 Superintendent’s Report January 13, 2014

Calendar Change  February 14, 2014  Changes from a regular day of school to a no school for staff or students day  February 20, 2014  Changes from a no school day for staff or students to a regular day of school  Changes were made because Pender is hosting the district wrestling tournament on February 14 & 15

LB 682  Introduced by Senator Jim Scheer of Norfolk  Requires any school district with fewer than 650 students enrolled in grades K-12 for at least two consecutive school years to form an "allied system" with at least three other school districts with fewer than 650 students enrolled in grades K-12 for at least two consecutive school years so that the minimum number of students in the allied system is 1,300 students.

LB 682 (continued)  If the bill passes, the “allied system” will have to be in place by July 1, 2015  The bill requires member school districts of an allied system to participate in an interlocal agreement, which must include, at a minimum, the following terms:  The superintendent of each school district in the allied system is deemed the representative of his/her district to the allied system;  Each district in the allied system must have the same yearly calendar and daily schedule, except for extracurricular activities;  All employees of each school district would remain employees of the district and their contracts would be negotiated through such district; and  No district in an allied system may move into another allied system if the change would reduce the student population in its original allied system below 1,300 students in grades K-12.

LB 682 (continued)  Within one year after July 1, 2015, the representatives of the school districts in an allied system must meet and create a common calendar and schedule that would be implemented beginning with school year  The bill does not require the school districts in an allied system to combine or coordinate revenue, spending, taxation, state aid, or any other elements relating to finances.

LB 682 (continued)  Senator Scheer’s Intent  It will not force districts to collaborate beyond creating similar time schedules.  The intent and hope is that districts will, through the creation of uniform schedules, cooperate to expand learning opportunities for students.  For instance, a school in the Panhandle can align with a school in Northeast Nebraska to expand class offering to include an AP calculus or French class. This class could use modern technology and digital learning to stream instruction across the state.  The bill targets smaller districts because those students are nor always afforded the same options as students in larger districts in terms of class offerings.  Senator Scheer's hope would be a greater cooperation and collaboration among the districts within the allied system.

Treadmill  PPS has owned the treadmill in the weight since July of 2009  In other words, it is in its 5 th year of use  It has been repaired various times over the course of its life in the weight room  It was repaired again over the winter break  The next time it needs to be repaired, I am confident that it is in our best interest to replace it  It will cost the district $3,000 or less to replace it

Textbook Purchases  A rotation has been drafted  Goal: Replace textbooks every 5 to 7 years  See next slide  Will be further discussed at the Board Retreat

Apple Server Problem  Apple server went down sometime after January 3 at 4:00 pm but before January 6 at 8:00 am  The problem was significant, but we are going to be able to move forward with way less problems than we could have  See next slide…

JAMF  Originally schedule for January 2 and 3  Did not happen because the person responsible for installing the system got stuck in an airport  Rescheduled for January 15 and 16  This date is being rescheduled to allow the district time to rebound from the server problem  New engagement date  March 19 and 20  We are all looking forward to the implementation of this system

Safety Inspection  Completed December 13, 2013  Areas of concern  Exit signs  Parking  Overall, the district is in great condition and it is a very safe place for students to attend  Tony Crippen earned extremely high praise from the safety inspector  Congrats, Tony!!  Tony truly does do an excellent job!

Filing Deadline  Incumbent – February 15  Non-Incumbent – March 1  Up for re-election  Dan Wichman  JJ Maise  Matt Peters

Remind 101  Mass notification system I would like to use (experiment) with the Board of Education  Designed for use in the educational setting  More specifically it is designed to be used by teachers, administrators, coaches, activity sponsors, etc.

Remind 101

Twitter  A decision was made last week to create a Twitter account for PPS  Powerful communication tool that can be used in many ways (real time activities updates, calendar changes, weather related school changes, etc.)  Available to anyone, but all “followers” must be approved  All interested people are encouraged to “follow” the account  Twitter Account Information  Title: Pender Public Schools  Screen Name: pendragonupdate  School personnel are more than willing to help anyone learn how to follow PPS