On Monday evening, the Lowell Area Schools Board of Education met for their monthly work session. No voting takes place in work sessions, but information is presented and the board has time to discuss items that will eventually be put to a vote. All members of the board were present at the meeting.
Academic Achievement
The day before students arrived for their first day, LAS staff were already hard at work defining their visions and goals for the upcoming school year. Director of Curriculum Dan VanderMeulen said that on Monday, August 19, the staff worked on a “better and beyond” theme.
The “better” part focused on not necessarily introducing lots of new ways to do things better, but instead focused on the systems that are already in place and how improvements could be made to that existing framework.
“Beyond” is a way for staff to look into the future and try to determine what might be on the horizon that could affect schools and students in the district. Those issues could include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity or changes in technology, for example.
VanderMeulen also discussed the Flex Time program at the high school and said that it “…continues to be innovative…it also continues to be a point of pride and something we’re working at to make better.”
Flex Time started as a way to ensure that students who needed extra help with schoolwork but couldn’t always stay after school because of clubs, sports or transportation issues had a way to get extra help during the school day. Flex Time is 30 minutes twice a week, and students choose various ways to spend their time. For instance, they might get one-on-one help from various teachers should they need it, work on extra challenges, have enrichment activities, or have time for the library or to work on homework.
VanderMeulen said that “…other schools are noticing” the Flex Time program. East Kentwood High School staff have been to Lowell High School twice to observe the program and have expressed an interest in implementing something like it at their school. Other schools in Michigan, like Fenton Area Schools and the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District, are scheduled to come check out the program as well.
Summer school was done a little differently for high schoolers at LAS, and as a result, had more students enrolled and more credits earned than in prior years. Previously, high school students who needed to make up credits over the summer had to find transportation to the Kent ISD building nearly 20 miles away. This summer, because of ESSER funding, students were able to take classes at the high school instead.
VanderMeulen said that of the 55 students who attended summer school, more than 67% were able to earn credits they needed to graduate, for a total of 26.5 credits earned overall. With ESSER funding going away this year, it is uncertain whether summer school can be held at the high school again.
Facilities and Operations
District design projects funded by the May 2024 bond proposal are underway, including the replacement of the high school track.
Construction company Owen Ames Kimball put together several estimates for the board to review, some with additional costs. Those include the costs associated with the addition of trench drains along the side of the track to improve water drainage and the costs associated with possible enlargement and replacement of high jump areas at the track. The board will need to make a decision as to which estimate and how much work should be done to build a new track that will serve its purpose for LAS athletes but will also last for many years into the future.
For the renovation of Cherry Creek Elementary, the first design stage — a schematic design — is now underway. Superintendent Fowler is hopeful that there will be some design drawings to bring to the board in October. The next phase, design development, will be much more specific and will hopefully be completed about mid-March 2025. If all goes well, construction documents could be completed by July 2025, and actual construction on the new building could begin in the fall of 2025.
Personnel
Most of the positions still needed for the district have been filled. Director of Human Resources Dustin Cichocki said that there are two paraprofessional roles still needing to be filled as well as the position for a Young Fives teacher for Bushnell.
Two bus drivers are still needed for the district, but all bus routes are covered at this time, with no plans to cancel any routes.
Finance
Chief Financial Officer Sonia Hodge asked the board for their feedback regarding monthly financial reports. The switch over to a new financial software system is now underway, and Hodge said that understanding which reports the board finds helpful and which they do not will help inform her decisions as she implements the new system.
Proposed FAQ Page
Fowler introduced to the board a rough draft of a proposed addition to the LAS website that administrative staff had been working on. Fowler said that he envisioned this to be “…a reference…as we get questions, as we get feedback, as people want to look for information…having a single spot we can direct people…to have a central bank for hot topics.”
Some of the suggested information for the document include the following:
- District mission
- Board policies
- Information about curriculum and school improvement goals
- Mental health and social-emotional supports
- Career readiness
- Media center FAQs
- Process to contact a school official
- Parent input and the role of parents in the district
- Safety and security
- Clubs, athletics and activities
- Funding section to discuss what funding LAS receives and how it is spent
During discussion, board secretary Pat Nugent wondered whether the information on the proposed FAQ page could just be added under the already existing headers on the LAS website. He questioned whether, in having a specific list of “hot button topics,” the district would be “…really, then, agreeing that what some people think are hot button topics are hot button topics.” Fowler thanked Nugent and the rest of the board for their input.
Title IX Second Reading
Because of several court cases and rulings in other states related to the newly expanded Title IX policies, the LAS Board of Education’s second reading of the policies was pushed back to a later date. The policies were due to go into effect August 1, but the board’s vote has been delayed until the September meeting.
Title IX was signed into law more than 50 years ago in an effort to ensure that no one should experience sex discrimination in federally funded education. The new proposed expansion to Title IX includes protection from harassment based on not just sex, but also based on pregnancy, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Fowler explained that at this time, despite the recent court rulings in other states, “ …in the state of Michigan, it is still the law that these new Title IX policies are taking effect related to prohibiting forms of sex discrimination.” He went on to explain that, “…the recommendation is that school boards do approve these policies just so that our district Title IX guidelines and our district Title IX policies align with the law.”
Fowler added:
“…(W)e’ll practice what we’ve said all along…we want to work with families, we want to work with kids to make sure they have a safe environment to come to school…that part is not going to change. We’re just going to continue to…support students, support learning and if we have a complaint, it is a very prescriptive process about how to respond to the complaint, so we’ll follow that process and continue to try and communicate with families and support kids.”
The board went into closed session for negotiations at 6:57 pm. The next board meeting will be held in the administration building on Monday, September 9 at 7 pm.
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