SIAC Committee Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020

Posted: October 19, 2020 at 8:55 AM

Attendance: Koal Klenk, Marlene Franzen, Benson Lee, Chylie Feuerhelm, Denise Mueller, Kathy Koether, Larry Meyer, Tasha Fritz, Gavin Fritz, Evie Fritz, Brynlee Fritz, Darla Keehner, Jess Peterson, Karla Hanson, Jen Wilwert and Heidi Meyer

  1. Review the purpose of SIAC- Mr. Meyer explained how this group will meet a few times during the school year to review testing data, district programs, and long-term and short-term goals. The committee also has the opportunity to have open discussions on what is going well in the district and what needs improvement.
  2. Review standardized testing data (ACT, FAST testing)- The 2019-2020 ACT results were not available for this meeting. Jen shared the 2020 fall results of FAST testing for reading. Kathy Koether explained the interventions in place for 1st grade to help those students make future benchmarks.
  3. Discuss Title 1 programs- The monies received for Title 1 are primarily used for salaries. The district has one full-time Title 1 teacher and one part-time teacher, both used in the elementary. Some money is used for supplies, such as the book cart that is shared by elementary grade levels. Also, a portion of the money is used to pay substitutes during FAST testing. This allows teachers to test their own students in a quiet setting while a substitute continues teaching in the classroom.
  4. Share 2020-21 Professional Development Plan- This year’s plan continues trainings of initiatives such as RCD (Responsibility Centered Discipline), and also provides the trainings necessary to learn new programs, strategies, and mitigation procedures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  5. Review the status of the district’s long-range goals
    1. Facilities- Major remodeling projects and the proposed fieldhouse are currently on hold until the economy improves and the cost of materials decreases.
    2. Marketing- A team has been formed to provide more marketing of MFL MarMac CSD. The people in attendance agreed this has been an area of improvement. Praise was given for the virtual events. Suggestions given were to post pictures regularly on Facebook of students of all grade levels. Slide shows in the buildings should include district-wide pictures so all centers can see what is happening district-wide. There was a suggestion to take time to celebrate academic honors online- sometimes there is a heavy focus on the sports. The community needs more information on the live-streaming service of sporting events (cost, how-to, etc).
    3. Diversity Council- At the May 2020 SIAC meeting, an idea was presented to begin a Diversity Council. Dr. Crozier asked SIAC to explore this idea at this meeting and to discuss the possibility of a sub-committee of SIAC. Before trying to determine who should be a part of this committee and how many representatives from the student body, staff, and community could serve on this committee, it was expressed that several questions would need to be answered first.
      1. What is the mission of the Diversity Council?
      2. What needs to change?
      3. What data is available to pinpoint the district’s needs in diversity issues?SABER survey, Iowa Youth Survey?, district/school survey, office referrals?
      4. What will energize students to be a part of the Diversity Council?
      5. What would be the Diversity Council’s audience? Students, staff, parents, community?
    4.  It was decided further information needs to be brought to SIAC in order to continue the conversation.
  6.  Open Discussion
    1. Positives:
      • Teachers are doing well with hybrid learning and with Zooming with virtual learners while also having students in the classroom.
      • Community has done a good job working with technology and helping students.
      • When we have had to quarantine students, parents have been cooperative.
      • Overall, teachers are doing a good job with communicating with parents.
      • Students have stepped up to handle at-home learning on Wednesdays.
      • Teachers are keeping it positive.
      • The district always strives to do what is best for students.
    2. Needs Improvement:
      • There are times when we need more communication consistency between buildings. This was noticed with sporting events being streamed and only the high school knew. Anything we can do to continue to improve communication is positive.
      • Since there was no “Meet the Teacher” night in 2020, it has been hard to build a relationship between the parent and teacher. If the district would begin another school year without “Meet the Teacher”, please try doing a Zoom Meet and Greet and/or a video to introduce staff (especially the new teachers to the district).
      • Multiple people expressed frustration with tests on Thursdays–the day after a virtual learning day.
      • It’s hard to tell when a Canvas assignment is only for the virtual learners. It was suggested to code the assignment either with a label (V.L.= virtual leaner) or with a color.