The Owen-Withee School Board held their regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 21. When he arrived Colton Paczkowski was presented as a student athlete who went to state in cross country. He came in 30th and the hope is that he will go to state again this fall.
Under the Consent Agenda, minutes and payment of bills were approved as was the hiring of Evelyn Fryza to teach Middle/High School science and Johneen Schwab for Elementary Special Education.
Morgan Mueller was recognized for getting a Herb Kohl Fellowship. She said she couldn’t have done it without her colleagues.
The Elementary Reading Program and Youth Apprenticeship Programs were discussed. A handout was put together for the board in regard to Youth Apprenticeship. Juniors and seniors can choose from a career cluster. They have to take two classes related to the job they are doing. They also have to complete 450 hours of work experience between September 1 and August 31. They can do it for more than one year or they can do work experience. The district gets money for each student who participates. Board member Todd Nelson asked what happens when they can leave school but their job doesn’t start right away. Mueller said that some students do leave without going directly to work. She said some students also do better in their studies so they can get into the program. Some take college classes related to the work, others take career and technical education classes at O-W. Teacher Caleb Green said that classes, organizations, and work experience all work together for the students. The students do have to sign out of school to go to work.
In regard to the Elementary Reading Program, the statistics and charts that Elementary Principal Julie VanArk provided for the board were related to 3rd grade students, as that grade has a lot of special education students, some English as a Second Language students, and it is also the largest class. She said that after spring testing, there was movement in all categories. There are fewer personal reading plans required than last fall. She and a couple of the instructors talked about the various programs they are using, including Bookworms in grades K-4. This program is linked to the science of reading. It has built in comprehension and discussion components. The teachers also showed a couple of sample lessons. Lessons have grammar and writing components and most start with a vocabulary component. The writing is age appropriate and builds on their prior skills. There is more creativity because the program builds their confidence. There is also a lot more consistency between what teachers are teaching. They also have another program they are using that teaches phonics. Students are grouped by where they are at. Groups can change. There is no stigma attached to the group you are put in. The program is more structured and students gravitate to books. With the added minutes in the school day, they are now doing a 90 minute reading block.
The District Promotion Policy was discussed. It needs to be in place by this summer even though it doesn’t need to be implemented until 2027. Principal VanArk said that research doesn’t support retention. She added that Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and English as a Second Language supersedes a personal reading plan. They will be trying a reading block in summer school this year. If a student has a reading plan, it will follow them through 4th grade rather than holding them back a grade. The board was asked to look it over, the policy committee could also meet to discuss the policy and the first reading could be in May.
The process for the Strategic Plan was reviewed. The first meeting will be April 28.
The board voted to switch to a Security Health plan for health insurance. Those who want to choose where they go will have a $3,000/$6,000 deductible. Those who are willing to stay within the Marshfield Clinic system will have a $2,000/$4,000 deductible. Staff will still be getting a $3,500 HSA payment.
The defeasance payment hasn’t been done yet for this year. It will be done next year with that year’s payment to save on costs.
Enrollment as of March 31 was 461 students Early Childhood through Grade 12.
District Administrator Randy Bergman and board member Angela Greschner attended the Legislative Meeting held in Medford. Bergman said that the people in the southern part of the state are running things. He said they created a voucher system which created other problems. There is a disparity in what different schools get per student and inflation is also an issue. Greschner said it was done different than in the past.
Under the Administrator Reports, Elementary Principal Julie Van Ark said the basketball players had recess with elementary students. The parent lunch was well attended. State testing is almost done and summer school packets are out.
Middle/High School Principal Nate Johnson talked about FFA and Forensics students qualifying for state. Archery students qualified for Nationals. Seven FBLA students also advanced to Nationals. There were no issues with Prom. There are banquets coming up and graduation is May 17.
District Administrator Randy Bergman said the school district had won a sportsmanship award. The drug dogs went through the school and everything went okay. He got a grant to purchase some calculators for middle and high school math. The district is in compliance for Special Education and the Every Student Succeeds Act.
A question was asked by a member of the public about why baseball isn’t affiliated with the school in middle school. Board member Dean Schmelzer responded that he thought it was because not all schools have a schedule and most games are on weekends. It was also asked if the cost for parents would be less if it were affiliated.