As the Falls School Board prepared to begin its regular meeting Monday in the Falls High School cafeteria, it was painfully evident to those who had gathered that one of the empty chairs at the table would never again be filled by board member Roger Jerome.
Tearfully, board member Michelle Hebner, acting chairwoman following the June 16 death of chairman Jerome, asked for a moment of silence to honor their late fellow board member.
The silence was followed by the traditional, albeit somber, recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Two main topics of contentious discussion at the meeting centered on the poor achievement results demonstrated by the district’s students. These issues were discussed at length with board member Stuart Nordquist urging the board to scrutinize the facts in both matters.
Nordquist continued in his adamant objection to an amendment to the 2010-11 school calender as it regards the Q-Comp program. This learning achievement program requires that teachers design and implement personal as well as collaborative goals to try and raise the district’s test scores which have been plummeting over the last several years.
On the agenda for approval was a change in the coming school calendar which would reduce four student-instruction days so teachers could use those days for Q-Comp professional development. Teachers are rewarded an approximate $3,000 each for Q-Comp participation on top of annual salaries. Nordquist, who said the district’s teachers are the fourth-highest paid in the state, is adamant that this should mean teachers do not subtract time from teaching.
Nordquist, who reminded board members that he has 35 years experience with the district, claims a proposal of reducing the calendar to 170 days, while saying it is for the good of achievement, is nonsensical.
Other board members said little, with interim Superintendent Kevin Grover attesting that the state had approved the plan. Principal Tim Everson said losing instructional time was warranted for professional development. Nordquist stated his opinion that professional development days dwindle in productivity after the noon hour and “simply are not showing results where they need to be.”
In fact, scholastic achievement for District 361 as reported in the last MCA II testing, is dismal. In a comparison of 13 regional school districts, only one district falls below International Falls in reading and science with ratings far below the state standards. Only in writing did International Falls exceed state averages. Nordquist told The Journal that several successful districts do not implement a Q Comp program.
None-the-less, the board approved the school calendar amendment with Nordquist the only opposition and board member Will Kostiuk absent.
Another discussion relative to the issue of student achievement, is whether the coordinator position for the district’s new Response to Intervention program, intended to measure and track areas of student deficiencies, should be continued. Andy Fougner currently serves as RTI coordinator and has recently reported progress by virtue of the program.
During the meeting, Grover distributed to board members copies of recent test results for the district from the Northwest Evaluation Association. The NWEA is a non-profit organization which bills itself as offering school district members guidance in creating a culture that values and uses data to improve instruction and student achievement.
The NWEA results show moderate improvements, but Nordquist says the real proof will be in the results from the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment II testing. Therefore, Nordquist recommended tabling the approval of the coordinator position until MCA II results are available. Board member Darrell Wagner said changes might not be visible right away. Nordquist cited a district which saw results after one year.
Because Nordquist is not against the RTI program, he voted with the rest of the board for a unanimous approval of the 2010-11 coordinator position.
Sheryl Hendrickson, during the open forum, said she was speaking to present the other side of a figure skating lettering issue which had been reviewed at the May regular meeting.
At that meeting, figure skating board representative Jill Herzig asked the board to retroactively sanction lettering which had been granted to certain of the program’s figure skaters based on changes in lettering requirements made by the figure skating board. The policy changes had been brought to the school board too late due to a misunderstanding, she said, but asked that the letters still be granted.
But Hendrickson, who said she currently coaches in several areas and served the figure skating board for 13-plus years, takes issue with those lettering policy changes made by the current figure skating board.
More specifically, Hendrickson said that she objects to lettering policy terms such as the “mastering” of certain skills, saying that simply achieving a skill has never been the criteria for lettering. Hendrickson said that this equates a lowering of standards that could dilute achievement and lettering requirements for all FHS athletes.
“Varsity letters are earned by putting in time,” she said, adding that only collective results based on skills and a point system should be the criteria.
Herzig, also in attendance, replied that the figure skaters in question had been promised the letters and the board had followed directions this year following the previous misunderstanding. She defended the new policy, saying it had been endorsed by coaches and other professionals.
Hendrickson then claimed that she still is a member of the figure skating lettering committee, but had been disregarded because it was known that she had a difference of opinion. “I once fought to keep lettering but now it feels like it was for nothing,” she said, “because now they have nothing to strive for.”
The board did not approve the new lettering policy for figure skating and agreed that the 361 athletic director, recreation director and other districts’ policies should be brought to the conversation for consideration at the July meeting.
In other business, the board approved the final 2010 expenditure and revenue budget, as well as the tentative 2011 expenditure and revenue budget.
Everson reported that the district will see enrollment overloads in the sections of math and art for the 2010-11 school year, and in desktop publishing, which feeds the graphic production class that does the yearbook.
Grover gave his recommendation that the board not approve financial support for travel costs for school groups of the district.
The meeting adjourned for a closed strategy session for principal negotiations.
