October 22, 2013 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Notice of the time and place of the Lincoln Board of Education meeting was e-mailed to an extensive list of local and regional news media.  A mailing list is maintained at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office.  A public notice was published in the LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR.

The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Rationale:  The attached minutes are intended to accurately reflect the action of the Board at its previous meetings.

Explanation
The minutes have been prepared for Board approval.

Rationale:  In keeping with Policy 8420, a time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker. At the discretion of the Chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time.

Rationale: 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  At each meeting, the Board of Education is asked to approve certain items of routine business of the school district.

Explanation
The items included in routine business for this meeting are:

a.    REGULAR CLAIMS – Claims for the period ending October 22, 2013, were previously provided.

       Insurance ACH Transfer of $5,036.31

       Federal Tax ACH Deposit of $42,691.56.

       Procurement Card ACH Transfer of $107,428.67.

       Office Depot ACH Transfer of $8,595.41.

       Retirement ACH Transfer of $4,109,645.90.

       Vendor ACH Transfer of $670.86.

b.    PAYROLL FOR RATIFICATION – Payroll for the period ending October 15, 2013, in the amount of $167,650.60.

c.    GIFTS – Approval for the gifts listed on the attached gift report.

d.    BIDS/CONTRACTS/OTHER ROUTINE BUSINESS – Bids/contracts/other routine business will be presented for approval for an agreement with Focus on Family Learning, Inc.; membership participation fee for Partnerships for Innovation; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented.

Proposal
That the Lincoln Board of Education approve the following items of routine business:*

a.    The regular claims for period ending October 22, 2013.

b.    Payroll for the period ending October 15, 2013.

c.    Gifts for Culler, Lincoln High, Park, Southwest, and the district.

d.    Bids/contracts/other routine business for an agreement with Focus on Family Learning, Inc.; membership participation fee for Partnerships for Innovation; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented.

*That the Board, by approving Routine Business, is approving Regular Claims, Payroll for Ratification, and all listed Bids, Contracts, and Other Routine Business items or transactions with the information and in the form as presented, and except as to conclusive award or contract amounts, in such other form and with such other or modified terms and conditions as may be negotiated and/or approved by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, and that the Board by this approval delegates to and is hereby authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, to (a) sign, execute, and deliver all necessary documents or contracts, (b) make all transaction or contract payments and designate a transaction or program administrator, (c) take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete the transaction, and (d) administer, operate, exercise renewals, terminate, and/or implement each listed and approved item or transaction and all matters thereto on a day-to-day basis during its term as contemplated, for and on behalf of this school district.

Rationale:  March 15, 2013, was the deadline for enrollment option applications to be completed for students wishing to attend school in a district other than the one in which they reside for the 2013-14 school year.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education has authority to waive the deadline for late enrollment option requests (NDE Rule 7, Section 004.05).

Explanation
A request from a student who resides in the Lincoln Public Schools District and wishes to attend school outside of the Lincoln Public Schools District has been received after the March 15, 2013, deadline.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education may deny or approve this request.  If this request is approved by the Board of Education, it will be forwarded to the option school district for their approval.

 

                                    Student Number                             Option
                                     223645                                           Raymond Central

Proposal
That the Board approve this request for option out for the 2013-14 school year. 

Rationale:  The Early Childhood Education Endowment Grant Program was established to serve children from birth to age three. The Sixpence Early Learning Fund was then established to expand the Continuation Endowment Grant, and is a public-private partnership funded from the State and from the private sector. Sixpence is used primarily for grants to school districts to provide programs and services for infants and toddlers who are at risk of school failure in partnership with community agencies and child care programs serving this age group. The purpose of the grant is to help promote opportunities for children to experience positive environments that provide for their healthy growth and development during their earliest years. Sixpence grant funds are available to promote community level partnerships that focus on meeting the developmental needs of very young children and to fund services for children birth to age three that will promote their success in school and later in life.

Explanation

The program services to be supported with these funds will enhance home-based Early Childhood Special Education services by providing twice monthly center-based family engagement and socialization events in partnership with CEDARS Youth Services. Approximately 60 children will receive this service.  CEDARS will also expand services by offering Healthy Families America home visitation services that promote positive parenting and child health and development, thereby preventing child abuse and other poor childhood outcomes.  It will allow CEDARS to work with 12 additional families that would not otherwise be served by its recently funded Sixpence grant due to capacity.

Additional community partners include: Nebraska Children’s Home Society, Food Bank, and Community Action of Lancaster and Saunders County Early Head Start.

Proposal
That the Board approve submission of this Sixpence Endowment Grant application. The grant money will assist in funding children ages birth – three with disabilities to receive socialization and family engagement opportunities, and will also expand home visitation services through CEDARS. The grant application request is for $100,000. The total amount requested requires a local dollar-for-dollar match, which will come from CEDARS. 

Application due date was October 9, 2013.

Rationale:  *The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education  Board releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Rationale:  Proposal
That the Board discuss the proposed student calendar for the 2015-16 school years.

 

 

 

 

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Rationale: 

Lincoln Public Schools in accordance with the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 has established a Wellness Policy with goals in the area of nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities.   The mission of Lincoln Public Schools is to create a health-promoting school community and to instill habits of lifelong learning and health.  The district’s Wellness Policy also states that this mission is best served through a collaborative process with school and community stakeholders with measureable outcomes for students.

Proposal
That the board approve the following resolution:

WHEREAS, the Board of Education at Lincoln Public Schools recognizes the increasing trend of obesity and lack of physical activity of students, and

WHEREAS, Lincoln Public Schools is currently working to increase the fitness levels of its students and will continue to work with partners to improve the overall health of all students in regard to fitness, obesity, and eating disorders, and

WHEREAS, Lincoln Public Schools recognizes the efforts of the Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) and the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA) to work with schools across Nebraska to increase student fitness and lower student obesity called the Nebraska Whole Child Project, and

WHEREAS, Lincoln Public Schools supports the mission of the Nebraska Whole Child Project to bring schools together to collectively share best practices for student health and wellness, and

WHEREAS, Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education, its administrators and staff will partner with the Nebraska Whole Child Project in ways it determines will benefit the students of Lincoln Public Schools and K-12 students from across Nebraska.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Lincoln Board of Education supports the efforts of NASB and NCSA to bring schools together to facilitate the sharing of best practices to improve the health and fitness of students across Nebraska.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Lincoln Public Schools will work collaboratively with the Nebraska Whole Child Project in furtherance of its mission to increase fitness and lower obesity of Nebraska K-12 students.

 

 

 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  The Gallup Student Poll is a 20-item online measure of hope, engagement, and well being for students in grades 5 through 12.  In 2012, students in Lincoln Public Schools participated in the poll.   Results are used to assist schools in developing strategies that support the engagement of all students, ultimately resulting in higher achievement and graduation rates. 
Proposal
This is an information report; no Board action is requested.

Rationale:  This year the district is implementing the new K-6 reading program that was adopted this past spring.   The implementation of the Wonders Reading Curriculum includes both new materials and new methods for delivering content, including some significant technology components.  In the past, adoptions have been done primarily in two phases:  primary followed by intermediate grades.   This adoption covered the span of grades K-6, making it one of the most comprehensive adoptions to date. 

Attached is information related to the implementation.

Explanation
This presentation is an informational update regarding the implementation of the new curriculum adoption in grades K-6, including professional development supports, technology integration, and ongoing work to assure the new adoption is successfully integrated into all classrooms.  This is an ongoing process, as is true of any major new curriculum adoption.

Proposal
This is an information report; no Board action is requeste

Rationale:  For the past 28 years, as part of the principal appraisal process, telephone surveys were administered to a random sample of parents of LPS students.  The surveys were conducted by the ESU 18 Assessment and Evaluation Team.  For the 2012-13 school year, the survey was updated to match the current principal appraisal process and was administered online by the Instruction Department.  Staff will be present to explain and discuss the attached information. 

Explanation
The 2012-13 parent survey was the 29th year that parents have been surveyed as part of the principal appraisal process.  The first survey was conducted during the 1983-84 school year and a survey has been conducted every year since except for 1986-87.  Technically the survey is not a district survey.  The district results are a composite of independent school surveys that are conducted during third and fourth quarter.  The school results are based on random samples of parents/guardians from that school.  District results are approximated by combining the school results.  A true district survey would involve surveying a random sample of district parents in a more compressed time frame.  The mix of schools varies from year to year, depending upon the appraisal cycle.

Parents from 34 schools were surveyed.  Surveys were administered for principals who received a summative appraisal or for principals who were new to their school.  Nine of the principals were first year principals.  Six of the principals were second year principals.  Three of the principals were third year principals.  Twelve of the principals were experienced principals who were on the summative year of the appraisal cycle.  Four of the principals were experienced principals, new to their schools not on the summative year of their appraisal cycle.  The thirty-four (34) included twenty-four (24) elementary principals, seven (7) middle school principals and three (3) high school principals.  The composite sample for the parent surveys in the thirty-four (34) schools consisted of 3,185 families.   Families received School Messenger calls and e-mails with the link to the survey. Principals also informed parents in newsletters and e-mails that a random sample of families would be receiving the School Messenger call and an e-mail with the link.  Reminder School Messenger e-mails were also sent near the end of the survey window.  Families identified as families that did not speak English as their first language were contacted by bilingual liaisons.  Bilingual liaisons assisted families in understanding and completing the survey.  A total of 1,213 families completed the survey for a return rate of 38 percent.

A five-year history of results on two questions that were on the former survey and are on the updated survey is presented below.  Two questions are similar to questions that are included in the annual Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools.  This poll is an annual poll designed to track public opinion about public schools.

Questions: 

Students are sometimes given grades of A, B, C, D and Fail, to denote the quality of their work. Suppose the public schools themselves were graded the same way, what grade would you give _____  School?

	2008	2010	2011	2012	2013
School % A-B	91%	92%	90%	91%	90%
PDK/Gallup	72%	77%	79%	77%	71%

Students are sometimes given grades of A, B, C, D and Fail, to denote the quality of their work. Suppose the public schools themselves were graded the same way, what grade would you give Lincoln Public Schools as a school district?

 

 

	2008	2010	2011	2012	2013
District % A-B	79%	81%	79%	85%	83%
PDK/Gallup	46%	49%	51%	48%	53%

 

Proposal

This is an information report; no Board action is requested.

Rationale:  Tuesday, October 29, Board Work Session at 4:30 p.m., LPSDO Board Room
Wednesday, November 6, Chamber Coffee at 8:00 a.m., at the Chamber Office
Saturday, November 9, NAACP Freedom Banquet at 6:00 p.m., Cornhusker Hotel
Tuesday, November 12, Board Meeting at 6:00 p.m., LPSDO Board Room

Rationale:  In keeping with Policy 8420, a time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker. At the discretion of the Chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time.

Rationale:  The Lincoln Board of Education is authorized by state statute to hold closed sessions.  Closed sessions may be held when clearly necessary for the protection of the public interest or for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual.  Reasons that meet this standard include but are not limited to:  (a) strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining, real estate matters, pending litigation, or litigation which is imminent as evidenced by communication of a claim or threat of litigation to or by the public body; (b) discussion regarding deployment of security personnel or devices; (c) investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct; (d) evaluation of the job performance of a person when necessary to prevent needless injury to the reputation of a person and if such person has not requested a public meeting; and (e) legal advice.