The Grand Island Public Schools "Board Brief" is an online monthly publication sharing the Board of Education meeting highlights, updates, campus recognitions, and more.

Here's a recap of the December 2023 Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• All Board members were present.

Each year the superintendent invites all GIPS students to submit original artwork to be used for the district's holiday card. One card design is selected from a student PK-Elementary, middle school and high school. One card is printed and used as the district's holiday card.

This year we welcomed over 1,200 submissions with every grade and nearly every school represented!

2023 Finalists Are:
Josue Talamantes, 4th Grade, Seedling Mile Elementary School
Saybel Raez Almaguer, 6th Grade, Walnut Middle School
Fremni Rodriguez Marrero, 10th Grade, Grand Island Senior High (GISH)

The overall winner is Saybel Almaguer from Walnut Middle School!

Saybel's artwork will be featured on the cover of this year's GIPS Holiday Card. Congratulations to our student artists!

(Josue was unable to attend the Board Meeting and is not pictured above.)

This would allow the Grand Island Education Association (GIEA) to continue to be the exclusive bargaining agent with Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) for the 2025-26 school year.

This was presented as first read and will be an Action Item for vote in January's Board Meeting.

Caitlin Morganflash, FiT Coordinator, and Brian Whitecalf, FiT Community Liaison, shared a yearly report on the work of the program and the many ways they support GIPS students and families with basic needs.

Grand Island Public Schools’ Families in Transition (FIT) outreach team aims to promote the scholastic success of students in transitional living situations. Students that are considered ‘in transition’ are those of families living with other families, in shelters, motels, or living in the streets. Assuring these students are provided basic home and school resources is critical given that currently, Hall County, Grand Island, Nebraska has one of the highest poverty and transient rates in the entire state.

Current demographics of students FiT currently serves:

• High School = 69 students
• Middle School = 50 students
• PK - 5th Grade = 120 students
• TOTAL = 239 students served

Hear FiT's full presentation HERE.

Dr. Summer Stephens, GIPS Associate Superintendent, shared information on three new potential resources the district is exploring. Specifically, how they may help provide additional support in the capacity of mental health and wellness resources for students, staff, and families.

Parent Guidance . org

Provided through the Cook Center for Human Connection, Parent Guidance . org would provide free parent support webinars and on-demand resources for families as they navigate conversations and supports for mental wellness for themselves and their children.

Smart GEN Society

Resources designed to support students and adults to be more informed and confident about navigating digital wellness and privacy in a 24/7 connected world.

Care Solace

A service that helps families navigate the mental health care system to find available providers matched to specific needs in local communities. Care Solace's team will work to find care for every person, regardless of need, preferences for treatment, insurance coverage, etc.

This was presented as an informative update to the Board.

Hear Dr. Stephens' full presentation HERE.

Dr. Summer Stephens, GIPS Associate Superintendent, presented the proposed calendar for the 2024-25 school year.

The work reflects work from the GIPS Calendar Committee which includes representatives from every district school, district administrators, a few Board Members, and GIEA.

A few notable items include:

• Some of the PD/Plan & Prep days will be alternated between Elementary and Secondary (Elementary may have Plan & Prep while High School may have Prof. Development and vice versa).
• Monday & Tuesday of Thanksgiving Break will be school days with students.
• End of 2nd Trimester report cards will be out to families one week after the end of the trimester.
• Spring Break is proposed to move one week later than this year.

This was presented as an Information Item and was also available for vote as an Action Item (see below).

Here Dr. Stephens' full presentation HERE.

Mr. Cory Gearhart, GIPS Chief Information Officer, shared an update on an important RFP process for the district.

The GIPS current agreement with Unite Private Networks for the district Wide Area Network ends 6/30/2024. GIPS solicited and received 3 responses to our WAN Transport RFP via the E-Rate portal process to secure WAN services for the district for the next 5 years, with optional extensions if they meet the ongoing needs of the district for 5 additional years.

This was presented as an Information Item and was also available for vote as an Action Item (see below).

Hear Mr. Gearhart's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Cory Gearhart, GIPS Chief Information Officer, also shared an update regarding Microsoft Office licensing in the district.

GIPS currently subscribes to a volume license agreement for Microsoft Office, by switching to an alternative educational program we can purchase equivalent licensing for a 6 year period and save a substantial amount over the current annual cost.

This was presented as information and will be an Action Item for vote at January's Board Meeting.

Hear Mr. Gearhart's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Matt Wichman, GISH Academy of Engineering & Technology Principal, and Mr. Jeff Gilbertson, GISH Executive Principal, shared an update on the graduation rate and Senior High and how cohort classification impacts the different numbers used to measure student graduation.

A few notable data points include:

• Class of 2027 Cohort (current Freshman) are currently on a 90.9% "on track" pace to hit Graduation.
• Class of 2024 (current Seniors) make up 529 students who actually attend school.
• Class of 2024's Cohort number measured by the state is 673. That number is inflated due to Newcomer International Students who were enrolled as Freshman when they arrived but likely no longer attend school do to age.
• GISH's Current Graduation Rate for students who complete the Academy model is 89.09%.

What does this mean?

• The graduation rate for GISH students who regularly attend school and are enrolled in the Academy model is healthy and thriving.
• GISH has adjusted the enrollment process for Newcomer students to have their grade-level placement better reflect their age. i.e. 17-19 year old students will no longer be enrolled as Freshman as it was the previous standard by districts across the state.

Hear Mr. Wichman & Mr. Gilbertson's full presentation HERE.

Dr. Jonathan Doll, GIPS Chief Data Analyst & Organizational Strategist, provided an in-depth look at the state's assessment report card for GIPS.

The Nebraska Department of Education released their annual reporting of public schools assessment performance on November 22nd. Each year through their reporting systems (NSCAS and AQuESTT) gives Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) an opportunity to look at the previous school year’s data to see performance and improvements across the district.

Here are highlights from the report:

• Every GIPS School improved in proficiency rates across the district.
• ELA & Math Proficiency in Elementary grew by 9.8%
• ELA & Math in Middle School grew by 13.9%
• ELA & Math in High School grew by 3.3%
• District Math & ELA Proficiency noticed a 10.8% improvement across all grades
• District Science Proficiency a 2.8% improvement in assessments from 5th, 8th, and 11th grades
• “Great” GIPS Schools - 4 (two more than last year)
• “Good” GIPS Schools - 11 (four more than last year)
• “Needs Support to Improve” GIPS Schools - 3 (three less than last year)

You may read more about the GIPS state report card from Mr. Fisher's article that was shared in November, HERE.

Hear Dr. Doll's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS Chief Financial Officer, shared a brief overview of the GIPS Annual Audited Financial Report.

The 97-page report was prepared by Porter & Co., CPA's. Mr. Harden confirmed that we have been given a "clean" audit report to state that the district's financial statements are accurate.

This was shared as information and will be available as an Action Item vote at January's Board Meeting.

Hear Mr. Harden's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harde, GIPS Chief Financial Officer, also shared an update on the conversations the district has been having with Pinnacle Bank.

In a continuing effort to maximize investment revenue, maintain liquidity, and keep local tax proceeds continuously invested and therefore reinvested in Grand Island the GIPS Business Office in concert with the Board of Education Facilities and Finance Committee recommends pursuing bank accounts with Pinnacle Bank.

Hear Mr. Harden's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS Chief Financial Officer, also shared a brief overview of the district's work in preparing for next school year's budget. Specifically pertaining to the need to decrease spending from the General Fund by $5 million.

Why do we need to decrease spending by $5 million?

• We want to continue our commitment to compensating our teachers and staff in a competitive fashion.
• ESSER III dollars will be going away next summer.
• Local valuation growth will result in less financial support from the state.

District has been working the past few months with GIPS Principals to brainstorm ideas and put plans together on how to be more efficient in spending. Here is how the district is currently working to split up the spending reductions:

• District Administration Level - $1.5 million
• Pre-K & Elementary School - $500,000
• Middle School - $1 million
• High School - $2 million

You may read Mr. Fisher's article on the 2024-25 budget forecast HERE.

A more detailed and proposed plan for the GIPS budget will be presented at January's Board Meeting.

Hear Mr. Harden's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared the latest installment of district policy reviews and proposed updates. Descriptions of the proposals may be found immediately below.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full presentation on policies HERE.

Regular review of an existing policy.

A proposed change would be to change all "1's" listed in the term "Title I" to the Roman numeral I to be consistent with government listings.

This was presented as first read and will be an Action Item for vote at January's Board Meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposing to expand the policy to include all schools to have Narcan Nasal Spray instead of just secondary schools. Also proposing to eliminate a paragraph speaking to specifics on storage instructions.

This was presented as first read and will be an Action Item for vote at January's Board Meeting.

Adi Beltran, GISH Senior and Board Student Representative, shared her latest report with the Board of Education. A few highlights may be found below.

• Happy Holidays to everyone!

ATHLETICS

• Congratulations to the GISH Football players who were named to the All HAC Teams.
• Haedyn Hoos of Islander Volleyball will compete in a Nebraska All-Star Match coming-up.
• Congratulations to Islander Volleyball player Tia Traudt for being named to the Lincoln Journal Star all Volleyball Team! We also had other players receive Honorable Mention.
• Unified Bowling finished up a great season by winning HAC and placing runners-up at Districts.
• Girls and Boys Wrestling opened up their seasons with strong home meets.
• Power Lifting had its first meet of the season at Creighton Prep. GISH lifter Hunter Christensen broke the state and world record for dead life for the 13-15 age group.
• Swimming has kicked-off their season as well.

ARTS

• Congratulations to our 11 singers and musicians to were selected to play in Nebraska All-State Band and Choir!
• Auditions for the theatre show, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" were Monday and Tuesday of this week.
• Speech Team has begun practicing for their season. They have over 30 students competition on the team this year which is growth from last year.

OTHER ITEMS

• Midterm Graduation was yesterday and it was great to see over 50 students graduating who earned their High School diplomas.
• This week we received news about the restructuring of the GISH Academies and Pathways. While much of it makes sense, there is still tension felt by students in the hallways at the school. Budget cuts are understood, but many students are still wondering about specifics behind the "why" of certain Pathway decisions.
• Students are also talking a lot about the upcoming Cell Phone Expectation changes at our school which will be implemented in January. Some students are feeling tense about this as it will be a huge change in the school.

Hear Adi's full report HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

A few highlights include:

• Decisions around the Academies are a change. And we are understanding of how students may be responding. Our goal is to continue providing support to students who are impacted.
• Many of the opportunities students have had will still be there and available, but it may be delivered differently, especially through elective courses and our continued partnership with CCC.
• We will continue maintaining our work experiences and innovative opportunities.
• Lots of concerts the last few weeks. So great to see students at different levels growing and developing in their skills. The progression of growth is present in our classrooms.
• Winter sports are always fun to experience! I’ve been able to catch many of our activities so far.
• Had the opportunity to wrap presents at Howard Elementary at their holiday store. So neat to see students getting excited about selecting the items they want to gift to their families.
• I attended the Chamber Legislative Kick-off event earlier this week.
• We also have upcoming meetings with Senator Lippincott and Senator Aguilar next week as special board meetings on December 19th..
• Midterm Graduation was a neat ceremony today! Having 50+ students graduating at midterm is a wonderful thing to see. Those students worked hard and overcame obstacles and earned it.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full report HERE.

See above "Information Item" for details.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

See above "Information Item" for details.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Proposed adjustment to an existing policy.

Students in violation of behavior expectations on the bus would potentially lose the privilege of riding the bus for five school days on the second violation. The student would lose bus riding privileges for the remainder of the school year after a third violation.

This was presented as first read at October's Board Meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy. The only proposed change is to remove the specifics listed in the checklist as not every vehicle may require each of those specifics. The district would maintain the regular checking of vehicle safety.

This was presented as first at November's Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy. No proposed edits at this time.

This was presented as first read November's Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy. The only proposed change would be to remove the phrase "audio tapes" and simply refer to "music" that is under copyright protection.

This was presented as first read at November's Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy. No proposed edits at this time.

This was presented as first read at November's Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy. No proposed edits at this time.

This was presented as first read at November's Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy. No proposed edits at this time.

This was presented as first read at November's Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

The Grand Island Education Association has been recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for the certified non-supervisory staff of the Grand Island Public Schools. After bargaining in good faith with the GIEA, an agreement was reached for the 2024-2025 contract year.

The recommendation to approve the 2024-2025 Master Agreement with the Grand Island Education Association, as ratified by the membership of GIEA

Read the full announcement HERE.

Motion Passed: 9 - 0