Highlights from January 9th BoE Meeting
Below are highlights from the January 9th Board of Education meeting. Please remember these are just highlights and do not reflect the official minutes.
Dr. Gustason and Bob Forsyth presented information on the High School Physical Education/Fitness requirements, waivers, and course offerings. A review of School Board policies and State requirements was completed to ensure both were being met. The focus of the High School fitness curriculum is to increase student understanding of the importance of life-long fitness and to introduce them to a variety of ways to get the physical activity they need for a healthy life.
The High School Physical Education/Fitness curriculum focuses on safety in exercise, the principles of fitness (frequency, intensity, time, and type), fitness assessment, goal writing, components of fitness (cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular endurance, and muscular strength), and the benefits of physical education (physical, mental, and social). Every student is assessed (BMI, heart rate, flexibility, core endurance, upper body strength, etc.) and writes their own fitness goals; both of which are shared with the student and parents/guardians in the form of a Fitness Gram. Their final assessment is an exit interview regarding their beginning/ending assessments and an understanding of where they are on the fitness goals they set for themselves.
The High School PE/Fitness staff are currently working with and on new fitness engagement tools, alternative learning opportunities, and lifetime fitness sessions. Some of the lifetime fitness sessions being planned for next year are: aqua fit, flex & fit, cross fit, and total body workouts.
The Board engaged in a discussion with Superintendent Shepherd regarding the goals he wrote for himself, how to make the goals more measurable, and building a metric they can use to complete his annual evaluation. The Board also discussed various resources they could use to build a self-evaluation tool so they, too, can participate in an annual evaluation of their progress as a board, set measureable goals, and compile an up-to-date board handbook. Finally, the Board will engage in learning opportunities the second board meeting of each month during the work session.
The Health & Human Development Committee met in December to begin reviewing the district’s student wellness policy. Once the entire policy has been reviewed it will be submitted to the Board Policy Committee for final review and presentation to the Board for approval.
The Marion City Council December meeting included setting a public hearing for January 12th regarding a request to rezone the commercial property located south of Kacena Avenue and west of Hwy 13 to high density, single family residential. If passed, this would affect Linn Grove Elementary enrollment.
The new Linn-Mar District website is set to debut on January 24th! Juicebox Interactive is working to finalize the migration to the new site and staff are currently working on building their new web pages. Dr. Shepherd will share a little bit about the new website in his State of the District address on Monday, January 23rd at 5:00 PM in the LRC boardroom.
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, January 23rd.
For additional information on the Board, board meetings/exhibits, and policies visit the new board/policy site.