Approvals reflect coming changes
Monticello School Board approvals of eight handbooks and the second reading of 12 policies were as much reflections on some of the changes that will be occurring within the district as they were procedural measures.
A change that came to light as the board discussed the handbooks was that there will be no letter grades assigned at the middle school only, beginning with the new school year, and consequently no honor roll, as a result of the full rollout of the Standards Referenced Reporting grading system that has been piloted the last two years.
Some of the changes also reflect the rollout of 1-to-1 technology, in which every student within the district will be assigned a computer; grades 7-12 will bring them home each night.
The rollout will begin with meetings for grades 7-9 (Aug. 15) and high school (Aug. 16) students and parents, both at 6:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium, during which the computers will be signed for and handed out.
Other changes were less impactful, such as the position name change from Intervention Specialist to “Student Success Coordinator.” Or, the change that is being made at the high school, that the traditional morning announcements will be done electronically.
Handbooks that were approved by the board included those for high school students and parents, high school faculty, middle school students and parents, middle school faculty, elementary school students and parents, elementary faculty, activities department, and Panther Academy.
The board policy changes had to do mostly with instructional materials and curriculum implementation, with minor changes to both.
Also at the meeting, as part of the superintendent’s report, Superintendent Brian Jaeger discussed additional ideas for the varsity softball fields in the event the Sept. 11 bond issue passes.
If it passes and a new middle school is built just south of and connecting with the high school, the current softball fields would no longer be in use.
Jaeger discussed a number of suggestions, but the one that seemed to gain the most favor from the board was to propose a swap in which the district would convert one of the youth baseball/softball fields into a lone varsity softball field, in exchange, add a youth field to the Shannon complex.
Jaeger said he would meet with the MYBSA and the city to discuss the idea, and report back to the board.