BG Board, Briefly A summary of Battle Ground Public Schools, Board of Directors’ Meetings Meeting Date: November 25, 2013
Presentation Highlights School Psychology Awareness Week Recognition Denny Waters, Executive Director of Special Education and Ellen Wiessner, Director of Special Education made a short presentation to the Board to highlight the District’s school psychologist and the National School Psychologist Awareness Week that took place earlier this month. Battle Ground Public Schools has 24 school psychologist across the District providing a variety of services including, educational & behavioral support, individual & group sessions, family educational materials, and testing services to name a few. Mr. Waters remarked on the importance of school psychologist when he said, “Our psychologist reduce barriers to learning and promote school success, we could not do our jobs without them.” Tamra Sheetz, School Psychologist at Tukes Valley Primary, also presented during the board meeting and brought each Board member a gift; a miniature Gumby figurine with a postcard on the similarities between the lovable character and a school psychologist, (Pictured below.) “This toy is known for its flexibility, just like us,” said Tamra. “No two days are the same in our jobs. We serve our kids by being flexible to their needs and supporting each other.” There were over a dozen school psychologist in the room. The Board asked them to stand, introduce themselves, and be recognized by the audience.
Representation of the cards presented to the Board with a Gumby figurine
BG Board, Briefly submitted November 26, 2013
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Sodexo’s Performance Zone Featured Stories Russ Kallwick, Director of Nutrition Services with Sodexo, presented awards to two Battle Ground area students as part of Sodexo’s Performance Zone Featured Stories. Josh Brewer a Battle Ground High School junior and Sierra Swearingen a Battle Ground homeschool student received the awards for their outstanding service to the community. Each student will be featured on a poster and a flyer which are distributed and displayed in over 750 secondary schools throughout the county. A $500 donation will Mrs. & Mr. Swearingen, Sierra Swearingen, Russ Kallwick, Josh Brewer, Matt Brewer also be made to their organizations. Sierra’s donation will go to her fund, HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere) and Josh’s donation will go to Oregon Disability Sports. Please visit http://www.battlegroundps.org/performance-zone-featured-stories to view the posters and learn more about these two amazing students.
Board Business School Improvement Plans The Board listened to presentations from principals from each of the District’s high schools on their 2013-2014 School Improvement Plans. The District’s alternative schools were represented by, Colleen O’Neal with CAM Academy, Mark Clements with River HomeLink, and Bill Penrose with Summit View High School. The two comprehensive high schools were represented by principals, Tim Lexow with Battle Ground High School and Jason Perrins with Prairie High School. Each presenter reviewed the overall mission and goals of this year’s plan as well as key implementation steps to reduce achievement gaps. The 2013-2014 school year represents a year of transition with the new Common Core State Standards preparation and Teacher/Principal Evaluation Project (TPEP). The Board asked specific questions on the state report card data for each school as well as some of the potential barriers for success. The 2013-2014 School Improvement Plans are presented in a new format to the Board. Each plan now follows a basic template that incorporates a mission, vision, state report card data, goals and implementation strategy. The Board will be reviewing the middle and primary schools plans at the next Board meeting on December 9.
Upcoming Board Meeting You are invited to the next Board meeting on Monday, December 9, 2013. This meeting will be held at the former Lewisville Middle School at 6:30 PM. Visit www.battlegroundps.org/?q=node/15 for more information. BG Board, Briefly submitted November 26, 2013
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