RE-2 School board gets positive updates from elementary school principals at Nov. 11 meeting

All board members were present for the meeting as well as two of the three student board members.  The night’s agenda and minutes from the previous board meeting were approved unanimously.  There were no visitors in attendance wishing to speak to the board.

Dave Tecklenburg, CFO for the district, gave a quarterly financial report, stating that everything is in order and finances look good.  Student board members announced that the LHS Student Council’s recent Trick or Treat Street event for Halloween went very well, attracting around 500 children.

Superintendent Dr. Chad Krug gave a brief report on the stadium project.  He said that the district is very happy to have had a successful first full sports season at the complex and that they have heard several positive comments about the facility.  He shared a photo of what the finished dedication plaque will look like, with names of the board members and administration and date of the stadium’s opening year.  The plaque will be mounted on the orange tile wall at the north end of the field.  The planned ribbon cutting for the stadium had to be postponed due to the recent severe weather.  It will be held in the spring.  A permanent flagpole location is yet to be determined, but is being discussed.  The memorial brick project for the pathway near the entrance is close to being finalized.  Information will be forthcoming soon about how to purchase the bricks – he stated that “about 80” people have so far expressed interest in purchasing one.  Board member Jake Chamberlain asked Krug about when the stadium might be opened to the public for persons wanting to walk on the track.  Krug said they are still working on proper signage for the area, as they want to make sure it is used only for walking, with no scooters, golf clubs etc. being allowed in so that the facility remains in good shape.

In a legislative update, Krug spoke about the recent voting on Amendment 80 concerning funding for school choice.  The district had previously spoken out against the amendment, as it would take funds away from the public system for students choosing to take their portion of the funding elsewhere; the concern is that if those students decide to return to public schools, the district will not get that funding replaced and will then would still have to fund those students out of the fund previously depleted.  The amendment was narrowly rejected by a 50.9% vote (1,521,939 opposed) to 49.1% voting in support of it (1,469,363 for).  Voters in Prowers County, however, voted in favor of the amendment, which concerned the board.  They will keep close watch on any future amendments with the same goal and find a way to get more information to the voters ahead of any such election.

Giving updates at the meeting were the two Lamar elementary school principals, Kenny Davis of Washington Elementary and Mat Biszak of Parkview Elementary.  Davis went first and had several things to tell the board that he was excited about.  Washington’s recent parent/teacher conferences went well, with 95% of parents showing up.  He said the school is working to contact the remaining 5% and encourage them to attend future meetings.  ELA (English Language Arts) are one of the school’s main focuses currently and he talked about the school’s choice of the “Reading Wonders” series they are using.  The series is one from the list provided by Colorado’s “READ Act”.  The READ Act requires school districts to have K-3 and 4-12 reading interventionalists complete evidence-based training in teaching reading.  Beginning with this school year, districts are also required to submit evidence that each principal and administrator complete the training as well.  As part of Washington’s reading program, they are also focusing on writing strategies for students.  Mentioned was that “learning to write” at the elementary level leads to “writing to learn” in older students.  To help facilitate this, the school is starting keyboarding skill classes beginning in 2^nd grade.  He doesn’t feel the school’s current math textbooks are “great” and said that next year’s book series will be chosen carefully to improve this.  He spoke proudly of the school implementing a positive approach to their daily morning announcements with these daily morning intentions which he said “are very important and have a huge impact on student achievement and learning”. In addition to the daily pledge of allegiance, Mondays and Wednesdays also focus on their “Morning Motto”, an uplifting creed to let students know they are cared for, are in a safe environment and can focus on learning.  Tuesdays and Thursdays’ announcement focuses on the school’s “Pledge of Kindness”.  This pledge reminds students of the need to be kind and follow the Golden Rule. It emphasizes treating other people well not just in words, but in action and to show kindness in every way.  When asked by a board member if he felt this has had an impact on the students, he quickly replied “yes” and went on to give an example of a student who daily, of his own accord, chooses to help a fellow student with special needs get her lunch tray and take it to her table before getting his own lunch.  He said he is seeing “lots of acts of kindness” from his students and feels this has a huge impact on student achievement and learning and that the school has very few behavioral problems. This year, Washington was able to bring back the annual practice of students wearing Halloween costumes to school and having a parade on the playground, which was well attended by the numerous parents watching from across the fence.  This is the first time in 30 years the school has done this and Davis said that it was successful due to guidelines sent home to parents ahead of time and that they hope to make this a yearly event again.  The art program at the school continues to thrive and be a big hit with students.  He praised art teacher Leandra Chavez for getting the students excited about art and invited the board members to stop by the school to admire all the artwork adorning the hallways and the library.  Students recently got flu shots at school (“they were very excited about the band-aids” laughed Davis) as well as vision eye screening.  A dental screening for kindergarten students will be done soon and hopefully can be expanded to include other grades in the future.  November 20 will be family movie night at the school and December 16 will showcase a concert by students at the Community Building.  Davis kept apologizing for his lengthy presentation but his enthusiasm was palpable and he ended with saying he was “I am proud of Washington and love to brag about it”.

Mr. Biszak followed and stated “I can’t compete with that” which brought laughter to the room.  He did, in fact, compete very well with his updates from Parkview.  Much like Washington, he and his staff are emphasizing being intentional and mindful to the students.  The success of this is in the smiles he sees on the students’ faces.  He said “if you can’t see the smiles, you can’t see all the good things going on”.  He spoke of the recent Colorado Judicial Branch’s mock trial and its success at the school.  The school has replaced the previous “student of the month” with a new “Recognition of Excellence’ program.  To be selected as one of these recognized students, they have to be recommended for same in writing by staff.  The recommendation needs to state why that staff member feels the student should be singled out, whether it is for being a good person, what they do in and out of the classroom, etc.  It is felt that this recognition will go a long way towards the continued desire to learn and excel as a person and a student.  One student in particular got a higher award, as she was recommended by 3 teachers as being “kind, happy and positive, helpful, brilliant and for never saying anything bad about other students.  Isabel Robbins was this recipient of this and received an additional certificate recognizing her for “excellence both inside and outside of the classroom”.   The school has held several special “dress up” days, including sports day which emphasized making healthy choices including playing sports and keeping active. Another popular dress up day was themed “dress as a character” and the staff had great fun participating as well.  Much like at Washington, there were no behavioral problems from students on these days.   Biszak said these opportunities for students to choose a costume is important and especially so for any student who, for religious reasons, doesn’t participate in Halloween costuming.  One fourth grade student recently chose to dress as Superintendent Dr. Krug, and got to have a picture taken with Krug.  Biszak said it was impressive that the student chose Krug, who is visible quite often in the school interacting with the students.  The Lamar Rotary Club’s donations of dictionaries to the students made a big impression on the students, he told the board.  He said he sees students using them daily, taking them from class to class and that they truly help in the schoolwork.  He asked the board to guess what they thought the students’ favorite class was as voted on in a recent poll.  He gave hints that “surprisingly, it wasn’t PE.  It wasn’t recess or lunch either”.  The answer was Social Studies and Science, classes that recently were recipients of an extra 45 minutes per day dedicated to them.  Students were able to enjoy a recent outside science lab where they studied organisms and bugs under magnifying lenses.  Another big hit with students was a tarantula one of the teachers captured during the annual migration in our area.  Students were very excited to see it, learn about it and perhaps most importantly, get their pictures taken with it.  He outlined the school’s continued academic motto and how test scores can and are being improved upon. Of particular importance is the need for students to learn to slow down and take their time on the testing, as this alone can dramatically affect their score.  He gave a shoutout to Lori Hammer at the Hope Center which focuses on after-school and alternative education programs for students in need of a little extra help.  He said she is doing a tremendous job with same and students are reaping the benefits.

Dr. Krug ended the meeting with his Superintendent’s Report.  He spoke of the district’s “culture of high expectations” and how it begins at the elementary school level and he commended both principals for the wonderful work they are doing at their respective schools.  New to the district is a tab on their website called “Thunder Thanks” where staff members can be nominated for going above and beyond.  These teachers’ stories are highlighted in this part of the website.  The district is also actively working on fostering more family engagement.

The next RE-2 board meeting will be Monday, December 9 at 5:30 pm.

By Barbara Crimond