The Becker Public Schools School Board met Monday evening and discussed the preliminary levy, superintendent goals and policy revisions.

 

Supt. Steven Malone said the fall staff development program held Sept. 1 was a success. It included recognition of the many achievements by the school district, an overview of goals, in introduction to Becker Innovates and the system of support and success we are creating for every student. 

 

Malone said building-level programs included PLCs, the instructional framework, course templates, MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Success), the teacher evaluation process, data review and high yield instructional strategies. The high school staff toured SCTCC as part of the their staff development program. 

 

Malone mentioned the district goals for this year which includes increasing achievement by a positive Z Score in reading and math for Grades 1-8, 10 and 11 while comparing the actual to expected growth as determined by testing in the Fall of 2016 for NWEA to the Spring of 2017 and Spring of 2016 to Spring of 2017 for MCA.

 

Malone also said a goal is to examine the viability of providing school district support for unfunded school activities, such as girls lacrosse, dance, marching band, robotics and hockey.

 

The last goal mentioned by Malone was providing additional financial planning instruction for high school students.

 

Malone said the annual orientation for site-based team members was conducted in August. An overview included the rationale for involving stakeholders in decision-making, membership configurations, statutory authority and the decision-making matrix approved by the school board. 

 

The orientation was combined with the first SBT meeting of the year at each school.

 

Malone also said stakeholder involvement is critical to the success of the Becker School District. 

 

“It is essential that staff members, parents, community members and students have a voice in the operation of our schools,” he said.

 

With that, Malone said he will meet bi-monthly with Local #284 and BEA representatives to foster better communication. He will also have the BEA president invited to all superintendent’s cabinet meetings to help resolve and coordinate operational issues.

 

Ten “district discussions” will be conducted  Thursday mornings before school. These forums —scheduled at each school on a rotating basis — provide an opportunity for staff members to communicate with the superintendent. Malone says those in attendance determine the discussion topics.

 

The nutrition committee is comprised of staff members, parents, students, and a school board representative and they meet regularly to provide input to the food service director regarding lunch menus, nutrition, and other issues relative to the food service operation.

 

Malone says the technology steering committee is comprised of staff members, parents, and a school board representative and they advise the technology director on matters pertinent to the district technology programs.

 

The calendar committee provides staff members, parents and students a voice in creating the annual academic calendar. A school board representative is appointed to the calendar committee and Malone says they will convene again this year to develop a calendar recommendation.

 

The activity advisory committee is comprised of coaches, parents, students, and a school board representative and they meet regularly to advise the activities director about policies, issues, and decisions regarding the districts’ activity programs.

 

The school boards’ strategic planning process will again involve parents, students, staff members, and community members with the school board to develop goals pertaining to the future of the district.

 

The superintendent conducts many classroom visits each year with the purpose to be visible, observe classroom activities, and provide another avenue for communication with staff members.

 

Malone says, as reported last month, every Becker school surpassed the state average in math, reading and science proficiency for last year. Furthermore, 12 of the 17 areas tested increased their proficiency score in comparison to the prior year.

 

Malone said one year’s worth of growth (positive z score), as measured by NWEA and MCA testing was attained by seven of 16 (44%) of the grade levels/subject areas tested.

 

The MMR (Multiple Measurement Rating) for Minnesota Schools was released Sept. 1. The components include proficiency, student growth, achievement gap reduction, and graduation rate.

 

Becker’s ranking in comparison to other schools shows a ranking of 40% at the intermediate level, 98% at middle school level and 45% at high school level.

 

• A school board workshop was scheduled for Wed., Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m.;

 

• A total proposed levy of $9,563,658 was approved showing a -1.53% change from the previous year;

 

• Policy revisions were reviewed and voted on for drug and alcohol testing, chemical use and abuse, drug-free workplace, student discipline and student medication;

 

•  The board discussed strategic goals for the 2017-18 school year.

 

The next board meeting is Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m.