Maryville

The Maryville R-II School Board of Education handled the following business September 16.

Superintendent Dr. Becky Albrecht presented an update on the COVID-19 noting that as of September 10, there were 117 students enrolled in the Spoofhound Academy online education, and 28 being homeschooled; the use of CARES Act funding in the district, and there have been 109 students, 66 staff missed days of work for quarantined and 11 students and five staff tested positive.

• Approved the consent agenda which included assessement of the federal programs Title IA and Title IIA, service agreement with Northwest Cell for a fixed wireless router for student use during the pandemic, the application for the School Age Community Grant with DESE and the list of surplus items.

• Approved the additional pay for gatekeepers that are requested to stay longer.

• Authorized the addition of fleet technician to the list of support staff and to the hourly salary schedule.

At the end of the open session, the board went into closed session for the topic of personnel.

Reports:

Alisha Degase gave the Community Teachers Association report.

Albrecht recognized the central office staff for the extra challenges they have faced. She also reviewed the teacher evaluation process.

Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz noted the tech team has been busy with the hybrid school model and he spoke of the free breakfast and lunch program.

Special Education Director Craig Borey reported all non-compliance items identified by DESE have been corrected and 251 students’ IEPs have been amended to accommodate new state mandates for remote learning.

Student Services Coordinator Brian Lynn told of the Schoology traffic increasing from 9,039 in three weeks last year to 16,709 student submitted materials within the same period this year.

Middle School Principal Kevin Pitts esplained the Leader in Me platform will be different this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

High School Principal Thom Alvarez said he has received positive feedback from parents, students and teachers with the new schedule.

Northwest Technical School Director Jeremy Ingraham reported many of the classes are going through safety procedures and the adult education classes have begun.

Early Childhood Center Director Michelle McCollum told all preschool and kindergarten classes use the Michael Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum daily and playground time is rotated through the students.

Eugene Field Principal Philip Pohren explained the new testing platform, Renaissance, for assessing reading comprehension and also ReadyMath.

Activities/Athletic Director Mat Beu gave a sports report on each team’s activity.

Building and Grounds Supervisor Adam Townsend presented the maintenance report that included installing water bottle fillers and some metered faucets.