Teacher Kelley Ross and Principal Jon Adwell gave a presentation to the board about the Kagan Learning System, which they say promotes student engagement and cooperation. Adwell said that it forces students to learn as a group rather than as mere individuals. He said that cooperative learning and group learning were two different things. In the past, most schools have had students divide into groups, based on findings that it helps learning. However, Adwell said that certain students could still hide behind the group and that there were situations in which one person was doing all the work.
Kagan requires equal participation from the students. One possible lesson could involve students learning information, and then finding students who had another important piece of information, and trading cards in order to learn the subject matter being taught. It helps students with social skills, as students are forced to interact with students that they normally would not interact with in order to learn the subject matter. Other exercises require lots of teamwork to master. For instance, students could do an exercise in which they had to make a clown out of paper without using scissors. It forces students to use their creativity in order to make the picture. One exercise that Mrs. Julia Wideman did was a balloon bounce in which the whole class held hands and tried to keep a balloon from hitting the floor without using their hands. Reviews could consist of students finding someone who knows the answer to a certain question, once again forcing students out of their comfort zones.
Students still form groups in classes. They name their own group and make their own flags for groups. One of the biggest points of emphasis for teachers is for them to tell students to find the nearest partner, not their best buddy during exercises. A common rule is "Look at Three Before Me," meaning that students are encouraged to talk with other group members if they don't know the answer to a question before going to the teacher as in typical learning methods. Adwell said that he has been in communication with the Jefferson School District, which has used Kagan for the last four years. He said that it prepared one student very well for medical school, in which cooperative activities are done all the time. He said that the student in question was able to hit the ground running while many others were lost because they had not been prepared for cooperative learning situations.
Adwell said that a side benefit was that the teachers actually did a lot of the activities for themselves and that they were able to come together as a group before the start of school. Another benefit that we observed is that students simply like school better -- during the first day of school at the elementary, students were reluctant to leave for the bus when it was time to go home for the day. One high school student said that they did not want the school to go to a four day week because it meant they would be stuck at home all the time. While Kagan has not been implemented in the elementary yet, its benefits of cooperative learning and social interaction are already spilling over.. The school has implemented it for grades 7-12 and plans to introduce it to the elementary now that the partitions have been built. Adwell said that in the past, before the partitions, there was no ability for the school to do any of these things because the noise levels would have been too high.
Dan McCann, the new science teacher, introduced himself to the board. He said that the technology for such a small school was "phenomenal" and that tech person Amy Garrett had been a big help in helping him to get started.
Assistant Principal Chuck Borey reported on the lockdown that happened last Monday at the school. He said that the new school notification system did well at keeping parents informed of what was going on. He said that there would be staff meetings to determine what was going well and what wasn't.
Enrollment was at 318 this year, down from 325 last year.
Principal Jon Adwell reported on the Missouri Option, which is a new alternative program to help students who are behind in credits to graduate with a GED. They require students to spend 15 hours a week in the classroom and 20 hours a week working or performing community service. They are still required to go to school after they pass their test or the test will be void. It will also allow students one last chance to graduate with a diploma. Adwell said that it had been successful in Trenton, where he last worked. There are two students at Worth County using the Missouri Option. Students taking the Missouri Option also work on social skills and life skills; for instance, how to change oil or how to fill out a job application or do an interview.
Adwell reported on the work on the softball field to get it ready for softball this year. They replaced home plate, which was rotting, and replaced the bases and leveled the field, which Adwell says will make it safer. He said they planned to put up a flagpole so they could play the National Anthem before home contests. The field still has drainage issues as everything runs to the east during rainstorms. Under a new MSHSAA rule change, softball can now have a jamboree like football; Worth County will travel to South Harrison's this year. Worth County will host its own jamboree this year.
Athletic participation was up across the board this year. There are 26 out for football, 31 out for junior high football, 20 for softball, and five out for girls golf. Fears that the junior high softball team would be playing the numbers game did not materialize as 14 came out for that sport.
Superintendent Matt Martz reported that he plans to have more safety training for the staff as well as work on security at the doors. Borey said that a surprising figure that he found was that there had been more shootings in the past than there are now.
Martz reported that there were only 9 signed up for preschool; he said that the grant was written for 15 students and that he did not know what would happen if schools fell below that number. One change that he made in order to comply with the rules of the grant will be that parents will have to pay for 5 days a week even if they only send their child to school for one day during that week. He reported that this year's kindergarteners scored significantly higher on their tests than in past years, especially in letter identification.
The board declined to take action on a proposed resolution opposing HB 253, which would cut taxes in Missouri if Governor Nixon's veto is overridden. If overridden, the school could see as much as $180,000 less annually starting in 2016 depending on whose figures are accurate. The legislature has already committed school funding for the next two years; therefore, any changes would take place in 2016.
The board voted to raise substitute pay from $72 a day to $80 a day; Martz said that change was necessary to stay competitive with area schools. The board had not raised the rate for the last 10 years.
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