Board Briefs
SM
December 2015
An informal report from Eudora Board of Education regular meetings
The following are highlights of discussion and action
from the board meeting on Dec. 10, 2015.
CONSENT ITEMS. All items listed on the agenda were approved
without discussion.
EUDORA-DE SOTO TECHNICAL EDUCATION CENTER
REPORT. Principal Ron Abel presented his annual report on
the Eudora-De Soto Technical Education Center. He began with
an update on legislative issues that relate to career and technical
education funding. He then shared the career and technical course
offerings available to students in Eudora. Currently 85 percent of
the EHS student population is enrolled in at least one CTE course,
and more than 70 percent of seniors have earned multiple CTE
credits. He also highlighted activities of the student organizations
and events planned over the next few months.
Next, he updated the board on the partnership with the De Soto
School District, which helps pay for the operation of the technical
education center through the enrollment of some 50 De Soto and
Mill Valley students each year. Ron expressed tentative concerns
about the future of the partnership, especially considering that
the final year of the current agreement with De Soto will coincide
with the second year of school district block grant funding.
He concluded with results from the cPass assessment, a
standardized career and technical education assessment taken
by EDTEC “concentrators” that measures high school students’
readiness for postsecondary education or entry into the workforce.
He said that EDTEC students perform above the national and state
averages, particularly in the areas of information/communication,
leadership, employability, science and math.
A complete copy of Ron’s report is available on BoardDocs.
STATE ASSESSMENT REPORT. Marla Johnson, curriculum
director, presented the 2015 state assessment report. Last spring,
students took a new set of state assessments as part of the Kansas
College and Career Ready state standards.
Marla described the new testing and measurement terms.
Results are now reported as a scaled score, rather than a
percentage of how many answers were correct. Another change
from the past reports is the use of median score, comparing
performance to the midpoint score, rather than an average of all
scores. Eudora’s district median scores in 2015 were very close
to the state median, slightly exceeding the state scores in most
grades for ELA and slightly below the state median for most
grades in math. Marla said the district’s proximity to the state
median gives Eudora leaders time to better understand local
student performance and watch for trends that will develop as the
tests are administered again over the next few years.
Individual assessment scores are being sent home to students’
families on Dec. 11. These will also include results of the 2015
science assessments for students who took it, although that
assessment is undergoing changes for 2016. The social studies
assessment was in a trial phase in 2015, so individual student
scores were not recorded. A complete copy of the presentation,
including district-level scores and an overview of terminology, is
available on BoardDocs.
SUPERINTENDENT REPORT. Steve Splichal began with a
report on the strategic planning process; focus groups will be
taking place in the next week to get feedback from parents,
employees and non-parent patrons on the draft of the plan being
developed. He anticipated that the board would receive feedback
from these focus groups and a complete strategic plan to adopt in
January. Next, he reviewed the capital needs list developed earlier
in the year and highlighted progress that has been made toward
some of the priority areas, including band uniforms, textbook
adoptions and recent technology purchases.
He concluded with a general discussion with the board about
next steps for technology adoptions, such as a modified 1:1
initiative. Board members asked for additional information in
an upcoming meeting, possibly as early as January, to address a
range of questions, including financial sustainability, buy-in with
teachers, professional development goals and a plan to support
the devices and technology infrastructure for continued use and
implementation.
TEXTBOOK PURCHASES. The board approved textbook
adoptions to address ELA needs at Eudora Middle School and
Eudora High School, as well as math at EHS. An additional ELA
resource adoption for EHS may be considered at a future meeting.
LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY SETTING. The board agreed to three
priorities for legislative advocacy in 2016: the adoption of a fair
and equitable formula to fund Kansas public schools, protection
of school board candidate eligibility and preservation of true local
control in districts and communities.
JOINT PLANNING PARTNERSHIP. Steve Splichal reported
on conversations between the city and school district to ensure
adequate recreational field space for the community. Future
collaborative efforts could include the use of school district land
for community practice fields and recreation space. Eric Votaw
and Joe Hurla were involved in a recent meeting with city officials
and described some of the details of how the district might be
involved in the implementation of the city’s recreation master
plan.
Want to know more about board business?
•Attend a board meeting! Meetings are open to the public and usually take place at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of
each month at West Resource Center. Check the calendar on www.eudoraschools.org to see the date of the next meeting.
•Go online! A full, searchable record of minutes and agendas is available online through BoardDocs. The Eudora section
of BoardDocs can be accessed from the district website under School Board > Meetings.