School board discusses Friday early release

WORLAND – Washakie County School District (WCSD) No. 1 Superintendent David Nicholas brought the idea of a 2:15 p.m. early release on Fridays for the upcoming 2021-22 school year before the Board of Trustees during their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, March 22.

Nicholas brought up the idea in order to help teachers meet on Fridays as there has become fewer times that they are able to meet due to decreased staffing over the years. Nicholas said the idea for an early release as opposed to a late start was because a late start would not work for families in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Nicholas said that this release time would be important for professional development of teachers.

He said they have been chasing this idea for years and thinks they would be able to make it work this time. If approved there would be a universal release time of 2:15 p.m. in the district due to busing situations.

This was strictly discussion with the board; no decision was made regarding an early release during the meeting. Nicholas encouraged the board to discuss the matter further with the principals of each building to get their opinions on the matter.

SUMMER SCHOOL

The district has been holding additional discussions administratively regarding summer school and have discovered an increased interest in an August session since school does not start until after Labor Day this upcoming school year.

Nicholas said that high school summer school will remain the same this year, but there will be changes to summer school for kindergarten through eighth grade.

WCSD No. 1 Curriculum Director/Grants Manager Jody Rakness said that the district would be able to pay for summer school teachers as well as after school tutoring with Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus (CARES) funding.

Rakness said that rather than a rotational summer school for the elementary schools there will be an individual summer school held at each facility. In the June summer school session, students will remain with their current class, but in the August session the student will move to their next class or school dependent on what grade they are moving to for the 2021-22 school year.

With this change it will give students an opportunity to learn their next school and their teachers in the August session just before school starts in September.

Rakness said that the summer lunch program will be in place, and Eagles first flight for East Side Elementary will still be available.

The board approved the summer school schedule as presented.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business at the March 22 meeting:

•The district restated their audit after the Wyoming Department of Education showed the district receiving tax-collected money after their June 30 deadline. The audit was corrected and approved by the board.

•The board approved a definition change for the special reserve fund that expanded the fund’s scope to include phone systems, copiers, every non-educational facility under the care of the district and maintenance equipment.

This was done in order to allow for those funds to be used on these items rather than just transport and technology as the fund was originally defined for three years ago.

•The board approved a request to go to bid for resurfacing the track at Worland High School. The board also approved a request to go to bid for building duct cleaning for all buildings, the board believes they may be able to pay for the duct cleaning with CARES funding as it is an air-quality related item.

The district is hoping to approve a bid for the track next month in order for them to resurface the track in late July or early August before school starts.

•The board discussed policies 2.31 regarding student health records, 2.32 regarding anti-bullying, 2.33 regarding seclusions and restraint in schools and 2.40 regarding district-wide parent involvement.

Discussions on these policies included the importance of privacy and protection for students medical records, no tolerance for bullying and the impact of Rachel’s Challenge on the district, the importance of being able to de-escalate a situation while keeping the child safe and the amount of Title I spending that each school has to use in order to engage parents.

•During the superintendent’s report Nicholas said that the board should begin looking into selecting a master teacher and bell ringer at their board meeting in April.

•During the business manager’s report recently retired business manager Jack Stott said that the district has begun looking at entryway parts for the elementary schools while the architects are finishing their designs for security upgrades at each school to mirror what the district has done at Worland Middle School and Worland High School.

•Stott also said that the Verizon tower that was put up next to Warrior Stadium should be finished but there is still ground work that needs to be done around the tower.

•East Side Principal Chris Peterson said that kindergarten numbers look encouraging at this time, and that the next registration period for kindergarten is April 7 and 8.

•Worland High School Principal Wade Sanford discussed changes to prom this year, read more about those changes on A6. Sanford also discussed the high school using an app called UpperCampus which allows for students to narrow their search into fields after school, build resumes and perform mock interviews.

The app shows students what tasks are done with the career, what education is required as well as where the services can be performed. Sanford said students will be able to use the app even after graduating, and hopes it will give students more opportunities for jobs after high school. The app comes at no cost to the school.

•All principals discussed their school’s preparation for the Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WY-TOPP) testing that is set to take place in the middle of April. The test does not count for the district this year due to COVID-19 but Rakness believes that students are making progress despite schools being closed at the end of last year.

•Donald Anderson had his resignation approved for the end of the year.

•Candace Whitlock was approved as full-time library para educator at West Side Elementary starting the 2021-22 school year.

•Jackie Robertson was hired as an assistant coach for Worland Middle School soccer.