School Messenger System

The District is working on a new service in an effort to better communicate weather related announcements and other reminders with parents, staff and students.  We are trying out a subscription to School Messenger.  It is an online service where announcements can be sent to an email account or a phone as a voice message or text message.  At the time I am writing this, you may have even received some test messages.  I am hopeful that this new system will better serve the needs of the district when communicating important information to the public.  We are still planning to contact the local media about late starts, early dismissals and cancellations as in the past, but this system should get you the message much sooner than when it would be posted on a website or on the television stations.

Winter Weather Reminders

It is that time of year again when we can expect to have snow, cold temperatures and windchill that makes travel difficult and sometimes even dangerous.  As in the past, the district will be monitoring these situations closely and trying to make certain that travel conditions are safe for the students.

In the event that schools needs to start later than normal, or be cancelled, please check the local television and radio stations for the announcements.  We will again attempt to send email messages out through the student information management system, JMC, but we have been experiencing some emails "bouncing back" to us lately.  I would make certain that you get your information from the local television or radio announcements. I try to make a decision so that these announcements can be on the local media outlets prior to 6:00 AM.

My highest priority is the safety of all of the students, but I am not able to check every road in the district prior to making a decision.  Please know that there may be a time when there will be school and you may not feel comfortable sending your child to school that day.  I understand completely and support your decision to keep your child at home that day.  Again, student safety is my highest priority.  If this happens, please call the school office and let us know.  Let's have a safe winter season!

Enrollment Changes for 2011-12

Each year at the beginning of October, every district in the State is required to electronically submit enrollment information to the Department of Education through a process referred to as Project EASIER.  A thorough review by all districts is completed and calculations are finalized to determine the number of resident students in each district.  In addition, each district must share information as to students who are open enrolled into and out of each district as well as students that are involved in shared programming.  An example of shared programming would be the Agriculture/FFA program with ADM and the Madison County Career Academy.  This number is important as it is the first important factor in determining funding for the district for the 2012-13 school year.

Unfortunately, the enrollment for the district used to determine funding is down by 30 students.  Although I knew that the district had more students graduate in May of 2011 than anticipated Kindergarten students this fall, I was not expecting the reduction in students to be this large.  The projections from the Department of Education indicated stable enrollment for the next few years and then limited growth in the future.

The one area in which the district is experiencing an increase in student enrollment is that of students who are open enrolling into the district.  In October of 2010, the district had 60 students from other districts who have chosen to attend school in Earlham.  In October of 2011, this number increased to 71 students.

The decrease in the number of students will have a slight effect on the district's funding in the 2012-13 school year.  For the first time, the district will qualify for the budget guarantee.  The budget guarantee assures that the district will have 101% of the current year funding level for 2012-13.

Physical Plant and Equipment Levy

The voters of the Earlham Community School District will be going to the voting booths on Tuesday, September 13th to cast their ballots for School Board members and for the renewal of the district's Physical Plant and Equipment Levy.  Since I have been asked several times, "What is the PPEL funding going to be used for?", I want to address that in this correspondence.

The Physical Plant and Equipment Levy is a property tax levy that can be used to make improvements to district facilities, purchase or lease/purchase equipment with a value exceeding $500, and other facilities needs of the district.  The following list are examples of actual uses of the PPEL fund:

• Lease of Copy Machines for the District
• Purchase of Musical Instruments
• Replacement of School Pickup
• Replacement of Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning Units
• Updating of Fire and Tornado Alarm Systems
• Lease of Technology Equipment/Computers
• Floor Scrubbing Machine
• Plumbing Updates
• Purchase of School Bus

This is not an all inclusive list, but I hope that these examples help to show what type of expenditures are allowed from the PPEL fund.  The current PPEL funding was being used to pay off a Capital Loan Note that was approved by the voters as part of the last building project.  If the School Board would decide that the district needs to provide funding for another building project, the PPEL funds could be used for that purpose again.

The PPEL can not be used to pay salaries, benefits, utilities, textbooks or supplies.  These are examples of expenditures that must be paid from the General Fund.  If the PPEL fund renewal was not approved by the voters, the above listed types of expenditures would probably need to be either delayed or paid for from the General Fund.

For more information from the Iowa Department of Education about PPEL, click this link.

School Board Recognition Week

Some interesting information from IASB.

http://www.ia-sb.org/uploadedFiles/IASB/Member_Benefits/SBRW/SBRW%20-Fact%20Sheet%202011.pdf

District Facilities Committee Works on Site Plan

The Earlham Community School District Facilities Committee has been working for the past several years on ways to improve the existing facilities to best serve the students of the district as well as prepare for the changing needs of the district.  During meetings of the Facilities Committee this school year, there has been a focus on improving existing facilities, specifically the track.  Originally, the Facilities Committee was attempting to propose a plan for an 8-lane all-weather track so that the district could again host track meets.

After reporting to the School Board in February, the Facilities Committee was charged with creating a site plan for the track/football field area with a vision for what the district will/may need 10 years from now.  The District has enlisted the assistance of SVPA Architects, Midwest Track and Bishop Engineering to provide expertise with various pieces of the overall plan.  The Committee has discussed the potential of implementing the site plan in phases by using funding from the penny sales tax or SAVE (Secure and Advanced Vision for Education) fund.  By using the SAVE fund, the District would not be asking district patrons for additional property taxes for this project. 

Instructional Support Levy

At their meeting on February 16, 2011, the Earlham Community School Board approved a resolution to consider participation in an Instructional Support Levy.  The ISL is a way for the district to provide a consistent funding stream for programming.  In this particular situation, the Board approved this funding for "improving the District's technology program, including the purchasing of services, equipment, and/or software, or any general fund purpose approved by the Board".  In addition, the approval of the resolution included the use of property taxes to fund the ISL for a period of 5 years as allowed by law.

As you may recall, the Earlham School Board has been vigilant in keeping the overall property tax rate the same for the past three years.  Their goal with this ISL is to continue that expectation.  Last year, the Board realized the importance of a significant increase in the Cash Reserve Levy to replace those dollars from the across-the-board reduction in State Aid.  At the same time, other funds were adjusted so that the overall rate would remain the same.  The intention of the Board is to institute the Instructional Support Levy for technology without raising the overall levy rate for property taxes.

A Public Hearing on this issue is scheduled for Monday, March 7th at 6:00 PM in the school library.

School Board to Save Taxpayers over $150,000

At their meeting on December 8, 2010, the Earlham Community School Board of Directors approved a resolution directing the sale $2.030,000 of General Obligation Bonds to Country Club Bank from Prairie Village, KS.  These bonds were originally issued in 2002 to build additional elementary classrooms, a practice gym, vocal and instrumental music rooms and the auditorium.  The district earned an A1 rating from Moodys and received refinancing bids from 5 different financial institutions from around the country with Country Club Bank bidding the lowest interest rate.

By approving this bid and refinancing these bonds, the district will save local property tax payers $154,506.50 through the debt service levy beginning in fiscal year 2013 and continuing through May 2021.  

Helping your Child Succeed at School

I read the following in the November edition of the School Administrators of Iowa newsletter.  Some great ideas!

Helping Your Child Succeed at School

Ron Mirr, Iowa Parent Resource Information Center, www.iowaparents.org

The Iowa PIRC staff has adapted and prioritized 12 ideas for parents to consider to help their children succeed in school. We have put them in order based on what we are finding from various research studies. Feel free to reproduce this and share with students’ parents.


You are your child’s best teacher! Research shows that children whose parents are engaged in their education are more likely to achieve academic success. Use the following checklist to plan how you can best help your child learn. As you organize your efforts, make sure to start at the top of the list and work your way down. It’s okay if you can’t do all of the things on this list! If you only have time to do one thing, work on the first item. As you have more time to work with your child, keep heading down the list in order. It is essential to be as positive as possible as you support your child. Don’t forget, these ideas are effective for children in all grades PreK‐12!

1. Have high expectations for your children. Kids rise to a challenge. Make sure your children understand the clear expectations you have for them and how well they should do in school. Talk to your children about your expectation that they will continue their education after they graduate from high school. Encourage your students to talk with their counselor and their teachers about their options after high school. While it’s OK to reward your children for successes, as your children get older it is important to help them develop an internal desire to do well in school that doesn’t require rewards.

2. Talk to your child about school. Ask specific questions to draw out your child. Instead of asking “yes” or “no” questions, ask “How do you think you did on the math test?” or “What is something funny that happened at school today?” or “What did you do during PE?” It is very important as you talk with your child about school to help him/her believe in him/herself and have the confidence to know that s/he can succeed. (See Questions to Ask Your Children Besides “How Was Your Day” at http://bit.ly/9N81ND.)

3. Get “connected” with your child’s teachers. Teachers and parents should be equal partners. This doesn’t mean you have the same role, but you are both equally important players in supporting the success of your child. Ask teachers about their expectations. What are students expected to master by the end of the year in each class? How will each teacher be gauging your child’s progress toward these goals? Ask about the best way to get in touch if you have questions. Ask what you can do at home to support what is going on in the classroom.

4. Make sure your child has a quiet place to study and to learn at home. Find an area in your home that is free of distraction where your child can concentrate on homework and other learning without being  disturbed by other distractions. Listening to music while doing homework is not the best way for all students to focus on their homework. Be available to offer suggestions if your child has a question. Make sure your child spends enough time learning at home. A commonly accepted rule is 10 minutes of learning at home per
school night per grade level (e.g., 3rd grade = 30 minutes, 6th grade = 60 minutes, 9th grade = 90 minutes, 12th grade = 120 minutes). Students should spend time learning at home every night even if they don’t have specific homework.

5. Get your child “connected” to the school. Students who feel “connected” to adults and other students at school do better academically. Encourage your child to join a club, participate in intramural activities, go out for a sport, or join a music group. If what your child is interested in isn’t offered as a school club or activity, work with the school to start one.

6. Check your child’s homework, but don’t do it. Offer to check math problems, proofread written papers and look over spelling words. If you find a mistake, point it out to your child and help him/her figure out the correct answer. Remember to also point out what your child did well in his/her homework, too. If your child is having trouble encourage him/her to contact his/her peers or look for an online resource. Also encourage your child to ask for help from the teacher. Remember to help your child practice how to ask for help in a positive way. (See Homework at http://bit.ly/cdaU5p.)

7. Find out about homework assignments and school tests. Use your district’s online computer system or teacher’s webpage to monitor homework assignments and get in the habit of checking it regularly. If you can’t find the information you need about upcoming classroom assignments, contact your child’s teachers and ask them to post when there’s an important project or test coming up. If you feel like you need more information, contact your child’s teacher(s) and ask them to post more information that can help you know how your child is doing and how you can support him/her at home.

8. Talk about your own learning. Discuss with your child how you plan, solve problems and think about the future.

9. Post a family calendar in a central place. Write down important school dates, including due dates for projects and tests.  Encourage your child to add to the calendar and to check it daily. Help your child learn to plan and prepare ahead. As your child gets older, help your child take the lead for regulating and organizing homework and study time with you as their coach.

10. Go to school meetings and events. Attending concerts, plays, assemblies, meetings, and other activities is a good way to become familiar with your child’s school community and develop relationships with other parents.

11. Volunteer to chaperone school dances and drive kids to school competitions. You’ll meet other parents, school staff, and your child’s classmates. In this way you can also develop a network of other parents with whom you can share information and discuss ideas.

12. Find a way to make your voice heard. If you have the time and the desire, ask to be part of school committees. Attend PTA/PTO meetings. Many schools now have parent and school teams that share ways to further build a family-school partnerships for student learning.  Ask to form or join such a team.

School Board Refinancing of Bonds

At their meeting on October 20th, the Earlham School Board started the process to refinance the General Obligations bonds from the 2003 construction project.  The reduction in interest rates make the refinancing attractive and are estimated to save district tax payers approximately $170,000 over the next ten years.  The School Board will be working with Piper Jaffray to complete this process.

Annual Financial Update

Each year in August, I share a financial update with the staff during in-service and a more detailed presentation to the School Board.  Below is the presentation that was shared with the School Board on August 26, 2010.


Finance Presentation August 2010

Homework Practices - Some Practical Advise for Parents

The following information is from an article in the School Administrators of Iowa monthly newsletter written by Ed Redalen, Director and Tracey Adamowski, parent, Iowa Statewide PIRC.  I found it very helpful and thought provoking.

The January article on homework practices related to homework guidelines from the school perspective. It included suggestions on the roles of parents/primary caregivers relative to the value and importance of homework, expectations and encouragement for homework completion. This article expands on these ideas. Parents/caregivers need to tell their children that homework is important.

They also need to be aware that there are two important attributes to promote with their children to effectively complete their homework: effort and self-reliance. The types, complexity, and amount of homework are determined by the teacher. However, the amount of effort is determined by your child. Your child’s efforts in accomplishing homework assignments needs to be reinforced by providing feedback. For example, it is more appropriate to say, “you were successful on the assignment because you focused on the work and avoided distractions.” This is more reinforcing than saying, “Good job,” as it identifies more specifically what your child did.

The second important attribute is self-reliance. Self-reliance is looking within yourself to identify strategies and accomplish things. It is how your child plans, problem solves and approaches tasks. It is helping them to be proactive in their approach to tasks and learning. It is dependent on learning skills that can be taught by parents/caregivers. For example, by teaching your children how to organize things at home, or asking them to tell you the things they need to do before they go to bed, you are helping them to be organized and self-reliant.

Effort Tips: Effort is defined as exerting hard work and making a serious attempt to try.

• Identify with your child two or three things they do well or enjoy: a school subject, extra-curricular activity or hobby. With each one have them explain how they apply effort to these activities. Tell them that their hard work is what made them successful. Ask what they are doing to get even better.

• Provide reinforcement on things your child does to help the family – clearing the table, yard work, sharing ideas, promoting fun.

• Feedback needs to be specific instead of general, for example:

• “You helped organize your room by taking one thing at a time, and we got it done.”

• “You had a hard work day – from school to soccer practice to homework, and you even wrote a note to grandma.”

• “You stuck with practicing that song on the piano and were able to perform it without hesitation.”

• “When you started your history assignment I heard some moaning and groaning – then things got quiet – later you explained to me the two major causes of all wars. I sure learned some things.”

• Discuss with your child how effort leads to new skills and learning. These things make us feel competent, that we have good brains and can learn new things. One example, “You are learning so much – at the start of first grade you were mainly reading words and now you read whole sentences!”

• Explain how your efforts at work, problem-solving or completing a job have helped you.

• At least once a week share with your child something you are learning. (Some families make a regular practice of sharing what each member has learned that day.)

Self-reliance Tips: Self-reliance is defined as being able to figure things out by yourself, to be proactive.

• Tell your children if they don’t know what to do, there are at least five things they can do:
1. Re-read or study the material again.
2. Contact a classmate. (In some cases teachers provide their phone numbers to students)
3. Identify what you do know.
4. Think about it and wait awhile. Don’t panic, brains slam shut when we panic.
5. Identify problem parts of the homework you need to ask your teacher about the next day in class.

• Discuss and provide a regular homework routine such as where to study, time to study and have materials available. If there is no homework assignment, then use that period of time for reading. (Have a family reading time for everyone – even the youngest non-readers can look at books, parents may read the newspaper or other written material.)

• Help your children organize their work – based on first, second and third areas of importance so that all work is prioritized.

• Discuss with your children how distractions interfere – cell phones, TV – and they need to learn how to set aside the distractions during homework time.

• At times your child may be overwhelmed with homework, “shut down” and have trouble getting started. Have them decide two things they can start now and then discuss the next steps later.

• As a parent/caregiver, share how you do “homework for work or life.”
- preparing for a meeting - planning for family events
- learning a new activity - preparing for a teacher conference
- reading articles about your work - learning how to fix something

Questions to ask your child:
• What are your homework assignments?
• When are they due?
• Do you have the materials you need?
• Have you started any of the assignments? Finished any of them?
• Do you have any long-term assignments (term paper, science project, book review)?

Other ways parents/caregivers can help:
• Look over the homework, but don’t do the work or make corrections. Gently guide them to anything that is wrong.
• Learn about the school’s/teacher’s homework guidelines.
• Meet with teachers early in the year or semester to find out about homework guidelines.
• If your child cannot solve a homework problem and has asked the teacher for help, consider contacting the teacher.

Allowable Growth: What does it mean?

As the page of the calendar turns to January, the State Legislators come back into session in Des Moines. One of the issues that will be discussed that directly affects the funding for public schools districts is allowable growth. Normally, allowable growth is expressed as a percentage. During my tenure as a superintendent, allowable growth has ranged from 1%. to 4%. But what does that really mean? Does that mean that schools have 4% more money than the previous year?

All Iowa school districts are funded on a per pupil basis. Each student equates to and generates a certain dollar amount for districts to operate. The amount of “growth” in that per pupil amount is referred to as Allowable Growth. For example, the funding per pupil for the 2008-09 school year was $5,546. The Allowable Growth set by the Legislature was 4% for the 2009-10 school year. This 4% increase added $222 per pupil for the 2009-10 amount per pupil. The new funding amount equated to $5,768 per pupil. Since this funding is based upon the number of students, it is important to remember that districts that are declining in enrollment may actually receive less total funding even though the amount per pupil has increased.

As we all know, the State is continuing to have significant financial challenges. I do not expect the $290,000 of lost revenues from the 10% Across-The-Board reduction in State Aid to be funded. Calculating that loss in revenues per pupil would equate to $453 less per student. In effect, this had a -8% allowable growth in revenues per pupil. The added difficulty with this scenario is that this revenue reduction happened in October and the district is required to certify their budget in the previous April.

Normally, the Legislature sets the Allowable Growth rate fairly early in the session. The current legislative session will set the rate for the 2011-12 school year. In addition, I am sure there will be some conversations as to the 2% Allowable Growth rate set last year for the 2010-11 school year. According to the most recent revenue estimating conference, there has been very little improvement in State revenues and the difference between State revenue projections and obligations is approximately $1Billion. With education constituting almost one half of the obligations, certain reductions will need to be made.

I hope this information helps you understand the term allowable growth and how it is used by the legislature and the school districts.

State Budget Challenges Continue: How is the Earlham Community School District Adapting?

I am sure that all who are reading this are aware of the enormous challenges the State of Iowa is experiencing financially. The next Revenue Estimating Conference is planned for the week of December 7-11, but all economic indicators show revenues at the State level continuing to be lower than projected last year. Because of the challenges at the State level, the Earlham Community School District is experiencing budget challenges, as are all school districts in Iowa.


As stated in a previous article, the Governors across-the-board reduction in State Aid equates to a reduction in funding of $290,000 for the Earlham Community School District. In response to this reduction in State Aid, the School Board has approved the following to reduce expenditures for the remainder of the 2009-10 school year:

• Three days of unpaid leave for all administrators and department heads. This includes myself, the building principals, the technology/curriculum director, business manager, head custodian, transportation director and food service director.

• Reduction of one hour per week for all hourly employees. This includes teacher associates, secretaries, custodians and food service. The central office will be closing Tuesday through Friday at 3:45 PM instead of 4:00 PM for the remainder of the school year to accomplish this in part.

• Reduction in out of district professional development when hiring a substitute teacher is required.

• Continued spending freeze on supplies and other nonessential purchases.

• Discontinued purchasing toner for HP6L printers. The plan is to have those staff members print to a networked copy machine when the printer toner is gone. In addition, the district is performing a printing audit to determine other potential savings related to printing/copying.

• Energy conservation is another area that cost savings can be realized. The Energy Committee continues to meet and talk about potential ways to save energy. Although it appears to be a small thing, we are lowering the master temperature in the building.

• Discontinue purchasing of water for the portable building.

• The Board directed me to propose reopening the Master Contract with the Earlham Education Association to discuss possible cost savings measures.

These items alone will not reduce spending the full $290,000 of lost State Aid, but will assist in not requiring additional depletion of the cash reserves. Plans for how to address the 2010-11 school year budget challenges are already underway. I am anxiously awaiting the results of the December Revenue Estimating Conference so that accurate information can be used to plan. Again, I plan to continue to provide financial/budget information to the Earlham Community School District patrons as it becomes available.

10% Reduction in State Aid: What does that mean for the Earlham Community School District

On October 7th, the State Revenue Estimating Conference met to determine the anticipated revenues for the upcoming State budget. The Governor is required by law to use these figures to develop a State Budget that is revenue and expenditure balanced. You may have read where the Governor used monies from the State Reserve Fund to cover revenue/expenditure differences from the previous year.

With State revenues being estimated to equate to nearly $1 Billion short of projected expenditures for the current year, the Governor is required to make adjustments. In response, the Governor has ordered a 10% across-the-board reduction in State Aid for all agencies. The reductions in State Aid payments are set to begin in November 2009 and continue through June 2010. This obviously presents a significant challenge for all schools in Iowa and Earlham is no exception.

For the Earlham Community School District, this reduction in funding equates to $290,000. The district receives State Aid payments each month. This reduction equates to a loss in General Fund revenue of over $36,000 each month. The General Fund expenditures include salaries, benefits, textbooks, utilities and supplies.

An important concept to keep in mind is that this reduction in revenues does not affect the funding received through local property taxes. The District receives property taxes to pay for the bonded indebtedness for the building, the Physical Plant and Equipment fund which helps to maintain the building and purchase equipment and the Management Fund which pays for property insurance for the buildings, grounds, transportation fleet and liability.

The District is working to develop two plans: One to address revenue shortfalls for the remainder of the 2009-10 school year and another to address budget issues related to the 2010-11 school year and beyond. The District is fortunate to have some Cash Reserve funds that will assist in meeting financial obligations for the 2009-10 school year. Once the budget is approved on April 15th, there is no way to generate additional revenues for operating. We have started work with the School Board Finance Committee and ideas on how to reduce expenditures and operate more efficiently are being solicited from the staff.

It is very challenging to predict the future as the State revenues are always subject to change. The next Revenue Estimating Conference is scheduled for December. The Legislature can affect funding levels during their next session beginning in January. Economic conditions for the State and Nation can change between now and then. As these factors become more clear, I will attempt to keep updated information available.

September 2009 News

Greetings from the District office! As I am writing this, the weather is beginning to cool down, the leaves on the trees are just starting to change color, and the days are getting shorter. Fall is upon us and the students are doing a great job of settling into the routine of school.

One of the Earlham Community School District Belief Statements is; “Successful education occurs in a safe, stimulating, challenging and positive environment.” Let me begin by saying that I believe we have a very safe school with wonderful students and an extremely supportive community. With that said, I also believe that tragic situations can and do happen anywhere. It is the district’s responsibility to be as prepared as possible to address these situations properly. We must plan and be prepared with the hope that we will never have to use the plans. I want to share with you some of the things that the district is working on to make certain that the learning environment is safe for our students.

A Safety Committee was formed two years ago so that the emergency procedures of the district could be reviewed, revised and updated. As this process moved forward, six members of the committee were afforded the opportunity to attend a workshop entitled “Multi-hazard Emergency Planning for Schools” in Emmitsburg, MD. In conjunction with the Madison County Emergency Management services, the district was provided the tuition to attend through a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As one of the attendees, I can tell you that it was a very eye-opening experience. There were three other districts that sent teams of staff to attend this week-long workshop from various states. It became clear almost immediately that all schools face the same issues related to safety. What was also apparent was that the method used by each school to address safety issues was dependent upon the size of district.

Upon returning from the workshop, the committee started to again revise the Crisis/Emergency Procedures Plan with a new focus. The updates to the plan that had been made prior to attending the workshop were very good, but they would only guide the district for the initial stages of various crisis situations. Additional planning needed to be done to be prepared for the duration of the various crisis situations. In addition, the committee perceived the need to better educate the staff and increase the realism of the different practice drills so as to better prepare in case an emergency/crisis situation occurs.

The district will continue to practice the fire and severe weather evacuation drills as in the past, but plans are being made to slightly modify the drills so that they would be more like the actual situation. In addition, the committee is planning to practice a “lock-down” type drill in which the students and staff are instructed to keep their students in the classroom, away from the doors and windows so that all students can be safe and accounted for. Practicing this type of drill may be useful in the situation where an intruder may be in the building. The district will also continue to practice bus evacuation drills, instruct students relative to farm safety, and provide content filtering for students researching information using the Internet.

You may have already read about the district receiving a portable AED (Automated Electronic Defibrillator) via a grant from Cintas. The district was also awarded two additional AEDs through a grant from the Iowa Department of Public Health and a donation from the PIE (Partners in Education) organization. The two new units are installed in the building, one near the practice gym/commons area and the other on the stage area in the competition gym. Monica Tibben, the school nurse, has provided opportunities for training on the proper use of the units as well as a refresher course in CPR. By the time you are reading this, we should have more than 15 staff members who have been trained on how to use these devices properly.

In closing, I want to assure everyone that the district is making efforts to fulfill the belief statement mentioned above. We have learned that this is an on-going, never ending process of planning and practicing to be prepared.

Earlham School Board News September 2009

During their meeting on September 16, 2009, the Earlham Community School Board met for their organization meeting at 6:00 PM in the high school library. The retiring School Board approved minutes from previous meetings, financial statements and invoices. Board Manager Jodi Stroud shared the results from the School election from September 8^th. Teresa Waldron and Kathy Woolcott were elected to 4 year terms. The retiring School Board, including Craig Hamilton and Neal Hanley, adjourned with appreciation for their service to the district.

Following the election of Mike Madren as Board President and David Morford as Board Vice President, the Board was presented information from Nate Sletten, Band Director, relative to potential purchases of new instruments that would be owned by the district. Mr. Sletten provided the School Board with an inventory and current working condition of each of the district owned instruments. The Board asked Mr. Sletten to continue his research into several vendors and different lease/purchase proposals and share that information at a future meeting.

In other business, the Board approved:

• The FFA to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in late October.


• An agreement with the Earlham Education Association on the distribution of Teacher Quality fund to staff for the 2009-10 school year.


• A schedule for regular and special meetings for the 2009-10 school year. Those dates are posted on the district website.


• Teresa Waldron as the district representative for the IASB Delegate Assembly on November 18.

The next regular Earlham Community School Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 28^th at 6:00 p.m. at the school library. The School Board is also planning a special meeting/work session for October 7^th at 6:00 PM in the school library.

March School Board Meeting News

On March 18, 2009, the Earlham Community School Board met for their monthly meeting at 6:00 PM in the high school library. During the meeting, the Board approved a proposed calendar for the 2009-10 school year. Key dates to note include:

- August 24-25 – Back-to-school Conferences
- August 26 - Classes Begin
- November 5 & 10 – Parent/Teacher Conferences for Grades 7-12
- November19 & 23 – Parent/Teacher Conferences for Grades PK-6
- December 23 – Winter Break begins @ 1:30
- January 5 – Classes Resume
- March 4 & 9 – Parent/Teacher Conferences for Grades PK-6
- March 25 & 30 – Parent/Teacher Conferences for Grades 7-12
- May 27 – Final Day of School (If there are no snow days)

In addition, the district will have three all-day professional development days for staff on August 20th, September 21 and January 4th. During the current school year, the district had one all-day professional development. The Teacher Quality Committee agreed to use the funds from the State Department of Education to provide funding for these two additional days. A final copy of the approved calendar is posted on the school website.

In other business, the Board approved:
- Two foreign exchange students for the 2009-10 school year
- Application for a Physical Education Grant to provide equipment, supplies and training for the district physical education teachers

The next regular Earlham Community School Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 8th at 6:00 p.m. at the school library.

February 2009 Board Meeting

On January 18, 2009, the Earlham Community School Board met for their monthly meeting at 6:00 PM in the high school library. During the meeting, the Board accepted a gift from the Earlham Foundation. The gift will allow the District to purchase a piano for up to $7,000 to be placed in the auditorium and used for concerts and other productions.

The Earlham Foundation is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization formed in 1993. The Foundations Articles of Incorporation state that the purpose of the Earlham Foundation is to “further the educational effectiveness of the Earlham Community School District”. The Foundation serves the interests of the students by providing financial support for current students and programming. The Earlham Foundation is funded thorough charitable donations and a growing endowment fund that generates income.

The Earlham Foundation has been a somewhat inactive organization for the past several years. The Foundation recently installed a new Board of Directors and plans to reinvigorate its fundraising efforts. A revision of the brochure, a link to the school district website, and additional on-line presence are among the ideas being considered by the Foundation to revive their mission. Foundation Board members include: Trish Hopkins, President, Kathy Woolcott, Vice President, Vicky Boyle, Secretary, Dale Brooks, Treasurer, Nick Price, Connie Ramsey and Michael Wright.

In other business, the Board approved:
An update to Board Policy 401.1 – Educational Credits
An Agreement with DMACC for the STRIVE (Selected Training Received In Vocational Education) for a student in the high school
Approved a committee to review the District Special Education Services Delivery Plan

The next regular Earlham Community School Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 18th at 6:00 p.m. at the school library. The School Board is also planning a special meeting/work session for March 4th at 6:00 PM in the school library.

January 2009 Board Meeting

On January 21, 2009, the Earlham Community School Board met for their monthly meeting at 6:00 PM in the high school library. During the meeting, the Board was presented information from the Middle School and High School Science teachers and the Middle School/High School Dean of Students and High School At-Risk Coordinator.

The presentation from the science teachers included information relative to curriculum taught to students in grades 7-12 in the area of science. Curriculum units included biomes, genetics, virus, bacteria, mass, density, populations, communities, ecosystems and many others. In addition, Mrs. Anne Mendoza presented information on how she is now better able to use the Chemistry classroom for hands-on student experiments due to the remodeling project completed last summer. Students and teachers can now safely perform a wide variety of experiments that were not available in recent years.

The other presentation focused on informing the Board relative to a trend being tracked by the Dean of Students and At-Risk Coordinator showing an increase in the percentage of students who are not completing their education or receiving their diploma at alternative sites. The district allows students to utilize the Youth-At-Risk Credit Recovery program through DMACC, the Winterset Alternative High School program known as “Bridges”, and General Education Diploma or GED through DMACC if the student is struggling to accumulate the required credits toward a traditional diploma. During the presentation, the Board was presented with new requirements related to the “No Child Left Behind” federal legislation. This requirement forces districts to count students who receive their diploma through these alternative ways be counted as drop outs for the local district. The Board asked the Dean of Students and the At-Risk Coordinator to bring a proposal to them in February on how the district can address this issue.

In other business, the Board approved:
An agreement with Prairie Meadows relative to the $5,000 grant awarded the district to offset costs related to the remodeling of the high school science rooms.
Board Policies in the first 1/3 of the 400 Section of the Policy Manual. The entire 400 Section will be reviewed and revised where necessary during the 2008-09 school year.

The next regular Earlham Community School Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 18th at 6:00 p.m. at the school library. The School Board is also planning a special meeting/work session for February 2nd at 6:00 PM in the school library.