Our Hallsville school board met yesterday (8/4) evening to do a couple of things including to prepare the tax rate. You'll recall that the district voluntarily "rolled back" some of our authorized amounts in previous years. Due to state-budget shortfalls last year and this year totaling nearly $700,000, by ending the voluntary rollback, this helps make up approximately $50,000 per year.
Now, for the school year. There are strong opinions on school re-openings. I feel for our teachers, administrators, staff, from top to bottom. From trying to figure out when/how students should wear masks to help mitigate potential spread to teachers preparing not only for in-person teaching but for the scenario that may play out if all-virtual returns. These are not easy solutions and everyone has opinions. There's also added tensions around privacy concerns if there is a suspected positive test. Our staff are in an impossible position. I'm imploring our community to be patient, understanding, and not be frustrated at our staff --- but at the process and the situation. There's no good answers here. Our guidance from leaders at all levels is minimal at best. Our teachers are not medical professionals. Our staff is not making the recommendations. Our students and staff are stuck in the middle of a societal and political vortex. While we want the pandemic to be over, it's important we not oversimplify it. It's important that we be flexible and know our educators want what's best for the kids. What's best is: safety, learning to take place, growth in social-emotional areas, health, and much more. The pandemic has caused this things to all be in conflict with one another --- pitting one against the other in a very direct way for the first time in our lifetimes. The reality is that these issues not only are in conflict with one another at this time but they are competing interests. Topics of conversation last night took place around virtual participation in athletics, possibly delaying the start of school, and the implementation plans. We will be meeting again next week to discuss this possibility. After talking to a few teachers, there appears to be a need for some more preparations this year in the uniqueness of the pandemic and balance of preparing this year vs a typical year. That, coupled with lots of families traveling in these last few weeks and college students returning---it gives a bit more time to follow trends---holding back a few days to ensure prep-time seems like a smart play. I do think we have to be careful in adjusting the schedule. I do not believe we should consider pushing back the end of school, so maneuvering PLC days, any built-in snow days is critical for me and a delicate balance---knowing these days will likely also be needed as we move forward into the year. For masks, we discussed this as well. It's trending toward being an expectation that students will wear masks in high traffic areas at a minimum and even in some course settings. This is disappointing, sad, frustrating. However, there's tension here. Let's name it. Some people do not believe in wearing masks. In others, it causes health reactions that are unhealthy. We all know that it prevents seeing the emotional responses of each other, which isn't helpful. However, in this short timeframe at least, we must come together for the good. We need to not vilify schools for expecting masks to be warn. At the core, we know very little about the coronavirus. What we know is that masks help protect people if you are an asymptomatic carrier. Do I think we need to wear masks during flu season in a post-COVID world? No. Do I think that the masks would actually help prevent the spread of the flu in a post-COVID world. Yes. However, this is different. This virus is unpredictable, causes potential long-term effects on folks that the flu doesn't. This virus needs us to all be cooperative for the good. In a nutshell, for political people like me, this is a perfect example of: "The Tragedy of The Commons." The tragedy of the commons is the idea where people will act independently, in their own self interest instead of what's best for the common good in a shared space--depleting or using the shared good. We must work to not be a tragedy of the commons and let our self-interest overtake the common good. Real life moment. I don't go out much, all my work has moved virtual. On Sunday at church, I wore a mask for probably 1.5 hours, the longest time I've needed to so. It was horrible. I hated it. I don't want to wear it. I got acne on my face and it sucks. However, I believe the good and believe the urgency at this time. I resist the self interest for the good. It's a hard balance. Sadly, I think it may come down to something like the masks helping slow the spread to keep schools open. I believe and want kids to be in school. I think that's where they need to be for so many reasons. However, if we don't come together and wear masks for the common good, odds are we'll see a huge, widespread of the virus that causes us to shutdown again. There's no good answers. I feel for our students, parents, teachers, and our community. We're all struggling, on edge. On the whole, our mental health buckets need to be refilled. Mine does. It's okay to be worried. It's okay to have questions about all of this. It's okay to wish you had answers when the answers are, "I don't know" or "I can't tell you." It's okay to be sad that the school year will look different for your child who may be a senior, kindergartner, or 5th grader. Know that our board, admin team, and teachers are all trying their best. We've asked them to create magic from the impossible. We all (me included!) have our moments....but I'm going to continue to try to be grace-filled in my opinions, thoughts, and continue to do what we think is best for our children and community. We're stronger together. Thanks for reading. Until next time, Craig
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Unfortunately, I've been slacking on the blog-front for school board. Like most folks, COVID has absolutely changed everything.
Since March, our lives have been put on hold, we've cancelled vacations, are living in an uncertain time and a time where we're more critical of everything. Our Hallsville school board July meeting was this past Wednesday. You can see our agenda here. There really wasn't too much going on this month. We approved the new scoreboards for the Primary gym, matching tables for the Primary school cafeteria, and got a construction update. We've had amazing news on the construction front. As we wind down our 2018 voter-approved bond construction, we have come in (1) under budget and (2) on-time. Being under budget has allowed us to fix other thing around campus including
All of those things could not have been done if we had even been on-budget, but the fact that we were under budget in a significant way---it opened the door to do these needed upgrades to ensure the safety of our children and the longevity of our buildings. As far as being on-time, the board did a walk-through of the Primary Building addition. As of July 15, the classroom wing keys were ready to turn over to us. It looks amazing and will be such a great addition to the building. The colors look good, it's bright, warm, and I'm thrilled for the second graders to experience this later this fall! The gym is getting there, too! The floor is being laid down, delivery of the bleachers is expected in early August, and all signs are continuing to point to being ready by the time classes begin. The locker room, bathroom, concession area also is nearing completion. A few things on the COVID-19 front. First, I've preached the need for grace in this time of COVID, and that grace will be needed as we approach the first day of school. We should be seeing the plans for our buildings in the coming several days or week. Feedback will be solicited from parents and teachers to continue to shape these documents. If you have feedback, please provide it. I know the district will be trying to ensure parents and the community see and can respond to it. We've not been in this experience (a pandemic to this magnitude) in any of our lifetimes and it's critical to be cautious to do a few things:
I have confidence in our teachers, staff, and students to do what they can to mitigate risk of the virus, but this will result in some people thinking the district has gone "too far" and others believing the district has "not done enough." I'll end by saying our staff has almost an impossible job. Everyday, they think about the education of their kids, their home lives, friends, sponsor extracurricular activities, mentor students, and so much more. This year, our staff (like all school staff nationwide) will be on edge more than usual. As parents and a community, let's wrap our arms around them (virtually) with words of support, actions of kindness, and an attitude of thankfulness for their work. From the bus drivers to teachers to paraprofessionals to custodial staff to the food service staff -- this year will look different and they will be even more stressed. I'm hear for each of you. I'm thinking and praying for each of you. Thank you for what you do. Until next time, Craig I've resisted commenting. I've fought the feeling of posting out of posting. Today, I'm writing where outrage, freedom, and being a Christian have collided. I'm typically a positive, optimist, thrill seeker. Today, I struggle and am in pain.
Let's start with being a Christian. Like so many others, when the murder of George Floyd happened, I was disappointed, saddened, even angry. Did I say anything? No. Not because I didn't care. It's because I didn't have anything new to add. Protests began, looting and violence started. Partisan politics ramped up. Then, yesterday evening, in a 7-minute video, President Trump walked from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church--200 year old church which was vandalized and looted in previous nights. Prior to this 7-minute walk, to disburse the crowd for this visit, police used tear gas, rubber bullets to clear the way of a peaceful protests. Literally, priests, pastors, and peaceful protesters were fired upon--to clear the way. Then what happened? President Trump walked up, held a Bible for two photo-ops. As a Christian, this is where I've decided: enough is enough. I admit to you, I'm angry because I'm nostalgic. I spent 3+ years making trips to Washington D.C. and nearly every trip, I stayed 4 blocks away from this church. I was (and am) in awe-of this piece of our nation's history as as Christian, leader, and citizen. The idea that this church was vandalized combined with being used as a photo-op sent me over the edge. Would I feel different if I felt like President Trump actually read the Bible or attended a church service regularly? Maybe. President George W Bush, it has been reported, attended St. John's church nearly every Sunday. I wonder what he thinks about the photo-op? I'm sure he's even more nostalgic of the church than I. However, this act feels cheap. It feels cold. It feels only for political purposes. Outrage. We all should be outraged at what happened to George Floyd. His death is murder. His death shows the biases that still exist in our world. His death showcase the privilege that I have--where I can joke that when I'm going 77 miles per hour on highway 63 to Jefferson City: if most others are going close to the same speed, is a police officer really going to choose to pull over a white dude in a Prius? This, my friends, is privilege. I can joke about it, but I guess it may be to cover the outrage of the situation. I'm outraged that our systems of government cannot pivot to create better accountability systems for the abuses that take place in our justice system. I'm outraged our systems protect the institution instead of promoting transparency, openness, and truth. I'm outraged that a friend of mine couldn't go out for a run at 5:30AM today because curfew ended at 6AM and he is black and was worried. Would I have been worried? Or even given it a second thought? We all should be outraged at these things. I'm outraged for my friends who are law enforcement officers who are Christ-followers, amazing husbands and wives who protect us, are the first to arrive in an emergency to help, or to be a mediator in a time of crisis. We should be outraged. Freedom. Here's where partisanship way too often has come into play. We've all seen it on our social media feeds. It goes like this:
You may be thinking: Craig, get to the point. Here it is: As citizens and for those of us who are Christians---we should use our freedom to exercise our outrage in what's happening to our society. We're being pulled apart at the seams by a President who tear gassed pastors for a photo op and by people taking advantage of protests to cause violence. Policymakers are being pulled in a cultural tug-of-war instead of working to create lasting change that improves our society. It's time to create a plan for solutions to bloom. Christians can love freedom, be outraged, and create change. I believe it. Do you? What can or should we do as Christians? We can pray. We can open our Bibles and read the hope that is seen in the Gospels and in the Early Church. We can use our voice to show solidarity with the injustices of humanity's wrongs. We can be in dialogue with someone who disagrees with us--seeking to understand their perspective and not to just convince them they are wrong. We can use our resources to help those in need. We can be okay with being and doing the uncomfortable things. I submit to you that if Christians do these three things as in Micah 6:8, we can and will create change in our society. We can seek justice. We can love mercy. We can humbly walk with God. Or, if we want a New Testament lesson: One of the beautiful themes of the Apostle Paul's letters to Christians at Corinth, Rome, Galatia, Philippi, and others is one of unity. The collision of outrage, freedom, and Christianity has caused disunity among us. It's time we act, become unified again to refocus on teachings in Scripture, not partisan politics. I'm going to spend the next few days thinking of how I can love my neighbor better, seek justice for the injustices, maintain my humility to God while being a voice for and acting on a call of unity. Will you join me? The Hallsville Board of Education met virtually on Monday evening, by Zoom, for our April meeting. The meeting agenda and items can be found here. The work of the district continues and construction is plowing forward on the Primary Building additions for an on-schedule timeframe of completion. We spent some time talking about the rest of the year's budget and began initial conversations around next year's budget, which we will approve likely in June. With the economic ramifications of COVID-19 uncertain, it's important for the teachers, staff, and community to know two things: 1) the district is in a good financial position at this time and 2) I believe the admin team and the board will be both conservative in our next budget but also take on targeted expenses intended on improving outcomes such as adding additional paraprofessional support where needed. Our district patron's generosity combined with conservative spending has allowed our district to climb from reserve funds of 15-ish% to 33+%. There's a very realistic likelihood that state funding will be cut. We are prepared and I'm grateful that our district is in a position that we're in. We have reserves for times like this, but we will remain cost-conscious. It's become cliche to think and describe as a society how we have had to pivot and are spending our time. The word that comes to mind is change. Our world changed. Our lives changed. It's time that we be real with each other. The novelty of working from home, if fortunate enough to do so, has possibly worn off. Children and families are growing more worried as time goes by and delays are seen in unemployment benefits being received or children stressed. I was on a work-related call and someone noted that their 7th grader was worried about when she was going to get her items from her locker. This 7th grader isn't a Hallsville student but is a microcosm of what our kids are feeling. Generally speaking, our students wonder and are stressed about things like when they will be able to get their belongings from their lockers. While this may seem petty to us adults, their lockers, remember, are their worlds. It's what they can control. And they may not have access to part of their identity. While not Hallsville-specific, it's what our kids are going through. Our kids' normal has been upended. Like you, they don't know what to expect tomorrow. They realize that we as parents, teachers, and administrators aren't in full control and live in the uncertainty like them. We see our children's stress in possible anger, frustration, apathy, saddness, or other ways. Now is the time to talk to our children and students in age-appropriate ways about their feelings. It's also, I think, in age-appropriate ways with our older kids, to talk about how this is stressful on us as adults. Our older students are going to be adults as we blink our eyes, and we can grow together with our children during this time. Before we can have that conversation with our kids, we have to acknowledge it to ourselves and each other. So.....I'll start. I acknowledge my stress to you. Stress of not knowing what's in store. Of wanting to be around friends and family. I feed off of this energy, and I'm feeling somewhat depleted. I want to help people, but even (in my world) advocating and getting the best policies passed doesn't take away the stress of us all. It leaves me feeling disappointed. We all had expectations for this spring that have obviously been upended. It's natural to be disappointed in the unmet expectations that we aren't going to experience because of COVID-19. It's even more important to know our children's expectations at all levels got changed and it's okay for them (and us!) to be disappointed. It is disappointing that prom doesn't look the same or that the teaching idea you worked so hard to perfect this spring won't be seen by your students. It's disappointing that our children who are most at-risk are yearning to be with friends and family. There's so much to be disappointed about and we need to take time to acknowledge and feel that disappointment. Then, what can we do with this disappointment? Is it too Pollyanna-like to think about the joy? I was skeptical. I had a great experience on a work Zoom call (one of the million!) on Thursday. It was an early childhood call with Kansas City providers. During our introductions, we were asked to share a joy or positive thing we've experienced during these times. Answers varied from more time at home with seniors or upper-classmen in high school or returning college students to cleaning and prioritizing their own personal spending in these times of uncertainty. For a few child care providers who remained open it was the joy of being able to truly focus on those children they were still serving instead of feeling rushed when their workload/capacity is full. How are you seeing joy in these times? As an extrovert and typical-optimist, it's tough to find the silver-lining---even for me. I'm seeing joy in generosity in others and in myself. Does it overcome the disappointment and stress? Not a lot of the time -- but it was fantastic to slow down and recognize how fast time is going by with Sebastian. It has made me realize where I get joy: from people. It's made me figure out how to find at least some joy in the things when I can't be around people (non-family). Change has created stress, disappointment, and I hope at least some joy in your life and in those closest to you. Let's continue to learn what it takes to be thankful for change. Even thought I don't normally have to think twice about being joyful---during these times, I do. I'll work on seeing the joy during these times and mentoring those students and children around me. Will you join me? I leave you with two songs: "All For One" sung by the US Army Voices. I love this message It's one of mutual sadness and suffering but one of togetherness. I As a Bruce Springsteen fan, I leave you with a cover of The Rising, sung by Angel City Chorale as a finalist from America's Got Talent a few years back. This gives me chills every time I listen. Until next time, Craig Wow. Just 6 weeks ago, our community was as divided due to the four-day school week conversations. Today, we wonder when (even, perhaps, if) our children will return to school for the remainder of the school year.
The board met as the COVID-19 virus was just beginning to make news and impact schools. It was one of the shortest meetings I've encountered. Still, please check out the board information. There's obviously lots of unknowns with where we are at. If you are a policy nerd like me, here is DESE's COVID-19 page with guidance as it's happening. Not trying for a shameless plug, but if you're more of a policy-nerd like me, my employer (Kids Win Missouri) has setup a COVID-19 webpage with resources and updates that we'll be updating weekly on Fridays of federal, state, and other updates. We're obviously early in this fight against COVID-19 with many more questions than answers on everything. As I sit here trying to write something unique or to provide a different perspective I've settled on a message to our community, faculty, staff, and administrators. Here goes: Now, more than ever, we grapple as a community with things that our educators have seen and deal with on a daily basis:
My point? Our school is more than a place where learning happens. Our schools battle our society's most difficult issues every single day---at every age level and building on our campuses. Now, with schools being out, as a society, we have to pick up the difference. We're doing some of this. The food outreach has been awesome. I'm prayerful that over the next 30+ days it can be kept-up. However, our child abuse and neglect hotline is reporting 50% of the normal call volume. During economic difficulties, abuse and neglect rises---and we're seeing half the reports compared to when when things are going well. Parents are becoming teachers. I'll speak for myself and say that balancing trying to work + have a 20-month old at home....is difficult...let alone trying to teach/be present with him. While we can "go for a walk" -- that doesn't help those of us who don't have sidewalks and we're not supposed to use park equipment. Our teachers, administrative team, and support staff all contribute to making our society whole in ways way beyond the fact that kids are in our buildings from roughly 8AM-3PM. They change their lives. Staff: I see the work you do under normal circumstances and I see the ways you are reaching out to your students....and I'm grateful. I know our community is. To all of our students (who likely won't read this message at all--I'm aware): My message to you as a board member would be: I'm sorry. I'm sorry this upended your lives. All adults remember some aspects of their schooling experience and I think it's safe to say that when this is said and done: you won't ever forget this time, and the educational changes you are "guinea pigs of" with technology and more may be setting the stage for significant changes in how education is done for years to come. To any seniors who may see this (or their parents): The board hasn't discussed what this could mean for graduation, baccalaureate, and other end-of-year activities if it continues. I do want to make no mistake--I have no reason to believe that any of these activities would be cancelled. Who knows what our lives will look like at the end of May---but please know that you won't be forgotten. You deserve to have those experiences somehow, someway, at sometime. We are a community and a social people. We all must find ways to "practice self-care." Our own mental, physical, and spiritual health will be incredibly important as we move into a period of continued physical separation from each other as a community. Reach out to neighbors. Reach out to friends. Reach out to family. We are able to do things now with our loved ones that we couldn't have envisioned just a few short weeks ago. Let's utilize it. Let's create memories with our children, families, and friends (virtually, distancing ourselves) that we wouldn't do otherwise. This forced slow-down and limited travel reminds me so much of my love of the people in Mozambique who purposefully live a life that is less rushed, more full of family and neighborhood relationships, and who cherish every moment given to each other every day. During COVID-19, in these ways, we are living life in ways that God intended us to. I'm going to be thankful for it and keep my social distancing as much as possible. Will you join me? The last 24-hours have been a whirlwind. 10+ hours of work, 2 hours of driving, 3ish hours of a school board meeting, 1 skipped workout but was still awake at 4:30AM, way too much time spent on social media between 10PM-7AM. Tried to spend 30ish-minutes of quality time with my son this morning. Trying to write this blog before I need to hit the road for work again. You get the jist and probably experienced something similar.
I want to start with a few quotes I found about disagreements that rang true as I needed some positive energy to write this. Remember, for context, I live in a world of disagreements, advocacy, politics (the good and bad)....but I needed to read these after the past 14 hours. "One of the truest signs of maturity is the ability to disagree with someone while still remaining respectful." "Most disagreements are caused by different perceptions that created different realities." "I connect with people who have a lot in common with me. But I admire people based on how they react when we don't agree with each other. Disagreeing gracefully is an art and I'm still learning it." You know this, but for this upcoming school year (2020-2021), the board voted to stay at our 5-day school calendar. Teachers feel betrayed, angry, sad, not supported. Language used on social media includes: this is a "slap in the face" to teachers, comments surrounding "what's the point of surveys?", beliefs that board members had "their own agenda" and noting that the vote was largely around gender lines and that it was a ridiculous decision. There's comments about pitchforks. There's comments about going on strike. There's jokes (maybe real?) about valued teachers leaving or looking elsewhere for jobs. There have been emails I have received who have commented that critics of the 4-day week are people who haven't lived in Hallsville for long and may be transient or move in a few years---so why should we not listen? We were told as folks left the board meeting that we should feel ashamed for voting the way we did. There are comments about being power-hungry and that's why those of us are on the board serve. Isn't the elected-life glamorous? It pains my soul to see these things. I was in the majority. I'm a male. These comments, while not directed pointedly at me, are about me. It sure don't feel good. I speak for myself and I think the whole board when none of us took the decision lightly. The board's decision, regardless, was going to make people unhappy. I work in politics everyday and of course, even our legislators have to make choices everyday on what's based on the most popular opinion, their gut, or other information presented. This type of decision making can come across maybe as paying attention to "special interests" or "their own agendas" but it's how our democratic republic works. I assure you I have no "special interests" or "my own agenda" except for trying to do what's best for our whole community. I hope and trust that as our teachers mourn this demoralizing event, that my commitment to them---their morale--their well-being can be reconciled with me. I've supported and worked to ensure we work with the community to ensure teachers are able to have salary increases, better and more appropriate technology for today's students, sent emails during teacher appreciation weeks as a board member to each building. participated as much as possible in the back-to-school welcome-days with staff, worked to try to get the Hallsville Foundation up and going, and most importantly---tried to support the teachers whom have loved on and supported my children at all levels of the educational spectrum as they've been in school. I have worked very hard and intentionally to fill the cup of our teachers who are under appreciated, under paid, and who fill so many additional roles other than "teacher." I would say coming off of a tough vote like this is the hardest part for 'elected officials' and is why they avoid those who disagree with them. It's awkward. Part of my own growth is recognizing emotions of mine better. In being fully transparent, I've got to say, while I was in the majority on the board vote----this morning, I wake up feeling like I'm on an island, probably, like many of our teachers. I feel a bit like I've been beat down myself after reading responses of how teachers feel because, as I said above, I've spent my entire time on the board truly, and genuinely trying to balance what's best for teachers, students, and our community. I don't write this as a rebuttal, critique of teachers, or to justify my actions. I don't write this to seek attention, affirmation, or pats on the back from folks who agreed with how I voted. I don't write this to "poke and prod" or open the wounds from yesterday. I'm writing this to say: teachers---I feel your pain. I feel your frustration. I understand you feel like a ton of work has been done by many of you to learn and dive into this issue---and that feels all for naught after last night. I'm sorry for that feeling. I've been on the board 3-years now and I do feel like we've come a long ways from where we were in 2015/2016. We have had forward momentum. We've done good things for our students, teachers, and community in the past three years. I hope we can continue to move forward and that we can reconcile with one another---as a board---as a community member (me)---and you---and as many teachers and community members as friends. Yesterday, we disagreed on an issue. It may not be the last, but it's probably the first (at least that I'm aware of?). That doesn't mean that I'm intentionally or wanting it to feel like the feelings you are feeling aren't true or sincere. That doesn't mean that I ignored the survey data. The board and community have talked about finding our "Hallsville edge" in continued recruitment of high quality teachers and this will continue to be a priority of the board as we move forward. My leading quotes about disagreement may be cliche, and ending with one about adversity may be too---but I still feel like it's worth sharing: "We don't develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity." Our community is stronger and bigger than this issue. Today, I need to say that. Do you believe it? Maybe not. Do I believe it? As of this moment, I'm not sure myself. However, I trust that as time goes on and we do reconcile as a community---that we are bigger and stronger than this issue. I love this community, our teachers and staff, and am grateful for the opportunity to be on the board. Be safe out there today as the snow comes in. Until next time. Craig Well, life happened to me. I didn't get a blog-post up for December. Long post alert, too. This may be my longest post I've done.
If you missed it, please do check out the agenda and items attached to the agenda. The biggest news here is that the board voted to refinance some of our bonded funds, resulting in a savings of 5.99%--more than $225,000. For January's meeting, held on Monday (writing on Saturday), I encourage you to check out and read the bond project updates. We are approximately 40% of the way through the project, on time, on budget, and haven't had any major cost overruns, hiccups, or unforeseen circumstances. The board is beginning to discuss what other projects around the campuses can be done with the remaining bond proceeds. The administrative team has come up with a list of items that are their priorities and they are here. The board will continue to be good stewards of our resources provided. We also approved $54,000 in technology upgrades to ensure our students have access to the appropriate and needed tools to succeed. We also approved the ballot, and with three candidates and three positions, we won't have an April Hallsville School Board Election. While I only can speak for myself, I am grateful for another term and hope that by not having a contested election----that this shows our district is headed in the right direction and the community agrees. We've worked hard at transparency, fiscal responsibility, student-focused, and doing what's right by our faculty and staff. Now, to the elephant. The conversation starter of the year. The thing everyone has opinions on: 4-Day School Week. For those of you who haven't followed or visited lately, be sure to check our our district resource page. This is full of good information and shows how our district has worked to be transparent, inclusive, and deliberative. We will have a special board meeting on February 4th at 6:00PM to discuss and vote on this issue. It's fair to say that while the vote will likely not be unanimous, either way, we'll move forward as a full board. This issue, while an important one, needs to wrap-up, and we need to turn our attention back to working toward our long-term vision, mission, and planning toward student success continues. You all know I'm active at the policy-level. Leaders in education at the state level have been asked about the growth of 4-day school weeks in the capitol. The state board of education heard a presentation about it in January at their board meeting. Let me quickly generalize the issue. Generalizing runs the risk of painting too broad of a picture...but please bear with me as I truly am meaning to try to be fair:
Let me be clear: our faculty and staff are an incredible asset to our community and children. I've had children in high school and primary settings, and I can't tell you the amount of love our staff have poured into them. It's been humbling and so important in their lives---even when they were only in our community for a 1 school year each. For more than a year now, I have been a skeptic, concerned about food insecurity, child care, outcomes for students, wanting to be research focused, at-risk families, etc. As a district, just because someone around us is doing it---doesn't make it right for us. It doesn't make it wrong for us. For many in the community, you may have felt like this whole process was a sham, a slam-dunk, a done-deal. Let me assure you, it isn't, it hasn't been a done-deal. Now, where do I stand: I'm still a skeptic. Could information between now and February change my mind? I hope and have confidence that I'm not that closed-minded. However, here's where I am:
We'll see where we land, what (if any) additional information we are presented with. These are my hesitations, concerns, and gut feelings. One of the great things about our board is that we all have different perspectives and considerations. I may be on the losing or on the winning end of the vote. Either way, the board will need move forward to continue to be tweaking our major strategic planning documents and direction for the growth and betterment of our kids. I'm sure many of you disagree with the points that I've raised, and that's absolutely fine. I'm grateful for the ability and trust placed in me and know there will be many issues where we align and think alike. Either way, I'm always happy to visit by email, phone, or in person on any issue regarding our district. The board has a desire, regardless of the outcome of this vote, to move forward with working to ensure our students are setup to succeed, that our teachers are supported, that our community is confident in the education our children are receiving. Until next time, Craig Hey Friends! Busy time in the Hallsville School District, isn't it? Not only is it coming up on Thanksgiving-week, but we're District Champions in Football and have the high school play happening! It sounds like the community is buzzing about two things with the board, so I'll address those first: rumors about lazy teachers and updates around the 4-day school week. Word has spread that there is a belief among important folks that there is a belief that teachers are lazy. Let me try to help set the record straight. I think I am speaking for each board member when I say: none of us think or even thought that teachers are lazy. Even if touchpoints with teachers are rudimentary---it's easy to understand and see additional burdens put on them from the rules/regulatory side to helping students deal with mental health issues to a feeling of pressure of ensuring student outcome improvements. Statistics prove that fewer parents want their children to become teachers, and that broad respect for the profession has decreased significantly in the past 20 years. The State Board of Education sees this, and is trying to address it. This decreasing respect for the teaching profession has led to teaching shortages, especially in key areas. There is a belief that some folks may be opposed to the idea of the 4-day school week because our teachers are lazy and only want to work four-days. Again, I think I'm speaking for the full board when I say: This belief is not held by any board members or of the admin team. I hate that this has been the sentiment of the week, though. Now, to the 4-day school week. The district has a website here, dedicated to showcasing options. This week, Fayette announced they are moving to a four-day week next year. Our district has been methodologically working our way to fully understanding this issue. This includes understanding benefits to staff, student outcome data, added burdens of child care and food security, and even practically looking at draft calendars (which can be found on the website referenced above). Our admin team has committed to whatever calendar we approve that the number of instructional hours must remain the same or very close to it. Even after being in the policy world professionally---I learned something at the board meeting on Monday about this issue. I had not considered the impact to our special education programs and services to children being served in this area. I wish there was solid research here. This is super interesting as we think about student outcomes and we cannot forget how these families will be impacted. I also hadn't really thought about outcomes related to student activities and logistics around scheduling/transporting students at the various levels. For example, is it overly burdensome to ask a middle scool parent to be responsible for both drop-off and pickup of their child in activities on Mondays? Is this an unjust burden when? It's something to consider for our families with fewer resources. Obviously, districts that have made this change have adjusted---but it's something we can't forget. What we're learning and exploring is: does this make sense for us. Lots of folks have opinions, but I hope that as we move forward---and whatever decision is decided--that the community believes that we've been prudent to understand the issue and not rush into this decision. There is a community forum on December 3rd from 6-8PM at the Intermediate Commons. I encourage you to attend. I will not be in attendance due to being in Israel for a trip with my ordination process in the Methodist church. I look forward to hearing how it goes and the feedback that is given, though. Our timeframe for making a calendaring decision is the January meeting. In the end, we'll have to make a decision, and I hope and know our community will move forward---nomatter which side folks may be on. Something that will remain on my and most if not all of the board member's minds will be how can we create our Hallsville "edge" (shout-out to Bryan) for recruiting faculty and staff. Taking a hard look at our faculty and staff salaries and benefits are a piece of that. When we passed the levy increase in 2017, we knew that if we proved to the taxpayers of the direction and have a successful bond project--that we will need to ensuring our wages and benefits are competitive. Look for more here in the coming months. This week, we celebrated the raising of the handprint beam and I encourage you to check out the Facebook photos. It was pretty cool to watch the students observe the beam that they put their handprints on....and also know that these are students who will benefit from the new gymnasium and classroom space next fall. In other news, here are some news bits:
I hope this is helpful. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for reading! Until next time, Craig MAP Test Scores (APR Results!), Future-focused, 4-Day School Week & Construction Updates!10/22/2019 Our regular meeting in October was held yesterday! There are lots of moving parts. As always, you can find all of the documents for the October 2019 board meeting here.
I want to highlight a few items, first being a few tidbits:
In a nutshell, while our district goal is to get all students to proficient or higher -- if you look at the individual grade level tests, the percentage of students performing "below basic" is much lower than the state average. That means that our teachers and staff are working hard to move students up the continuum from "below basic" to "basic" and then beyond. Kudos to our entire staff on this work. During our Instructional Effectiveness report conversation, we discussed that in the coming months the board will begin the early stages of discussing additional needs within the district. In 2017, when our district passed the tax levy increase, we promised a no-tax-increase bond initiative (underway!) but said that we'd likely be back to voters in the 2021 timeframe for additional needs to remain competitive as a district. We will be discussing what that could look like in the coming months. This also may mean discussing the need for an assistant superintendent. While grumblings will likely take place of the administrative bloat, this is a best practice as well as beginning to think ahead for succession planning for our district in the years to come so that we don't have a leadership void. The board also heard some next steps in the discussion of the school calendar for next year, related to exploring a 4-day school week specifically. You can find that report here and you can find a ton of resources at Dr. Turner's (professor at Missouri State) website here. Next steps? A focus group has been formed that includes community members, faculty, staff, parents, child care providers, and board members. They will begin to meet a few times to discuss, explore, ask questions about what this could mean for us--if we moved in that way for our community. Lastly, there's some exciting things going to happen in the next few weeks in the Primary School construction project! Check out the full report here. The steel structures/frames will be arriving in the coming several weeks with a potential "topping out" or last beam in place on Nov. 19th with a celebration possibly happening with the community at that time. Keep that on your radar as you'll see a crane and hopefully see the first of this taking place on November 4th. The board also spent some time discussing the other facilities projects. Utilizing some of the services we have underway that could save potential duplication of funds---the administrative team will begin exploring more firm costs on items such as keyless entries, ensuring our football field becomes ADA compliant, roofing issues at the high school, and possibly other projects. Assuming we remain on budget (as we currently are) we will have approximately $200,000 remaining plus significant funds in our capital projects account to utilize to fill other minor projects across the campuses. I think that's all for now. It's a pleasure to serve on the board and I'm grateful for the trust you place in myself and the rest of the board. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Until next time, Craig MSBA Conference: Special Education Refresher, State Budget Update, Homeless Students, & More!9/30/2019 For the third time, I've been fortunate enough to represent Hallsville at the Missouri School Board Association's Annual Meeting. You all know me well enough by now (I hope!) that I really enjoy these policy things.
It started on Friday, where I attended a breakout on the "ABC's of Special Education." This was led by two attorneys, and I found it incredibly useful. From discussing individualized educational plans (IEPs), behavioral interventions, child find (locating, evaluating, helping, children with disabilities), or lease restrictive environments, I found this incredibly helpful. It's so important that board members stay updated and not forget about the 10-15% of our student population who participate have IEPs or 504 plans. Then, I nerded out a bit, going to a packed room with Jim Moody presenting on the budget outlook for the state. I won't bore you here except with one takeaway. I watch the state budget closely with my day-job, and on the surface, it looks like we're doing really good (up 7% from year-over-year). Jim cautioned us, reminding us that last year's budget cycle was not normal and he does not expect us to hit consensus revenue estimates at this time. Consensus revenue estimates is the process where the state predicts what growth we will have as a tax base. The last morning session that I attended was put on by DESE, where they went through (very briefly and quickly) their initiatives that included the Biliteracy seal (which we participate in!), MSIP 6, teacher externships, computer science standards, their visiting scholar's teaching certificate, and the trauma schools initiative. I always enjoy the general sessions, and we had a dynamic speaker (as always). Before this, though, Gov. Parson attended and spoke to attendees. During the afternoon, we had a conversation with the state board of education members. It was great to have so many (5) of them in attendance! They discussed concerns around teacher retention, salaries, the school safety task force, MSIP 6, and the culture around teaching. For the culture, the board members noted a survey where the majority of parents do not want their kids to become teachers---which is a first in the survey's history. This shows a lack of respect and/or appreciation for teaching among our broader culture and is problematic. Late afternoon on Friday, MSBA delegates approved the legislative platform for MSBA to advocate on. You can find that document here. On Saturday, I attended sessions on the McKinney-Vento Act, how districts are to treat homeless students. This session was super informative and sadly, did not have many attendees. This article that says that we've (as a state) seen an increase of 3-fold over the past 5 years was the reason I wanted to attend the session. I also attended a session with a colleague on preventing child sexual abuse and will encourage as a part of the PD for the future that we consider bringing the Stewards of Children in to our district to be trained on identifying and preventing child sexual abuse. I took this training as a foster parent and found it useful. The panel discussed the importance of talking and being proactive about preventing child sexual abuse---obviously a topic nobody wants to talk about---but is so needed. At lunch on Saturday, I sat next to the board members and superintendent of Palmyra. It was good to chat with and meet them. I'm grateful for this experience, for continuing my own education to better myself as a board member on behalf of our district. Our next board meeting is Oct 21 at 6PM. Until next time, thank you for reading! Craig |
AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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