September 25, 2018 at 6:30 PM - GMSD Board Meeting

Chairman Betsy Landers called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.

Mrs. Rebecca Luter was sworn in by Judge Robert Brannon, as a Germantown Board of Education member, Position 3. She was selected by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and appointed as School Board member Position 3.

Amendment to the agenda:

Strike board Action item 9.E from the agenda.

NATIONAL MERIT SEMI FINALISTS

About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program took the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) last fall. A nationwide pool of Semifinalists was announced last month.  These students represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Houston High School and Germantown Municipal School District are proud to recognize TEN students who join the ranks of National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists.  Their work and dedication every day at Houston High School is EXCELLENCE ALWAYS.  On behalf of the school board, we would like to congratulate the following students:

Andrew An
Cady Baltz
Steven Belles
Anne Craft
Elaine Fu
Andrew Hines
Dylan Marler
Emily Ryu
Sean Yang

AND

Jacob Manuel

These academically talented high school seniors will have the opportunity to continue in the National Merit Scholarship Competition for one of the 7,500 National Merit Scholarships which are worth more than $32 million.  Good luck, and good work!

HILLARY LITTLE

Each month, we also like to recognize a staff member that is truly making a difference, going above and beyond.  Tonight’s recipient began her career in Psychology where she was paired up with a family whose child had autism.  From there, she began to specialize in dealing with families with autistic children.  Quickly, she realized that this was her calling and she went back to school.  11 years later, and still at Houston Middle School—we are incredibly pleased to have her on our GMSD team as a special education teacher.

She told us in an interview that her students sometimes have to work much harder to reach their full potential and that she is delighted to be there as a support for them. 

We are delighted that she is a hard-working, selfless educator, both inside and outside the classroom.  As the founder of the Houston Middle chapter of Best Buddies, she is engineering ways for our students with special needs to connect with their peers.  Last year was the first year of Best Buddies at HMS and they hosted dance parties, bowling tournaments, Minute-to-win it games, and a tacky sweater party.  Each week, she hosts Fun Friday Lunches where Best Buddy members can come and have lunch with their buddies in her classroom.

Many might not know that she also serves as the staff sponsor of both the HMS and HHS swim teams.  Born out of her dedication to her daughter, who is a swimmer—this person has made a huge commitment to the program which meets daily for 2 hours.  She must be present as the staff sponsor for all of it!  When questioned about it, she gushed to us about the growth the program has seen.  Last year, they doubled the number of students sent to the state competition and she thinks that next year they might need a bus.

Thank you to Hillary Little for everything you do.  Please accept this on behalf of the school board.

BETSY LANDERS

Our last recognition is for our very own School Board Chairman, Betsy Landers. Last week she was recognized by the Girl Scouts Heart of the South organization as being One Smart Cookie.  The celebration honored seven women in the Mid-South for their outstanding contribution to the community.  “By lifting them up, we are showing our girls what true leadership and character is all about, and we encourage our girls to lead by their example,” said the program guide.  I couldn’t think of an exemplar for young girls quite like Ms. Landers who serves on our school board, but also the National PTA Past President.  She currently continues to serve at the national level as a National PTA Endowment Fund Trustee and a member of the Historical Preservation Committee.  She also devotes her time serving on the Germantown Education Commission, the Germantown Women’s Club and on the Finance Committee of the Germantown United Methodist Church.  We are so glad to have her represent Germantown and education advocates in this year’s impressive list of Smart Cookies.  And, we think she is one Smart Cookie too.  Thank you for your hard work and dedication.

August:

·      Attended Education Commission meeting (8/21)

·      Participated in Educations Work Group meeting (8/23)

·      Attended Houston High football game (8/24)

·      Attended Riverdale PTO meeting (8/28)

·      Participated in Health Sciences Academy Work Group (8/30)

September:

·      Participated in Health Sciences Academy Work Group (9/7)

·      Attended Dogwood PTO meeting (9/11)

·      Attended Houston Middle PTO meeting (9/14)

·      Attended TSBA Fall District meeting (9/17)

·      Attended Superintendents Parent Leader meeting (9/19)

·      Attended Girl Scouts Heart of the South event (9/20)

·      Attended Germantown Council PTO ‘Lunch and Learn’ (9/21)

·      Attended Houston High football game (9/21)

·      Attended Alternative School’s ‘Star of the Week’ presentation, Houston High (9/25)

** A warm welcome and congratulation to our newest Board member, Rev. Rebecca Luter. 

** Congratulation to Ms. Eoff on achieving her TSBA School Board Awards Program, Level I

** This afternoon I was able to participate, along with Ms. Parker, in a ‘Star of the Week’ presentation by one of the students in our Alternative School program.  The student did an amazing presentation – and it a perfect reminder of why we do what we do as educators and school board members.  It’s about the kids!

REPORT TOTAL ASSETS AND TOTAL LIAB AND FUND BAL

CAFETERIA FUND

Monthly sales were up $14K at HHS compared to the prior year.

HEALTH INSURANCE FUND         

Medical and pharmacy claims paid totaled $539K for the month.  There were several inpatient or hospital claims totaling $238K.

Dan Haddow, Assistant Superintendent and Chauncey Bland, Director of Student Services presented the No Bullying Task Force GMSD Updates in a PowerPoint Presentation, with the following highlights;

• Student Survey
• Defining Task Force Goals
• Action steps

1. STARS Bullying Prevention Training for Staff and Community
2. Box out Bullying- Interactive live theater show
3. Mentoring Program and Training session for Counseling Staff

• Next steps - future goals

Superinendent Jason Manuel shared the exciting news of the Reward Schools Status achieved by four of the five schools in the Germantown Municipal School District. 

The TN State Department of Education announced the following schools as Reward Schools,

• Dogwood Elementary School
• Farmington Elementary School
• Riverdale Elementary School
• Houston Middle School

Chaiman Landers made the following announcements;

October 8-12, 2018 - Fall Break for GMSD schools

October 29, 2018 - Next Board Business Meeting and work session