MITCHELL — The Mitchell School Board rejected a proposed policy regarding the district dual credit program at its most recent regular meeting Monday.
The policy passed 3-2, with board members Terry Aslesen and Deb Everson voting in favor and Deb Olson, Sean Ruml and Britni Flood voting against.
Monday's discussion of policies related to the district dual credit program was an extension of another discussion the board had at its previous meeting two weeks ago. During that meeting, board members asked various district officials in attendance what they thought about the program, and nearly all said they supported the program and the benefits it brings to students and the district itself.
Mitchell School District Superintendent Joe Childs submitted the proposed policy on Monday at Aslesen's request. Childs said the policy basically outlines the programs currently in place in the district, but he's not sure if a specific policy on the programs is needed.
“This is a sample policy, but I don't think we necessarily need a policy. We've been doing this for almost 10 years without incident,” Childs told the board. “But I included the policy, and it's written similar to how we currently operate the dual credit program.”
The full text of the proposed policy is on the agenda for the April 22 meeting.
While discussing the proposed policy, Aslesen said he would like to see the language include a specific list of student requirements for taking the course, perhaps in an all-in-one location, He said he believes courses should be taken in a format that can be modified as things change. Complete review of the Board of Education.
He also pointed out that there were other district policies that appeared to conflict with dual credit guidelines that could possibly prevent students from taking dual credit courses.
“I think the board’s job is to create policies, rules and regulations for the district,” Aslesen said. “Right now we have a policy that doesn't allow us to do what we're doing right now.”
He cited Board Policy 994, which reads in part, “If a particular course is not offered by the district and the student has exhausted the course offerings within the department, eligible high school students may You can enroll in university-level courses offered by. By attending a nearby accredited college or university, you may be exempt from attending high school for the amount of time required for your college courses. ”
He noted that the “exhaustive” portion of the policy could interfere with students' plans if they did not take all of the tuition options in the district. He estimated that appropriate policies to address dual credit could help alleviate that disruption.
Brittni Flood, another board member, said she felt there was no need for specific policies related to the program because the program had operated successfully without one for years.
“Personally, I don't feel we need policy because what we have and what we're doing is working,” Flood said. “I don't think it's a problem, but why would we create a policy that makes it more difficult for students or discourages them from participating?”
Another board member, Sean Ruml, asked Mitchell High School Principal Justin Siemsen for his thoughts on the proposed policy. Siemsen said he did not object to the policy in the form it was originally presented, but that he did not see any particular need to implement the policy because the dual credit process is currently working as intended. Stated.
“I think everything we have in place is setting us up for success and allowing us to grow,” Siemsen said.
Siemsen also suggested that policies cited by Aslesen that are inconsistent with current practices could be reviewed and refined as needed.
The program in question gives eligible high school students the opportunity to attend South Dakota's public universities and earn credits for both a high school diploma and a college degree. Through this program, a student pays only one-third of her total cost per credit hour if she meets the system general education requirements.
The Mitchell School District has agreements with both Dakota Wesleyan University and Mitchell Institute of Technology to offer dual credit options.
Supplement to technology budget
The board unanimously approved an additional $1.2 million that will be earmarked for district technology improvements.
Teresa Kriese, business manager for the Mitchell School District, said the supplement comes from the general fund and is part of a required expenditure of the district's cash reserves as required by state law.
“State law requires us to spend no more than 25% of our general fund cash reserves,” Kriese told the board. “We received instructions at the beginning of this year about what the money could be used for.”
Among the upgrades for which the money will be spent, Kriese cited replacing machines in the district's Mac lab and purchasing laptops and touch-screen televisions for elementary schools and staff. Touch screen televisions are primarily used at the high school level, but other things are possible. Can be used in other areas as needed. Purchasing laptops for students and staff is a switch for the district, which previously leased laptops to the group.
Kriese said high school laptops will continue to be leased from the district. All warranties and service contracts for your newly purchased laptop will become effective with the new arrangement.
“It's coming out of cash, so it's not new money, it's money that we have to spend,” Kriese said.
The board also approved, by a 5-0 vote, the addition of three full-time equivalent literacy coaches to three district elementary schools.
Childs said a literacy coach can be described as a reading specialist who is dedicated to providing professional development for teachers and providing direct instruction to small groups of students. During the lesson and planning period, the literacy coach will help you devise and implement a variety of instructional strategies.
Additionally, such coaches may also pull small groups of students for intervention.
Mr. Childs recommended sending a coach to each school for a year. Each such move would cost him about $70,000, for a total of $210,000.
“We've talked about this and we feel like this is an acknowledgment by teachers that they need to help themselves and help their students,” Childs said. “We've done these different types of FTEs for him in the past, but this is a more direct step and we hope it will be a more permanent step.”
Mr. Aslesen asked whether the program was an alternative to other programs, such as the Reading Recovery program. Childs said that's not the case.
“It's not replacing what we have,” Childs said.
Also at this meeting, the Board of Directors approved the following personnel changes:
- New certified hires Elizabeth Kiner, special education director at Williams Elementary School, will receive $56,000, and Alison Pearson, elementary principal at Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School, will receive $85,000. Both hires will be effective starting in the 2024-25 school year.
- Bryn Hartche, assistant educator at Longfellow Elementary School, resigns. Laura Bakhtiari, third grade teacher at Longfellow Elementary School, and Nick McGraw, voice/chorus teacher/show choir director and friend de coup. All resignations will be effective at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
- Sabra McCarty, a first-grade teacher at Longfellow Elementary School, will move to a third-grade teacher at Longfellow Elementary School beginning in the 2024-25 school year.
- Mitchell Middle School lunch staff member Sharon McNally will retire at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
- Mitchell Institute of Technology new hire Kara Stange, 0.5 Speech Pathology Instructor, $35,390, 180.5 days, effective August 1, 2024.
- Mitchell Institute of Technology will resign heating and cooling technology instructor Jason Junke at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
In other duties, the Board of Directors will:
- Approved the Elementary School Handbook for the 2024-25 school year.
- I declared two stationary bikes as surplus.
- I heard the director's report.
- I heard the superintendent's report.
The next Mitchell Board of Education meeting is scheduled for May 13th at the Mitchell Academy of Career and Technical Education.
