School district applies new state standards
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ARLEE — On Nov. 4, Montana adopted the Common Core State Standards for English language arts, literacy and mathematics. This new standard developed by Montana educators and sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governor’s Association emphasizes what educators believe students should know and be able to accomplish at every grade level. This standard was also created with the goal of properly preparing students for college and careers. It also incorporates Indian Education for All curriculums.
Arlee High School English Teacher Cindy Noland presented the Arlee School Board with this new adoption at its January meeting and said this year, the district will start preparing to implement the standard for the 2013-14 school year.
“I feel like we are right on track with implementing common core. MontCAS is going away with this new assessment consortium,” Noland said, referring to the Montana Comprehensive Assessment System, which included criterion-referenced tests and an English language proficiency test for all grades. Noland added that 46 states have already joined in to adopt this assessment, and new textbooks won’t need to be ordered as many companies have already begun to provide the minor supplemental changes.
“This is a more authentic assessment,” Noland said. “This is great for kids, and it’s not a guessing game … this is grade-specific.”
In other school news, the board approved an easement for Ronan Telephone Company to direct electricity from a pole on school property to power a nearby building.
A decision was tabled that would mail out 1,300 school trustee election ballots until district clerk Lonnie Morin can pull together statistics on turnout from other school districts that use the same method.
Student teachers Mike McKittrick and Nicholas Siegel were approved for the 2012 school year, as were substitutes Celina Bertolt and Quennel Matt.
A request for bids on a new bus was also approved. The old bus has been in use for 15 years, has 150,000 miles on it, and will be used as a spare activity bus.
The district’s 2012-13 calendar was also unveiled. School will start Aug. 27 and end June 5.
In other business, trustees accepted a Braille instructor contract out of Missoula to train a current staff member how to learn and teach in Braille. The district will also receive sub-training and materials from the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind in Great Falls.
The selected teacher, chosen in a Jan. 12 interview, will begin pre-Braille training until the end of this year.
In athletics news, all of the high school and junior high fall sports coaches and assistant coaches were approved for next year.
Superintendent John Miller also informed the board and audience that changes have been made in child abuse reporting guidelines. Now the responsibility of reporting child abuse lies solely with the individual who suspects abuse. Persons are no longer able to report the incident to a supervisor, and failure to report properly could result in strict penalties.
Several other updated policies were also approved, while one concerning electronic resources and social networking was tabled until the second board strategic planning meeting on Jan. 25.
