 Superintendent’s Report October 13, 2014

Northeast Community College Visit  Friday, September 19  Dr. Michael Chipps – President  John Blaylock – Vice President of Educational Services  Makala Williams – Director of Early Entry Programs  Derek Bierman – Vice President of Technology Services  These individuals visited or planned to visit most, if not all, area schools  Purpose of the visit  Get acquainted with area schools  Determine if their services were meeting schools’ needs  Hear from schools how they could improve or modify the services they provide

Mind Mixer  Secure community engagement tool designed for many different types of organizations including schools  It would provide us with an avenue to enhance two way communication between school personnel and district patrons  Currently used by Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Boone Central, Omaha, Millard, Norris, and Palmyra  Amongst the many reasons for considering a tool of this nature is for AdvancED accreditation purposes  Pricing  $2,400 for 2 years ($1,200 annually)  $3,000 for 3 years ($1,000 annually)  $3,600 for 4 years ($900 annually)  $4,000 for 5 years ($800 annually)

2014 Valuation  Unadjusted  Cuming County – $ 132,005,057  Thurston County – $ 353,792,402  Wayne County – $ 44,293,602  Total – $ 530,091,061  Adjusted  Cuming County – $ 132,055,082  Thurston County – $ 356,788,522  Wayne County – $ 45,386,968  Total – $ 534,231,342  The 2014 adjusted valuation is what will be used for state aid calculations for the upcoming school year ( ).

Nurse Hours  Effective July 1, 2012, LB 260 (2011) required schools to implement concussion protocols for student-athletes.  The law was refined and a return to learn requirement was added to the law.  This has created a large workload for schools when a student sustains an injury.  Pender utilizes the school nurse for a majority of the work associated with the new return to learn protocols.  The new expectations combined with a large number of diagnosed concussions has increased the workload for Pender’s school nurse.  This is being reported for two reasons.  The school nurse may need to be paid for more hours for the current work agreement.  The school nurse’s work agreement may need to be modified by increasing the total number of hours.

Transportation  A transportation study will begin soon  If purchasing busses was to materialize, it is important to get moving soon

Fall Sports Participation Numbers  Cross Country  Boys – 5 (started with 7)  Girls – 5 (started with 5)  Football – 23  Golf – 2 (started with 3)  Volleyball – 19 (started with 20)  Total - 56

AdvancED Accreditation  The external visit is tentatively scheduled for April 21 (evening only), 22, and 23  Preparation for the visit picked up steam since the last Board of Education meeting  Student Performance Diagnostic  Analysis of student achievement data  Completed during October 10 in-service  Student Achievement Plan Diagnostic, November 7  Address areas in need of improvement  Will be completed during November 7 in-service

AdvancED External Visit Timeline

NSAA Conference Call  The Omaha Tribal Council issued a statement on October 6 regarding a reported incident involving an Omaha Nation bus.  On October 9, the Omaha Tribal Council directed Omaha Nation and Walthill to initiate a conference call with the NSAA and Pender regarding future extra-curricular activity competitions.  A conference call is scheduled on October 20 at 1:00 pm.  It is my understanding that Omaha Nation and Walthill do not want to compete against Pender in any future extra-curricular activities.

Security Cameras  As has been mentioned in a Weekly Report, I think it is in the school district’s best interest to explore the idea of security cameras.  I would like to know if this is something I should continue to investigate.