Four Becker High School students stood before the Becker School Board Tuesday to state their reasons for being in support of a new policy the school is enforcing on appropriate styles of dress.

 

Michelle Johnson, Emma Kolbinger, Emma Tweten and Micah Roetman gave impassioned speeches as representatives of high school students in regards to the new policy (Policy 504) the school planned to institute at the meeting.

 

Prior to Tuesday, student dress and appearance had always been a part of the student handbook, but never a policy. Due to Becker schools wanting to keep with community standards as far as dressing appropriately for school, the board decided to make the change to a policy.

 

All four of the students mentioned inappropriate dress on some students that included very short skirts on girls and t-shirts on guys that “made me blush”, said Johnson. But most of the discussion about the policy centered around students wearing objectionable emblems — especially the confederate flag.

 

“These objectionable emblems, badges, symbols, etc. communicate a message that is racist, sexist and otherwise derogatory,” said Johnson. “We came here tonight to show our support for the new policy. A stance needs to be taken.”

 

The policy’s general statement encourages students to dress appropriately for school activities and is a joint responsibility between the student and the student’s parents and/or guardian. Appropriate clothing mentioned in the policy included — but was not limited to — clothing appropriate for the weather, clothing that does not create a health or safety hazard and clothing appropriate for a certain activity (such as phy ed).

 

Inappropriate clothing included — but was not limited to — “short shorts”, skimpy tops, tops that expose the midriff, clothing bearing a lewd, vulgar or obscene message, apparel promoting products or activities that are illegal for use by minors, apparel or footwear that would damage school property and objectionable items such as emblems, badges, symbols, signs, words, objects or pictures (such as swastikas, confederate flags and KKK signs) on clothing or jewelry communicating a message that is racist, sexist or otherwise derogatory to a protected minority group, evidences gang membership or affiliation or approves, advances or provokes any form of religious, racial or sexual harassment and/or violence against other individuals as defined by Policy 413.

 

Headgear, including hats or head coverings are not allowed in the building except with the approval of the building principal (for example student undergoing chemotherapy, medical situations, student religious practice or belief).

 

“This flag (confederate) does not belong in a learning environment,” Roetman said in closing.

 

The school board voted to approve the policy and thanked the students for giving their input.

 

 

Dr. Jean Duffy gave a presentation on Dyslexia and explained to the board and the audience what the schools are doing to help students who are suffering with reading issues.

 

Duffy began her presentation by defining what Dyslexia is and the clinical diagnosis. She gave some background information and identified some early signs of the disorder. 

 

She then went into how the Becker School system is planning on approaching the condition with screening, training specialists and providing intervention programs. She told the board the specialists plan to monitor the affected students and they will also change the qualification process in specific learning disabilities for the 2018-19 school year.

 

She ended with pointing out that parents are an integral part of the process and need to come forward with any concerns and do their best to walk hand-in-hand with the students, school and teachers.

 

 

Dr. Stephen Malone talked about the upcoming MSBA Conference, Jan. 17-18 in which he, Lori Molus and Mark Swanson will be presenting a workshop entitled, Modified Policy Governance” as part of the professional development event.

 

Malone mentioned the Veteran’s Day programs that were held Monday at all the schools and thanked the presenters and the veteran’s and their families who attended.

 

Malone spoke about the Big Dog Challenge and encouraged the board and others to support and promote the program. He said currently staff members have selected four “problems” and are in the process of submitting “solutions” to the problems.

 

Malone mentioned he was in support of a new contract between the schools and Palmer Wireless — which was sold to a company called Arvig. Malone said  the school district approved a 20-year lease of about 3,600 sq. ft. of property north of the Primary School in 2013 for the placement of a cell tower.

 

Arvig/Palmer was seeking to extend their lease by 10 years to accommodate a contract with AT&T.

 

Malone said the contract is beneficial to the school district since the school receives 20% of revenue for antennas not owned by Arvig/Palmer. The schools receive wireless internet service on their busses and at outdoor sporting fields in addition to a backup internet service for the district office. The parties determined the value of those services to be about $5,400 a year.

 

However, with the new contract with Arvig/Palmer, Malone said the revenue would increase to $8,600 and the speed on the busses will improve by 10x. He also said the updated wireless bus service will expand the range of the busses’ internet service nationwide — a benefit when the school rejoins the Mississippi 8 Conference in the fall of 2019.

 

The board approved the new contract.

 

 

The next Becker School Board meeting is Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m.