November 8, 2023 at 6:00 PM - Independent School District 507 Regular School Board Meeting

Description:  The school board meeting is a meeting in the public, not a public meeting.  Nicollet School Board Policy provides that persons who wish to have a subject discussed at a public school board meeting are encouraged to notify the superintendent’s office in advance of the school board meeting.  The school board chair will recognize one speaker at a time and will rule out of order other speakers who are not recognized, violations of data privacy, or inappropriate comments.

Description:  The MSBA conference is January 11 and 12.  School board members and Robin are registered for the conference.
Bergan KDV will be on site this month as they continue working on the FY 23 audit.  The audit will be presented to the school board on January 10.  

Nancy Remmert has been selected for the K-8 principal position.  She earned her Specialists Degree in Educational Administration from MSU and a K-12 Reading Licensure from University of Saint Thomas.  Ms Remmert extensive experience with professional development for teachers in the areas of effective instruction, assessments, PLCs, MTSS, curriculum, and reading.

Progress toward updating our activity accounts continues.  We have preliminary fund FY 23 fund balances for the accounts below.  These will be finalized in the FY 23 financial audit report (Dec or Jan board meeting). We are soliciting bids for health insurance.  I met with a committee of teachers and our consultant on October 11.  Bids are due November 15 and will be reviewed by the committee on November 20.  Our current plan expires December 31.

Description:  MS 123B.02, Subd. 6 permits the school board to accept donations or gifts for the benefit of the district.  The Superintendent recommends approving the donations received.

Description:  The following MSHSL Grant Applications are recommended for approval:  Form A is the grant application for students who cannot afford activity fees to be reimbursed by MSHSL.  Form B is the grant application that James Bernau will use for student leadership training at Nicollet.

Description:  The superintendent recommends approving a contract with Nancy Remmert (Remmert Educational Consulting, LLC)  in the amount of $33,098 as 0.5 FTE K-8 Elementary School Principal.  The contract term is January 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024.

Description:  Robin Courrier is requesting a license variance from the MN Board of School Administrators to obtain her superintendent's license.  The variance, effective from January 1 through June 30, 2024, must be approved by the school board..  She will be fully licensed by BOSA on July 1, 2024.

Description: 
The process could be completed during a board workshop in January with the Robin.  Alternatively, the process can begin during this agenda item and completed at the December 13 meeting.
 

1. 1. What do you see?
      1. Describe what you see in the data, identify where it is located to the group. This is not about interpretation at this stage, only what you see.
      2. List the descriptions on chart paper.
   2. What does the data suggest?
      1. Discuss what the data suggests and try to generate different interpretations. Ask clarifying questions of one another to increase clarity and understanding of one another’s perspectives.
      2. List responses on the chart paper
   3. Identify one or two goal areas from the lists generated.
      1. Build two goals using the S.M.A.R.T. goal framework.

S = Simple: Is it clear and easy to understand?
M = Measurable: Is it clear what the school board will use to indicate successful performance?
A = Achievable: Is it within the scope of the board’s sphere of control/responsibility?
R = Realistic: Will successful performance on this goal benefit the school district?
T = Time-bound: Is it clear what the school board will see and when?
 

Description: 
Q04. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
 

• Why It's Important
  • Top performers are hard to find. And once an organization hires them, it needs to make sure these employees feel valued for their work and contributions, or they could be at risk of leaving. Employees who do not feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to say they'll quit in the next year.
  • Workplace recognition motivates, provides a sense of accomplishment and makes employees feel valued for the work they do. Recognition also sends a message to other employees about what success looks like.

 

• What the Numbers Say
  • Globally, one in four employees strongly agree that they have received recognition or praise for doing good work in the last week. By moving that ratio to six in 10, organizations could realize a 28% improvement in quality, a 31% reduction in absenteeism and a 12% reduction in shrinkage.

 

• What the Best Managers Do
  • The most effective leaders create a recognition-rich environment with praise coming from multiple sources at multiple times. The best managers learn how individuals like to be recognized, and they recognize them timely and often for achieving their goals and demonstrating high performance. They also explain why their performance matters.

Q11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

• Why It's Important
  • For all the complexity of performance appraisals -- balanced scorecards, 360-degree feedback, self-evaluations and forced grading reports -- the statement that reveals the best connection between perceptions of evaluations and actual employee performance is remarkably simple: "In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress."
  • This statement does not specify that the discussion is an official review. What is most important to employees is that they understand how they are doing, how their work is perceived and what the future holds. There is nothing wrong with formal evaluations, and there are many reasons to recommend them.

 

• What the Numbers Say
  • Globally, one in three employees strongly agree that someone at work has talked to them about their progress in the last six months. By doubling that ratio, organizations could realize 38% fewer safety incidents, 28% less absenteeism and 11% higher profit.

 

• What the Best Managers Do
  • When a manager regularly checks in on their employees' progress, team members are more likely to believe they get paid fairly, more likely to stay with the company and more than twice as likely to recommend the company to others as a great place to work.
  • Great managers have frequent conversations -- formal and informal -- with employees about how they are doing. In short, they are coaches, providing immediate, constructive and motivating feedback to help employees achieve increasingly better results.

An action plan based on "What the Best Managers Do" will be presented next month.