Kearsley Chronicle
News from Central Office
A message from Mr. Walworth
Proud to be a Hornet! It was just over a year ago that I came and spoke with all of our teaching staff about the state of the district. At that time we were reeling from a loss of 140 students and facing a $900,000 budget deficit. I didn’t discuss cuts, but instead wanted to ask everyone to think about how we could all promote the great things happening at Kearsley. And boy did we. We had staff members at every level doing things to promote the district and we made a concerted effort to increase communication with our customers, our parents and kids.
So what was the end result? Our enrollment numbers are up - by 48 kids from last fall. This summer, I had several people tell me “Wow - Kearsley had a great year”. Whether it was an increase in the positive communication we were pushing out or the many wonderful things our teachers were doing with the kids, the image that Kearsley is a great place was being branded everywhere. The Mackinac Center declared Kearsley High School as an “A” school on the Context and Performance Report Card ranking - one of only two county schools to receive that rating. This fall our outstanding M-Step scores at the elementary and middle school put us in the top third in the county - making the most of the raw materials we are given. We should all take pride - we have a GREAT district.
Thanks to each and every employee that took on the task of creating a positive vision promoting Kearsley. On Friday, our varsity football team will be playing in their first playoff game in 21 years. The excitement and pride is at an all-time high. But we are not done. There are so many things to be proud of and I challenge each of you to push harder to show everyone what a great district we have. I would love to see every employee wearing their blue and gold proudly this Friday and every Friday. I would not like to see employees wearing apparel promoting other schools and districts. Just like a Coke employee would never wear a Pepsi baseball cap or a MSU professor would never wear a maize and blue block M to work, my expectation is that all of us will always promote Kearsley, and only Kearsley while we are in front of our kids.
Continue to show your pride and promote the awesome things our staff and kids are doing. Kearsley is providing a top notch education for our kids and we need to sing it from the mountain top. We are Kearsley - Go Hornets!
#FAMILY #PrideTraditionExcellence
Upcoming Dates
November 1st: End of 1st marking period
November 1st: MHSAA Football Playoffs vs. Birmingham Brother Rice - 7:00pm
November 7th: NHS Induction - 7:00pm, KHS Auditorium
November 11th: Board of Education Meeting - 7:00pm, Weston
November 11th: AMS Parent-Teacher Conferences - 2:30pm-5:30pm
November 12th: KHS Parent-Teacher Conferences - 2:30pm-5:30pm
November 13th: Parent-Teacher Conferences (AMS, Dowdall, Fiedler, Weston)
November 14th: Parent-Teacher Conferences (KHS, Dowdall, Fiedler, Weston)
November 15th: No School
November 25th: Board of Education Work Session - 6:30pm, Administration Building
November 25th: Winter Sports Meet the Team Night - 7:00pm, KHS Auditorium
November 27th: Half day for students and staff - Thanksgiving Break
November 28th: Happy Thanksgiving!
Open Enrollment
Tim Heim from MESSA will be joining us on Tuesday, November 19th to discuss the plan options and answer any questions you may have. Tim will have two presentations in the KHS Media Center. One will take place at 4:00pm and the other at 7:00pm.
Please keep in mind that qualifying deposits to HSA accounts will occur in late 2020. You must be employed by Kearsley Community Schools on December 31, 2020 in order to receive the district HSA contribution.
Welcome Melissa Graves!
Hi-Tec satisfaction survey
As most of you are aware, we transitioned to Hi-Tec for our custodial services on July 1st. While our partnership with Hi-Tec is still relatively new, we felt it was important to seek input from all staff about their experience with our new company. Linked below is a brief survey. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take a few moments to complete it. Thank you.
Poster maker
Winter Weather Ahead....
KEA members: Teachers are not required to report to work.
KESPA members: Members are not required to report to work but will receive their regularly scheduled pay for the day. Employees asked to report by their supervisor will receive double time for the hours worked; and if unable to drive, the supervisor will pick up the bargaining unit member.
KCGMFT: Members have different expectations depending on their classification. Maintenance-grounds, Utility-grounds and mechanic employees will be expected to work their regular hours and paid their regular hourly rate. Transportation and Food Service employees do not need to report to work and shall be paid for up to six (6) "Act of God" days.
Employees not covered by a bargaining unit: All non-bargaining unit employees, if scheduled to work, will not be required to report and will be paid for up to six (6) "Act of God" days.
Pumpkin Patch Staff: If the Pumpkin Patch remains open, staff reports. If the Pumpkin Patch is closed for the day, staff does not report and is not paid.
Social Media/Free Speech
The following guidelines are adopted by the Board to help clarify and, therefore, avoid situations in which the professional staff member's expression could conflict with the District's interests. In such situations, s/he should:
state clearly that his/her expression represents personal views and not necessarily those of the School District;
refrain from expressions that would disrupt harmony among co-workers or interfere with the maintenance of discipline by school officials;
not make threats or abusive or personally-defamatory comments about co-workers, administrators, or officials of the District;
refrain from making public expressions which s/he knows to be false or are made without regard for truth or accuracy.
Please remember that all student's educational rights are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Staff members should always maintain confidentially when it comes to student records including student attendance, discipline and academic records. This includes conversations with others and posts on social media.
About us
Email: pgaudard@kearsleyschools.org
Website: www.kearsleyschools.org
Location: 4396 Underhill Drive, Flint, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-8000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KearsleyCommunitySchools/
Twitter: @kearsleycommsch