Emergency closures are a rare occurrence in the Moscow School District.  Student safety is our highest priority, and we always urge families to use their best judgment whenever inclement weather conditions strike.  Families who feel that they can’t safely make it to school when the weather is bad need to make a safety decision for their specific family situation and contact their
school as soon as possible if they are not going to attend.

Decisions to close school are usually made several hours before schools starts.  Our Transportation Director begins his day by 4:00 a.m., or earlier, by observing weather reports and driving bus routes.  In addition, he communicates with the North Latah County road crews by radio and cell phone.  The road crews begin their day plowing bus routes and other county roads by 3:00 a.m., or earlier, dependent on conditions.  In addition, Moscow City crews start early to ensure that arterials and other streets are plowed.   Idaho Department of Transportation officials are also included in the communication loop.

The Superintendent of Schools communicates with the Transportation Director between 5:30 and 6:00 to make the decision to close or open school.  If bus routes and arterials are safe for bus travel, schools will open.  The timing of bad weather, wind speed, and temperature are always important considerations.  Even though there may be lots of snow on the ground, school could still open if bus routes and arterials are plowed.

Closure announcements are usually made shortly after 6AM though parents may want to monitor reports throughout the day. Parents of children riding the bus should have a contingency plan for when emergencies may close the schools that disrupt the normal way and time children would get home. In the event of unanticipated school closures, please do not call school district phone numbers as this unnecessarily ties up the phone lines.

Even though we will use the School Messenger system to communicate directly, you can still tune your radio or TV to one of the following stations on days when weather is extreme or extraordinary events are occurring for closure announcements:

AM Stations               FM Stations                TV Stations

KMAX 840                   KUOI 89.3                    KREM Ch. 2

KQQQ 1150                 KPBX 91.1                    KLEW Ch. 3

KWSU 1250                 KRFA 91.7                    KHQ Ch. 6

KRLC 1350                   KRFP 92.5

KRPL 1400                   KZZL 99.5

KCLX 1450                   KRAO 102.5

KHTR 104.3

KVTY 105.1

KZFN 106.1

KMOK 106.9

What a start we’ve had.  300 staff members, 7 school campuses, and 2,264 excited students began the journey through the 2011-12 school year.  Summer projects included a new roof at West Park School, and a new boiler and unanticipated kitchen remodel at Moscow Junior High School due to an unfortunate accidental fire.  Our summer custodial crews did an outstanding job of preparing each building for the school year, and our teachers, support staff and administrators came back to their schools with new knowledge, energy and excitement.   

We have several big projects underway including our transition to a new grade level configuration, we are also planning for a local supplemental levy election on November 8, and we are in the beginning stages of forming a Task force to develop a long-range facilities plan for the Moscow School District.  We are also excited to begin communicating on an International level with our new Sister School in Shenzhen, China.

Reconfiguration Transition:

Last spring, the Board of Trustees approved a resolution to reconfigure the grade levels in our two secondary schools at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.  This will involve moving the ninth graders to the current Moscow High School and our sixth graders will move to our current Moscow Junior High School, which will then turn into a middle level school in name and philosophy. 

There are many details to consider in this big transition and there are many “teams” of teachers, parents, administrators, and community stakeholders involved.  District level ground teams include, “curriculum, student, personnel, and physical transition teams.  All ground teams will report to a “Lead Team” which meets monthly. Following each Lead Team meeting, the Superintendent will report to the Board of Trustees each month.   We know this transition will affect every student, parent, staff member and family in our community.  If you are interested in serving on one of the transition teams, please contact any school administrator to become involved.

Increase to the Indefinite Term Local Supplemental Levy

Every four to six years, the Indefinite Term Local Supplemental Levy needs attention.  The levy amount is a fixed dollar amount, therefore must be adjusted from time to time dependent on State revenue and/or inflation.   This past August, I recommended to the Trustees that the levy be increased due to falling revenue at the State level over the past five years.  Revenue from the State will continue to decrease for the next five years and beyond based on new laws passed during this last Idaho State Legislative session. 

The levy election will take place on November 8.  Voters will mark their ballots at their regular precinct, which means City of Moscow voters will all vote at the Fairgrounds and Viola will vote in their regular precinct location.  Absentee ballots are available right now and any MSD resident may vote at the Latah County Courthouse during regular business hours.  Please contact the Latah County Clerk at 882-2249 for additional information.

Multiple public information meetings will take place over the next month.  All interested stakeholders are invited to attend, ask questions and become more knowledgeable about the request to increase the amount of the local supplemental levy.  Complete levy election information and presentation dates can be found at the MSD website by clicking on the following link:  http://msdweb.msd281.org/wordpress/?p=962

Long-Range Planning Task Force

We are also developing a Long-Range Planning Task Force.  The objective of the Task Force is to review the physical condition of the many buildings in the District and develop a plan to complete overdue facilities renovation and update our playfields.   Stakeholders were chosen to participate on the Task Force through an application process with membership finalized through the Board of Trustees.  The Superintendent will chair and facilitate the process.  Members are: Deb Adair, Business Manager, Cliff Vogtman, Building and Grounds Supervisor, Bob Celebrezze, secondary principal, Bill Marineau, elementary principal, Susan Steele, classified representative, Matt Foss, certified representative, Greg Papineau and Todd Kimsey parent representatives, Steven Hacker and Dale Graden at-large community members, and Bill Belknap, City of Moscow representative. 

The Task Force has scheduled monthly meetings over the next six months on the following dates: October 13, November 17, December 8, January 12, February 9, and March 8.  All meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m., and will take place in the District Office Board Room.  The first two meetings will include tours of our physical facilities.  The public is invited to attend and observe any or all of these working committee meetings.  

Chinese Sister School

We are also very excited to begin communicating with our new Sister School in Shenzhen, China.  We’ve received our first communication from forty-two students who attend school at Qilin Primary School in the Nanshan District.  The forty two Chinese students are learning English and they are anxious to practice with their new friends in the Moscow School District.  We have identified several classrooms who will take part in this project that will integrate writing, language, geography, history, and current events.  Their teacher worked with me while I was in China earlier this year and we are proud to make this wonderful connection that will benefit many students on an International level through writing English and we will even learn some Mandarin Chinese!  As this project develops, we will post pictures and some of our communication to the MSD website.

Request to Increase Indefinite Supplemental Levy

D. Kleinert, Superintendent August 23, 2011

 The following information was presented to the Moscow School District Board of Trustees at their regular monthly meeting held on August 23, 2011.  Following the presentation of this information, the Trustees took official action by resolution to place a ballot question before the local voters to ask for an increase of the local indefinite term supplemental levy.

 To maintain class sizes and programming that our community expects, it will be necessary to increase the $7.616 million indefinite term supplemental levy by $1.97 million for a total of $9,586,000.  The cost increase per $1,000 taxable valuation to the local taxpayer will be $1.54, and the total cost of the $9,586,000 indefinite term levy will be $7.50 per $1,000 taxable valuation.  

At last month’s July Board meeting I recommended a three tiered approach to sustain the financial condition of the Moscow School District through the next five years: 

1. The Trustees will need to continue a fiscally conservative approach to the budget with the goal of reducing spending in all categories.
2. A work force will need to be implemented that will be charged with the task of bringing a long-term plant facilities renovation plan to the trustees in late winter or early spring of this school year.   Stakeholders interested in serving on this committee should fill out an application form located at the MSD website and return it to the District Office.
3. The Trustees will need to carefully consider an increase to the local supplemental levy of $1.97 million dollars which is an identical increase to that which was approved in 2007.   If the ballot question to increase the levy is on this November’s ballot, and the amount is approved by the local voters and certified by the County next September, 2012, the property tax revenue would first be available to the District in January of 2013.

 This combination of recommendations including spending reductions, local supplemental levy increase request, and long-term planning will provide the ability for this supplemental increase request to span the projected five year period through 2017.

 The word “ability” is key in this recommendation.  It is not known what the Legislature will enact in future years, but we do know that they laid out a long-range plan to reduce the foundation payment from 1.6% this year to a cut of 6.42% and then level off at 5.74% less in fiscal year 2016 and beyond.    We also can not predict enrollment, but based on community and local employment trends we don’t expect enrollment to increase dramatically.  The Trustees have been fiscally conservative and will need to continue with this priority in the coming years even if a levy increase is approved. 

 In addition, it is critical to remember that State support including entitlement, salary and benefit apportionment, and transportation has decreased by $1,857,806 since fiscal year 2007.   While the State was whittling away at our revenue apportionment over the past five years, we have gained some support from ARRA funding, Jobs Bill funding, and this summer we received a one-time apportionment in unanticipated revenue from the State Department of Education.  With the exception of the unanticipated one-time apportionment ($472,000) the ARRA funding is gone and Jobs bill funding will be gone at the end of this year and will not be replaced.  The loss of this funding will force us to either move approximately seven para-professionals back into the general fund or reduce this staffing completely.  The loss of Jobs Bill at the end of this year and ARRA funding at the end of last year totals $533,000 in the school year in a two year period.

 In addition, the State Tobacco tax and technology revenue funds were completely cut in the 2010-11 budget and our plant facilities revenue from lottery funds were completely cut in 2009-10.  These reductions in funding total $274,000 that we just don’t have anymore.   Additionally in 2007, we earned $198,913 on interest, and we now earn approximately $20,876 which is an additional loss of $178,000.

 So, to take into account the loss of $452,000,000 tobacco tax, technology, and interest revenue funds, $533,000 in federal funds, and $1.8 million in State foundation and transportation funds, we are not able to sustain the District as the community has requested into the future without asking for additional assistance.   These budgetary line items that are gone total over $2.8 million that was available in 2007 when we last asked the community for an increase to the supplemental levy.

 During this Legislative session, the lawmakers cut the foundation apportionment that I spoke to earlier during the next five years to “pay for performance”, “one to one technology”, “leadership awards”, and “hard to fill” teaching positions.  The apportionment shifts which are earmarked in the State Department of Education “Students Come First” laws will not pay the bills.  However, it is obvious that the Legislation is focusing the shift into a pay-for-performance model for certificated staff instead of increases to the salary grid.   In fact, the base salary on the State’s certificated salary grid was reduced from $23,565 to $23,123 for this next school year.  In addition to the bills that we have to pay, we have four roofs and three boilers that must be replaced in the next 1-3 years.

 The State Legislature, by reducing revenue has in effect transferred the responsibility from the State to the local voters. 

 At the same time, we have honored our obligation to the community by offering programming at a higher level than what the State requires, we have Gifted/Talented programming in all of our schools, a well rounded foreign language, music and arts program, and we continue our attempt to keep class sizes as small as possible.  We have done our best to keep our secondary class loads at a limit of 144 while northwest accreditation limits have completely disappeared with no upper limit.  Elementary class sizes are still at a maximum of 22 for Kindergarten and first grade, 23 in grades 2-3, and 26 for grades 4-6.  In addition, we have also implemented unfunded new State mandates including more science, math, and Senior Project graduation requirements. 

 Now that the recommendation is moving forward, we will immediately begin the work of producing and distributing an informational packet and brochures that will include costs to the local taxpayer, programming that will continue to be offered if the levy passes, and other pertinent budgetary information.   We will also post the information on the district’s website, publish a special newsletter, and meet with any and all segments of the community in the next two months to provide as much information to all of our stakeholders as possible.  If you or your group would like additional information, please contact the Superintendents office and we will be happy to meet and/or provide additional information.  We look forward to visiting with everyone in the Moscow School District community.

West Park School: 

A new roof is almost in place.  The old roof had several leaks and we put out bids to begin this project as soon as school ended last spring.  This project will be done in the next week.

Moscow Junior High School:

After 53 years, it was time to replace the heating boiler.  The old boiler will be replaced by two efficient and smaller boilers.  I can remember days when the boiler wouldn’t start and cranking it up was like starting an old steam train engine.  Workers have spent the last month cutting it into parts small enough to carry through the doorway.  This project will involve cutting a hole in the roof of the boiler room to lower the new boilers into place.   The boilers will be in operation by the time school starts.

Junior High Kitchen:

This area of the junior high school suffered smoke and fire damage earlier this July.  The fire was caused by an unfortunate fire in a nearby portable restroom.  Before the fire was out, we were in contact with our insurance company and a fire restoration contractor.   Considerable damage occurred in the kitchen, with smoke damage throughout the Multi-Purpose Room.  The first floor hallway also had some soot that settled on equipment and lockers.  The affected portions of the hallway have been scrubbed and that area is now completely clean.  The Multi-Purpose Room and stage will be scrubbed and most areas painted in the next few days.  All stage curtains were sent away for cleaning.  The kitchen has been completely emptied and all food items and other damaged items have already been discarded.  The room will be completely repaired, restored, scrubbed and painted, with new double pane windows to be installed in the near future.   Smoke and fire damage to the outside of the building will cause the bricks and asphalt in the immediate area to be replaced.  Some damage repairs to the roof will also take place.  This entire project will be completed by the time school starts!

Windstorm damage from last fall:

Most of the repair from the “Big Wind” was completed after the storm.  We made temporary repairs to some of our outside network cables that stretch between the buildings, but one final length of fiber cable was finally corrected permanently just this week.  Up until this week, the cable was attached with a temporary rope high up on the Russell School roof.  We can now check off that job and call it done!

Reconfiguration:

As most of you know, the Moscow School District will be reconfiguring our grade levels from a K-6,7-9, and 10-12 grade level configuration to a K-5,6-8, and 9-12 configuration at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.  We are in the beginning stages of developing teams of people to plan and implement this big change.  Timelines, orientations, staffing, physical moves, and other important tasks to take care of the many details will start to move ahead as soon as the administrators are back in the buildings.  If you are interested in serving on any organizational teams, please contact a building principal or feel free to give me a call or send me an email anytime to share your expertise.

New Idaho Legislation:

• As most people are aware, several new laws took effect at the end of this year’s Legislative session.  A state-wide Technology Task Force is working to make a recommendation to the State Board of Education regarding online credit requirements.  Recommendations will include type of equipment to be used in the schools and how many credits will be required for high school students.    The State Board of Education will hold public hearings throughout Idaho on this topic.  Their local hearing will take place at the University of Idaho, Borah Theatre from 4-6 p.m., on Tuesday, August 16.
• The Legislation also added a “Pay for Performance” component for all Idaho certified teachers.  The requirement has a framework from which to follow, but the actual definition will come from the Local Board of Trustees.  This summer, a committee made up of administrators, teachers, parents, and a Board representative, will finalize a recommendation and forward it to the Board of Trustees.  The plan must be forwarded to the State Department of Education by September 1.

 As you can see, we have plenty of activity throughout the Moscow School District even though it is summer.  We hope you are enjoying our beautiful summer and extra time with your family.

 Sincerely,

 Dale Kleinert, Superintendent

Moscow School District

 We’ve also carefully considered the ramifications to West Park and Russell schools.  Over the last 10 years, these schools have developed into very successful environments that allow for a wide variety of ability level placements for students with multi-classrooms per grade level.  The reconfiguration choices for Russell and West Park schools included separate K-5 schools at each location with some single classrooms per grade level, or a configuration that is similar to the current with multi-classrooms per grade level in a K-2/3-5 setting.   We met with parents and also took extra time to gain the insight from the teachers and administrators who have worked hard over the past ten years to develop their outstanding programming.  

 Programming at all of our schools is now based on a tiered instructional model that is much more effective when multiple teachers at each grade level can team together to provide the best support to students.  This research based instructional model made it much easier to recommend a K-2 configuration at West Park School and an intermediate setting at Russell School where students in Grades 3-5 would be served.   We are not making a recommendation to move the university kindergarten right now because we would like additional time to study the barriers and benefits of such a move.

 After a thorough study, it was determined that a new configuration could take place in the district and I made a recommendation to the Board last December that gave the details of how this plan could work.  I also reported timelines in which the project could be implemented.  At that time, I recommended that any reconfiguration change should happen at the start of the 2012-13 school year in order to give time to address all of the details of such a move. 

 The District has studied and made recommendations for a grade level reconfiguration changes multiple times for almost 50 years, but we’ve always stopped short of making the move.   We are in a situation right now that is causing us to make recommendations based on several factors that are now or will be negatively affecting our students.  The factors include:

 The State of Idaho has adopted new high school graduation requirements with the implementation of its high school redesign program which affects all students in grades 9-12 beginning with the class of 2013.

• 10^th grade students now take a high stakes graduation test.  Having 9^th grade in the same building would provide a more comprehensive selection of course options from remediation to accelerated courses leading up to the test, and they would not be hit with the test soon after they walk through the door.
• Idaho has also developed a middle level credit requirement that is in direct conflict with high school credits.  Middle level students now must receive middle level credits and 9^th grade students receive high school credits, and the system is not designed to occur under one roof.  Moscow Junior High School is one of a very few schools in the State of Idaho that is in the middle of this transcript problem that will cause graduation issues if not resolved.
• More and more families are interested in the district’s K-Plus program and we turn families away each year because we don’t have the space.  Moving the sixth grade to a middle level school provides more space for such programs at our current elementary schools.
• Sixth grade students can benefit directly from a protected transition middle level model.  For example, sixth grade students would still be served in a separate classroom wing in their own intermediate style learning environments, but receive the benefits of a very robust elective program including more music courses such as band and orchestra within their school day, vocational-technical programming, foreign language, etc.

 During the year, countless meetings and opportunities for input took place.  From individual meetings with teachers, administrators and parents, formal meetings were held where I provided information and asked for input from parents and staff members, the League of Women Voters, Chamber of Commerce, Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, and other community service groups.  In all, nineteen formal and countless informal gatherings took place.  In addition, media activities such as radio shows, feature newspaper articles, a special website, and blogs all were used to encourage and facilitate input.  The administrators also hosted two public meetings and posted detailed answers to countless questions on a “frequently asked questions” link to the school district’s website. 

 While the input window remained open, elementary administrators were also asked to brainstorm best practice ideas to facilitate an educational model that could enhance classroom instruction using the expertise of specialists at the elementary schools to more successfully implement the district and building level school improvement plans.  This model could involve specialists working in an interdisciplinary educational setting to provide instructional remediation and acceleration through music, movement, and other exploratory curricula integrated with classroom instruction.

 The administrators also developed a plan that would greatly reduce teacher travel between buildings.  Currently, 8 sections or 1.17 certified FTE are lost just with travel.  This change would result in an immediate related cost savings to the district of approximately $75,000 per year.

 We’ve also calculated the costs associated with keeping the ninth grade students in the current junior high school building.  With the issue of the middle level credit and high school credit conflict at the junior high, it has become clear that it would be necessary to develop a schedule and staffing for “ninth grade” only classes.  Splitting the master schedule into two separate modules would require additional staffing.  I asked Mr. Hill to develop a model such as the one used by the Lewiston junior high schools. This scheduling split would require at least 1.0 additional certified FTE and would cost the district approximately $60,000 per year.  It is also important to recognize that a “ninth grade” split schedule at the junior high building would not provide the opportunity for ability level placement that would exist for those same students if they were at the high school.

 Mr. Hill and others have researched how sixth grade students could be served in a middle level model using a protected transitional learning environment and those answers and the research is also included on the FAQ website.   Some thought was given to an alternate arrangement of keeping the sixth grade students at the elementary schools and providing room for K-plus at the middle level, but staffing barriers and other physical limitations hindered further exploration.  Other ideas including redefining attendance zones to more equally divide the elementary students in order to keep the 6^th graders at their elementary schools was explored, but that idea also left the junior high school building with 1/3 of its rooms empty while still not adding room for K-plus programming at the elementary schools.  In the end, we know from research that the benefits of providing a middle level model that includes 6^th graders with 7^th and 8^th graders can be a truly beneficial environment as it is in thousands of middle schools throughout the nation. 

 There will be short term costs associated with the transition activities that include personnel shifts to different schools.  At the outset, I made it clear that any moves made will be done in a respectful and professional manner.  To that end, we would budget $30,000 to be allocated over a two year fiscal period to cover moving and staffing costs associated with the move.   We learned many lessons with the last move that took place in 2002 and we will take this next year to plan and carefully detail every component of this transition. 

 Mr. Celebrezze has also carefully and deliberately studied the physical attributes of the current MHS building with the consideration that an additional 190 students would be enrolled.   He understands the barriers and has developed plans for satellite meal service and has outlined course sequences for physical education to minimize busing costs.  All of these details and more information regarding the high school are also located on the F.A.Q. section of the configuration webpage.

 We also know that there will be staffing adjustments with the changes in student placement throughout the district.   Movement of ancillary staff to follow student needs already takes place each year in our Title, Special Education, food service, and other support systems and we are ready to develop a more detailed plan for this transition.  

 We’ve also researched how this change can positively affect student achievement.  If you look at nationwide student achievement test scores, you will see that almost all schools experience a dip in scores when a transition from elementary to middle school takes place.  The “dip” is a middle level phenomenon that is seen in our district and nationwide no matter when they transition.   We’ve researched many schools and grade level configurations and have found that those who have an earlier transition before going into high school have more time to come out of the “dip” by the time they take their high stakes test in 10th Grade.  Having 6th grade in a protected transition situation at the junior high school building with additional supports will be part of our solution to decrease the “dip” and provide better readiness for all students by the time they reach high school.    

 All of our teachers and support staff take great pride in the cultures that exist in each of our schools.   Rightly so, their high test scores, outstanding programming, activities, events, and daily routines have been developed with hard work, dedication, and passion.  We’ve seen the same passion come forward this year as we’ve discussed the potential of this change. 

 At the beginning, I said this move would affect everybody in our school and community.   Change is hard, and every change we make gives us an opportunity to more finely tune our programming to make things even better for kids.   Over the past four years, we’ve developed and are now implementing high school redesign complete with a seven period credit opportunity and a new bell schedule at Moscow High School that will begin next year.   We’re almost ready to implement a district-wide sequential Response to Intervention program, a new certified evaluation process, and last year the junior high school changed their schedule for the first time in 38 years.   All of the changes we make involve passionate discussion, dedicated brainstorming, and hard work to develop successful plans. 

 As soon as school starts next fall, we will begin the formation of teams to plan every detail of the reconfiguration and I expect and hope that there will be more passionate discussion.  I will ask principals at each building to assemble groups of teachers, parents and other stakeholders to plan staff physical moves, student and parent transitions, programming modifications, classroom shifts, textbook and media center changes, furniture allocations, transportation changes, scheduling alterations, and support staff changes.  No stone can be left unturned and every teacher, administrator, classified staff, student, and parent must be cared for to make this project successful.   

We have incredible teachers, administrators and support staff who are ready to work together on behalf of our students, and we are prepared to make this transition and implementation an all-MSD group project because we know that this change will benefit our students. 

And so in closing, the Trustees of Moscow School District took positive action on our recommendation to reconfigure our grade levels to include grades Kindergarten through 5 at McDonald and Lena Whitmore Elementary Schools, grades 6-8 in a middle level setting with our current Moscow Junior High School to be renamed Moscow Middle School.  This change will then allow students in grades 9-12 to be served at Moscow High School.  We also recommended that West Park School become a K-2 school and Russell School serve students in grades 3-5.   No action was taken to move the University Kindergarten to the West Park School campus.  That recommendation may come at a later date.  The recommendation also comes with a district-wide planning effort and timeline to occur during the 2011-12 school year and a complete implementation to begin at the start of the 2012-13 school year.

 Spring is here!   Students are once again outside and it is great to see our playfields busy during the day as well as after school.   It has been a busy school year with lots of incredible programs, activities, and projects happening each day throughout the wonderful Moscow School District.  Our community can be very proud of our staff for providing an excellent experience for every student.  During their regular monthly meeting on March 22, 2011, our Board of Trustees heard about some of the great things going on in our schools.  I’ve listed them below and would like to thank all of the stakeholders of our District for their continued dedication and support of our students.

 Thank you to Greg Harris and Scott Greenwalt from our transportation department who went out of their way to provide assistance to the West Valley School District from Yakima, WA when their bus encountered mechanical difficulties while they were in Moscow for the Jazz Festival. Mr. Harris and Mr. Greenwalt went out at midnight with one of our buses to transport the students to Pullman from the Kibbie Dome and then went out at 7 AM on Saturday morning to transport the students back to the Kibbie Dome and fix the bus.

 Students at Lena Whitmore enjoyed an amazing Jazz in the Schools performance with Jeff Haskell, Mark Snodgrass and Alan Durst during a recent assembly. Principal Kendra McMillan stated that she has attended dozens of assemblies over the past ten years and that this performance was one of the best facilitated she has attended. Mr. Durst did a wonderful job of taking questions and balancing the songs with sharing the history of jazz.  Mr. Snodgrass shared his memories of Lena Whitmore and how he was inspired as an elementary student to learn to play the bass.

 Congratulations to the Moscow High School band that was recently dubbed “the highlight band of the day” in Penticton, British Columbia at the Okanagan Valley Band Festival and was the only band that day to receive superior ratings from the adjudicators. The band represented their school, our district and our state well, showing their “Pride of the North.”

 Congratulations to the sixty-one (61) Moscow High students, Spencer Atwood, Monica Baker, John Batacan, Julianne Bledsoe, Anna Campbell, Brittnay Davis, Steven Greene, Anne Hightower, Kendyl Landeck, Marissa Reisenauer, Crystal Smith, Veronica Smith, Allison Anders, Klayton Bailey, Brenda Chavez, Scott Dennis, Jordan Eby, Adrienne Fife, James Flinn, Raelynn Gosse, Kati Greear, Vriana Hedges, Joshua Helbling, Christine Hicks, Beau Lawon, Lalyn Lewis, Seth Maynard, Kadin McGreevy, Daniel McGurkin, Allison McIntosh, Benjamin Morris, Rebecca Papineau, Abigail Quinnett, Erin Saladin, Nevada Sowle, Jane Walden, Logan Brooks, Andrew Charles, Lindsey Covill, Ethan Cox, Leah Culp, Nirmal Dahal, Jashvina Devadoss, Niklaas Dumroese, Corey Ena, Jessica Greene, Anna Harris, Jacob Helbling, Garrett Knight, Kaitlyn Krasselt, Jordan Maxwell, Andrew Papineau, Justin Parkins, Megan Planck, Nicolette Redinger, Tessa Saul, and John Westberg, who received Student Recognition Awards in the category of Positive Leadership in the Classroom, Clubs, and/or Athletic Activities.

 Congratulations to fifth grader, Bryce Poplawsky, who has qualified to represent McDonald Elementary and participate at the state level of the National Geographic Bee, on Friday, April 1 in Boise.

Congratulations to members of Moscow High School’s Glee Club and Human Rights and International (HRAI) Club who, on March 6, 2011, went to the 1912 Center early on a Sunday morning, to help at the “Breakfast for Haiti” fundraiser sponsored by the Paloma Institute. Maree McHugh, representative for the Paloma Institute, stated that they were all very impressed with how capable, helpful, and self-organized the students were and that the performance by the Glee Club was very professional and they sang beautifully.

Student safety is our highest priority, and we always urge families to use their best judgment whenever inclement weather conditions strike.  Families who feel that they can’t safely make it to school when the weather is bad need to make a safety decision for their specific family situation and contact their school as soon as possible if they are not going to attend.  

Decisions to close school are usually made several hours before schools starts.  Our Transportation Director begins his day by 4:00 a.m., or earlier, by observing weather reports and driving bus routes.  In addition, he communicates with the North Latah County road crews by radio and cell phone.  The road crews begin their day plowing bus routes and other county roads by 3:00 a.m., or earlier, dependent on conditions.  In addition, Moscow City crews start early to ensure that arterials and other streets are plowed.   Idaho Department of Transportation officials are also included in the communication loop.

The Superintendent of Schools communicates with the Transportation Director between 5:30 and 6:00 to make the decision to close or open school.   If bus routes and arterials are safe for bus travel, schools will open.  The timing of bad weather, wind speed, and temperature are always important considerations.  Even though there may be lots of snow on the ground, school could still open if bus routes and arterials are plowed. 

In the event of unanticipated school closures, please do not call school district phone numbers as this unnecessarily ties up the phone lines.  Instead, tune your radio or TV to one of the following stations on days when weather is extreme or extraordinary events are occurring:

AM Stations               FM Stations                TV Stations

KMAX 840                   KUOI 89.3                    KREM Ch. 2

KQQQ 1150                 KPBX 91.1                    KLEW Ch. 3

KWSU 1250                 KRFA 91.7                    KXLY Ch. 4

KRLC 1350                   KRFP 92.5                    KHQ Ch. 6

KRPL 1400                   KZZL 99.5

KCLX 1450                   KRAO 102.5

KHTR 104.3

KVTY 105.1

KZFN 106.1

KMOK 106.9

Closure announcements are usually made shortly after 6AM though parents may want to monitor reports throughout the day.  Parents of children riding the bus should have a contingency plan for when emergencies disrupt the normal way and time children would get home.

“Waiting for Superman” to Kick Off Education Film Series

Source:
Amy Cox, WSU College of Education, amycox@wsu.edu, 509-335-7843

PULLMAN, Wash.— The controversial documentary “Waiting for Superman” will kick off a film series co-hosted by the University of Idaho and Washington State University colleges of education.

The series, Rethinking Education, will address educational issues affecting children, families, schools and communities. The three films and panel discussions are free and open to the public.

 “Waiting for Superman” revolves around five children whose futures depend upon winning a lottery to attend a charter school.  It will be screened on Sunday, Jan. 30, at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, 508 S. Main St., Moscow. An introduction will begin at 3:45 p.m. The 102-minute movie will start at 4 p.m.

The panel discussion that follows will be led by Corinne Mantle-Bromley, dean of the University of Idaho’s College of Education. Panelists will include Associate Professor Paula Groves Price of WSU, plus a public school administrator, a teacher, a parent, and a student who is preparing to be a teacher.

The film “The Lottery” will be shown in March.  “The Race to Nowhere” will be presented in April.  The dates and locations are still being determined.

“We hope the films will inspire some creative thinking and bring new people into the conversation about the major issues facing our schools, children, and communities,” said Kelly Ward, interim chair of WSU’s Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology. “The collaboration with Idaho is a chance for us to discuss common concerns and help bridge the gap between educational theory and practice.” 

For more information, contact Amy Cox, amycox@wsu.edu, or Melissa Saul, msaul@uidaho.edu.

Our schools are bustling with activities that lead us into the holiday season.  Our students have been involved with countless performances and concerts throughout the community this past few weeks.  Many of our students performed with over 800 other students in the University of Idaho Holiday concert this past weekend.  Our entire Lena Whitmore student body gave a wonderful concert at the Nazarene Church, McDonald students performed for parents, the high school band performed at the Eastside Marketplace, and countless other students were involved in holiday preparations and programs throughout our community.  All of our teachers are to be complimented for their hard work and dedication as they continue to help students stay on task in the classroom right up to the last minutes before the holiday break.

Special congratulations go to MJHS teachers Rachel Aiello and Jennifer Olson, and MHS teacher Kristine Petterson who recently went through rigorous requirements and completed them with outstanding results to achieve the designation of National Board Certificated Teacher.  The work, research, and time commitment by these teachers is significant and we are proud to recognize them for this milestone.

The following information was presented to the Moscow School District Board of Trustees this past Tuesday night at their regular monthly meeting.  The information is the result of the grade level configuration study that has been in progress since the beginning of the school year.  Please feel free to contact me or any administrator if you have questions, concerns, or input regarding this or any other issue.

 The administration began the large project to determine the feasibility of a configuration shift in the Moscow School District at the beginning of this school year.  Their task was to develop answers to the barriers of any type of shift and also to identify and define the benefits to the students of the Moscow School District.  As I reported early in the fall, we would leave no stone unturned during this study.   My task was to gather information, listen to concerns, and make a preliminary recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

• As we have seen first-hand during our facilities tours this fall, most of our elementary schools are overcrowded with some teachers serving students in areas not designed for instruction.    Students are placed in hallways, doorways, and other locations that are not appropriate.  
• More and more families are interested in the district’s K-Plus program and we do not have the space to accommodate those who are interested. 
• Research indicates that approximately 95% of high schools in the United States are 9-12 configured campuses.  The State of Idaho, along with every other state in the nation, uses a four high school model to determine graduation requirements, curricular mandates, and scope and sequence issues.
• Idaho has also developed a middle level credit requirement that is in direct conflict with high school credits.  Middle level students now must receive middle level credits and 9^th grade students receive high school credits, and the system is not designed to occur under one roof.  Moscow Junior High School is one of a very few schools in the State of Idaho that is in the middle of this transcript problem that will cause graduation issues if not resolved.
• The State of Idaho has adopted new high school graduation requirements with the implementation of its high school redesign program which affects all students in grades 9-12 beginning with the class of 2013.
• 10^th grade students now take a high stakes graduation test.  Having 9^th grade in the same building would provide a more comprehensive selection of course options from remediation to accelerated courses leading up to the test, and they would not be hit with the test soon after they walk through the door.
• MHS and MJHS are aligning bell schedules that now have considerable conflict due to shared staffing and differences in Idaho State required hours.

 I am indebted to all of the people who have given initial input.  All input is valued and important.  This is a big deal and we understand that any change would affect every student, teacher, parent, and community member of this great district. 

 The results of the study show that we could move from our current configuration to a 6-8 and 9-12 configuration.   I recommend that any configuration adjustments directed by the Board of Trustees take place at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year to give time for staffing and classrooms to be adjusted in a dignified and respectful manner.  

 It is also my recommendation that we sponsor two administrative panel presentations with question/answer and input sessions during the month of February 2011 with one designed primarily for staff information and the other for our patrons.  The panel presentations will lay out specific plans developed by the administration with input from their building staff members.   I also recommend that the Board allow for special input times during their regular monthly meetings in February and March.    Following the input sessions, the Superintendent will develop a final detailed recommendation for Board action in April of 2011 which, if approved, would become effective at the start of the 2012-13 school year.

 I am thankful for the preliminary work and dedication of the administration and we are also lucky to have had very important initial input from staff members and parents who have helped us move through the barriers and benefits of this study.

 I look forward to developing this model with the leadership of the entire Moscow School District administrative, certified, and classified team.