Strategic Operating Plan about to enter Year 2

     Continued efforts to improve the Monticello Community School District through its three-year Strategic Operating Plan were among the key items in a work session of the Monticello School Board Wednesday, Aug. 16 in the Administrative Board Room.

     Superintendent Brian Jaeger offered an update at the work session, and announced the schedule of further updates. Those will take place during the regular board meetings in October, January, April and July.

     The Strategic Operating Plan is organized into four areas: Facilities, Communication, Technology, and Teaching/Learning.

     While the plan was only approved by the board in April, making its “first year” a short one, there were some items that have been completed.

     In Facilities, a five-year projects plan was created, part of which is the track resurfacing that is underway. In Communication, parent and teacher dialogue committees continued to operate. In Technology, work continued on the 1x1 initiative, which will pair each student with a Chromebook computer. And in Teaching/Learning, the Positive Behavorial Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program continued to be evaluated.

     In a PowerPoint on Wednesday, Jaeger went through the highlighted parts of the plan for Year 2, which encompasses the coming school year.

     Facilities will likely be the most visible, with the 25-member School Facility Committee meeting beginning in September to work on a new building plan to bring to the school board.

     Among the items of focus under Communication is upgrading the district’s website.

     The 1:1 implementation will continue to be part of the Technology area, while the district also creates a parent/student technology handbook.

     And in Teaching/Learning, continued training will be offered as the district transitions into Standards Referenced Reporting as its grading system.

In other action, the board:

     • held a discussion, led by Jaeger, on possible topics for future work sessions.

     Among the ideas were inviting legislators to speak and answer questions, a review of the behavior advisor position that was implemented at the middle school last school year, an orientation for board members since there will be at least two new ones this fall, and facilities discussion, including presentations by architects.

     • held a brief special meeting prior to the work session, during which several personnel changes were approved.

     Among appointments, all at the high school, were Bobbi Bauers as special education child specific associate, Amy Goerdt and Kim McQuillen as assistant volleyball coaches, Mackenzie Kahler and Karen Menster as food service employees, Adam Szurkowski and Wes Wilson as one-third strength and conditioning coaches, and Diane Temple as volunteer speech coach.

     The board also approved the transfers of Staci Bartels from special education child specific associate at the high school to transition school associate/job coach, Chance Manternach from middle school special education child specific associate to behavior advisor at the middle school, and Jill Iben from high school food service to Carpenter food service.