Staff writer
With the addition of seven more students in USD 397 schools and 23 students in Centre’s Kansas Online Learning Program, the enrollment now stands at 275.5 compared to 239 a year ago.
A large part of the Sept. 13 board of education meeting was dedicated to a report from Superintendent Jerri Kemble and teacher monitors regarding the new online program the district is providing. The Kansas Online Learning Program offers courses from kindergarten through 12th-grade levels to anyone in the state of Kansas.
The administration has capped enrollment in the online program for the 2010-2011 school year at 23 students. Eight students reside in the Centre school district. Six Centre High School students are each taking an online course in subjects not offered at the school. At least 150 courses are available online.
Teachers Karen Nickel, Laura Vinduska, and Lisa Beye are serving as “student learning advocates” for the program. They monitor students’ progress and are the connection between the parents and the school. They keep a log of their time and detailed records of their work.
Kemble said several parents have contacted her in praise of the advocates.
Nickel gave a video presentation of online coursework. The Lincoln Interactive program provides a standards-based curriculum that combines multimedia with comprehensive offline activities.
Nickel is monitoring two first- graders and one second-grader. The students get supply kits by mail four times a year. One student is coming to the school for physical education classes.
Board member Jesse Brunner asked if the advocates’ work takes away from their classroom students.
Nickel and Beye said they do most of their monitoring and communication with parents during evenings and weekends. Both said their students at school come first.
“I don’t feel like I’m overloaded,” Beye said.
So far, they haven’t encountered any major problems. They said teaching parents how to access the technology is the biggest issue. If the program is continued in future years, they plan to conduct a training session with parents at the beginning of the year.
“Parents are very much involved,” Beye said. “They want their students to succeed.”
Students enrolled in the online course count as 1.05 full-time equivalency, so the school will receive a little more in state aid for them than the $4,012 for on-site students.
Kemble said other schools sponsoring online programs have broken even on the cost. The district pays the tuition and compensates the advocates for their time. Compensation has not yet been determined.
Kemble said the innovative grant educators applied for was denied. The program supplied equipment such as computers and scanners this year, but in future years, the district will have to provide equipment, as well, she said.
Board members said that is something they will take into consideration regarding continuation of the program.
Employment
The board spent time in open session discussing an administrative request to increase custodian Marty Mell’s hours to seven hours a day from the current five hours. Mell has had to take time away from her custodial duties to monitor the fifth and sixth-grade lunchtime.
Mark Heiser said the move to one building from two was made to save money, but it seemed to him the district was adding more spending instead of making cuts.
Kemble said there are no personnel available to fill the need for another lunchtime monitor.
After a 45-minute executive session with Kemble to discuss non-elected personnel, no action was taken in open session on Kemble’s request regarding Mell.
The following supplemental positions were filled: Karen Nickel, assistant high school volleyball coach; Annette Nienstedt, bus monitor, at $12.50 per hour; Annette Nienstedt, middle school and high school concessions, at $10 per hour; Cindy Riedel, High Q/Quiz Bowl coach; and Richard Idleman, assistant girls’ basketball coach.
In other actions, the board:
- approved adoption of the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching Models and Evaluation Tool;
- approved a 1:30 p.m. dismissal on Nov. 11 to allow Centre FFA members to prepare for hosting the south central district leadership and creed contest;
- approved out-of-district attendance of seventh-grader Darion Sullivan and 10th-grader Skylar Sullivan, who have moved just outside the district and want to continue their education at Centre; and
- appointed Jesse Brunner as its delegate to the Kansas Association of School Boards Convention Dec. 3 through 5 in Wichita.