Archbold Area Schools
Board of Education

March 19, 2012

Educational Reports

Elementary: Mrs. Dorothy Lambert, Principal

Kindergarten Registration - Archbold Elementary School registered kindergarteners for the 2011-2012 school year on March 6-8, 2012.  As of March 8th, we had 77 students registered.  Kindergarten screening will take place at the school March 26-27, 2012.  Parents who registered their children March 6-8 were given a scheduled appointment for the kindergarten screening at the time the child was registered.  This year’s kindergarten students will not have school on March 26th and 27th.

Parents of children who will be five years old on or before August 1, 2011 are asked to bring the child’s birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of residency to the elementary office as soon as possible if they did not come in during the registration times above.

Upcoming Events:

  • 3/21/12 - 3:20 PM - Intervention Team Meeting
  • 3/26/12 - 1st Grade- Health Department Presentation
  • 3/26/12 - 2012-2013 Kindergarten Screening
  • 3/27/12 - 2012-2013 Kindergarten Screening
  • 3/28/12 - 8:30 AM - Heckel/Hurst(2)- Donuts for Dad
  • 3/30/12 - 9:30 AM - 3rd Grade- Safety Belt Program
  • 4/9/12 - K- DIBELS Testing
  • 4/10/12 - K- DIBELS Testing
  • 4/11/12 - K- DIBELS Testing
  • 4/11/12 - 3:20 PM - EL Staff Meeting (As Needed)
  • 4/12/12 - K- DIBELS Testing
  • 4/13/12 - K- DIBELS Testing
  • 4/13/12 - Trimester 3 Mid-Term
  • 4/16/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/16/12 - 7:00 PM - School Board Meeting
  • 4/17/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/18/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/18/12 - 3:20 PM - Intervention Team Meeting
  • 4/19/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/19/12 - 5:00 PM - K-2 Elementary Art Show
  • 4/19/12 - 6:00 PM - 3-4 Elementary Art Show
  • 4/20/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/23/12 - 1st Grade- Health Department Presentation
  • 4/23/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/24/12 - 3rd/4th Grade- Reading Achievement Test
  • 4/25/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/26/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/26/12 - 3rd/4th Grade- Math Achievement Test
  • 4/27/12 - 1st/2nd Grade- Diagnostic Testing
  • 4/27/12 - 3rd Grade- Writing Diagnostic Test

Middle School: Mr. Royal Short, Principal

Academics - Several of our staff attended training on “differentiating instruction”. They worked on ways to meet the needs of learners at different academic levels within the same activity or lesson. Many of our teachers are working on IEP development for our students with special needs. Not only are special education teachers highly involved, but also all of our teachers are giving input to those documents.

We will be administering the Ohio Department of Education’s Modified Assessment test this week to several of our students. Our building chose to join the pilot through the Department of Education so that we could begin to get an idea of a new assessment that may be available for some of our students with special needs in coming years. It is the Department’s hope that soon there will be three choices for assessment of students with disabilities. There are currently two. Finally, scheduling for next year will begin this month. Students have been asked to submit request forms for band and choir this month. We are beginning the selection process for Math Integrated 1, for some of our eighth graders.

Service/ Fundraising Events - The AMS student council held a fundraiser for “ABC for Maddy”. The students donated money to participate in a dodge ball tournament during the lunch hour. There was also a bake sale to benefit the cause.

Sports - Track practice has begun. We expect another great spring. The Quiz team finished up it regular season. The team will participate in the JV and Varsity County Quiz Tournaments this week.

Upcoming Events:

  • 3-16-12 - End of the Third Quarter
  • 3-19-12 - Administer Modified Assessment
  • 3-20-12 - JV Junior High Quiz Tournament
  • 3-22-12 - Junior High Quiz Tournament
  • 3-23-12  - Grade Cards sent home
  • 4-9-12 - Scheduling Workshop at NWOCA
  • 4-10-12 - Scheduling Workshop at NWOCA
  • 4-16-12 - Placement Test Eight Grade Math
  • 4-17-12 - AMS Faculty meeting
  • 4-18-12 - AMS special education meeting
  • 4-16/20-12 - AMS Book Fair

High School: Mr. Tim Meister, Principal

Winter Sports – The following teams have concluded their winter sports season.

  • Wrestling: The Wrestling Team concluded a great year by finishing 2nd in the NWOAL but winning the Sectional and District Championship. Jordan Cowell, Austin Ripke, Drew Coffey and Travis Jaramillo all advanced to the State Wrestling Tournament. Drew placed 8th, Austin 7th while Jordan earned the 152 pound state championship! These young men represented AHS very well.
  • The Girls Basketball Team were the NWOAL, Sectional and District Champions! They finished an outstanding season at 24-1.
  • The Boys Basketball Team also captured the NWOAL and Sectional Championships. They finished the season at 17-6.
  • Kinsey Smith advanced to the state gymnastics contest. Kinsey had a great day placing 4th on the floor and finished 15th overall.

Honored Teachers - Congratulations to Jane Stevens and Diania Nemcik. These two have done an outstanding job in the county with the FCCLA student group and the countywide initiative Parents Who Host, Lose the Most. As a result, they are being recognized with an award from Healthy Choices Caring Communities. Jane and Diania will be recognized on March 12 at a Community Awards Banquet. Congrats to both on a well-deserved honor!

Upcoming Events:

  • March 19-23 - OGT Makeup
  • Apr. 2-6 - Spring Break
  • April 14 - ACT @ AHS
  • April 27 - Senior Citizen Luncheon
  • May 12 - Prom
  • May 10 - Scholarship Night
  • May 11 - Spring Arts Show
  • May 15 - Awards Night
  • May 17 - Four County Recognition Day
  • May 17 - We The People @ AHS
  • May 21-23 - Senior Exams
  • May 24-29 - Second Semester Exams
  • May 27 - Commencement

Curriculum Director: Mrs. Michele Bagrowski

Testing - The OTELA (Ohio Test of English Language Acquisition) and the AASWD (Alternate Assessment for Students with Disabilities) documents have been sent back for scoring.  The OGT (Ohio Graduation Test) recently arrived in the district and testing has taken place for all high school sophomores and any junior or seniors still in need of a proficient score.  The OAA (Ohio Achievement Assessment) has been ordered and testing will begin on April 24.   Other district tests that are on the schedule are DIBELS and the Diagnostic Assessments. 

JA in a Day - On February 28, 10 community volunteers presented Junior Achievement modules to our entire 8th grade class.  Students learned about budgeting, credit scores, careers, and other key financial concepts.  The students rotated through 5 different classes to be engaged in hands-on learning simulations.  The sessions were very beneficial to our students and the volunteers felt the morning was successful. 

Junior Achievement is a program that is funded through donations from community businesses.  The program provides lessons to students in grades K-6, 8, and high school.  All lessons are presented by volunteers from Archbold businesses.  We want to thank the volunteers for their time and commitment to our school and students.  We also want to thank the businesses that are willing and able to donate monetary support as well as supporting their employees who take time to volunteer. 

Rigor and Relevance - I have continued to collect data on classroom instruction techniques based on the Rigor and Relevance Framework.  I visited classrooms and recorded which of the four quadrants the students were working in.  While there are appropriate times for work in each of the four quadrant areas, our teachers know that the best student learning experiences happen when there are higher levels of rigor and relevance.  The ultimate goal would be to have a larger portion of our instructional time be spent in Quadrant D.  (I intended to give more information about this at the February board meeting, but due to illness I was not in attendance.  Please pull the information from your last board report, as I will attempt to cover this information at the March board meeting.)

Upcoming Events:

  • March 12 - OGT begins
  • April 24 - OAA begins
  • April 16 - Diagnostic testing may begin

Superintendent: Mr. David Deskins

New ODE School Ranking System - You may recall my report from a couple of months ago informing you that the Ohio Department of Education is moving away from the current State Report Card ranking system towards using the Performance Index and another system to be determined. The state superintendent recently released the state’s plan for rating schools in the future. Late last week, the state released a simulation of how schools would have been rated had they been using the new ‘letter grade’ system. I have enclosed for your review, a section of that 60 plus page report from the state and have pulled out information related to Fulton County which I am providing as an attachment to this report. As always, our administrative team and staff consider all such information as we look to make needed improvements from one year to the next and this information will be no different.

One-to-One Technology Device Initiative - As the board is aware, we have been researching the possibility of a one-to-one technology device model for our district for the past few years. This past Monday, the administrative team offered a detailed presentation to the board with information about why we feel the time is right for the board to consider such an initiative. Tonight, we are asking the Board to authorize us to enter into a lease agreement for the purchase of iPad’s for each student in grades 9-12 for the 2012-2013 school year. I am including as an attachment, the statement I shared with the Board during their work session in its’ entirety. On behalf of the students, the staff and the administration, we appreciate the Board’s consideration of this initiative which we are confident will benefit students at all grade levels by allowing technology to be passed on to other buildings. Click here for more details.

School Safety Plan - In light of a number of school safety issues having occurred around the state in the past couple of years, our guidance team, along with our administrative team are working to complete work we began in the 2010-2011 school year of updating and evaluating our district safety procedures. Our hope is to have more information in front of the board prior to the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

Action Items Regular Meeting

  • Approved February 27, 2012 Regular Meeting minutes
  • Approved March 12, 2012 Special Meeting minutes
  • Approved February 2012 financial reports
  • Approved salary adjustment for Kevin L. Miller for attaining the next level on the salary schedule per the negotiated agreement (Masters+30).
  • Approved reassignment of Stefanie Hoffman (MS Reading/Intervention Specialist) beginning the 2012-2013 school year.
  • Accepted the resignation of Shannon Sorosiak-Simon at the end of the 2011-2012 school year as submitted and authorizing the superintendent to take any and all necessary actions to effectuate said resignation {exhibit};
  • Authorized the superintendent to enter into a lease agreement for the purpose of implementing a one-to-one device model from the Permanent Improvement Fund beginning in the 2012-2013 as presented at the March 12, 2012 special board meeting
  • Approved a resolution acknowledging the Board’s intent to request a waiver from the Ohio Department of Education to delay the state required Body Mass Index Testing as set forth in Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.674(A).
  • Entered into Executive Session to discuss the employment, appointment and/or compensation of public employees.
Archbold Board of Education will meet again for the next regularly scheduled meeting on April 16, 2012 @ 7:00 p.m. in the High School Media Center.

Future Board meeting dates: April 16, 2012; May 21, 2012; June 18, 2012 (5:30pm); July 16, 2012 (5:30pm); August 20, 2012 (5:30pm); September 24, 2012; October 15, 2012; November 19, 2012; December 17, 2012; January 7, 2013 (6:00pm) (7:00 p.m. at Archbold High School Media Center unless otherwise specified)

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