Newtown-Harris Board of Education meeting results from November 9, 2022

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The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education November 9th approved dates for the Christmas program, senior trip, and graduation.

The Christmas program is scheduled for December 15th at 6:30 in the evening. A weather backup time will be December 19th at 6:30 in the evening.

The senior trip is planned from May 14th through 18th. The graduation date was set for May 19th.

The board approved career ladder participants. Monies are 60% from the state and 40% from local funds. The board also agreed to provide 40% of local funds for teachers who did not qualify for full participation in the career ladder program.

It was announced school board candidates may file for the April 4th election from December 6th at 8 o’clock in the morning to December 27th at 5 o’clock in the evening. Newtown-Harris will advertise and monitor the filing during December. There are three spots available for the school board.

It was announced Newtown-Harris will sponsor a lunch for veterans and families on November 11th starting at noon. The meal will be followed by a Veterans Day ceremony at 1 o’clock. The program will include veteran guest speaker Airman Bill Vaughn of Kirksville, patriotic songs, and student essays.

Superintendent Doctor Matt Copeland reported the school district found out it will receive $2,500 from First Interstate Bank. Teachers compiled a wish list, generating several items for the district’s potential purchase. Those items include technology, instrument repair and improvement, and a child development simulator baby.’

Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Amy Hall received a GEC grant for a stove in her classroom. The old stove will go to the elementary after-school program classroom.

The National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant Fund awarded Newtown-Harris $16,726.61 for a new outdoor eight-by-eight walk-in freezer. Copeland anticipates an additional $3,000 to $4,000 in concrete and shipping costs. He hopes to break ground in the early spring and complete work before the end of the school year.

Copeland reported he is exploring a change in the district’s teacher evaluation processes and procedures. He has used and been trained a lot in the Network for Educator Effectiveness process. Copeland believes for the cost of $375, it is a great value to the district to increase teacher evaluations and communication. He noted the NEE is the most widely used teacher evaluation tool in the state.

The Continuous School Improvement Process was discussed. Copeland reported the professional development work the staff is engaged in is directly related to the curriculum work desired in the CSIP.

Copeland attended the Missouri Association of Rural Education conference in October and went to several breakout sessions that highlighted the CSIP related to the Missouri School Improvement Program 6.

Copeland said that hiring Jim Judd as a consultant pushed Newtown-Harris further and faster in the process, and the superintendent feels the school district is well-positioned with its plan. Judd also works with the state-level CSIP working group, and he keeps the district informed of any chances he learns from his service.

Copeland completed the SAM.gov registration process. That will allow the district to solicit and accept federal grant monies. The district is up to date until the end of next October.

Copeland considers parent-teacher conferences to be a success. The elementary school staff achieved the goal of 100% parent contact. For high school staff, there was an 80% contact rate, and 100% of students were contacted by at least one teacher.

Copeland was going to apply caulking and silicone to sections of the roof to prevent drippings. He wanted to see if a low-cost option solved most of the water.

He also has a free quote coming from a company in Springfield to look at Newtown-Harris’s roofs. He wants to know the company’s assessment of the old roof and what potential options are available.

The district is still looking for a 10-passenger van.

Board Member Donnie MacGregor was recognized for successfully completing the new board member training through the Missouri Association of Rural Education last month.


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Jennifer Thies

https://www.kttn.com/

Jennifer’s interest in radio began at a young age. She started as a news reporter at KTTN in January 2017, but previously worked almost a year and a half as an on-air announcer and with news at the NPR affiliate KXCV/KRNW, which serves Northwest Missouri. Jennifer was born and raised in St. Joseph, Missouri. She received a Bachelor of Science in Mass Media: Broadcast Production with an Emphasis in Audio Production from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.