Red Wing School Board briefs

NCLB waiver impacts still unknown

Minnesota received a waiver from the federal program No Child Left Behind last February. Director of Instructional Services Kathy Radmer told the board Monday how that waiver might impact Red Wing.

The waiver means that there will no longer be sanctions for not making Adequate Yearly Progress and there will be greater flexibility with federal funds, among other things. A goal that all students be proficient by 2014 is also no longer in effect, Radmer said.

In addition, schools will now be given an annual rating that will measure student proficiency, student growth, achievement gap closure and graduation rate. The rating is based on a state-created target, not a federally created target.

Red Wing will receive a rating – based on the new measurement guidelines and using data from the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years – within the next couple weeks, Radmer said.

“We’ll see how our schools fit into the new classification system,” she said.

However, the waiver doesn’t change everything. AYP will still be calculated, federal funding formulas will still be in effect and district and school data will still be publically reported.

However, some details about the waiver’s effects are as-of-yet unknown.

“Information is kind of coming to us,” Radmer told the board. “If we don’t have the answer tonight, I’ll probably have it in two weeks.”

Strategic plan moving along

The district’s strategic plan — designed to improve curriculum, interventions, culture and behavior, teacher and administrative effectiveness and professional development — is moving along, and the board was updated on its progress Monday night in two specific areas.

Since the beginning of the school year, the district has been working on uploading its entire curriculum into an online management system. The software, called TIES, will help the district keep track of state standards that are being met. Eventually, it will also be open to the public so that parents can keep up to date on their children’s lessons.

Teacher on special assignment Jillynne Raymond said so far, about 40 percent of the district’s curriculum has been entered into the system.

Raymond also ran through the district’s teacher evaluation tool, designed to help educators identify their own problem areas and set improvement goals, for the board.

Raymond added that both the curriculum software and the teacher evaluation tools will help with personnel transitions after Director of Instructional Services Kathy Radmer retires at the end of the school year.

Personnel changes

The board approved the following personnel changes:

New hire: William Redman, special education teacher at high school, effective August 2012.

Internal transfer: Marge Fagerlund, first-grade teacher at Sunnyside, effective August 2012; Jennifer Tepley-Mahn, second-grade teacher at Burnside, effective August 2012.

Meeting watch

Monday’s meeting lasted about one hour and 45 minutes before going into closed session to discuss the lawsuit against the school involving former student Quera Pruitt and the expulsion of a student.

All board members were present. Board member Steve Anderson left after about 1.5 hours.

- Compiled by Sarah Gorvin, staff writer

Tags: red wing, school board, government