Developing strategies for continued learning, growth, and safety – while remaining fiscally responsible.
1. Dedicated Students Win Big
All 6 of MDSD Fall Sports Teams qualified for State Tournaments this year. MDSD was the only District in the State to have representatives from all 6 sports. On top of that success, all 6 fall sports teams carried a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher! Way to go student athletes!
2. Solid Foundations for a Brighter Future
The rezoning of property proposed for staff housing was approved for 8 houses per acre by McCall Planning and Zoning and is up for approval at the next City Council meeting. Donnelly Elementary School gym walls are up. The multipurpose room is slated for completion by December 10! The District Office at the new building on South Third Street is ready, the move has begun and should be completed within the next 2 weeks. Additionally, MDSD selected the CM company to provide construction manager/general contractor services for the staff housing project.
3. Growth is Where You Put Your Heart Into
With continued growth and increase in class sizes, Heartland High School is needing to hire an intervention paraprofessional to assist with math and Barbara Morgan Elementary School is looking to hire an additional teacher for grades 3-5 for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year. This will allow more focus on our students to encourage learning and retention of that information.
4. Investing in Teachers to Invest in Students
With Board approval, MDSD will be sending one teacher from each school along with the instructional coaches to the HRS Summit in San Antonio, Texas in January 2023. We will also be sending KC Wheeler, Physical Education Instructor, to the SHAPE conference in Seattle, Washington in March 2023 . Sending these participants to said conferences allows them to gain tools and resources to bring back to keep encouraging professional development and student growth within the school district.
5. Safety Remains a Top Priority
SPOT Inspection shows that Harlow’s and MDSD are dedicated to student safety. Although there were certain operational items that were identified as needing or requiring improvement, these items should not overshadow the positive aspects of the District’s transportation operational program. We will work with Harlow’s to ensure these items meet or exceed expectations.
5. Fall Testing Shows Advancements and Room for Improvement
MDSD has used MAP for K-5 reading evaluations for 6 years and we have seen changes in reading levels with COVID. The current 3rd grade class, who would have been Kindergartners at the beginning of COVID show they are slightly behind on reading, but we have integrated robust intervention practices to help bring those reading levels up to or above grade level. 4th and 5th grade are well above grade level! If we track scores with grade movement, we see extraordinary growth. Based on 5th grade ISAT projections, we have a very strong 5th grade this year! We started using a new rubric for math data this fall called iReady, and it showed that there is room for improvement in Math, so we are focusing those intervention efforts heavily in this subject. We look forward to seeing these statistics improve with time and being able to focus more resources with added teachers.
6. Preschool Movement
The developmental preschool will be moving to the new district office as soon as the semester start. This will free up 2 classrooms for the continued growth within the district. It will also begin the move toward having an early childhood development program within the district by fall 2023. MDSD has also applied for the Idaho Workforce Development Grant that will help with the startup of the Early Childhood Development Program if approved. We hope to hear back on this prior to the next board meeting in December, so check back for updates!
7. New District Office
Currently the Crestline Academy is residing in the new building. MDSD has offered to freeze their rent from last year to allow them to finish their school year without significant interruption to their students. At the end of the school year MDSD will transition the space into our early childhood center. More details to come.
8. AG Programming
More Ag programming is coming to MDHS. Principal Tim Thomas presented on the various CTE tracks within the Ag programming. He announced that there will be an addition of Animal Science and Plant Science for next year.
9. Taking Care of the District
Maintenance Director, Jason Clay, presented his five-year plan with a budget for maintenance and capital projects. Thank you Mr. Clay for taking care of our facilities.
10. Focusing on all students
Special Programs Director, Phil Schoensee, submitted the Gifted and Talented programs 3-year plan for review. Every three years the plan must be reviewed, updated, and submitted to the state.
11. Safety and Collaboration
MDSD and the McCall PD are working together to keep our students and communities safe. A memorandum of understanding was submitted to ensure that FERPA (Family Education rights and Privacy Act) are followed.
MDSD Board Meeting Briefs are general summaries of actions occurring at school board meetings we'd like to bring to our school community's attention. We hope you will look for these articles and feeds to come later in the week following regularly scheduled meetings on the 2nd Monday of each month. Official meeting minutes can be found here.