Bryan Lang, Winslow High School’s activities coordinator gave an update to the Winslow Unified School District’s Governing Board about soccer during the board’s regular meeting last week. Lang said that there will be a soccer team next year and has officially submitted to the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) to be put on the fall schedule for boys and girls varsity soccer for next year.
One thing that Lang wanted to make sure the board knew is that even though they plan on competing for the fall there seems to be much more support for soccer in the winter with other AIA schools. That might be a big change for the school district but Lang does not think that will affect the program that much. When asked if the students who currently support the team would still be there in the winter, he said he expects there would be a higher turnout if the high school were to have that sport in the winter because it would no longer interfere with football and volleyball. “Either way we’re having soccer next year,” Lang said, assuring the board.
Lang also provided information about the swim team because board President Debbie Martinez asked why the swim team only had two meets this year. Lang said that it is a learning curve with planning swim meets with other teams and that even though there were only two this year he can guarantee there will be more next year as he now knows what goes into organizing those events.
The board also heard a presentation from Louanna Benslow, president of the Indian Education Committee (IEC), about the committee and the value it offers. It is completely comprised of parents of current students. Benslow informed the board of the things that the IEC is involved with, a big one is doing needs assessments of parents to see what their children need to be more successful in school. From that they have come up with an educational plan for the next school year to see how their funding would be allocated from what areas they see having the most need. They encourage administrators, teachers and students to voice their opinion on student needs to the group and a survey will soon be available to make that happen.
November is Native American Heritage Month and the IEC have many events planned for the occasion. Included are a spirit week for the schools, that will have students dressing in different traditional clothing or wearing their hair in a traditional bun. There will also be a workshop for the parents and students to learn how to put their hair in a traditional bun because they see that might not have been taught to all of the Native American students. The IEC also has a Native American Film Week with the Winslow Theater that will be playing Edge of America, Lakota Vs. America and Frozen for the little kids to enjoy.
On Nov. 15, there will be a Native American Festival from 5-8 p.m. at the Route 66 Plaza downtown with different traditional dancers and singers. They also recently started a Navajo language class outside of the school for students to get them more comfortable with the language and to make sure the language gets passed down to the next generation.
Also during the meeting, a first reading of 15 policy advisories from the Arizona School Boards Association and will be on the next meeting agenda for final consideration. All these policies are administrative in nature. The first policy, addresses board member conflicts of interest within school districts, allowing the employment of former governing board members in positions that serve students directly, either directly or via third-party contractors, within two years post-tenure, with an option for districts to extend this time restriction.
The next policy, specifies that the school district governing board’s organizational meeting should be held in January following an election, amending the previously set window of Jan. 1-15.
Another policy mandates that schools, school boards, executive boards, and municipalities provide sufficient seating to accommodate reasonably anticipated attendance at meetings, though without a requirement to relocate meetings outside of the largest regular meeting room. Additionally, it calls for a notice of physical access time to the meeting place in the agenda, except for meetings held through technological devices.
Two policies similarly reiterate the seating provision and physical access notice requirements outlined in policy BE, to ensure that public meetings are adequately accommodating and accessible.
Following these, another policy revises the timelines associated with the evaluation of superintendents, introducing a new evaluation tool developed in collaboration with various stakeholders across Arizona, aimed at reflecting a diverse collective voice in the evaluation process.
The next policy requires school district governing boards to develop emergency response plans addressing communication and assistance provisions for students with disabilities during emergencies.
Another policy provides a provision for “small school districts” to employ substitute teachers who are related to governing board members, under specified conditions, with related board members being recused from voting on matters concerning substitute teachers.
The next policy, in line with legislative amendment HB2060, adds a literacy coach or literacy specialist to the list of employees that may satisfy dyslexia training requirements at each K-3 school in a district.
The subsequent policy, outlines the process for determining the best school placement for foster care students, involving various stakeholders in decision-making and ensuring transportation provisions, along with a clear arbitration process for resolving disputes regarding transportation arrangements and funding.
The next three policy readings address the disciplinary measures of suspension and expulsion for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, detailing certain exemptions, particularly concerning firearm possession and short-term suspensions.
The last two policies extend the time window for requesting transfer of records from five to 10 days for students transferring between schools, ensuring a smoother transition process and better continuity of education for the transferring students.
In other business, the board:
* Approved hiring the following employees: Sarah Breeze, emergency substitute; Charleigh Betts, paraprofessional; and Kelbie Flake, inclusion paraprofessional.
* Approved Ashlinn (Kody) Thermen from full time to part time bus driver.
* Approved the following resignations: Noemi Hernandez, third grade teacher; Taniell Charley, paraprofessional; and Skylar Dalton, inclusion paraprofessional.
* Approved Andrew Taliman as a high school boys basketball volunteer.
* Approved the following fundraisers, with costs: Winslow High School (WHS) Class of 2025 cornhole tournament concessions, $1-2; WHS First Priority Easter grams, $3; WHS Growling Productions student created projects, $1 and up; WHS Lady Diamonds Alpine Farms Christmas wreath sale, $20-70; WHS Student Council recycling fundraiser; and Winslow Junior High School popcorn sale, $1.
* Approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Arizona Department of Education to cover the costs of additional tutors for kindergarten through eighth grade.
* Approved an IGA with the City of Winslow for district use of city owned facilities and equipment and city use of district owned facilities and equipment.
The next meeting of the WUSD school board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in the meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.
