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
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AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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