School Board Meeting Summary
Wenatchee School District
Jan. 28, 2020 Regular Meeting, Jan. 29, 2020 Special Meeting, and Jan. 30, 2020 Workshop
The Wenatchee School Board provides a "Board Meeting Summary Briefing" after each Board meeting. The summary includes a short description of the main topics and action items. These summaries are not meant to replace minutes. The minutes for each meeting are approved and posted after the next regularly scheduled meeting. We hope these summaries provide some basic information and context around the reports, presentations and action items.
For the full packet of information including presentations and reports, click on the links below.
Meetings are video streamed live online and the videos are archived on the District website here. Meetings prior to August 2019 are archived in calendar format here.
Regular Meeting
Attendance: Laura Jaecks, Martin Barron, Dr. Michele Sandberg, Julie Norton, and Maria Iñiguez
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Recognition of National Board Certified Teachers I Watch
Kelly Lopez, Executive Director of Human Resources
Ms. Lopez recognized the 4 newest teachers to achieve National Board Certification. In addition to the 4, eleven teachers renewed their NBCT. Dr. Gordon highlighted that 20% of WSD teachers are national board-certified and that Washington State leads the nation in this work. Mr. Mark Woolsey, the District’s NBCT facilitator explained that the certification is time-intensive and is the highest achievement for teachers.
New NBCT Teachers
Patrick Loftus, Wenatchee High School (not pictured)
Katie Charles, Lincoln Elementary
Jennifer Devereaux, WestSide High School
Dan Myers, Orchard Middle School
CONSENT AGENDA I Watch
Minutes: Special Meeting 1/9/20; Special Meeting 1/14/20
Ms. Jaecks asked that they pull minutes from the 14th for a chance to review suggested changes. The consent agenda was approved.
CITIZENS' COMMENTS I Watch
Students from the Wenatchee High School AVID (Advancement, Via Individual Determination) Program shared a brief overview of the program’s purpose and explained how AVID helping them strive toward a college education. As part of the program, students are working with the Hat Project to knit warm winter hats for school children and the homeless. The students handed out hats to each of the Board members.
ASB REPORTS I Watch
WestSide High School ASB representative Aria Rumley-Wells gave a report on a variety of programs and fundraisers happening at the schools.
DISCUSSION I Watch
Policies - 1st Read: Procedure 3224P; Policy 2255; Procedure 2255P
Dr. Gordon commended Dr. Sandberg and Ms. Jaecks for their work on the Board’s Policy Committee. Their work provided great feedback on the Alternative Learning Education (ALE) policy and procedure and student dress procedure.
A committee collaborated with building administrators, SROs and six high school students to be thoughtful about a more discretionary approach to the dress code procedure. Changes made to the procedure include removing gender-specific language and allows staff to maintain an internal list of prohibited items. The policy did not change.
ACTION ITEMS I Watch
2021-2021 Student Calendar: Approved
Kelly Lopez, Executive Director of Human Resources
Dr. Gordon recommended the approval of the 20-21 calendar. The calendar is only one year in length and is similar to the 19-20 calendar. A one-year calendar adoption will allow for deeper conversations with stakeholders. Staff will work to better communicate the ‘why’ behind the days off of school with parents. Ms. Lopez added that the District tries to align as best they can with Eastmont to accommodate those that live in East Wenatchee and work in Wenatchee or vice versa. She indicated that the calendar committee will be seeking parent and community feedback on the calendar through an online survey. Dr. Sandberg asked that the District also look at Wenatchee Valley College’s calendar in an effort to support Running Start students. Ms. Norton acknowledged that there had been many questions about the calendar and that at times it can be difficult for parents to coordinate care on no-school days. She supported looking at the calendar more closely.
Appoint Legislative Representative
Ms. Norton was appointed to serve as the Board’s legislative liaison through WASSDA.
District Learning Team Committees and Teams
Dr. Sandberg was appointed to serve as the standing member of the DLT. Ms. Iniguez and Mr. Barron will serve as the two required rotating representatives.
School Bus Purchases: Approved
Jennifer Lagadinos, Director of Transportation
Larry Mayfield, Executive Director of Finance
The administration recommends approval to purchase two 84 passenger Bluebird D84 trip buses and one 31 passenger C60 Bluebird SpEd Bus with Lift. Dedicated trip buses are an industry-standard practice and are built to handle freeway and long trips. With the addition of the two new buses, regular buses will not have to be pulled out of the daily rotation.
Copier Leases
This new 60-month lease will replace 28 of the 31 copiers and retain three copiers on maintenance only, due to low usage. Administration recommends approval of the 60-month Ricoh copier lease for 28 new copiers and for the continuation of 3 existing copiers on maintenance only for a monthly lease cost.
BOARD COMMUNICATION I Watch
SUPERINTENDENT REPORT I Watch
Dr. Gordon thanked the Board for their service and recognized that January is National Board Appreciation Month and pointed out the gifts, cards and thoughtfully created posters in the boardroom from children. Dr. Gordon also highlighted upcoming events and workshops for the Board.
CLOSED SESSION
ADJOURNMENT
January 29, 2020 Special Meeting
Attendance: Laura Jaecks, Martin Barron, Dr. Michele Sandberg, Julie Norton, and Maria Iñiguez
Board members attended the Community-Wide Discussion on Equity and Quality in Schools taking place at the Wenatchee Valley Museum. No action was taken at this meeting and live streaming services were not available.
January 30, 2020 Board Workshop
Attendance: Laura Jaecks, Martin Barron, Dr. Michele Sandberg, Julie Norton, and Maria Iñiguez
Dr. Gordon explained that the purpose of this session is for the new Board to set expectations and discuss values. Discussion around hiring a demographer for future district projects will also happen at the end of the meeting.
BOARD MEETING NORMS I Watch
NORMS_ OPERATING PRINC._ EVAL..PDF
Dr. Gordon shared that the norms provided are from the former board and the purpose of the meeting is to evaluate and decide if these are the same norms this new Board agrees to.
Norms
There were no changes to the established Board norms. The Board asked that an additional bullet point be added that addresses the use of personal electronic devices during meetings. Staff will create a draft of this addition and return to the Board for review.
Operating Principals
The Board made minor clarifying changes to the language. Additional clarification will be made on the agenda and board packet to clarify the role of the Board in approving policies and reviewing procedures for better understanding.
BOARD/SUPERINTENDENT ROLES/EXPECTATIONS I Watch
BOARD-SUPERINTENDENT EXPECTATIONS.PDF
The Board agreed to the roles and expectations and the Board/Superintendent roles/expectations as presented.
BOARD VALUES I Watch
The Board reviewed the list of values created by the previous Board. They asked the following changed be made:
- That 'excellence' be changed to 'academic excellence'
- Take out any reference to ‘organization’ in the definition of accountability
- Include equity and diversity and the definition of equity
Staff will make the requested modifications to the values and the definitions and will send them to the Board for review. The values will be used in Dr. Gordon’s stakeholder survey in February and the community will be asked to rate each value based on importance.
DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY I Watch
Larry Mayfield, Executive Director of Business & Finance
Mr. Mayfield shared an overview of what a demographer does with the Board. Administration is proposing that the District hire a demographer to examine migration in and out of the community, to deepen our understanding of our school demographics, and have a better understanding of the changing community. Demographers provide multiple reports that can be used to validate our student enrollment projections and also facility needs. Dr. Gordon explained that a demographer will help staff provide the best information to the Board so they can evaluate and prioritize capital projects and the allocation of resources as well as further the discussion on Board seat districting.
SUPERINTENDENT COMMUNICATIONS I Watch
OPPORTUNITY FOR CO-WORKSHOP WITH EASTMONT - FEB. 24 - 5:30 PM
Eastmont is having a joint meeting with Eastmont legal council and that will include risk management. The Board is open to having a joint meeting in the future when there are fewer demands on the Board’s time. Mr. Barron is interested in attending and will report back to the Board. Staff will coordinate a Board liability training for with WSD legal counsel at a later date.
CALENDARS I Watch
Staff will include important events in the Superintendent's weekly email update.
COMMUNITY SURVEY I Watch
As part of Dr. Gordon’s transition plan, a stakeholder survey is being created to further collect feedback on our strengths, future obstacles, prioritization of themes that have emerged early in Dr. Gordon’s listing and learning and rate the Board’s values. The survey is projected to launch on February 10 and run through February 23rd. The survey is online, however, efforts will be made by staff to provide kiosks at school offices and to make paper forms available for those who need them. The survey will be available in Spanish and English. A report to the Board on the survey results will be shared in March.
ADJOURNMENT
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 I Regular Board Meeting I WSD Central Office I 6:00 p.m.
Monday, February 18 , 2020 | Board Workshop on Exploration of Capital Projects I WSD Central Office I 1:00 p.m.
Connect with us
Email: District_Communications@wenatcheeschools.org
Website: http://www.wenatcheeschools.org
Location: 235 Sunset Avenue, Wenatchee, WA, USA
Phone: 5096638161
Facebook: Facebook.com/WSD246
Twitter: @WenatcheeSD