For the students who want to pursue their post-high school endeavors a little early – whether it’s by going to college, in ser–vice of their country or employ–ment to better themselves – they were provided an opportunity to do so.
The graduate requests were the main highlight of the latest South Central Calhoun Board of Directors’ monthly meeting, held on Sept. 16 in the Media Room of South Central Calhoun High School in Lake City.
Tech Director Julia Jacobs also met with the school board to detail the summer projects taken by the district, approved the staff contract language to assess a penalty for late resignations and passed the list of the annual appointments.
The meeting lasted one hour and 48 minutes.
proving the agenda, the Pledge of Allegiance and the SCC Mission Statement, the board was provided a transportation report and a reminder that the Iowa Association of School Boards’ annual convention is set for Nov. 20 and Nov. 21 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
Within the transportation report, the district bus mileage was 2.71 per mile.
Following the transportation report, Amy Westcott met with the school board. Westcott, who represented the Fine Arts Boosters, provided updates to support the band, music, aca–demic decathlon and other artprograms.
The Fine Arts Boosters arealso aiming to partner with the school with updates to the auditoriums at SCC High School in Lake City and at SCC Middle School in Rockwell City.
The school board met with six early graduates. While the board and SCC Superintendent Jeff Kruse recommended that the graduates could take college courses while in high school, the board wished them well in their respective roads ahead.
“The biggest thing about you all is that you have a plan,” Vice-President Roger McKinney said.
The board then approved of the early graduates, and went on to the administrative reports.
Starting with Kruse, the SCC Superintendent on the staff of the SELF Center, which started on Sept. 23. Kruse also relayed inspection changes and a fee in–crease for school vehicles.
Kruse also reported that the concession stands will now have to follow health procedures. Of the concession stands, only the SCC Middle Schools’ conces–sion stand would need renovations to meet health standards.
The RVTV Cy-Hawk Block Party, which took place on Sept. 11 in Rockwell City, was then discussed. Kruse mentioned that school unity was seen dur–ing the broadcast, which has been a major strength to South Central Calhoun.
There will also be a big change with the raising of the gym walls at SCC Elementary School, which will include a temporary parking lot for up to40 cars.
Up next was Jacobs who pro–vided the Technology Update. Over the course of the summer, the district had conduct–ed post-virus cleanup, updated computers and its database. The Creative Suite was installed at the high school, along with new Macs in the adjacent Mac Lab. The high school also re–ceived a free 3D printer via a CTE Regional Planning Part– nership.
The Middle School and Elementary saw added tech tubs and new WiFi networks for both schools.
Future plans, according to Jacobs, include increased Wi- Fi access and upgrading the Wi-Fi in the high school build–ing. Currently, the Elementary School is still dealing with slower Wi-Fi compared to the last school year.
Other projects include new camera systems, door systems and HVAC.
Following Jacobs’ updates, SCC Principal Randy Martin issued his report. Martin re–ported that students have taken advantage of the post secondary enrollment and are doing well. The enrollment mark at the High School enrollment is at 250, and it's a redistricting year for football districts.
Martin relayed the events of the first day of school. Chem–istry instructor John Olson also received praise from a parent of a recent graduate, and the stu–dents are frequently using the Creative Suite.
SCC Middle School Principal Mark DeMoss was up next with his report. DeMoss spoke about the benefits of the SELF Center and on the inservice activities that support it. According to DeMoss, the room is dedicated to social and emotional learning, along with decompressing, re-centering and refocusing.
“It’s been very positive,” DeMoss said. “Some kids just know they need to be there at a certain time of the day. It’s working out nicely. There’s a lot of different layers there to help support kids.”
DeMoss also reported on the middle school’s new approach to the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s now conducted over the intercom. DeMoss praised the move, as it promoted American values.Rooms are also having Ameri-can f lags installed.
DeMoss also stated that enrollment is currently sitting at 308, which is not a big change. Those numbers include a solid number of kids participating in extra curricular activities.
SCC Elementary School Principal Nicole McChesney issued her report. In it, McChesney announced that Dollar General provided a grant to support Title I reading programming. According to McChesney, the community was selected for a pilot named “Lemonade for Life,” which is an open training session to equip professionals to support needy families.
“We’re excited about this in–coming program,” McChesney said.
McChesney also said that the concrete walls are being in–stalled for the new gymnasium at the elementary school, and that arrival and dismissal dur–ing construction has also went smoothly.
The board then delved into a discussion on its Wellness Policy. It was changed last year, and board member Jason Hawkins had strong feelings about it. The change dealt with lessening recess time as a form of discipline for younger students.
After approving the consent agenda, the board passed the certified staff language to assess a penalty for late resignations. Before doing so, the board considered using the potential fines to support SCC’s own staff.
The board then approved the Special Education Deficit for fiscal year 2019, following a lengthy discussion, and approved appointments for the school year. Contracts, which included a dance team instructor pending endorsement and prom sponsor were then passed by the board.
Before adjourning, the board reviewed SMART Goals. Those goals would be to encourage students to open enroll to South Central Calhoun, an open forum, inviting students to share info about their expe–rience at SCC and an annual meeting to examine SMARTgoals.
