May 2021 HHASD Newsletter
Inspire. Persevere. Grow.
Thank you for tuning in. We hope you have a wonderful month. We are here to support you, so if there is anything you need, just let us know!
Dear HHASD Family,
This last year (or nearly 14 months) hasn’t been easy. You rose to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, adapted with us, and helped be a part of the planning and implementing of a new set of expectations that kept our schools open for our students. While I thank you for your thoughtfulness, persistence, and support, I ask that as we enter Staff Appreciation Week, you also take the time to recognize those staff members whose same thoughtfulness and persistence kept your students safe, cared for, and learning in our classrooms this year.
Today is May Day, and there are signs of spring all around us. The simple reemergence of life after a long winter gives me hope for what is to come. While we have been resilient and persevered this year, I know each of us longs for the day when we are post-pandemic. The last year has demonstrated (perhaps even more strongly than consolidation) the importance of being Stronger Together, and that Together, We Can.
Thank you all for your support and hard work on keeping our HHASD family safe and healthy this year. #TogetherWeCan
Yours in Education,
Tara
Pupil Services Update, Ms. Tomich
Attention Families of Incoming 4K Students
Children's Mental Health Awareness Week: May 2 - 8
Let’s raise awareness for Children’s Mental Health.
Please click on the link below to learn about the
activities that have been planned this week.
OCMH Children's Mental HealthStaff Appreciation Week!
Paraprofessional Day!
School Lunch Hero Day
Between preparing healthy meals for America’s students, adhering to strict nutrition standards, navigating student food allergies, and offering service with a smile, school nutrition professionals are true heroes.
On Friday, May 7, 2021, we will celebrate the 8th Annual School Lunch Hero Day! School Lunch Hero Day is a chance to showcase the difference school nutrition professionals make for every child who comes through the cafeteria.
During this special week when we thank our staff members for their service, please be sure to thank all of our Food Service team members!
Staff Celebrations!
Welcome Baby Heinritz!
Congratulations to the Roznowski Family!
Emily Williamson became Emily Roznowski through adoption in March! Congratulations to kindergarten teacher Ms. Kristine Roznowski and her whole family for this momentous occassion!
While we are making progress in our vaccination effort (30% of Washington County residents completed vaccine series; 39.1% of Washington County residents have had at least one dose) HHASD is committed to the mitigation tactics that have assisted us in remaining open this year, including wearing masks. As our students head into the final stretch of the 2020/21 school year it is critical that people in our school buildings continue to wear their masks to save lives and slow the spread of COVID-19. This is especially true given the recent case trends in Wisconsin among individuals under the age of 18 and the emergence of more contagious variants.
As we head toward summer, the pandemic situation continues to evolve, and brings with it questions about what next year will look like in terms of mitigation measures. There is a lot changing, and we continue to remain in close contact with the WOPHD and area superintendents. Like last year, we will be engaging stakeholders in the process of reopening our schools so that together we can determine what will work best to control the spread of COVID-19-- focusing on what is necessary, and what may not be, in ensuring the safety of our students and staff members in the fall of 2021.
Below you will find a survey that may be completed if you would like to be included in the planning process. For those who may not have time to commit to serving on a committee, we will also be communicating through the PSB, newsletters, potential surveys, and a variety of resources (like those linked below). Some of these strategies will be shared prior to the end of the year so that we can gauge the level of support for making shifts in our mitigation efforts for the summer school session.
Resources included below:
- Presentation/Video Slides
- CDC Mitigation guidance
- DHS Guidelines for controlling outbreaks in schools
- How masking and cohorting has helped schools open/remain open
- Controlling community spread
- Johnson and Johnson vaccine now in use again, offered by walk in appointment at WOHPD clinics Vaccine offered at Washington County Fairgrounds May 5 – 7th
- Updated CDC guidance relaxes mask recommendations outdoors, offers guiding principles Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outdoors unless in crowded areas or at events
- Letter from the DHS
Thank you
Vicky Lear and Paul Propst
Welcome New Members
David Marquardt
College: UW Milwaukee
Hometown: Hartford
Family: My wife, Shannon, and our two kids, Brennen and Aria.
Hobbies: A bit of a gamer (VR mostly), learning most anything related to cool, awesome gadgets and computers.
As a child what I wanted to be when I grew up: A lot of things: A Teacher, Real Estate Agent, Insurance Sales, Farmer, Psychologist, Computer Programmer, Leader. As time went on I learned I could be all these things in different capacities!
Reason I ran for the School Board: My family and I are very proud to be part of this school district. I am excited to be able to contribute to our district in a meaningful way and support the administration, teachers, and staff, and do my part as a board member to further the goals of the district. I love learning the nitty-gritty of how organizations work, what makes them tick, and how to remove obstacles to growth, and be a part of making them successful. I’m proud at the thought of working with such a smart, thoughtful, and professional team.
Unique Contributions to The Board: As an owner of two businesses, a parent of two awesome kids, and a solutions-minded perspective on most everything, I will be able to contribute to the district leadership team in a collaborative way that serves the education of our kids well.
Christine VanDerGeest
College: Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-Madison. Graduate: Lakeland
University
Hometown: Racine
Family: My husband Jake and I have two active and loving boys Brayden (age 10) and Logan (age 8).
Hobbies: I love spending time with my family. In our spare time we enjoy traveling and skiing. I am also an avid runner.
As a child what I wanted to be when I grew up: I have always been drawn to working with and helping others.
Reason I ran for the School Board: I care deeply about our schools and community. Being involved on the school board is my way to give back to the community and be a contributor to important work that directly impacts students, staff, and the community at large.
Unique Contributions to The Board: The unique contributions I bring to the board is my experience in both education and business. I am a licensed school counselor with experience at the school level as well as higher education, instructing at the graduate level. I have made a transition in my career to now working in finance and business operations. These experiences give me both a broad understanding of education as well as the fiscal mindset needed to be a well-rounded board member.
April Board Meeting Summary
During our April board meetings the following items were discussed:
Middle School Health Curriculum & Quote (D’Alessio) - Ms. Heather D’Alessio provided a report on the ETR curriculum which is currently used at RMS. Her report included additional materials and a cost savings to the district.
Math Plan (Downs) - Ms. Kelly Downs discussed the 2021-2022 Goals, which include: the RtI at Work process; all students achieving at high levels; and, math enhancements. She reviewed the materials chosen, the math accomplishments so far, the budget details, and what can be expected next in regard to the math curriculum and teaching. She cited the use of Bridges, DreamBox, Khan Academy, and Illustrative Math, teacher training, onsite lesson presentations, assessments, conceptual understanding, and the presentation of the curriculum to visiting school districts. Positive teacher feedback on the curriculum was noted. Downs offered detail and rationale for the suggested budget items.
FLES Master Schedule 2021/22, Ms. Shattuck highlighted a few aspects of the schedule for board members. She noted the consistent specials blocks, the common meeting time every week, the structured ELA and Math blocks, and that there were no major changes to the schedule since it was last presented.
RMS Schedule 2021-2022 Ms. Lauren Mallow discussed the grade level PLC time, core contact classes remaining in the morning, time allotted for reteaching, and feedback received from multiple groups on the schedule. Band and Orchestra lessons would be conducted after school. Ms. Mallow did perform an inquiry with other districts on their offering of band and orchestra.
Fourth to Fifth Grade Transition Ms. Shattuck and Ms. Mallow shared a plan for the fourth-to-fifth grade transition, polled various people for their insights prior to the plan’s creation, and included a 5-steps strategy for the transition. Fifth-grade teachers will go to FLES and introduce themselves to students, a Q & A session with 4th graders via Google Meet with the 5th grade students answering, a parent gathering to meet MS staff, RMS tours, and the Raider Ready event.
HHOPS Celebrate Families, Board contribution - The School Board will be donating a basket of gift cards for one lucky bidder to win... this basket is themed around Richfield Eateries. The Celebrate Families event is later this month.
WEA Health Insurance 7/1/21 Renewal - Ms. Howe renegotiated with WEA for an 8.9% increase in premium; this is several percentage points lower than the original bid. Howe reviewed the plan with members and commented that the district will be glad to stay with WEA.
Co-Curricular Activities and Fees - Dr. Villalobos spoke to Mr. Shelsta about the participation numbers this year due to covid and limited offerings. Next year, we would like to increase participation, as such our recommendation is to hold and not increase participation fees.
Pandemic Update - Report regarding matters related to COVID-19 impacting the 2020-2021 school year and plans for the 2021-2022 school year. - The health department shared three main mitigation strategies: continue to wear face coverings for the remainder of the school year, keep washing your hands, and to continue to be physically distant. The information was shared with the Parent Sounding Board who asked about the reopening of school, and talked about summer school. The district has communicated with other school districts and the health department and is not recommending any changes at this time, but will be actively monitoring the situation and will be seeking support through surveys and committee involvement.
Election & Policy on Positions - Dr. Villalobos shared the policies governing each of the board positions and shared that the board officer elections will be conducted at the 5/17 school board meeting. She also explained the voting process for board positions.
Principal Hiring Timeline & Interviews - Dr. Villalobos summarized the principal search process which included inviting eleven candidates to the first interview; six to the second interview; and three to the final interview. This week candidates met with four panels: staff, students, parents, and administration. On Monday, May 3rd, interviews will begin in closed session at 4:30 p.m. with the board interviewing as a group interview.
New Policies
Policy 143.2 - Board Member Information Requests, Policy 144.5 - Board Member Behavior and Code of Conduct, Policy 1211 - Whistleblower Protection, Policy 2522 - Library Media Centers, Policy 5895 - Student Employment. Dr. Villalobos discussed these policies at the last meeting and indicated there were no changes since then.
APPROVED ACTION ITEMS
Policy 143.2 - Board Member Information Requests
Policy 144.5 - Board Member Behavior and Code of Conduct
Policy 1211 - Whistleblower Protection
Policy 2522 - Library Media Centers
Policy 5895 - Student Employment
2021/22 Certified Staff Base Wage Increase
2021/22 FLES Master Schedule
2021/22 RMS Master Schedule
WEA Health Insurance 7/1/21 Renewal
May Board Meeting Dates
Administer Oath of Office to elected board members - David administered the Oath to Marquardt and VanDerGeest.
Monthly Events & Opportunities
FLES: https://www.hhasd.org/schools/friesslake/about/principalmessagefl.cfm
RMS: https://www.hhasd.org/schools/richfield/about/principal-message.cfm
Join Our Team
Certified Vacancies:
- Guest Teachers (short- and long-term)
- Middle School Special Education (2021/22 School Year)
- Elementary and Middle School Music (2021/22 School Year)
Support Staff Vacancies:
- Paraprofessionals