Background Checks of Employees – Doing Our Best to Ensure Student Safety

Every school district is required to complete a KBI background check on all new employees hired by the school district. USD 331 goes beyond that requirement and uses a service that provides additional information on employees beyond what is provided by the KBI checks. The KBI is a free service that will provide information about sexual predators, etc., but does not thoroughly vet the potential employee’s background regarding other areas that could be of concern to parents, students, and the district.

The district pays for a employee background screening service that will provide everything the KBI site provides, but also provides information on any court proceeding, arrest, or even traffic tickets. If a potential employee received multiple traffic tickets or a serious infraction, the district may decide to prohibit any transportation of students or even ban the use of school vehicles, though that has not been necessary to this point. Anything that shows up on the background check that could be potential risk to students or other district employees is thoroughly investigated and the administration and Board of Education is satisfied of safety before contracts or work agreements are provided to the potential employee.

The safety and security of USD 331 students and staff is paramount to the operation of the school district. We will continue to use all reasonable means to ensure that safety and security.

Safety and the Start of School

Please be careful out there! School has begun and there are congested traffic areas near the schools before and after school. Please encourage your son or daughter to look both ways and check the traffic before crossing streets and to do so only in the appropriate areas. Use the crosswalks and the crossing guard areas where the adults can assist with looking out for vehicles. Those areas are the safest for getting to school.

Buses are out in full force too. The Kansas State Department of Education has helped produce two public service announcements regarding the illegal passing of stopped school buses. Please use the following link to see the video:http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=5810

Let's have a safe school year and work together so the students are safe.

Thank you.

Welcome to USD 331

"If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow." – John Dewey

It’s difficult to believe the famous educator, John Dewey wrote those words of wisdom nearly a century ago. Think of all that has happened around the world and the explosion of knowledge since that time. A relatively short time ago, the teacher or professor was the “learned” one who imparted his/her knowledge on his/her students. Great amounts of information are now available on cell phones in an instant with almost instant access to a plethora of subjects. Teachers today must facilitate the learning of students, encourage the passion students have for learning and truly be life-long learners themselves in order to be successful. If you are like me, you remember that Columbus discovered America in 1492 when he sailed the ocean blue, but were you asked the impact Columbus had on modern day civilization or to investigate and report on his treatment of indigenous people of the new world? Learning today must go beyond basic facts and apply information and use it in creative and useful ways.

To prepare USD 331 students for the rapidly changing global economy and truly say students have met Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards requires teaching in new and engaging ways. It requires different types of assessments and it requires critical thinking skills necessary to discern quality information from bogus material. USD 331 will continue to implement English Language Arts and mathematic curricular changes to meet the new standards. Faculty will continue to learn and employ long-used and new, research-based instructional techniques that actively engage our students, appropriately challenge students’ critical thinking skills, promote creative abilities, and lead to the college and career readiness skills students need for future success.

To do this, faculty and staff will continue their own learning differentiating it to meet their individual needs so as to adequately prepare them to facilitate their students’ learning. Secondary students will have the opportunity to get much of their curriculum resources through an online learning source known as Edgenuity. It is estimated textbooks will be completely digitalized by 2017 and USD 331 is leading the way in providing digital resources now in addition to traditional. Elementary students will continue to use updated math and English Language Arts resources that promote reading and problem solving skills and differentiates the learning to the students’ needs. The teacher’s role is vital in helping students understand student problems, personalizing learning, and assisting in the discernment of the abundance of information now available instantly. USD 331, Kingman-Norwich teachers and staff are ready to serve your students to the best of their ability and look forward to the opportunity.

On behalf of the faculty and staff of USD 331, I want to welcome all our students and their parents to the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year.  I encourage parents to get involved in your child’s education and take advantage of the opportunities available. It is natural to approach any new school year with some anxiety, but it is my hope we can also temper anxiety with a refreshed sense of dedication to education and learning. It is my privilege to serve as your superintendent and wish you all an outstanding year.

Digital Citizenship

Let me ask a question of the adults out there. When you were in school, did you or someone you knew write something on the classroom chalkboard or white board that everyone in the class could see? Did it  ever get signed with someone else's name? How many were affected by it?

Times have changed!  A similar exercise can and occasionally occurs by students today. The difference is...messages are electronically posted. Another difference is the message or "post" is not always easily erased and can be seen by many more people...even world wide in an instant. If the message is a slur or denigrates someone or more than one person, it can explode in a hurry. People can even post using an alias or someone else's name and/or title. Schools across the country have to deal with this unfortunate use of technology or "cyberbullying" and it affects the positive uses of technology such as instant access of information, research, and appropriate learning.

We are a district rich in technology use and that helps prepare our students for future jobs and college. All of us need to work together to teach and learn appropriate uses of technology known as "digital citizenship." Our students leave a permanent mark when items are posted on the internet regardless of whether it's twitter, facebook, other social media sites or internet meeting rooms. They can endanger themselves, hurt each other or get hurt, and, it can affect their future in getting jobs or acceptance for admission to college, fraternities, etc.

Our students are digital natives...that is they grew up with computers and electronic devices. They've always had them. There are times it's great to shut off these devices (phones, computers, I-pads, etc.), put them away, and interact without them. Should we take them away totally? They are a tool and like all tools, there is a proper way of using them. We all need to work together to make sure they are used properly. We would not permanently take away pencils if someone wrote inappropriate language on a paper or wrote something on the classroom board and, except in extreme circumstances, we do not want to take away the student's electronic device permanently.

WE all need to communicate effectively and appropriately however the communication occurs. We all need to understand the "digital footprint" left when anything is posted on the internet or a website is visited. Our schools will continue to help our students understand their digital footprint and the ramifications. As teachers, parents, community members, and students, we can all work together toward making good digital citizens.

Positive Information Regarding Public Information

Too often, it seems, public schools are under attack for various reasons and the great accomplishments of students and the teachers who teach them go unnoticed. Below is a short article highlighting accomplishments of students across the nation educated by public school educators that includes a video of a Kansas student in the latest installment:

Beliefs | Believers | Join Us | Share a story

Americans for Public Education celebrates achievements of public schools   There is so much that is right about public education, that it’s time to start sharing stories about the people, places and programs that are making a meaningful difference in the lives of students, families and communities. Such is the mission of Americans for Public Education (APE), which produces and distributes short videos of positive things that are happening in public school districts.  Here's the fourth of these monthly videos, which are a celebration of excellence, innovation and commitment, and are available through the APE website. School districts are urged to play these videos at Board of Education meetings, post them on district websites and share them through television stations and social media. APE is looking for new stories to share, so please visit the website to share a story from your district, and add your name to the growing list of public school districts that support public education through APE.

Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards

New curricular standards were approved by the Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) in December of 2012 that set the course for where the state should go in curriculum and other educational standards to prepare our students for their future. Your question might be..."I thought we just did that recently in adopting the common core standards" and you would be correct. Essentially, they are the same thing. Each state that adopted common core had the flexibility to adopt a small percentage of their own local standards and to make them their own state standards. Kansas adopted common core standards in that way back in 2010 and has made progress in adapting them to tie into college and career readiness (also defined in December of 2012 by KSBE) and the expectations of the "No Child Left Behind" waiver.

Recently, the Kansas Commissioner of Education, Dr. Diane DeBacker developed a video found at the link included below or on the Kansas State Department of Education website under common core standards that provides an explanation of the progress being made in the implementation of the Kansas Common Core Standards, or what we refer to as Kansas’ College and Career Ready Standards.  This is the Commissioner’s second message related to implementation of the College and Career Ready Standards  and it addresses questions about the value of assessments that are not yet aligned to our new standards. 

http://mediastream.ksde.org/media/liveremote/kccr/collegecareerready2.wmv 

I hope the video addresses questions regarding the new Kansas standards, but if you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact your building principal, the director of curriculum, or the superintendent. The new standards have more academic rigor, but also address the soft skills such as work ethic, attendance, etc. We at USD 331 are working to fully implement the new standards at all grade levels by next school year and tie those standards into the various career pathways that interest your child. We hope to prepare all of our students for post-secondary education (65% of Kansas jobs will require some type of post-secondary education) or to enter a career with the skills necessary to be successful. 

January 2013 School Board Recognition

January is School Board Recognition Month—a time to say a formal ‘thank you’ for the work of our volunteer school board members. The theme this year is “Building a Brighter Future for All Children.” This reflects our district’s commitment to leadership and accountability assuring that ALL children succeed.

These are exciting and challenging times in public education. The decisions that must be made are difficult ones. School board members in Kingman-Norwich develop policies and make tough decisions that help shape the future of our education system, and in turn our communities. They bear responsibility for an annual budget of $ 10 million, nearly 1000 students, 165 employees and three school facilities and several other support buildings.

Our board of education, and the hundreds like it across the state, preserves the core of our democracy—public education. They ensure that decisions affecting our community’s children are made by people we’ve elected to represent our community’s values, culture and circumstances.

Showing appreciation for the important work of school boards should be a year-round process, but too often we neglect to recognize the dedication and hard work of these men and women who represent us. This January, the staff and students of our district are asking all members of the community to take a moment and thank a school board member. Thank them for giving of their time and fulfilling this civic responsibility to make local control of public schools in our community possible.

We applaud them for their vision and their willingness to accept the responsibility of today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders. The men and women serving Kingman-Norwich and their years of service are:

Tammy Schrag – President 2 years

Matt Ricke – Vice President 2 years

Jodi Swinehart – 8 years

Andrea Shipley – 4 years

Allen Young – 10 years

David Lux – 2 years

Jeff Branstetter – 2 years

Sincerely,

Dr. Bob Diepenbrock, Superintendent

USD 331 Kingman-Norwich Superintendent