News from the Board Meeting

Following is an overview of several items presented at the January 24, 2012 Board of Education meeting.

Recognitions

• Tanya Zimmermann - Urban Middle School teacher
• Scott Eckelaert - South High School teacher
• Scott Jelinek-Zittel - North High School teacher

Congratulations to Peg Jaeger, SASD teacher, who was recognized as Gina K. Flease Memorial Educator of the Year by the Wisconsin Juvenile Detention Educators Association. Ms. Jaeger works with students in the Sheboygan County Juvenile Detention facility.

Instructional Technology Plan
Administration presented a four year technology initiative to provide middle school and high school students one-to-one access to digital devices and to provide increased access for elementary students. Committee members outlined a plan that provides iPads for students and teachers, and the staffing, professional development, infrastructure and hardware to support the technology.  The first year of the plan provides an iPad for every sixth grade student and a number of iPads/iPods to elementary schools and high schools. The second year of the plan begins implementation at the high school levels with the elementary level implementation being stretched out over three years.

This initiative will support 21st Century learning in the Sheboygan Area School District. It will provide equitable access to digital technology for all students, as well as the hardware, professional development, infrastructure, and human resources necessary to support this one-to-one student to digital device initiative.

No action was taken on the proposal tonight. This plan was presented to provide initial information to the Board of Education on an administration-supported initiative.

Lake Country Academy Charter School Proposal
Lake Country Academy staff presented a proposal for a new charter high school, Constitution Academy. The charter high school would serve students in grades 9 – 12 and offer a classical liberal arts and sciences college preparatory curriculum.

The school would operate as a non-instrumentality and would receive no additional funding from the District beyond the per pupil allocation from the state.

The presentation was on the agenda for information and discussion. There was no action taken regarding moving forward with the charter school. The charter school will be looking for approval in April to apply for a planning grant from the Department of Public Instruction. If approved, the school would open in the fall of 2013.

Food Service Department
Administration presented a brief overview of the food service program in the Sheboygan Area School District, highlighting the number of employees and the number of meals served. This presentation followed a discussion at the January 10 Committee of the Whole meeting regarding outsourcing the department.

The Board of Education discussed the motion that was passed at the last Committee of the Whole to request proposals from Food Management companies. After discussing the information provided, as well as the six criteria used as a basis for the request for proposal, the Board voted to rescind the motion to request proposals from Food Service Management companies.

The Board has requested a future presentation from the Food Service department on what can be done to improve what is currently offered by the department. Administration will be working to define clear criteria for reviewing the program and what measurable results we are looking to produce with changes to the department.

If you are interested in reviewing the agenda or reading the meeting minutes, both are posted on our Board of Education website at http://www.sheboygan.k12.wi.us/district/schoolboard/ The minutes from the Board meetings are approved at the next month’s meeting and then posted online. The full Board of Education meetings can also be viewed on SASD-TV.