celebrated successes and participated in breakout groups with families. These meetings always leave me with a lot to think about as we strive to improve in the area of equity.

• Congratulations to Erin Hemme, who last week was named the 2021 Special School District Teacher of the Year. Erin teaches deaf and hard of hearing students at the LECC.

• As a reminder, we have Spring Break next month meaning we’ll only have one Board meeting in March.

• I also want to recognize both Sheri Glantz and Nancy Goldstein, whose final Board meeting will be our next meeting on March 8. Thank you both for everything you’ve done.

ACTION ITEMS

Landscape Service Contract

Director of Facilities Mike Noonan presented, and the Board approved, a landscape service contract that extends the contract of GreenRX to provide care and upkeep of the District’s turf and landscape for one year.

2022-23 School Calendar

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Amy Zielinski presented, and the Board approved, the proposed 2022-23 school calendar.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Policy Update

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Julie Helm presented recommended changes to Board Policy JECA-2 - Eligibility to Enroll. Director of Student Services Dr. Derrick Wallace presented recommended Board Policy ACA - Sexual Harassment Under Title IX, recently issued by the Missouri School Boards' Association.

Bus Transportation

Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Dr. Jason Buckner shared information about the proposed bus transportation contracts.

Assessment Data Report

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Amy Zielinski and members of the Curriculum and Instruction Department presented information about the district’s assessment data.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, March 8, 2021. The meeting will be held virtually using Zoom and the Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.

TENTATIVE AGENDA ITEMS FOR MARCH 8

ACTION

• Policy Update

• Bus Transportation

 

INFORMATION

• Prop L Presentation

• Olivette TIF Commission Update

• Summer School Programs

• Meet and Confer

• District Safety and Security Presentation

Board Briefs from February 8, 2021 Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the February 8, 2021 regular Board of Education business meeting. This is an unofficial record. Official minutes of each Board meeting are posted on the district website and are available for viewing at the Administrative Center after the Board approves them, typically two weeks after the meeting.

Click here to view a recording from the February 8 Board Meeting

School Board Appreciation - Dr. Wipke read a proclamation from Governor Parson in recognition of National School Board Appreciation Week, Feb. 14 - 20, 2021. Followed by a video presentation created by the district’s communications team featuring students and staff throughout the district sharing messages of appreciation with our board members in diverse languages.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Olivette TIF Commission - moved to action

Dr. Wipke provided updates about the recent Olivette TIF Commission, and the Board voted two members, Kisha Lee and Andy Bresler, to serve on the commission as representatives on behalf of the district.

Landscape Service Contract

Director of Facilities Mike Noonan presented a proposed landscape service contract that would extend the contract of GreenRX to provide care and upkeep of the District’s turf and landscape for one year.

2022-23 School Calendar

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Amy Zielinski introduced the proposed 2022-23 school calendar.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. The meeting will be held virtually using Zoom and the Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.

TENTATIVE AGENDA ITEMS FOR FEB. 22

ACTION

• GreenRX Contract

• 2022-23 School Calendar

 

INFORMATION

• Policy update

• Summer school programs

• Assessment Data Report/Data Dashboard

• Transportation

Board Briefs from January 25, 2021 Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the January 25, 2021 regular Board of Education business meeting. This is an unofficial record. Official minutes of each Board meeting are posted on the district website and are available for viewing at the Administrative Center after the Board approves them, typically two weeks after the meeting.

Click here to view a recording from the January 25 Board Meeting

Board President Remarks

• I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce our four board candidates who have now been certified. They are: Marissa Rosen, Jennifer Growe Soshnik, Andy Cohen, and Pablo Flinn. There are two seats available in the April 6 election. I learned recently that COVID-19 will no longer be a reason to receive an absentee ballot. We will let you know if that information changes.

• Meet the Candidate Night is March 30 at 6:30 p.m. It will likely be virtual. It will be run by Molly Beck of LHWHS and the Speech and Debate Team. You’ll hear more about how to participate in the coming weeks.

• There are two names that are not on the ballot, and those are Nancy Goldstein and Sheri Glantz. Nancy has served on the Board for nine years, and Sheri has served for 15. We want to recognize them and thank them for their years of dedication and service.

• I want to let you know that there is a Senate bill, SB55, that might put public school districts in harm’s way in a few different areas. I want to provide a few examples of this, and if these resonate with you, you can contact your senator. Included is a measure to be able to recall board members; it would require signatures from 25% of the voter turnout to recall someone. I think this is significant in trying to mitigate our community’s voice in elections. There also is language about scholarship account vouchers, or tax credits, that people can use to pay for private schools and other for-profit virtual schools, and that is tax money taken away from public education. It also discusses charter school expansions and MOCAP, two areas that could affect public schools if the bill were to pass. As I said, there are a few things in the bill that I believe put public school systems in harm’s way. I encourage you to read the bill if any of these factors resonate with you.

Superintendent Remarks

• I want to recognize Nancy and Sheri for your service, we appreciate you. You both put kids first throughout your time on the Board, and I look forward to our next few board meetings where we can continue to celebrate your contributions.

• Before Winter Break we were talking about bringing high school students back into the classroom, and now that we have, it has been a very successful beginning to the semester. We have had a few quarantine situations to this point, and I want to thank our parents and community for their understanding when we have to make the call to quarantine and do contact tracing. I understand this can be a hardship on our families so thank you for your cooperation. Thank you to Ann Body and our nursing staff for their tireless work throughout the pandemic. We may seem overly cautious, but this caution helps us ensure we have little to no transmission and keep schools open.

• I want to highlight Dr. Amy Zielinski and her department for hosting a K-4 Virtual Parent Night earlier this month. It helped us connect with students and families in a virtual setting and share best practices for virtual students. Thank you to everyone who helped make that happen.

• This is not a typical year and we’ve had to make some adjustments to the courses we offer, but I do believe our students still are receiving high-quality education and our teachers and staff are doing an amazing job of balancing everything.

• I recently had the opportunity to attend the MSSA conference, consisting of active and retired superintendents from throughout the region.

• We have set the dates for our Prop L Community Engagement sessions; those are Feb. 17, Feb. 23, March 10, and March 29. We will also schedule school-specific events and neighborhood meetings.

• I’d also like to let the Board know that Harris-Stowe State University reached out to me recently to ask if I would serve on a College of Education Alumni Advisory Council. I look forward to volunteering my time and thoughts in assisting students who wish to become educators.

• I want to spotlight our special educators who are working incredibly hard. Our LECC building actually has more special educators than any other type of teacher; we are fortunate to have so many special educators in our district doing what they love to do every single day. We have started meeting with our special education experts to look at our services and how we can make positive changes that help us continue to support special educators and utilize their strengths. We’ve talked about ways that we can be more inclusive and improve as a district.

INFORMATION ITEMS

COVID-19 Leave Time Resolution - moved to action

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Julie Helm presented, and the Board approved, a resolution that would provide additional paid leave for COVID-19-related absences.

Immunization Memorandum of Agreement - moved to action

Dr. Wipke and District Lead Nurse Ann Body shared information related to the Missouri Immunization Registry Memorandum of Agreement. The Board approved the motion.

Capital Improvement Projects

Director of Facilities Mike Noonan presented information about upcoming projects, including roof improvements at Conway and Spoede Elementary, the Fifth Grade Center, and LHWHS.

Board Training - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Board and Dr. Wipke discussed a proposal outlining the district’s commitment to celebrating diversity and equity as it relates to the overall mission of Ladue Schools.

2020-21 Budget Update

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jason Buckner shared updates relating to the 2020-21 Budget.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. The meeting will be held virtually using Zoom and the Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.

TENTATIVE AGENDA ITEMS FOR FEB. 8

INFORMATION

• School Board Recognition Week

• 2022-23 School Calendar

• Policy Updates