Superintendent's Summary of the Red Lake School District #38 April Board Meeting

The Red Lake School Board met on April 26th for its regular meeting at the Ponemah School. Superintendent Lundquist shared the following information relative to her efforts to improve achievement, attendance and graduation rates:

• A presentation was offered by HS Principal Tracy Olson, detailing the "next steps" in the current Freshman Focus initiative, which is designed to increase graduation rates by ensure all grade nine students are successful. Historically we lose the largest percentage of students in their freshman year, indicating it is a critical juncture in their HS career. Ms. Olson stated that the current advisory program will be retooled to include specific guidance on study skills, an academic "check-in" process, career and college readiness information, and most importantly, socio-emotional support to improve the well-being and mental health of all students. All core content area teacher will confer regularly to provide "whole child" support on an ongoing basis to each student by reviewing data and providing interventions individually and in small group settings.

In other reports, supervisors and principals offered updates on their activities, including the following:

• The Food Service Coordinator's report indicated the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Grant applications have been submitted. The USDA Commodity Program Surveys have also been submitted to MDE. Participation rates are level generally speaking in all schools as compared to last year, with the exception of the HS, where a significant increase in participation was reported.

• The Red Lake Elementary School and Early Childhood Center continue to monitor attendance data closely, and have 50 students with perfect attendance. Summer school plans are well underway, and after school programing has been able to offer students experiences in volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse, as well as drum group. The ECC hosted "kindergarten round-up (registration) on March 31, and incoming students are predicted to be very similar to the numbers in years past, at approximately 135 students.

• The Community Education Coordinator's report indicated the she is collaborating to support community education efforts with the Ponemah Boys and Girls Club, Parents as Teachers training, and the MDE Sexual Health Policy development.

• The Assistant Superintendent for Supplemental Services reported the District has been released from individual corrections for the current school year. This is a result of many hours of hard work put forth by staff. MDE will be conducting a monitoring visit on April 27th, and state department staff will be touring each of our five buildings throughout the day.

• At the Ponemah School, staff hosted their annual MCE Blast Off activities the end of March as a means of motivating students to complete their tests to the best of their ability. Approximately 60% of the students had a parent attend the final parent-teacher year-end conferences. The Ponemah Pow Wow is scheduled for May 19th.

• The Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Team (CIA) report indicated

• The Director for Facilities and Safety reported plans are well underway for the summer improvement projects, as well as preventative maintenance projects. The warehouse has been cleaned and organize to further streamline the use and purchase of supplies. In addition, the auto lift in the bus garage, which was not functioning and not up to code, was removed and is no longer a safety concern.

• The Secondary Complex report indicated the Freshman Focus efforts continue to be implemented, and the HS Principal is making plans to augment these efforts with additional support for incoming grade nine students that will increase their persistence to graduate. The Art Club continues to work on the murals throughout the building, which illustrate the concepts of the Seven Grandfather's Gifts. The MS was one of four schools in the United States selected to take part in a promotional video on how incorporating more arts activities has positively impacted students. The video can be accessed at https://youtu.be/7h1W28R9rWM .

• The Transportation Director reported that three old busses are being traded and a new 71 passenger vehicle and mini bus have been purchased. Maintaining a full staff of drivers continues to be a challenge, and as a result additional drivers will have to be contracted from Bemidji Bus Lines.

• The Human Resource Coordinator's reported indicated the search process for the Superintendent was initiated and successful completed over the past several weeks. In addition, the District completed an evaluation of the pay for current staff in order to ensure we are maintaining appropriate salary-levels and pay equity for all staff.

• The Business Manager's report stated that Miller McDonald will no longer be conducting our audits, and instead Brady Martz will do this for the District next year. If the partnership is successful a recommendation will be made to enter into a multi-year agreement. In addition, it was reported negotiations are underway or in the process of beginning conversations in all three unions.

In other business the Board approved the Minnesota School Coops proposal for the provision of insurance services, and recommended the hiring of Anthony Fairbanks to serve as Superintendent.