Frenchman BOE hears reports on at-home learning methods

The April Frenchman Board of Education meeting kicked off with reports from Superintendent Steve McCracken and Randy Stahley on Monday evening, April 20. McCracken gave board members an update about the current at-home instruction delivery method.

“Our at-home instruction is a learning process for us,” McCracken said in follow up later in the week. “The elementary teachers create packets for students to work at home each week. The junior high and high school teachers are corresponding with students using email and the Google classroom program.”

McCracken said technology has been a very useful tool to help facilitate the at-home learning process, however, it has also been a quick learning curve for everyone involved.

“We appreciate parents and their guidance and helpfulness with the at-home program,” he added.

During his time with board members, McCracken also spoke about upcoming budget numbers and addressed some preliminary concerns.

“The budget doesn’t look fantastic for next year,” he said. “We are cancelling improvement projects that we were planning. We anticipate a large decrease in funding for next year.”

Stahley, Fleming School District Counselor, reviewed the preliminary high school class schedule for the 2020-21 year while also talking about the subscription to the District’s Couragion account and career exploration. Couragion provides inclusive, work-based learning experiences that prepare students for jobs of the future.

After approving minutes from the March 24 meeting, paying bills and payroll, board members moved onto action items where the first voted to approve a motion to declare a critical shortage of teacher within the District and to approve Christy Stumpf and Phyllis Schmidt as critical shortage teachers.

“The designation as a critical shortage of teachers is for rural schools in Colorado,” McCracken explained. “Teachers, bus drivers and food service workers can fully retire as a PERA retiree and continue to work full-time in a school for up to six years. This designation helps retain quality employees in rural schools in positions that are hard to fill.”

Later, the BOE voted to allow high school students to letter in shooting sports if they meet the criteria to do so. McCracken said several students are a part of the shooting sports program with Haxtun Schools. “We would like to recognize their dedication and hard work in the program,” he added.

Board members also approved a list of classified staff members for the coming year including Linda Hawthorne, Harry Harms, Stephanie Monroe, Samantha Nielson, Sandy Kinzie, Sue Dreyer, Clarissa Comstock, Carol Clark, Kendra Koehler, Patty Kuhn, Tamra Ashburn, Jennifer Muller, Becky Williams, Alex Bandy, Roxanne Martinez and Janice Gerk.

At the end of action items, BOE members approved a list of 2020-21 extra duty assignments. See the side bar at left for the complete list of extra duty assignments for the coming year.

Before adjourning the two-hour meeting, board members discussed having previous high school graduates come to the school and talk about their experiences to provide feedback to board members and administration, specifically about what was helpful and what might be lacking in instruction they received while at Fleming Schools.

The next Frenchman Board of Education meeting is slated for Tuesday, May 19 at 6 p.m.