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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2004)
The INDEPENDENT, October 7, 2004 Page 15 School Board considers superintendent hiring, meets staff liaison Banks School Board wel- comed the beginning of the new school year with attention to hiring a new superintendent. Doug Nordholm asked for clarification of the superintend- ent search calendar. Superin- tendent Marilyn McGlasson ex- plained that Jon Young, of the Oregon School Boards Associ- ation (OSBA) superintendent search division, would attend the board’s October meeting. At that time he will provide back- ground information and explain the process used by OSBA. Superintendent Evaluation Nordholm proposed a change in the superintendent evaluation procedure because, though current policy requires superintendent evaluations conducted by the board to be completed in July and Febru- ary, none had been received. He suggested that the evalu- ation forms be handed out at the February meeting, followed by a workshop later in February to complete and discuss the evaluations for finalization at the March meeting. This format would require participation of board members, provide for in- formal discussion between the superintendent and the board, and allow the board to reach a consensus regarding the su- perintendent’s evaluation. Nordholm also had ques- tions about the amount of detail of superintendent evaluations that can presented in a public meeting. According to McGlasson evaluation of the superintend- ent “is, arguably, the single most important task of the board.” She said that many boards had become involved in litigation by not following a clear, open process or estab- lished timelines. Both the time- line and the instrument for eval- uation must be approved in a public meeting. OSBA conducts superin- tendent evaluation workshops, and McGlasson advised the board to work with their super- intendent search facilitator to develop a process and adopt a new timeline. Accepting Mc- Glasson’s advice, the board tabled superintendent evalua- tions until new policies can be developed. Plans for Improvement In one of many twists in comparing state report cards and national ratings under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), high school principal Jim Foster reported that, even though fewer students passed the writing assessment, 79 per- cent of them will have achieved the CIM in writing by meeting standards on work samples. These students are not count- ed as having met the standard under NCLB, so the state re- port card will show an improve- ment in writing and the federal Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) report will show a decline. Banks High School contin- ues to make significant pro- gress on meeting the state standards in mathematics. Fos- ter told the board that the sci- ence curriculum has been ad- justed and will be a required subject for all freshman and sophomores. The English de- partment will attend training on the state standards. Junior high principal Mark Everett told the board that he is working with the state to change the initial AYP rating of “Not Met”. After analyzing the results, Everett found that two students were included who were not enrolled at the time of testing. Reducing the number of students used to calculate the percentage of students who met the state standard moved BJHS to a rating of “Met”. An after school Homework Club will continue to be offered to allow additional time in a structured learning environ- ment with access to library books, computers and adult as- sistance. Marty Voge, Banks elemen- tary principal, reported that in- dividual and grade level goals for improvement in reading and math will be identified, a school wide math incentive program will be developed, along with expansion of the reading incen- tive program. Students not meeting standards will be iden- tified and offered a learning lab. Voge told the board that in order to accommodate a large fifth grade enrollment he had contacted Pacific University and the parent group. Pacific will provide two student teach- ers to work with students. Voge told the board that members of the parent group “came from Heaven” to supply volunteers who are willing and able to work with students. Following the administrators’ reports, board chair Willis Meeuwsen said that he hoped that schools did not fall into the trap of “teaching to the test,” but concentrated on educating kids. McGlasson said that all of the administrators are aware and would continue to educate as broadly as possible. Howev- er, she warned, because of the NCLB “there are serious sanc- tions” that can be imposed now that have not been present in the past. ESD liaison Meeuwsen introduced Joan Steiner, of Northwest Regional Educational Service District (NWRESD), who has been as- signed as staff liaison to the Banks School District. Steiner told the board that each of the twenty districts in the four- county NWRESD has been as- signed a liaison who will be at- tending board meeting in an ef- fort to improve communications and increase involvement at the local level. Questions and concerns of the board will be conveyed directly to the appro- priate party at NWRESD, ac- cording to Steiner, who will also be responsible to ensuring that concerns are appropriately ad- dressed. Fire Science Following up on a request made by Joe Evers at the last meeting, McGlasson reported that the fire science curriculum will be updated and the admin- istration will meet regularly with instructors. The $50 fee goes directly to the fire department to partially offset the cost of the program, she said, but no stu- dent would be denied access to Banks Crab Feed October 9 Double Tin Pants #67 Oil Finish Only $95 the program due to inability to pay the fee. New staff tour Finally, McGlasson told the board about taking new staff members on a bus tour of the entire district. According to Mc- Glasson, it was important to give new teachers a feel for the actual range of household in- come and the distance that stu- dents must travel to get to school. The tour took about an hour and a half. Miscellaneous In other business the board: • Approved FFA overnight field trip. • Accepted resignations of playground supervisor Christi- na Burgess, elementary secre- tary Lori Campbell, and re- source teacher Linda Kiehl. • Hired instructional asst. Dorothy Castor, resource tea- cher Lori Marston, teacher men- tor Kristy McGinnis, and volley- ball coaches Terri Maller, Melis- sa Olson and Kyle Dobashi. • McGlasson reported a net gain of 24 students from inter- district transfers. • Learned that the district re- ceived the balance due from the Buxton School property. The money cannot be used this school year without action from the board. Double Tin Hunting Pants #467 Only $110 Oak Village Laundromat 4 Jumbo Washers Air-conditioned Easy Access with Ample Parking located next to Jim’s Market at the junction of Hwy 47 & Hwy 6 Main Street, Banks Rain Gear Starting at $25 PRECISION UTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT Banks Hardware 503-324-5221 • 150 N. Main Street, Banks OPEN 7 Days! • Mon - Fri 8am to 6pm • Saturday 8am to 5pm • Sunday 10am to 4pm