At the Monday, November 19 Rushford-Peterson School Board meeting, Superintendent Chuck Ehler brought the board up to speed on the status of a potential sale for the former middle school in Peterson. According to Ehler, there was some misunderstanding regarding the title work, which prevented a purchase agreement from being secured.
“As a board, you’ve been patient,” began Ehler. “We learned this afternoon that there is a purchase agreement that is forthcoming. In addition, there is a good faith bargaining addendum to the agreement that would allow additional time frame and allow the district to be compensated.” Ehler added that legal representatives for both the district and the potential buyer are working to address items that came up during title work.
“The challenge for him is to secure his finances going forward,” continued Ehler. “You’ve got nothing to lose at this point.” Should the agreement not be brought forth, the district will rescind any further negotiations with the individual and will begin advertising the parcel after the first of the year.”
“We need to emphasize this is the end of the line. If he can’t do this in 30 days, we’ll move on,” stressed Board Chairman John Linder. The motion to approve the clarifications and a December 20 deadline for a purchase agreement, in addition to a $1,000 addendum for the district’s inconvenience, was unanimous.
In other news, the district has a challenge ahead of them with some lofty goals for it’s World’s Best Workforce (WBWF) program. A 2017-2018 summary was presented to the board by Principals Angela Sheperd and Jake Timm. The district did not meet all its self-imposed goals, but it’s not hampering efforts. “Our goals are very high,” noted Sheperd. “We do want our students to do really well and reach for high goals.”
The district sets goals for the program each fall, tweaking goals based on previous results and to be in line with the district’s strategic plan. Last year, four of the five five target areas were met. This year, none of the goals were met. These areas include: All students ready for school, all students in third grade achieving grade-level literacy, close the achievement gap(s) between student groups, all students career- and college-ready by graduation, and all students graduate.
The first area is measured by proficiency on Fastbridge Early Reading assessments. The threshold was 80% of pre-school and kindergarten students are proficient, but that number fell short, hitting just 74.4%.
Regarding grade-level literacy for third grade students, the target was an even higher 90%. Results indicated 80.4% of the students were proficient on either MCA Reading assessment or FastBridge assessment by the end of the school year.
In trying to close the achievement gap, the district aimed to have all students, including all subgroups, meet targets for the proficiency index rate. According to the district, North Star results to show that the gap between all students and special education students was 26.3%. “The aim is to identify students who may benefit from Alternative Delivery of Specialized Instructional Services (ADSIS) and Title programs and provide the necessary support.
“ADSIS is to keep kids out of special education; it’s proving that it is working and is enough support for some of these kids,” said Sheperd.
The fourth goal, having all students career and college-ready is measured by ACT results. The target was having 70% of junior students score a composite 21 or above on the ACT. Data indicated that just 62.8% did so.
Having 100% of all students graduate was the final goal. 94.9% of students did graduate from R-P.
“It’s not fun to read a report where goals aren’t met; are we looking for possible reasons,” asked Board Director Bonnie Prinsen. “It’s nice to have high goals.”
Timm indicated that several of the data is on completely different groups of kids, making it hard to compare them directly. “It’s hard to tell where we’re at, but we want to put it up there so it gives us something to strive for.”
“It’s a direct correlation to the strategic plan; they go hand in hand,” noted Ehler. “We’re very pleased from feedback we’re getting from community members and staff.”
During reports, both Ehler and Timm noted the district’s recent Arlen Falk grant. The funds will be used for the district robotics program and potentially a future Computer-Aided Design (CAD) class, specifically for the purchase of a 3D printer. “It’s a way for the kids to get their hands on Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) stuff,” said Timm.
The December school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 17, at 5 p.m., in the forum room. Please note the time is a half hour earlier than normal. The shift is to accommodate the annual audit and Truth In Taxation hearing. The public is encouraged to attend.
The annual organizational meeting for the school board has been scheduled for January 7, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. in the forum room. New school board members will be sworn in at this meeting and a number of annual items and committee assignments will be addressed.