The Crookston School Board met Tuesday evening in the Crookston High School Choir/orchestra room and approved in classroom instruction for Pre-K through sixth-grade students, and hybrid instruction for 7-12th graders to start the school year. The board also approved the purchase of body temperature scanners, bus route software, hiring a long-term sub position, and raising the pay of substitute teachers.
MODEL 2 INSTRUCTION TO START SCHOOL YEAR
The board approved the recommendation of Superintendent Jeremy Olson to go with Model 2 to start the school year. Model 2 consists of in-classroom instruction for Pre-K through sixth grade and hybrid learning for 7-12th graders. The hybrid learning for Crookston High School students will be the following –
1) Each student will be assigned as a “Blue Day” or “Gold Day” student, including students who are opting for full-time distance learning.
2) Students will attend in-person class on their designated days (see attached calendar for September). For students who are distance learning, you will attend your class live via Zoom to receive the instruction and interact with your teacher.
3) On days a student is not scheduled for in-person or live learning they will have lessons to complete on Google Classroom for each of their courses. Those lessons will be due during normal school hours and will be the basis for attendance on those days.
“We are finalizing Blue Day and Gold Day lists and will have that information to students and families by early next week,” said Crookston High School Principal Eric Bubna.
Special Education and high need students will have in-class instruction every day.
The state said schools with a rate of 0 to 9 cases per 10,000 could use Model 1 – school in the classroom for everyone. Model 2 can be used for a county that has a rate of 10 to 19 per 10,000 (Polk County is 12.66). Model 3 – hybrid for all students – can be used if the rate is 20 to 29 per 10,000.
Olson recommended Model 2 to make sure there was consistency for parents, students, and staff. He added that a decision to change models would be given at least a week ahead of time unless it is an emergency for the safety of the kids. “We are going to make the decision very carefully, and we will look at patterns. We will work with Polk County Public Health, and we will look at if we are increasing or decreasing,” said Olson. “We will give parents at least a week notice unless there is an emergency, and we need to change a model quickly for the safety of students and staff.”
Olson said having Pre-K through fourth grade in the classroom was important for the quality of education, but also because they would be the ages that need daycare if they aren’t in school.
“Polk County hasn’t had a good trend. Since the Governor made his announcement, it was 6.01, then we went up to 8.9, and now we are 12.66,” said Olson. “Our behavior, wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancing directly affects what we do at school.”
BUS ROUTE SOFTWARE –
The school board unanimously approved the purchase of bus route software at the cost of $11,128 the first year and $8,628 for the second year with the possibility of cancelation if the district isn’t happy after the first year. Crookston School District Transportation Director Rick Niemela said the software was something they have been looking at for a while. It will help guide drivers to each stop, and a parent app is included that will alert the families on how far away the bus is and when to expect it at the stop. If a bus is late, it will inform families and let them know.
FACE COVERING POLICY
Also included on the agenda was the adoption of Policy 808 – COVID-19 Face Covering Policy. The state required the adoption of the policy to coincide with Governor Tim Walz’s executive order. School Board member Mike Theis said if it is going to be required, they better enforce it, and Superintendent Olson said they would first educate the student and find out why they aren’t wearing a mask if the student continues.
Superintendent Olson said the district had received a lot of donated masks from the community, and they will have masks available if a student or staff member forgets a mask.
HIRING A LONG-TERM SUB AND SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PAY RAISE
The board unanimously approved the hiring of a long-term sub to help fill an expected increase in need for the upcoming school year.
The board also unanimously approved an increase in pay for substitute teachers from $120 per day to $135 per day (for a 7.33 hour day). Superintendent Olson said he wanted to remove all barriers to help attract more people to sub this coming school year. “We are trying to pull out all the stops as far as why people wouldn’t want to sub, and what we did to incentivize people to sub was raise our rate,” said Olson. “We want to get the word out, that if you have a four-year degree, we can work with you to get a short-call sub license as long as you meet some criteria. We would provide training to you, and we want to get people interested in being a sub.”
What area schools are paying subs –
Full Day –
Crookston – $135
East Grand Forks – $135
Fisher – $130
Climax-Shelly – $125
Thief River Falls – $115
Red Lake Falls – $110
Red Lake County Central – $110
Win-E-Mac – $110
TEMP SCANNER PURCHASE
The board approved the purchase of five temp scanners at the cost of $19,147. “We committed early on to doing temperature checks at the schools,” said Olson. “We feel that is another tier of protection we can provide the students. We are first asking parents to conduct the screening questions.” Two large scanners (cost of $5900 each) can scan 30 people at once. The computer will alert if somebody has a temperature. The two large scanners would be used at Crookston High School’s main entrance and Highland Schools’ main entrance.
Three medium-sized scanners were approved (cost of $2449 each) can scan people when they walk by. The scanners will be used at Highland School, the back entrance at the High School and Washington School. The scanners will also be used in the afternoon, possibly before lunch, because temps can show up later in the day. “There are tons of other applications we can use during the day,” said Olson. “It is just another step in keeping the kids and staff safe.”
The principals of all three schools said the purchase of the scanners would cut the amount of staff needed to do the scans in half. Highland School principal Chris Trostad said they would likely use the scanners all day. The scanners could also be used for athletic teams before going to practice, before a road trip, and many other times throughout the day.
Superintendent Olson said they would likely set the high temp line at 99.4, or in that area. He added the school district is getting money from the state CARES Act money in the sum of $301 per student, and it needs to be used by December. They will be getting an allocation of CARES Act money from Polk County, and another allocation of funds from the state later. The total will be in the ballpark of $750,000 for COVID-19 related expenses.
MISCELLANEOUS
Crookston School District Technology Director Kevin Weber said he is using some of the COVID-19 money they are receiving to buy more Ipads and Chromebooks. When he gets the latest order in, they will have enough devices for EVERY student in the district.
The three school principals said the workshop days on August 11 and 12 were extremely productive. The teachers and administration worked on getting ready for the upcoming school year, and they worked with Google Classroom, See Saw, Digital Whiteboard, and other tech programs.
Superintendent Olson reviewed the revised safety plan, which all families should receive soon. The district won’t allow visitors, except for educational purposes. He also asked parents/guardians to educate the students on wearing the face mask and prepare them to wear them all day when school starts.
Crookston High School Principal Eric Bubna said they expect to have the high school schedules ready to go August 24, and students will be able to log onto skyward then to see their schedule.
The board approved resignation letters from Laurie Wagner, school nurse; Ramona Erickson, an instructional aide at Washington Elementary School (WES); Cheryl Bingham, a paraprofessional at Highland Elementary School (HES); Anna Hviding, a paraprofessional at WES; and Mike Delorme, bus driver, and mechanic.
The board approved employment with Lorraine Aquino-Corona as a paraprofessional, Joyce Aubol as a kitchen helper at CHS, Frank (Nick) Caputo as a paraprofessional, Stacey Grunewald as the licensed school nurse, Mary Ramirez as a paraprofessional, Tanya Reitmeier as a third-grade teacher at HES, Katya Zepeda de Obisakin as Hispanic Liaison, and Brandon Boetcher as a paraprofessional. The final personnel items are approving lane advancement requests and the fall coaching staff.
