Our school board meeting was at the district office, and I enjoyed sitting around the U-shaped tables, hearing the discussions and questions among members attending. I was especially impressed by one of our student representatives who made several thoughtful comments. He was well spoken and seemed comfortable speaking to all of us at the table. Well done!!

There was a presentation regarding our preschool programs, Little Learners and Bright Beginnings and several challenges were noted given their current spaces (divided between 2 buildings) and what the future may hold for them. Further consideration of possible changes for them will be forthcoming.

We also had a presentation regarding a survey that was developed specifically for Owatonna students and families. This survey was given last fall (and will be given every fall), and all the results will be posted soon on the district website. Rather than use the standardized surveys or the student climate survey that has been used in the past, our district developed their own to better assist us in determining what is going well and what may need to be changed. We saw just a bit of the results at the meeting, and I look forward to seeing the full report soon.

Mr. Elstad gave a report regarding the bussing challenges next year with the location of the new high school, thus potentially adding 700 more students to the bus routes (however we don’t know yet how many of those students will actually need bussing which presents another challenge). Because purchasing several more busses would be very costly, and switching to a one-tiered bussing system would also be very costly, he presented the option of slightly adjusting start and end times for the schools. Good questions were asked regarding the options and the effect on families, and this will be discussed further at a future date.

A governance book was given to all members of the school board, and we will be discussing sections at future work sessions. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the concept of “governance” and how that is different from “fixing things” or “working on things.” It is my intention to use this blog to inform, but also to provide alternative resources of information, purely out of care and concern for our students so that families can make decisions together. As I compare this to the medical world where I’ve worked for 20+ years, the more I learn, the more I realize what I don’t know. As I stated in my campaign, and now again after visiting all the schools, I truly believe that we have staff and educators that care for students, sometimes we just disagree about what is the best way to do things. Ultimately, I am not telling anyone what to do, you need to make those decisions for yourself and your children. That’s all folks… for now!

I’ve learned a few things and thought I would pass along the information. School board meetings are always open to the public and as part of this, the district staff are required to follow Open Meeting Laws. All meetings are to be posted ahead of time, with the exception of emergency meetings. The work session school board meetings do not have a public forum, but anyone can come and listen. The regular school board meetings do offer a public forum in Owatonna, but school boards are not required to offer the public forum. The school board committee meetings are also open to the public (committees are for policy, facilities, and finance). The notice for public meeting dates and times is posted on the district website, the district calendar, and on the school board meeting website. Meetings are also posted in the People’s Press.

The district has committees also, one of which is the District Curriculum Advisory Committee (https://www.isd761.org/district-services/teaching-learning/dcac). The district committees are not open to the public; however, they do include community members by application. Michelle Krell, the assistant superintendent, is leading this committee. She can be reached at MKRELL@isd761.org. One role of the school board is to approve curriculum; therefore, this committee should be advisory in nature only. I am not sure yet how curriculum is chosen and presented to the school board for approval.

The following are questions I recently emailed to our superintendent Jeff Elstad and our school board Chair Mark Sebring. I will be meeting with Mr. Sebring on 2/13/2023 and Mr. Elstad on 2/27/2023 to discuss:

1. Curriculum review: where do we find the curriculum information for our schools?  As I become familiar with MN Statutes, the school board is responsible for choosing curriculum…

2. How do we know what books are in our school libraries?  Who is in charge of this?  Who approves books that may be controversial?

3. Staff education: As there are a variety of topics and sessions when I attend a medical education conference, I’m wondering what types of training our educators and staff are doing on their work days.  Is this information posted anywhere? 

4. With all the talk (and confusion) regarding SEL and DEI these days, I’d like to find information about Owatonna’s social emotional learning plans/goals and our plans/goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

In addition to the above information, I was notified by a parent that the middle school offers an elective class called LGBTQ+ and Friends.  This is offered to middle school students as part of the SOAR program. The concerns regarding this are that the parents did not know this was an elective option, they were not aware that their child chose this class until after it was chosen, there was no information about the discussions that were planned for the students or if there were any books or curriculum used/recommended. The other concern I have is regarding why this type of class is offered in public school, especially without parents’ permission. I will plan to discuss this in the meetings I noted above with Mr. Sebring and Mr. Elstad.

Next school board meeting is a work session at the District Office on February 13, 2023!

My first official board meeting was held in the small group forum room at OHS, lasted approximately one hour, 5:30 -6:30pm. Our school board chair, Mark Sebring, read through an oath of office and then I read through my part of the oath and wa-lah! It’s official! Here I am, and so very honored to be sitting in this chair!

Recognition was given to 4 students from OHS for their outstanding achievements, earning them the ExCEL Awards and the Triple A Awards. As mentioned previously, I am so glad that Owatonna continues to recognize the efforts and successes of our students (one male and one female student for each award), honoring each of them and thus encouraging them to continue to work hard and ultimately continue their efforts as strong, capable, kind adults.

For the public forum, we had an announcement regarding the successes of our OHS Magnet team in the community. Also, a community member expressed concerns regarding land conservation and our carbon footprint, noting that he is hopeful that our students are learning these concepts in science classes and through the FFA. Personally, I am wondering what the follow up is to this gentleman’s concern. Are his comments passed along to our science teachers? Will the curriculum committee save these comments and consider them when choosing the next science texts? Will there be a discussion amongst board members regarding his concerns and how to move forward? I have yet to figure this out, especially as more comments come forward in future public forums.

Next on the agenda was the Board Forum which included reviewing Policy Revisions. Our policy committee has 3 board members (Tim, Jolayne, Lori) who review sections of policy, make revisions, and send this to all board members. The policy committee is advisory only, the full school board continues to have the final say in policies. We review these revisions prior to the board meeting, ask questions as needed, and then present them for final approval at the meeting. There were several policies up for review, the longest one being Student Discipline. I was encouraged to see written policy stating that our students are expected to be respectful, including refraining from obscene language. The policy is too long to list here, but it includes the action steps for students who break the policies. Ultimately, the principal sets the “rules and regulations” for each school, the superintendent gives “guidelines and directives” to the school staff, all of which are subject to school board approval. As I visit the schools in the coming weeks, I will be asking about policies and behaviors to get a better understanding of how much this has been a problem in our schools. Also in the review was the addition to the Student Medication policy. Our district will obtain Narcan, and training for how to use it, for “each school site.” Narcan is given when it is strongly suspected that someone is overdosed on opioid medication. This is the world we live in now, when opioids (especially Fentanyl) are finding its way into our schools and we need to be prepared to save a child’s life. While there were several other revisions reviewed, the last policy revision I’m noting here is only because I found it surprising and encouraging. For some time now, the state of MN has mandated schools to have a prevention program for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). From the state of MN, and also stated in our policy, we are required to have “curriculum that includes helping students to abstain from sexual activity until marriage.” What?! Isn’t that refreshing in today’s “free” world where some will say that anything at any age is okay. I’m grateful we still have this language in our policy.

Jeff Elstad gave an Administrative Report. This included Michelle Krell’s discussion of 10 new electives that will be offered next year. Two of those will be at OMS, including sign language and unified PE (combining special ed students with other students). The other 8 courses will be at OHS, including a fire fighter course 1 &2, Emergency Care, Web and Computer Animation, Husky Hut school store for young entrepreneurs, AP PreCalculus, Intro to Plants, and Human Performance (health and wellness based). I believe these new electives are great opportunities for our students! Mr. Elstad is also working with Riverland College to combine labs and work spaces for health science classes with OHS, there is a $1 million bond discussion and I’m not completely clear on how this will move forward yet. He is on the search committee for their new president as well.

Finally, there was a long list of gifts given to the district, from a sled donation to Wilson school, up to an $85,000 donation from the Thelma Rice Estate (which Mr. Elstad explained will be discussed for best use of these funds). Many generous givers are in our community, thank you!

That wraps up the meeting. The video recording should be available soon, check the district website! Moving forward, the work sessions (second Monday of each month) will now be held back at the district office. Anyone is still welcome to attend, but there is no public forum then. Please keep in touch!

As noted previously, I was not able to attend the board meeting on 1/9/2023 but have made some notes in the Decision Updates tab. This week, a family brought to my attention the recent ruling for future teacher licensure. Here is the link to an article through the Child Protection League and another link from the MN Professional Educator and Licensing Standard Board. Remember that parents can opt out of curriculum that they don’t approve of by using the Opt Out Form included.

https://mn.gov/pelsb/board/rulemaking/licensing-academic-standards/

ALERT: Most CRT Teacher Licensing Standards APPROVED

OPT OUT FORM https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:82e0be5a-0026-33ab-af55-d75727b3d569

This next article came to parents recently with an update on Equity in our schools. As I listened and understood what Matt Berg-Wall was stating, it seemed to me that we could just as easily say “equality” instead of “equity.” I don’t think anyone would argue that our students should have fair and equal treatment, and access to public education. However, the true definition of equity states that there are equal outcomes for students, which is confusing! If the goal is complete and true equity, then our students come out equal at the end, with no consequences and no rewards, there is no motivation to work hard and achieve success. I’m thankful that our district still rewards students for high academic scores, successes in sports, and talents they bring into our schools. This helps our students to set goals and work hard, and ultimately sets them up to be successful in life beyond OHS!

/https://www.youtube.com/embed/_tqofywUrC8?autoplay=1

I am looking forward to my first official board meeting January 23, 2023!

Happy snow day Owatonna! Please stay safe if you have to drive or go outside today. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend my first ever board meeting which is scheduled for January 9, 2023. Due to unexpected circumstances that I cannot change, I have to miss the first meeting. However, I will be reviewing the meeting agenda and video and will update this blog next week. I fully expect to be attending the meeting on January 23 and if I understand things correctly, there will be a small ceremony to formally induct me onto the school board! Looking forward to many more posts and developing new relationships and friendships. Take care and God bless!

Welcome to my new blog! As a new school board member, my goal is to improve communication between the school board and members of the Owatonna community. I plan to use this site to summarize board meetings, document school board decisions and voting, and provide news articles from around Minnesota and other states in order to inform our community about events occurring in schools that could affect our district. My goal for this site is to be informative while always being respectful, honest, and kind.