CP School District February 2022 Board Review

Clover Park School District announcement.

Feb. 14 Regular Meeting

At its Feb. 14 board meeting, the Clover Park School District (CPSD) Board of Directors heard a report from Superintendent Ron Banner.

Superintendent’s Report

In his report, Banner discussed COVID-19, legislative updates, student achievement, community engagement and staff recognition.

COVID-19

• Governor Inslee recently lifted the outdoor mask mandate.
• Rescinding of mask mandates at state level leaves authority with Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD).
• The district is actively monitoring the Washington State Department of Health, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Labor and Industries and TPCHD for any changes.

Legislative Updates

• Director Anthony Veliz provided information on the district’s advocacy for the Washington State School Directors Association, Washington Association of School Administrators and Washington Association of School Business Officials legislative hot topics and the district’s recent visits with 28th and 29th district legislators.
• Banner thanked Director Veliz for attending the legislative conference and meeting with state legislators.

Student Achievement

• Open Doors held its winter graduation on Jan. 21 at the McGavick Center. Forty-seven students received their diplomas.

Community Engagement

• The Caring for Kids Happy Hearts Auction was the weekend before the board meeting. The district had a significant presence at the event with attendance by board members, district and school administration, and school and department staff.
• The district was recently recognized by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for outstanding achievement in candidate support. CPSD was one of 21 National Board networks nationwide that model excellence in support of the National Board’s mission.
• Appreciation, retention and recruitment billboards have been commissioned around Pierce County with support of the country’s school districts and the foundation for Tacoma Schools.

As part of the Individual Action Agenda, the Board of Directors:

• Accepted funding from Emergency Connectivity Fund to be used to purchase additional laptops for K-2 learning from home.
• Accepted funding from American Rescue Plane Homeless Children and Youth II grant to support McKinney Vento students.
• Approved purchase of instructional technology for classrooms districtwide.
• Authorized Superintendent Ron Banner to select land surveyor firm Sitts and Hill as firm of record for district boundary review and survey.
• Adopted the following policies:
  • 1825 on Addressing School Director Violations
  • 3409 on Accommodating Students with Seizure Disorders and Epilepsy
  • 5004 on Infection Control Program
  • 5281 on Disciplinary Action and Discharge
  • 5400 on Personnel Leaves
  • 6223 on Use of Electronic Signature
  • 6970 on Naming Schools & Facilities

The next regular meeting of the school board will be Monday, March 14, at 6 p.m.

Feb. 28 Planning Meeting

The school board held a planning meeting on Feb. 28. It heard reports on virtual/online schools and attendance and truancy. The board also received a review of the district’s accountability plan and held received a presentation and held discussion on discipline data.

Virtual/Online Schools

Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Schools Kevin Ikeda updated the board on the work of the district’s online school committee. The committee was commissioned by the board and initially formed in January 2021 to investigate K-12 online learning opportunities and identified considerations and next steps for choosing an online school provider.

Attendance and Truancy

Deputy Superintendent Brian Laubach presented on the district’s attendance policy and truancy process. His presentation included the district’s definition of absence and up-to-date school attendance data and trends.

Laubach explained truancy procedures the district follows when a student has missed extended time with unexcused absences. The district is proactive in informing families of truancy issues and connecting directly with families through a Community Engagement Board meeting.

Accountability Plan Presentation

The superintendent and members of the superintendent’s council presented highlights for the district’s accountability plan, which outlines data associated with the district’s work toward achieving each board goal.

Goal #1: Student Growth/Student Achievement

Highlights were provided for student growth/student achievement, which includes a focus on reading, math and science growth, the Four Pillars, graduation rates and college and career readiness.

• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, assessment scores to measure educational growth are not currently available. The district is using intentional teaching, interim assessment gaps, online resources and additional after-school supports to help narrow gaps for students.
• The Four Pillars of Student Success (lifelong learning, leadership, collaboration and character) are implemented at all district schools.
• District graduation rate was 88 percent, which is above the state rate of 83 percent. The district’s goal is to continue to show growth by preparing all students for college and career readiness.
• The district evaluates its approach to college and career readiness through two benchmarks: 1) attendance, GPA and course completion rates, and 2) rigorous offerings in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual credit and Running Start.

Goal #2: Parent and Community Engagement

Highlights from the district’s work to support parent and community engagement includes parent-teacher conferences, student-led conferences and community partnerships.

• This year, the district held all conferences virtually, which led to an uptick in parent involvement. Even once it is safe to hold conferences in person, the district will continue offering virtual conferences as an option for families.
• Student-led conferences were held at all middle and high schools. There was a four percent increase in participation at the middle school level, while high schools maintained previous participation levels in 2021-22. All schools followed up with all families that did not attend.
• The district has nearly 40 community partnerships and is proactively working to strengthen them to support student achievement. Key partnerships this year included unveiling of the equity and diversity mural at Clover Park High School, virtual events for families with KBTC and the launch of the district’s Parent Academy.

Goal #3: Communication with Stakeholders

Highlights from the school board’s communication with stakeholders includes social media engagement, the district’s regular communication activities, students entering and exiting the district and language interpreters.

• The district continues to engage community through social media and has experienced growth on all platforms. CPSD is focused on increasing reach and engagement from its content.
• A primary focus for communication this year is providing communication on the district’s COVID-19 response and recovery to families and community. Tools for communication include SchoolMessenger, social media, district website and videos. Traffic to the district’s website increased by nearly 900,000 visits in 2020-21 compared to the previous year.
• The district saw a small increase on the number of students entering the district overall and a slight decrease on the number of students leaving the district.
• To support non-English speaking families, the district saw a big increase in number of interpreters requested by district families and percentage of languages requested interpreters provide.

Goal #4: Supportive Learning Environment for Students

Highlights for the district’s work to provide supportive learning environments for students includes attendance, staff training on social emotional learning and discipline.

• District administration monitors attendance for each school closely and supports principals at each school to ensure they are maintaining a supportive environment for students.
• The Teaching and Learning department offers regular professional development to staff on social emotional learning. Social emotional learning blocks happen in class at all levels to allow students to build relationships with staff and other students.
• There were no long-term exclusions of students and only 25 short-term exclusions during the 2020-21 school year. There is a positive trend in the rate of discipline so far during this school year compared to previous years.

Goal #5: Recruitment, Retention and Professional Development

Highlights were provided for the district’s recruitment, retention and professional development efforts, which included staff members retention, the district’s educator network employment event, professional advancement programs and professional development.

• Early data on intent to return among certificated staff indicates that 35 certificated staff members do not intend to return next year and 15 teachers intend to retire.
• The district’s educator network employment event took place on Feb. 23. A total of 27 applicants were interviewed at the event and 21 of those were recommended for hire by principal who conducted the interviews.
• The district sponsors multiple programs to help grow staff members into new roles. The alternative routes to certification program currently includes seven candidates this year, five administrative interns are currently working at schools in the district and 27 student teachers are placed in district schools.
• CPSD offers an entirely virtual professional development academy. The district currently employees 132 National Board Certified Teachers, which reflects an increase of 11 over the 2020-21 school year.

Goal #6: Fiscal Responsibility

Highlights from the district’s commitment to strong fiscal responsibility were provided, which included bond refunding, positive audit results, increasing district property values, higher than expected enrollment, and more.

• The district capitalized on favorable market conditions to refund the district’s 2011 bonds, which will save taxpayers nearly $6 million beginning in 2022.
• CPSD received positive results due from its annual audit of the 2019-20 school year, which validated the district’s ongoing commitment to strong fiscal stewardship.
• Special education continues to be underfunded by the state. However, the district’s efforts in obtaining safety net funding eases the burden on using local dollars to address shortfalls.
• Some ways the district uses ESSER dollars include mental health supports, building supervision, tutoring services, community partnerships, 1:1 technology, recruiting and retaining critical, hard-to-fill positions and a robust summer school program.
• Property values in CPSD are estimated to appreciate by about 22 percent in 2022, which will ensure the district’s levy will be funded up to the voter-approved level.
• The district will receive approximately $22.7 million in state construction assistance for the construction of Thomas Middle School. This funding, along with district reserves, allowed the district to fund the construction without taxing the community. The district only collects up to the amount approved by voters.
• The October enrollment is nearly 250 higher than the annual projection, which will have a positive impact on the district’s budget.
• The state is providing transportation stabilization funding for the 2021-22 school year. This much-needed assistance provides stability for the student transportation program.
• The United States Congress passed a bill in January 2022 to allow districts to use 2019-20 student counts for the Impact Aid grant.

Board Presentation and Discussion on Discipline Data

Deputy Superintendent Brian Laubach provided a report on discipline data in the district. He discussed recent changes made by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction on discipline and reviewed district data on discipline over the previous 10 school years.

Data shows that discipline is down on a month-by-month basis in 2021-22 compared to the 2019-20 school year, including a 60 percent drop in incidents in February 2022 compared to February 2019.

Board Accountability Plan Activity

The board engaged in dialogue and an activity to identify additions to the data tracked in the Accountability Plan. It was determined that next year, a data metric would be added to the plan related to the measurement of social emotional resources. The superintendent will determine how this data will be measured and provide detail at the board’s summer planning meeting/retreat.

Day two of the board planning meeting/retreat will be Monday, March 7, at 5:30 p.m.

The next regular meeting/workshop of the school board will be Monday, March 28, at 5:30 p.m.