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Orchard’s advisory board of education faced a short agenda when they met in the high school business room last Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Principal Cathy Cooper updated board members Candace Hoke, Kristi Schutt, DeAnna Clifton and Nate Schwager on recent parent-teacher conferences. She reported a 93% elementary parent turnout, with 71% participation at the high school level.

“That’s a really good percentage and it probably went up, because a couple of parents and teachers got together and talked at an alternate time,” she said. “We probably were close to 95% turnout, that’s phenomenal.”

The principal showed board members results from the Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow assessment that were released that day.

Orchard Elementary’s 77 students in prekindergarten through sixth grade, dropped to a good ranking, from the last year’s great. The high school’s 47 students in grades seven – 12 also dropped, going from excellent to great.

“A lot of it has to do with class numbers, because it is solely rated on percentages of the class. (For) example, if you have a class of four and two don’t meet, then you are already at 50%,” Cooper said. “The learning is going on. Some of these tests, the levels are tough. You don’t want to teach to a test but in some ways, you need to be able to understand how to read and answer test questions in the way they need to be read and answered.”

She added, “You have to remember that math and ELA (English language arts) are the new standards, science is legacy standard, so you might think, ‘wow, we are rocking in science,’ which we are, but those are the tests we’ve been taking for multiple years, very same tests and haven’t changed. Some of the down grading in ELA and math are reflective of a brand-new test that has a very different college and career-ready standard. We haven’t done the (new) science yet, it’s in pilot this year and will be next year. Mrs. Schwager was telling me about an experiment she is doing in science right now, they are learning transparent, opaque and translucent, they have flashlights and they have to tell whether and that’s how they are learning this, shes teaching that to our first graders, but five years ago, she taught that to fourth graders. So, to put that in perspective, that’s how our expectations…are changing.”

Cooper also reported on Schoolstore, a program that returns a percentage of receipts to the school from purchases made at various online merchants. The school had earned $32.73 to date. She said the program usually brings in $300 to $400 annually, which goes into an elementary fund. Another program, which allows for individual donations in a student’s name by the public, had realized $700 in gift cards for teachers to use for educational supplies so far this year.

Cooper, Schutt, Candice Moser, Angela Gray and Kristin Johnson attended a recent school, family and community engagement workshop at ESU 8 in Neligh.

“I thought the best thing that came out of it were the discussions and conversations about what other schools are doing and how everybody is implementing some of these things,” Cooper said. “Putting the announcement link on the Facebook Page came out of that meeting.”

Schutt brought home inspiration to involve students and community members in a “workday.” She suggested pairing younger students with older students, as well as community members, to accomplish things like painting bleachers at the ball field, cleaning up the park and planting flowers.

Cooper presented a price quote from Love Signs for replacing Cyclone inserts in the gym score table, in the amount of $534. After discussion on alternatives, she was directed to seek additional price quotes.

The board discussed hiring a second assistant wrestling coach. Mike Zegers, who previously served as a volunteer assistant, will join Paul Kester to assist Coach Dan Roeber. Superintendent Dale Martin recommended hiring Zegers as paid assistant due to the number of athletes involved. Although not included in his contract, Cooper said Zegers will also assist with the youth wrestling program. Athletic director Jim Schutt said Roeber didn’t anticipate any Ewing High School wrestlers this season, but five or six Ewing junior high students had expressed interest.

In other business, the board:

~Heard that a mental health counselor, provided through an ESU contract, is available to Orchard students and staff every Thursday afternoon;

~Authorized Cooper to arrangement a faculty Christmas party;

~Heard longtime substitute paraeducator and teacher Jamie Cleveland, was hired at the Unified level, to working with an Orchard student full time;

~Heard board officer positions need updated on the school website;

~Questioned why the football field had not been mowed prior to the Stuart game;

~Heard update on condition of a woman who was bit by a dog while attending a school function, and changes planned to Village of Orchard code regarding dogs.

~Heard reminder of townhall meeting scheduled in the gym Sunday, Oct. 20, to address the upcoming consolidation bond election; and

~Set the next Orchard advisory board meeting at 5:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4.