Chamois R-1 school board members at their monthly meeting last Wednesday agreed to continue with the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Service (SRCSP) which includes requiring masking for all staff members and students in grades 7-12 when social distancing is not possible. Masking is highly recommended for K-6 students. 

So far this year, Chamois R-1 has had no school exposures from COVID-19 although they have had several students needing to quarantine from contacts outside the school.

“We’re in a good place right now,” Principal Jeremy McKague said. “I wouldn’t see any reason why we would change anything we are doing when we are not having any problems and the students are not having a problem with what we are doing.”

“I’m really hoping that after the winter we will be able to make some changes,” board member Kris Wuelling said.

“But until then, masks are still our best option to keep kids in school,” McKague said.

The one change that was made to the SRCSP was that rapid testing is available on a limited basis at the school. Superintendent Lyle Best admitted that to date, he does not think that they have used any of the tests but testing is available with two staff members trained to test and report the results. There is funding for the test and a more direct supply chain that should keep them available to the school district.

Best has contacted the Osage County Health Department to see if Administrator Kim Sallin will approve a “test to stay” option the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has given school as an option to reduce student and staff members who might be close contacts. The “test to stay option” requires schools to test students using the rapid response test and if they tested negative with several tests over a period of several days they would not be required to quarantine. The program has to be approved by the local health departments to be implemented by a school district.

In other business, board members approved the purchase of a shade for the preschool playground not to exceed $10,000. 

Best requested bids from three different companies for a cantilever-style shade that would extend over the playground area. 

AAA State of Play submitted a bid for a 24-foot by 14-foot shade with an 8-foot entrance height for $9,004 or a 20- foot by 18- foot shade with a 10-foot entrance height for $9,953. Playground Equipment bid a 26 -foot by 12- foot shade with a 10-foot entrance for $9,085. Athco LLC opted not to submit a bid.

“I think it is something that we need to do because they don’t have any shade over there,” Best explained. “If you are over there at the wrong time it is uncomfortable.”

Best hoped to use funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency (ESSER) Relief funds to pay for the shade. 

The metal supports for the shade would be set in concrete outside of the fence and depending on the size of the shade the roof could extend over part of the playground equipment. The shade itself would have to be removed in the winter because it will not stand up to snow.

School Board President Steve Cramer agreed with the need for the shade but questioned if the metal supports could be made by a local company like S & S Metal Fabricators. 

School board members approved the purchase of the shade and supports but did not specify a company to use. Best plans to reach out to S & S Metal Fabricators for a bid on the metal supports and then purchase the largest size shade possible for under $10,000.

* Jon Berendzen of Porter, Berendzen, and Associates addressed the board about starting the process to develop a long-range or master plan for the district. The Columbia firm completed a facilities study and presented it to the board earlier this year, addressing areas that may need improvement for the school facility. The next step is to develop a priority list of projects that the school district would like to see tackled in the next year to two years and in the next five years. 

The board is hoping to set up a workshop meeting that would include the school board members, staff, and invited members of the community to get input on putting together the list of projects. The date for this meeting has yet to be decided. The facilities study identified several things that need to be improved around the school campus, including asphalting the entire school parking lot, making the gym entrances ADA-compliant, sanding and repainting the gym floor, replacing the playground equipment, replacing, and repairing old sidewalks, increasing the size of the gym restroom, and making them ADA-compliant, and upgrading the phone and intercom system. 

Long-range projects identified include replacing the trailers with classroom additions, updating entrances and enclosing the space between the building, the addition of a multi-purpose room, removing asbestos in the floors, upgrading the air conditioning from basic window units, updating smart boards, and addressing drainage issues behind the elementary building.

The task now will be putting these projects into a priority list. Cramer pointed out that priorities might change once estimated costs are assigned. Berendzen agreed and noted that a priority list is always evolving with none of the projects necessarily set in stone.

Berendzen added that the company always estimates on the high side since some of the projects may be years away and costs tend to increase.

“How much have construction costs gone up over the last three years?” board member Glen Keilholz asked.

“Most school additions before COVID hit were averaging $180 to $200 per square foot, now we are averaging $225 to $250 per square foot,” Berendzen said. “It used to be that contractors would guarantee their prices for 60 days but now they are only guaranteeing pricing on contracts for 20 to 30 days.”

Berendzen said that they are holding contractors to the cost estimates once a contract is signed. Keilholz asked if contractors were passing along additional costs for materials and Berendzen said they are not seeing or allowing that to happen after contracts are signed.

Berendzen hopes to meet with the school board several times to develop the priority list and then they would be able to develop a long-range/master plan to present to the board in about three to four weeks with estimated project costs.

* Board members discussed eight policy updates that were developed after the last legislative session. Adoption of all eight policies is mandatory and will be decided at the November meeting.

— Policy #0320 pertains to school board elections. The new policy shortens the time to file to three weeks and specifies Dec. 7-28 for filing dates. The policy also specifies that school districts can not use district funds or resources on ballot measures. 

— Policy #0324 requires that individuals appointed to fill board vacancies must meet the same requirements as persons filing for board positions in terms of age and tax status.

— Policy #2420 allows parents and guardians to record meetings including Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. Parents and guardians will need to give the school district 24 hours’ notice that they plan to record the meeting and the school will record the meeting as well.

— Policy #2710 specifies that an unaccompanied youth “is and of itself, not the basis for a report of abuse or neglect.”

— Policy #2770 restricts the use of restraint and seclusion by teachers and staff members. This policy reflects newly mandated training, notice, and reporting.

— Policy #4320 lists domestic or sexual violence victim leave as one of several types of leave available to employees.

— Policy #4322 requires school districts to provide an unpaid leave of absence due to sexual or domestic assault to employees and family members.

— Policy #4867 requires districts to provide specific rooms designated for nursing mothers who are employees or students.

* Outstanding bills for the month were approved totaling $58,808.29.

* Chamois R-1 had the following balances in their accounts: general ($1,194,631), special ($132,556), and capital projects ($175,923).

BAND UPDATE

Band teacher Beth Sieg provided an overview of the band program to the school board. Sieg teaches band in elementary, junior high, and high school. 

“My mission is to promote a lifetime of learning and music in our students,” Sieg said. 

Sieg explained that for first and second-graders, she teaches students that it is all about rhythm. In third and fourth grade, she teaches students to read notes throughout the first semester so that they are ready to play their recorders when the second semester rolls around. 

All students in the Chamois district are required to take band in fifth and sixth grades. Sieg took a different approach to fifth-graders this year and for the first four weeks of school, all students played on procession instruments, the next four weeks they all played woodwind instruments and in the last four weeks, they all played brass instruments. At the end of that time, students will be able to pick an instrument to use for the rest of the year.

“Hopefully, they’ll be able to pick something they really enjoy,” Sieg said.

Students are all using school instruments. 

Sieg has been utilizing a new program this year called Music Play that allows her to make lesson plans online and upload them to Google classrooms for students to access on their own time. She is offering after-school practice time twice a week.

While Sieg loves teaching band to elementary students, her passion is in teaching marching band. The Chamois Marching Band participated in four parades this year including Chamois Day. Sieg believes that the band is lucky to have a drum major this year.

She noted that they received constructive critic when they marched in the Fayette parade.

“We fixed some things and I thought we looked really good from mid-September to mid-October but we still got stinky scores,” Sieg admitted. “But the band looked good, sounded good and they are consistently improving.”

ART PROGRAM UPDATE

Joyce Wright gave a presentation on the Chamois R-1 Art Program. Wright teaches art in elementary classes as well as high school and junior high. Wright noted that she enjoyed visiting the students in their own classrooms last year due to COVID-19 procedures but she is happy to be back in her art classroom and having the students visit her again.

Wright is working hard to develop students into assessment-capable learners. She focuses on creating quality art projects instead of quantity. She asks students to rate each skill she teaches so that they have an easy way to gauge improvement. She also has the students add a tag to each project. First-grade students need only tag their projects with their name and one sentence of explanation but as the students get older, they add more descriptions so that by sixth grade, they are up to six lines.

“I always tell students (art) is about happy accidents,” Wright explained. “Whenever they have something they don’t like they can make it a happy accident. We try not to wad up our paper and throw it in the trash.”

Wright provides students with lots of oral feedback and has high school students create portfolios of their art projects so that they can see their progress throughout the year and share their artwork with their parents. Wright encourages students to set a goal at the beginning of each class. At the end of the class, she has students reflect on whether or not they met the goal and what they have learned.

Wright advocated moving the period for Art 1 so that it did not conflict for students who were taking band. With the new eight-period school day, interested students can take both classes if they would like to. Wright currently offers high school students Art 1 and Art 2 and would someday like to offer an advanced Art 3 class. 

Wright is concerned that there are only nine students who are currently enrolled in art classes. 

“Since we have moved to eight periods, I have a lot less students,” Wright said. “I’m hoping that we can work on that and get more students in art.”

Wright enters her students’ art projects in several extracurricular exhibits throughout the year. Osage County Library Children’s Art Show for elementary students ran from June through July 2021 and there were 16 elementary students’ projects included. The Osage County Library Teen Art Show for junior high and high school students ran from August through September 2021 and 14 students had artwork exhibited. 

Wright also plans to exhibit the art students’ work in the two art shows held in conjunction with the band concerts in December and April. Last year, students were not able to participate in the Missouri Art Education Association (MAEA) in person but Wright hopes that they will be able to participate this year and at the Show-Me Conference Art Show in April 2022.

Wright had artwork displayed on the walls of the library for board members to see as well as slides of different pieces made by Chamois students, including the Lower Elementary Division Winner from 2021 MAEA Youth Art Month Capitol Exhibit Olivia Kuschel. 

Wright had a big thank you to Maintenance Supervisor Eli Backman for repairing the kiln. Wright was able to successfully fire student several student projects in the kiln.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Best had planned on going over the latest Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) and End of Course (EOC) assessments but that data is not available for release at this time and will hopefully be able to review at the November meeting. MAP and EOC results for the entire state have been released and there was a decrease in all areas that were tracked, including math, science, and language arts. 

“Our data shows similar trends,” Best reported. “Younger kids were more impacted than older kids and where there was increased in-person learning the school districts showed more improved numbers.”

* Best hopes that the inverter needed to complete the solar panel project will be completed in October.

* Harold G. Butzer, Inc will be sending out technicians to work on the boiler soon. They will be working on ongoing repairs and routine maintenance.

* Shop windows have arrived and have been installed.

* The audit continues to be completed remotely.

* Chamois received the second-round grant from the Family and Community Trust for the No Kid Hungry Program. The $4,000 grant will add a similar refrigeration unit for the elementary students so they can have expanded breakfast options to include a second-chance breakfast.

* Best has also submitted the grant application for the Grow Your Own Teachers program. The school can be approved for up to $10,000 to be used to try to recruit students to become teachers. The grant application was submitted on Sept. 23. It is a one-time, startup grant with the funds needing to be used by 2023.

The school district will be submitting a second grant application for the retention of teachers and staff. The grant will need to be submitted by December 2021.

* Best noted that this is the year the district will have tiered monitoring of state and federal programs. The school is required to submit documentation for all federal programs, special education, and food service.

“Basically, we are submitting documentation of things that we do all of the time,” Best said.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

McKague noted that it has been a busy month. The school held a successful Apply Mo college application night. 

* Three River Electric Cooperative came out and did an electrical safety program for the elementary students.

* On Oct. 1, the school held a college fair for high school students and had a safety skit for fifth-grade students.

* On Oct. 8, local firefighters brought a fire truck to school and gave a presentation on fire safety to elementary school students.

* A Red Cross Blood Drive was scheduled for Oct. 18, and on Oct. 20, elementary students will start selling cookie dough.

* Picture day is Oct. 20 and FFA is selling fruit and nuts.

* On Oct. 21, there will be a drug awareness assembly for Red Ribbon Week and on Oct. 26, there will be a presentation on car safety and wearing your seat belts for students in K-2.

* A drug-free assembly will be held on Oct. 26 for junior high and high school students, and Oct. 28 will be Halloween Fun Day.

* Parent-teacher conferences will be held Oct. 25-28 and are in-person by appointment only. The school will send out a letter with contact information.