Board of Education Meeting - Thursday, September 19, 2024

Presentations to Board of Education

Willard High School, AcademicSpotlight

Principal Daniel Davis, Assistant Principals Stephanie Kiesewetter and Josh Dobson, and WHS Senior Isabella Windmiller represented the High School for their academic spotlight at our September meeting.

The presentation focused on 24-25 goals, Advanced Placement Classes, 2023 preliminary numbers, and student spotlights. Isabella shared her experience at Girls Nation this summer, where she was one of two representatives to represent the state of Missouri. She was elected Vice President of Girls Nation in 2024!

Thank you, Willard High School, for updating us on all the success at your building!

2023-2024 Testing Data Report

Assistant Superintendent of Academics, Dr. Josh Ladd, presented to the board 2023-2024 Testing Data. Celebrations from the data include a significant increase in Fourth Grade ELA performance at Willard Orchard Hills Elementary, and Fourth Grade Math at South Elementary.

Additionally, both North and East Elementary continue to score well above the state average in all content areas while the High School continues to score high on both Government and Biology state assessments.

Primary areas of focus for 2024-2025 in ELA include increasing Tier I instruction and continued success in launching our new ELA curriculum K-8. Focus areas in Math include continued development and support of Eureka Math and providing targeted professional development.

Administration Reports

Dr. Eric Wilken

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Eric Wilken, mentioned that he met with High School and Middle School student leadership teams last week and shared some highlights from those meetings, which included strategic plan, the upcoming senior citizens luncheon, and community advisory.

He mentioned that the district's annual audit took place from August 26 to August 28th. The audit went well and the board will officially approve it at the November board meeting.

Dr. Josh Ladd

Assistant Superintendent of Academics, Dr. Josh Ladd, provided the board with an update on the district's progress with Portrait of a Tiger and mentioned our partnership with Battelle for Kids. He also shared an update on district enrollment, which is down 77 students from September of last year. Our current enrollment is 4,381.

Cathy Shoup

Assistant Superintendent of Operations, Cathy Shoup, provided the board with an update on the district's exploration of revising our late start procedures in the event of inclement weather. She also provided an update to the board on district background checks.

She also provided an update on bond projects. Work is progressing at both North Elementary and the Middle School. At North Elementary, the concrete foundation is being formed for the new administrative office area, while metal stud walls are going up in the collaboration area and administrative renovation section. Additionally, plumbing has begun in the new staff restroom area.

At the Middle School, metal stud walls have been installed in the administrative office area and counseling suite, with electrical work underway as conduit installation has started. Drywall installation is scheduled to begin in the next couple of weeks.

Program Updates

Transportation Department

Director of Transportation, Randy Taylor, provided the board with an update on the Transportation Department. He provided an update on bus driver staffing, routes, and systems. Randy mentioned that we are bussing over 200 more students than pre-Covid. Rising costs have increased bus prices from $87,000 to $150,000, and we are looking into off-lease buses to stay within budget.

Willard School Police Update

Director of School Police, Matt Farmer, presented the board an update of the Willard School Police Department. The police department generated 213 reports during the 2023-2024 school year and successfully achieved several key goals, including the approval of department policies, installation of security film on all building entrances, placement of number placards on all buildings, and the purchase of new radios for officers—all made possible through the School Safety Grant Program.

Additionally, we welcomed a new officer, Kaylee Friend, who brings 15 years of experience with Springfield PD, including roles as Sgt. over the Child Crimes Unit, Detective in SVU, and work in Community Policing and Training. Special thanks to Amy Stroder for securing the grant that funded this position.

Looking ahead, the department aims to send officers to more training, apply for grants to purchase equipment, and explore security system enhancements with potential grant funding.

Strategic Planning

We highlight one of our 11 Smart Goals at each Board Meeting throughout the school year. Cathy Shoup presented on the following SMART Goal and Strategies.

SMART Goal: The Superintendent's designee will engage stakeholders and develop a process in order to create a short and long-range facilities plan.

Strategies:

1. Bond Projects Completion
2. Capital Projects Rotation Schedule
3. Short (1-3 years) and Long-Range (5-10 years) Facility Planning

Business Items

District Assessment Plan

The board voted to approve the 2024-2025 Willard School District Assessment Plan. Assessment Plan Highlights are included below:

• Goals:
• Monitor and improve student learning
• Monitor and adjust curriculum and improve instructional practices
• Update 2023-2024
• Kindergarten Observation Form
• To fulfill state Kindergarten Entry Assessment requirement
• NWEA: MAP Reading Fluency
• To fulfill state Reading Success Plan requirements
• Update 2024-2025
• High School NWEA benchmark testing

April Ballot Issue Discussion

Cathy Shoup provided specifics regarding the dual ballot issue for April 1, 2025. The first question pertains to a proposed no tax increase 22-cent levy transfer, which would generate $1.24 million annually. The second question involves a bond issue, as outlined in the Facility Committee Report presented during last month's board meeting.

Top Priority Projects for Board of Education Review and Consideration for the next 1-5 years, as presented by the Facilities Committee include:

1. Willard East Safe Room Addition
2. Willard Middle School Renovation
3. Willard School Synthetic Athletic Fields
4. Willard Schools Roof Replacement
5. Willard North Elementary, intermediate North and South Elementary Updates/Improvements
6. Willard Schools Parking Lot and Road Improvements
7. Willard Schools Circulation Improvements
8. Fine Arts Theatre Updates

Surplus

The board voted to approve surplus items which included old soccer uniforms.

Out of State Trips

The board voted to approve the upcoming out of state trip for FFA National Convention, which takes places in Indianapolis, Indiana from October 23-26, 2024.

New Hires

The Board of Education voted to approve the following hires at the September 19th meeting.

• Allison Dureault, Essential Skills Paraprofessional at North
• Ashley Deckard, Essential Skills Paraprofessional at North
• Chris Eshbaugh, Front Ensemble Tech at HS
• Jeffrey Arnold, SGA Sponsor
• Amy Dean, ProStart Sponsor
• Hillary Labounty, ECSE Paraprofessional at North
• Christine Murie, Essential Skills Paraprofessional at South
• Ashley Flohrschitz, MTSS Paraprofessional at WIS-N
• Adam Shipman, Bus Driver

Please join us in welcoming the newest members of our team!

Board Meeting Recording

To view a recording of the September 19, 2024 Board of Education meeting, click here.

Upcoming Meetings

The next board meeting will be a Study Session held on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at South Elementary. Open session will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the District Office Training Room.