Dakota H.S. ~ Meadowlark News
December/January Newsletter 2021/22
Dakota High School Mission Statement
Dakota High School will provide a student-centered alternative instructional program to allow students to obtain a high school diploma and to learn skills necessary to be productive, responsible citizens.
Dakota High School
David Burkman, Principal & EL Director
Jim Keal, Assistant Principal
Ila Hegg, Adm. Asst.
Arati Heath, Summer School & EL Adm. Asst.
Website: www.fargo.k12.nd.us/Dakota
Location: 1305 9th Avenue South, Fargo, ND, USA
Phone: 701-446-2800
“The safest, most welcoming and accepting school on planet earth…a great place to grow and belong”.
by Jim Keal, Assistant Principal
All Dakota High School students have seen this motto as a part of their student orientation. Student survey results tell us that we create a safe learning environment for our students. We are very proud of the work that staff and students put into making their school a great place to grow and belong. We are also thankful that our students see the value in a safe and respectful school.
Attendance is the #1 indicator of success in school and life – it’s hard to be successful when you aren’t there. Students who attend daily make the most progress towards graduation and their life goals. Please encourage your learners to attend class every day. The Dakota High School staff are always open to helping students solve problems. If something is getting in the way of your student’s success, please let someone know.
As we head towards the winter break and new year keep in mind that we have lots of supports available to our students, including a pantry of food and clothing available to students in need – just ask. WE are here to help.
Fargo Public Schools 2020-21 Annual Report
As evidence of Fargo Public Schools’ commitment to our patrons, the FPS 2020-21 Annual Report is now available. It showcases the qualities and services of our school district and provides a wide array of information to familiarize families and the community with Fargo Public Schools. Report details include enrollment, staffing, and budget numbers. It also gives overviews of student services and student assessment data. Thank you for your continued support as we serve the citizens of Fargo by providing students an excellent educational experience. You can access the full document at this link.
Virtual Academy Registration Open for 2nd Semester
Hello, FPS families!
As we approach the second semester, Virtual Academy wants you to be aware of our learning platform available to all students. Second semester begins Tuesday, January 18, 2022. If you’d like more information about Virtual Academy, please click here.
If you believe this would be a good fit for your student, the survey to request registration information is here. Requests should be submitted no later than Wednesday, December 22, 2021.
For additional information, please contact:
Lori Nappe, Virtual Academy Elementary Dean (K-5) (701) 446-1601 nappel@fargo.k12.nd.us
Holly Fiechtner, Virtual Academy Secondary Dean (6-12) (701) 446-1602 fiechth@fargo.k12.nd.us
College Application Month
Dakota High School will be hosting a College Application event in October. Bank of North Dakota pays one $35 application fee per senior. Interested students will work with Josh and Jennie to fill out applications during the month of October. We will have a college application submission party on October 26th from 1-2:30! Any senior who applies and submits an application will be put into a drawing for a prize!
Bus Route Adjustments if Valley Bus experiences a Bus Driver Shortage
In the rare event that Valley Bus does not have enough staff to cover all the school bus routes for Fargo Public Schools, Valley Bus would implement a “delayed bus route plan” rather than canceling routes. This plan could be used in either a morning route or an afternoon route.
Delayed Bus Route Plan– The “delayed bus route plan” would have the drivers cover for the missing driver after they have completed their assigned route. This would cause the identified route to be delayed by 15 to 30 minutes. Families would be notified the day of the delay by email, text, and voice messaging. Morning route delay notifications will occur between 5:30-6:30 am and after-school delay notifications will occur by 1:00 pm if a driver shortage occurs. This means students may be standing at their bus stop for additional time or they may be returning home up to 30 minutes later than normal. Each route affected would cause a delay for both the elementary and secondary students riding that bus.
The Bus Delay message will only be sent to the affected route and it will say the following:
“Attention FPS families of Bus Route ###. Today, [Monday, October 9, 2021], your morning route will be 15-30 minutes later than normal. Your principal has been notified of your late arrival. “
Or
“Attention FPS families of Bus Route ###: Today, [Monday, October 20, 2021], your after-school route will arrive home 15-30 minutes later than normal. Students will be supervised at their home building until the bus is available.”
Since communication with families is based on what was entered into the FPS PowerSchool System, we asked that each family review their listed emails and cell phone numbers in the Parent PowerSchool Portal. Please update if needed by calling your child’s main office. This type of communication may be used for other situations that cause significant bussing delays.
Students will be excused in the morning if they arrive late to school due to the delayed busing. The buildings will implement a supervision plan for students if the after-school bus is delayed.
Please remember if you decide to drop your student off at their building more than 15 minutes before school the students will wait outside. Please make sure they have dressed appropriately for the weather.
Parents can check their child’s pick-up time using the “bus route by address” options on the FPS Website at https://www.fargo.k12.nd.us/Page/165.
Although the 2021-22 school year has been challenging, the transportation department and staff at Valley Bus are responding to these challenges and working hard to keep students safe. We thank families for their patience and trust as we navigate staffing challenges.
Please contact your child’s school if you have any questions.
Dr. Grosz & Mrs. Eidsness
Associate Superintendent of Fargo Public Schools
McKinney-Vento Act
1. Is your current address a temporary living arrangement?
2. Is this temporary living arrangement due to loss of housing or economic hardship?
If you answered “yes” to both of these questions, your child(ren) may be eligible for McKinney-Vento services.
Please call Jan at 701-446-3113
DKHS Daily Schedule & Calendar Information for the Year~ See downloads below
The students are expected to complete courses in 29 days (Sixthmester) or less with a “C” or higher grade.
When a student finishes a course, they go to the counselor to register for and start a new class. Accolades!
Each school day in session counts as a day, regardless of student absence or attendance.
49 Days = Sixthmester days for a skinny (70 minute) core class that is paired with an elective skinny.
Students with an IEP or 504 will have appropriately designated course completion deadlines set with case manager/team.
If a student falls off-pace and/or attendance expectations, the teacher will work closely with the student to identify obstacles and solutions. If progress continues off-pace, the teacher will include the student and parent in the development of an accord. If the student fails the accord, the student will lose the class.
Timed-out. If a student fails/drops more than 1 class per season, they will be timed-out and lose their enrollment at DKHS. The student may re-enroll/re-register at DKHS in approximately 1.5 weeks for a fresh start.
FPS graduation pace is 12 classes per year. At Dakota, if a student completes each morning and afternoon class in a Sixthmester, they will complete 12 total classes for the year.
2021-22 COVID-19 Mitigation Stategies
For the 2021-2022 school year, Fargo Public Schools will strive to resume all school operations to the best of it’s ability while continuing to follow COVID-19 mitigation strategies approved by the Fargo Board of Education. These strategies are:
- Screening, testing, ventilation, proper handwashing, and respiratory etiquette.
- Asking students and staff to stay home when experiencing ill symptoms and getting tested.
- Universal indoor masking for all staff, students, and visitors to buildings.
- Maintaining three feet of physical distance between students, to the best of the school’s ability.
- COVID-19 post-exposure guidelines of:
- Mask to mask exposure: exemption to quarantine
- Fully vaccinated contacts: if no symptoms, no quarantine but should monitor for symptoms.
- If one or both individuals are unmasked: 14-day quarantine. Contacts may release from quarantine after day 10 if no symptoms or after day 7 with a negative test collected on day 5 or later.
This approach differs from the 2020-2021 school year where many school operations, such as facility rentals and field trips, and activities were limited or cancelled. At this time, those operations are expected to continue while following the mitigation strategies outlined above.
Dakota High School Staff & Student Dress-up for Halloween
Halloween Dress-up
Jennie Rude, School Counselor
Elizabeth Hazeldine, Social Studies
Halloween Goblins
Jennie Rude, School Counselor
Halloween Spooky Staff
Written Notification School Accountability Report
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Now more than ever, it is important for schools to be transparent to its stakeholders. The world is in an unprecedented pandemic, and much has changed in our schools and education in general due to COVID-19.
Transparency to the Public
North Dakota is committed to informing communities about how well its schools are doing. North Dakota’s future success depends on tapping into the potential of all students, so they graduate choice ready with the knowledge, skills, and disposition to be successful.
State education departments are required to annually create an accountability report for every public school in the state. The School Accountability Report outlines how schools are
performing on the accountability elements North Dakota selected within its ESSA plan.
North Dakota has a public dashboard designed to help communities across the state access
important data regarding K-12 districts and schools, including COVID-19 Response. Insights
features easy-to-read reports on multiple measures of school success, including test scores,
graduation rates, English Learner progress, student engagement results, and state
accountability. To find out information about our school, visit the dashboard at Insights.nd.gov.select “Find My School”, and search alphabetically.
Please note, data made available to the public masks or hides data for groups with less than 10 students to protect confidential information about individual students and will say “no data available”.
Family Engagement
We have robust plans for working to continuously improve educational programs at our school, even in the midst of a pandemic. We would like you and your child(ren) to continue to be active participants in our educational system. Please help support our high expectations for student achievement by participating in school initiatives, offering input and support in our endeavors to raise student achievement, and volunteering at school. Meeting our school’s goals will take a united effort, and we look forward to working with families to ensure success for each student.
Continuous Improvement
All schools engage in continuous improvement for general support; therefore, our school has
completed a continuous improvement plan. As part of the overall school improvement plan, a strategy map is generated for each school. Our strategy map, outlining our key school improvement initiatives, is also available on the Insights Dashboard.
Dakota High School is a participating Title I school, with a student membership count of
144.
If you have any questions regarding the information in the memorandum, please contact:
David Burkman, Dakota High School Principal
701-446-2850
Sincerely,
David Burkman
Fargo Public School Evening Session Calendar ~ See below
Fargo Public Schools Lunch Meal Prices ~ No Cost
Dakota High School will be providing boxed meals upon request by the student. If the student knows which day they will be in attendance they can order a meal in advance by informing the main office.
Secondary Breakfast $0.00
Secondary Lunch $0.00
Adult Staff $3.50
Extra Milk $0.35
Pumpkin Carving Event for DKHS Students & Adult Learning Center Students
Dakota High School & ALC Students
Dakota High School & ALC Students
Dakota High School & ALC Students
Agassiz Building ~ Halloween Door Decorating Contest
Squid Games - SSAM Room
Beetlejuice ~ Meadowlarks Room
Fun House ~ GED Room
Attendance Information
Email/call your teacher or the main office @ 446-2805 to report an absence
Good attendance and being on time are very important life skills.
# Students can earn P-R units (punctuality and reliability) towards advisory credit by having good attendance.
- 1-4 PR points (advisory units) are awarded at the completion of every class. If a student completes 12 courses in a year with great attendance, they could earn 48 advisory units (12 classes @ 4 PR points).
## Regardless of student absence/presence, each school day in session counts in the day count of course completion (25-29 day target).
### Parents (for students under 18) or students age 18/older are expected to call in a morning or full day absence by 9 a.m. and to call in an afternoon only absence by 12:30 p.m. for the absence to be excusable.
a. If a parent can’t call an absence on time, the student must call (by 9:00 and/or 12:30) and the parent must call later in the day to verify the absence.
b. Absences called in late will not be excused. Extenuating circumstances will be considered.
c. Appropriate absences will be excused when called in on time (but still will be included in day count completion):
a. Illness, funeral, medical or legal appointments, parent request, family vacation or emergency
#### A student may be dropped from a course after 3 unexcused absences.
Attendance Notification System
Dakota sends a daily, automated attendance call to report unexcused absences @ 10:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.
Tardiness ~~ Learn to be on-time (Punctual)
Be punctual and reliable. Earn Punctuality and Reliability Points for Advisory Credit!
Tardy (I’m late.) The student is reducing their P/R points for their class.
Tardy 10-15 Minutes: Recorded as Tardy (Tdy).
Ø The student loses access to Meadowlarks Meeting room, Library, or other out-of-class space for the rest of the class period.
Tardy Extended 16 – 70 Minutes: Recorded as tardy absence unexcused (Tdy AU)
Ø Tdy AU = half-period unexcused absence count (2 Tdy AU = 1 AU)
Ø The student loses opportunity to grab and go breakfast and access to work in Meadowlarks Meeting room, Library or other out-of-class space for the rest of the class period.
Immunization Update: 11th & 12th Graders for 2021-22
Still mandatory during COVID-19 ~
Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, a second dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) is required for students entering eleventh or twelfth grade. This means your 11th and 12th grade student will need proof of two doses of MCV4 before returning to school in the fall.
Ideally, children should receive one dose of MCV4 when they are eleven to twelve years old and a booster dose on or after their sixteenth birthday. Please schedule with your child’s health care provider or your local public health. Please have your child receive this booster prior to the start of the school year. Also, remember to bring in the documentation of the immunization date to the school.
****The student has 30 days from enrollment to update their immunizations or their classes will be on PLACED hold.
Co-Curricular Activities for DKHS Students
All Dakota High School students are welcome to join and participate in their home schools co-curricular programs (sports, music, dances etc…) which exist for the development of skills, attitudes, and self-esteem of students, and are intended to enhance the physical, social, emotional, artistic and intellectual growth of our young people. Parents are encouraged to be positive and supportive in their relationships with advisors and coaches. It is the prerogative of the advisor/coach to manage the activity in such a manner that sound human relationships are encouraged and the regulations of the North Dakota High School Activities Association are met. A team effort by parents, school officials, and the participants is needed.
ACT National Testing Dates
Medications at School Policy ~ See below
Prescription and non-prescription ("over-the-counter") medications required by a student shall be administered by a parent at home or by the student's medical provider. Parents shall use every effort to have medication administration times set for time periods other than school hours. When this is not possible, within the limitations set by this policy, the Fargo Public School's staff may assist in the administration of medication during school hours. The Fargo Public Schools retains the right to refuse to administer medications or provide other medical treatments. No prescription or Non-prescription medication should be carried by a student or kept in his or her locker unless the authorization for self-administration has been completed.
The following limitations and requirements shall be applicable to the administration of medications by Fargo
Public School's staff:
* In no case should a staff member provide, recommend, prescribe, or require medication.
*School personnel will administer no prescription medication unless prescribed by a licensed prescriber
and a parent or legal guardian signs an authorization.
*Prescription medication must be in the original container with a label prepared by a pharmacist.
*Non-prescription medication (over the counter medications) will be administered according to the
manufacturer’s recommendation as written on the bottle. In addition, the parent or legal guardian needs
to sign an authorization form.
* If the parent/guardian requests a dosage different than the manufacturer’s recommendation for a non-
Prescription medication; a signed authorization will be necessary from both the parent/guardian and
the licensed prescriber prior to giving the medication.
*Non-prescription medication must be in the original container labeled with the student's name and
dosage.
*The building administrator of each school shall ensure that the procedural safeguards and records
contained in This policy are followed prior to administration of any medication or treatment.
*The building administrator of each school shall designate who shall be given the responsibility to check
in and administer the medication. Designated personnel should be in-serviced in the administration of
medication and given a specific review of instructions for a given student's medication needs.
*All personnel having responsibility for supervising students shall have access to information on the
Health portions of the student's school records, including related medical problems, and shall be
informed of anticipated circumstances for which school personnel may need to be in touch with
emergency or medical personnel.
Dakota High School Accolades
Dakota students who have distinguished achievement are recognized in the DKHS Accolades program.
Criterion for a student to achieve Dakota High School Accolades:
- Must be enrolled in a minimum of 2 DKHS sessions (starting by mid to late February)
- Average a minimum of 2 course completions per session
- Average a minimum or 3 P/R points for the year
- GPA for the year at DKHS must be at least 2.8
- No unresolved ICUs or DKHS community issues
- Complete 24 credit diploma to graduate with Accolades
Graduate must have attended more than 4 sessions at DKHS.
- Advisor’s written statement(s) of recommendation
Benefits of Achieving Dakota High School Accolades:
- Accolades Recognition Breakfast for student and family guests in May. (TBD)
- Certificate/Award that represents:
- Quality Attendance
- Commendable Scholarship
- Respectful Character
C. Potential to graduate with Accolades
D. Success and a personal sense of accomplishment
E. Quality material for Job-Scholarship-College Applications
FARGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISPUTE RESOLUTION POLICY 2021-22
Fargo Public Schools
Dispute Resolution Policy
2021-2022
Federal regulations require that each district adopt procedures for receiving and resolving disputes pertaining to Title programs.
If a parent, school personnel or any interested person wishes to file a complaint, the following process must be followed:
- The written complaint must be sent via mail or e-mail to:
(Manager of Specific Title program)
Fargo Public Schools
415 North 4th Street
Fargo, ND 58102
Fargo Public Schools Title Managers
Title I Part A (Disadvantaged Students) Jan Anderson anderja@fargo.k12.nd.us
Title II Part A (Teacher Training/Recruitment) Dr. Robert Grosz groszr@fargo.k12.nd.us
Melissa Eidsness eidsnessm@fargo.k12.nd.us
Title III (English Language Acquisition) David Burkman burkmad@fargo.k12.nd.us
Any complaint must include:
• The date;
• The name of the district, unit, or individual the complaint is against;
• The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the complaint;
• A detailed description of the complaint, including specific facts; and
• The signature of the person making the complaint.
When a complaint is filed, the appropriate Fargo Public Schools Title Manager will investigate and issue a written response within sixty (60) calendar days from the date the complaint is received.
Reconsideration
Once a response is received from Fargo Public Schools staff, the person making the complaint has the right to have their complaint reconsidered. The complainant may submit a reconsideration request in writing to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and the U.S. Department of Education.
State Superintendent The Secretary of Education
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction U.S. Department of Education
600 E. Boulevard Avenue, Department 201 555 New Jersey Avenue NW
Bismarck, ND 58505-0440 Washington, D.C. 20208