Advisory+Council+Minutes

= September 24, 2013 = toc Present: Tom Becker, Rock County Public Schools; Jamie Isom, Valentine Community Schools; Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community Schools; Geraldine Erickson, Keya Paha County Schools; Todd Chessmore, Cody Kilgore Unified School and Molly Aschoff, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Mary Gurney, Mary Beel, Patty Finney, Ben Anthony, Becky LeZotte, Jeff McQuistan, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster. Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. The Open Meetings Act posting was acknolwedged. > > > > > > > > > > > Respectfully submitted by Jan Foster =February 19, 2013= Present: Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County Schools; Todd Chessmore, Cody Kilgore Unified Schools; Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public Schools; Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community Schools and Jamie Isom, Valentine Community Schools. Representing ESU 17 were Patty Finney, Mary Gurney, Mary Beel, Ben Anthony, Becky Lezotte, Jeff McQuistan, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster. Molly Aschoff, ESU 8, joined the group at 11:05 a.m. via distance learning.
 * 1) A motion to approve the minutes of the April 6, 2013 meeting was made by Jamie Isom and seconded by Darrell Peterson. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 1) This year member schools will benefit financially as ESU 17 will not invoice for health check services, monthly internet services and the cost for MAPS testing through Northwest Evaluation Association. ESU 17 will also pay registration fees for up to 4 staff members from each school district to attend the Fall Ed Tech Conference in Kearney October 2-3, 2013.
 * 1) Becky LeZotte shared information on ESU 2’s E-Library. There are currently 3,000 titles available with additional titles to be added as more schools enroll in the system. Diane Wolfe will meet with school librarians in October to confirm their choice of titles. Becky will be available to assist in setting up student accounts. Ideas for future improvement of the system were discussed. The fees which are $12,500 for E-Library will be paid by ESU 17.
 * 1) Representatives of HumanEx Ventures presented information regarding their on-line program which partners with schools aiding in the selection of hiring quality individuals through an applicant pool and successfully engaging staff in the school system through the use of the school climate survey.
 * 1) Molly Aschoff stated problems with the Renovo server were experienced early in the school year. Mary Gurney and Molly have submitted an application for a RUS grant to be used to upgrade distance learning rooms with hopes of award notification by December or January. Molly stated schools are taking advantage of various virtual field trip presentations via distance learning. Another great opportunity through DL is instrumental and vocal lessons provided by the Manhattan School of Music.
 * 1) Mary Beel is working with member schools on completing Erate forms. An Erate workday will be scheduled in the near future. Other technology trainings include NSSRS workdays, iPad and Google workshops. Mary also has planned visits to provide one to one technology integration assistance with Ainsworth Community Schools, Valentine Community Schools and Cherry County Rural School teachers.
 * 1) Information on BrightBytes, a resource to aide schools in the effective use of technology and measuring results, was presented by Patty Finney. Patty shared information on the Internet Safety Contest and urged superintendents to encourage their schools to participate. The Digital Citizenship Symposium is scheduled for December 11, 2013 in Kearney. Sites in Norfolk and Scottsbluff will also connect via distance learning. Patty asked permission to renew the Atomic Learning subscription for ESU 17 schools. The superintendents agreed to continue with this resource of software instructional video tutorials.
 * 2) Ben Anthony informed the superintendents about issues with forwarding email accounts from Zimbra to a Google domain.
 * 1) The staff development report included information on the pilot projects of the Teacher/ Principal Evaluation with Ainsworth Community Schools and the Data Dashboard with Valentine Community Schools. Superintendents indicated interest in a future APL training. Jeff will confirm dates of March 18, 19, and 20, and October 21 and 22, 2014. There will be no cost to the schools for teacher registration. NWEA Map Assessment meeting will be held on September 26 and NDE Assessment meeting will be held on October 1. Representatives from Ainsworth, Keya Paha and Valentine schools will be attending the NDE School Improvement workshop in Kearney on October 7th and 8th. Several Perkins grant activities are planned for the Design Teams. ESU 17 will host a Fall Principal meeting on October 22nd with six of the seven principals registered. September 27th is the registration deadline for the three sessions of the NNNC Writing/Scoring/Data Retreats. Invitations have been extended to ESU 17 schools to attend a Jim Knight training, Creating an Impact School: Professional Learning that Makes a Difference, at ESU 10 on November 12th . ESU 17 will pay the $85 registration for up to 4 participants. ESU 17 received notification 13th of AdvancEd accreditation and the required actions. Jeff extended invitations to the schools to attend a mid-year stakeholder meeting scheduled January 3, 2014 at ESU 17.
 * 1) Dennis presented information on NDE’s Results Driven Accountability system. Their focus is student test data. The 2013-2014 Special Education IDEA Consolidated Grant application will tentatively be available in the GMS in late November. Dennis and Stephanie are currently working on pre-school, transportation and school age Final Financial Reports for the schools.
 * 1) Dennis briefly explained the potential change coming in 2014 for the ESU Coop order and delivery process. More information will be given at a later date.
 * 1) The next Advisory Council meeting is scheduled for November 19, 2013.
 * 1) Motion was made by Jamie Isom to adjourn the meeting at 12:22 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Jan Foster =November 20, 2012= Present: Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County Schools; Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public Schools; Jamie Isom, Valentine Community Schools; Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community Schools and Molly Aschoff, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Kip Schneider, Mary Beel, Patty Finney, Ben Anthony, Becky LeZotte, Jeff McQuistan, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster. Absent: Todd Chessmore, Cody Kilgore Unified Schools.
 * 1) Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. The Open Meetings Act posting on the wall was acknowledged.
 * 2) A motion was made by Rodger Lenhard and seconded by Dave Zumbahlen to approve the minutes of the November 20, 2012 meeting. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 3) Dennis presented the agenda for the 2013 Spring NENSSA meeting on March 27 th in Norfolk. The School Employees Retirement Act was discussed with possible legislative changes. Dennis also highlighted other legislative bills related to education.
 * 4) The ESU 8 Distance Learning Service contracts for August 1, 2013 – July 31, 2014 were discussed.
 * 5) Patty Finney shared the Learning Web grant has been funded for 2013-14. The focus of this grant will be to improve reading. The five-member team requires the inclusion of a Principal. Technology equipment is not written into this grant. If there is interest from a school, team registration is recommended as soon as possible. The Summer Tech Institute will be May 29 th and 30 th in Norfolk with Meg Ormiston as the keynote speaker. ESU 17 technology trainers have scheduled tech assistance visits with our member schools. They visited Ainsworth Community Schools last week with very positive teacher evaluations. A technology conference is being planned in August at Ainsworth Community Schools. The goal is to develop technology rich ideas to improve learning in the classroom and improve efficiency of the daily work and strengthen the infrastructure of our schools.
 * 6) Mary Beel reported she and Patty have experienced good attendance at the recent technology workshops. Using Online Resources and Apps to Engage Your Students with Math is scheduled February 20 th.
 * 7) Ben reminded the group of the approaching expiration of Lightspeed. NNNC continues to explore content filtering options. A demonstration of Scopia software and it’s capabilities in conjunction with the Radvision bridge was presented.
 * 8) Dennis presented the superintendents with proposed 2013-2014 contracts for special education services.
 * 9) Jan and Ben distributed information on Laserfiche, a document storage system.
 * 10) Molly Aschoff, ESU 8, joined the meeting via distance learning at 11:05 a.m. March 4 th and 5 th are possible dates for working with ESU 17 principals and counselors to coordinate distance learning schedules for next year. She asked the superintendents for their thoughts on upgrades for the summer of 2014 contingent upon approval of a future RUS grant. Molly answered questions regarding the Contract for Distance Learning Services with ESU 8.
 * 11) Jeff McQuistan reported the department review process in AdvancED is now complete. Focus interviews will begin in March. United States Senator Deb Fischer will either be present or will provide a recorded message for the external review welcome dinner on Sunday, April 21 st . A Principal meeting was held on December 13, 2012. Following today’s Advisory Council meeting, another Principal meeting will be scheduled. On April 17 th, ESU 17 member schools will compete in the Valentine Quiz Bowl which serves as the qualifying event for the State ESU Academic Quiz Bowl on April 24 th . UNL will be offering a graduate credit Math class at the ESU 17 Training Center June 10-14, 2013. Ainsworth, Cody-Kilgore and Rock County schools will be transitioning to web-based MAP testing within the next few weeks. NWEA Regional Training is scheduled for February 28 th via polycom to NECC from ESU 17 Training Center. ESUs 1, 8 and 17 will collaborate to form an Advisory Committee to meet a new compliance requirement of the Perkins Grant. NENCAP Career Academy will meet on February 22 nd . Ainsworth Community Schools will provide status on the Statewide Teacher/Principal Evaluation project.
 * 12) The next Advisory Council meeting is scheduled for April 16, 2013.
 * 13) A motion was made by Rodger Lenhard to adjourn the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

Respectfully submitted by Jan Foster
 * 1) Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. The Open Meetings Act posting was acknowledged.
 * 2) Rodger Lenhard made a motion with a second from Jamie Isom to approve the minutes of the September 18, 2012 meeting. Roll call vote was unanimous. Absent: Todd Chessmore.
 * 3) Kip Schneider discussed several different programs currently being offered by ESU Coop Purchasing. The new software for the annual buy process is being installed. Kip demonstrated the new website which will list all offerings in one location with a single sign on. The new software, easy Purchase, will be available in the spring of 2013. Schools will be able to make purchases with products delivered directly to their schools. A nice feature of this software will allow the creation of numerous purchasing reports for both schools and Coop Purchasing. Trainings for the new software will be offered to school personnel beginning in January.
 * 4) Becky attended the NNNC Fall Media workshop in Norfolk on September 19 th. A training day for Learn 360 was held at the Tech Center on October 23rd. The media catalog on the website is now functional. During the 2011-12 school year, 1200 videos were streamed through PowerMediaPlus. So far this year, 1400 videos have been streamed using Learn 360.
 * 5) Molly Aschoff and Andre Boening, Rural Utilities Service representative, will begin working on quotes to update distance-learning equipment for a possible 2013 RUS grant. We have received the webcams, projectors, microphones and televisions purchased with the current RUS grant funds. We are awaiting delivery of the bridge. Ben and Mary Gurney will deliver the equipment to the rural schools and train the teachers on using the new distance learning equipment. Molly reminded the superintendents of the many virtual field trip opportunities available and encouraged schools to take advantage when possible.
 * 6) Mary Beel discussed dates for #|e-rate forms to be submitted. Diane Wolfe will be in Ainsworth on December 20th to assist ESU 17 member schools. Patty Finney shared information on fall workshops and reminded the superintendents of upcoming training sessions at the Tech Center. ESU 17 staff have been working with teachers on a one-to-one basis on smart boards and mimeo boards. The Summer Tech Institute will be May 29-30, 2013 in Norfolk. Information was presented on the 2012-13 Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship contest.
 * 7) Ben Anthony reported the license for the Lightspeed content filter will expire in the summer of 2013. NNNC will begin a process for selection of new filtering hardware and software.
 * 8) Jeff thanked the superintendents for their school’s participation in the ESU 17 stakeholder survey for AdvancED . ESU 17 staff will review the survey results on January 3, 2013. Jeff presented NDE’s 2012 NeSa Assessment data. Department reviews will be scheduled in January with focus interviews in March. The ESU 17 external review will be April 21-24, 2013. A Principal meeting is scheduled at the Tech Center on December 13 from 10:00 a.m. – noon. A Perkins Advisory Committee will meet in Norfolk on December 6th with a goal of developing a plan to create a meaningfully-engaged stakeholder group. Jeff provided a listing of upcoming Perkins trainings. Confirmation with Dan Henderson, NWEA, is requested by the schools planning to transfer to web-based training. John Dudley will provide Crisis Team Training Level III in February at North Platte and Columbus locations. A NDE/ESU statewide collaboration session is scheduled for January 16-17.
 * 9) Dennis reported the new application for IDEA is not yet available. The 2011-2012 State of Schools Report has been released. Dennis and Stephanie have submitted the Maintenance of Effort reports for our member schools. Dennis plans to attend the legislative meeting in Lincoln on December 12. Five representatives from ESU 17 and Valentine Schools will join a group traveling to Joplin, Missouri on December 9th-11th to observe Joplin Public School’s 21st century learning environment.
 * 10) February 19, 2013 is the date for the next advisory meeting.
 * 11) Jamie Isom made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:47 a.m.

=September 18, 2012=

Present: Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community Schools; Jamie Isom, Valentine Community Schools; Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County Schools; Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public Schools; and Molly Aschoff, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Mary Beel, Patty Finney, Jeff McQuistan, Becky LeZotte, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster. Absent: Todd Chessmore, Cody Kilgore Unified School.


 * 1) Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:33 a.m. The Open Meetings Act posting was acknowledged.
 * 2) Rodger Lenhard made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2012 meeting. Jamie Isom seconded the motion. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 3) Becky LeZotte gave a presentation on Learn 360, the new online resource replacing Power Media Plus. She gave a brief overview of the Learn 360 home page where webinars and tutorials are available for both teachers and students. The Fall NNNC Media Workshop is Wednesday, September 20, 2012 in Norfolk.
 * 4) Mary Gurney joined the group via Skype to give an update on the RUS grant. The final paperwork has been cleared and our letter of approval should be arriving soon. The attending Superintendents gave their approval to order the equipment for their respective schools. Mary will get Mr. Chessmore’s approval prior to placing the order. Mary and Ben have selected a bridge from Radvision.
 * 5) Molly Aschoff presented information relating to Distance Learning Week. Throughout the week of November 5-9, the Nebraska Distance Learning Association will offer after school videoconference learning opportunities for Nebraska educators. Molly stated that distance learning classes are going well. A committee of superintendents, principals and teachers is being formed to give recommendations on future distance learning upgrades.
 * 6) Dennis distributed information on para-professional salary schedules. Rodger asked if anyone had information they could share regarding non-certificated staff salaries and benefits. Dennis and Stephanie are working on final financials for our member schools. Research shows a shortage of speech pathologists across the state of Nebraska. An individual interested in future employment as an occupational therapist has contacted Dennis. He inquired if there would be a need in the ESU 17 area for hiring an OT and contracting the service to schools.
 * 7) The technology report from Mary Beel included an update on e-rate. Diane Wolfe will be at ESU 8 on Oct 25, 2012 for a workday. All ESU 17 member schools have received their funding commitments and will need to submit Form 486 soon. Mary distributed informational handouts from commonsense.org. This website offers an e-rate tool kit to help schools meet Children’s Internet Protection Act requirements.
 * 8) Patty Finney reported that a subscription for site licenses will again be purchased with Atomic Learning. This site offers many training resources. Patty also stated ESU 17 staff will be available to help schools meet the CIPA compliance requirements if needed. She shared statistical information on this past summer’s workshops and highlighted the upcoming trainings scheduled for this school year.
 * 9) A departmental update on the ESU 17 AdvancED activities was reported by Jeff. The external review is scheduled for April 21-24, 2013. He asked for feedback on the Hal Urban presentation. The timing issue may need to be discussed for future presentations. The new NDE Initiative, reVision, is a strategic approach for schools to analyze their current career education system and make plans, as needed, for adjustments. The schools will form a Career Education Leadership Team to help lead the reVision process. A Perkins Advisory Committee meeting is scheduled for December 6, 2012 in Norfolk. As a MAP Facilitator Trainer, Jeff will be able to provide onsite/service area assistance in accessing and using the reports, analyzing student performance data and student goal setting. Jeff provided a listing of upcoming regional and statewide trainings.
 * 10) The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 20, 2012.
 * 11) Motion was made by Dave Zumbahlen to adjourn the meeting at 12:04 p.m.

=May 15, 2012=

Present: Terry Hazard, Cody-Kilgore Unified School; Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County Schools; Jamie Isom, Valentine Community Schools; Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public Schools and Molly Aschoff, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Ben Anthony, Patty Finney, Mary Beel, Mary Gurney, Jeff McQuistan, Germaine Johnson, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster. Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community Schools, joined the meeting at 9:50 a.m.


 * 1) Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Announcement of the Open Meetings Act posting was given.
 * 2) A motion to approve the minutes of the March 6, 2012 meeting was made by Terry Hazard and seconded by Rodger Lenhard. Roll call vote was unanimous. Absent: Darrell Peterson.
 * 3) Germaine Johnson reported two events played a major role within the ESU 17 Media Center during the present school year. The streamlining of media services through its custom duplication and life of tape school offering was well accepted by ESU 17 educators. Also, Germaine has evaluated the entire ESU 17 media collection ensuring a core collection of tangible product for educator usage. The Media Center will continue to provide educator access to the following online resources: Visual Thesaurus, Worldbook Online Power Pack, Marshall Cavendish Children’s ebooks, Marshall Memo and Learn 360.
 * 4) Molly Aschoff presented the scheduling for the 2012-13 distance learning classes and the inter-local bills between the schools. Summer maintenance on the equipment will begin in late July. The testing of all connections will be the week of July 30-August 3. A statewide distance learning teacher training is scheduled July 31 at Nebraska ESUs via video conferencing. NVIS, The Nebraska Virtual Instruction Source, will replace Renovo as the scheduling software.
 * 5) A summer 2012 technology workshop schedule was distributed by Mary Beel. There will also be three NSSRS workdays in May and June. Mary continues to help our member schools with e-rate filings. She also reminded the superintendents that internet safety plans are due by July 1. Patty Finney stated Cody-Kilgore’s Learning Web team finished their requirements at NETA this year. She distributed the schedule for the Summer Tech Institute in Norfolk on May 29-30th. Information was presented on the MimioTeach, an alternative to smart boards. These are available this year through the NE Coop Purchasing annual buy. Patty inquired as to teacher training needs for member schools.
 * 6) Ben Anthony said the internet conversion to NE Link is scheduled for July 1. Notice needs to be given to Century Link by June 1 indicating the non-renewal of service. Ben recommends a new switch be purchased for $1,638 to improve the quality of the DL connections. The superintendents are to contact him if they wish to have these ordered.
 * 7) The USDA Rural Development 2012 Distance Learning Grant will not be funded. A portion of that money will be used to fund 2011 grants. Mary Gurney is completing forms assuring we still have matching funds in the event we are the recipient of said funds.
 * 8) Jeff McQuistan thanked the schools for their focus interview participation in ESU 17’s AdvancED process. ESU 17 staff will review the interview analysis on May 18 th and meet with administrative/leadership teams in August at each district to create 2012-13 plans. Activities this summer will include updating the ESU 17 website and the media catalog search and online registration links through FileMaker Pro. Promotional material for the Hal Urban presentation will be sent via email to ESU 17 area educators, published in local newspapers, announced on local radio stations and sent to local churches in July and August. The NCE Conference will be in Kearney June 5-7, 2012. Statewide activities include Social Studies Standards being reviewed by the State Board in October, Teacher/Principal Evaluation Pilot and the NWEA Certificated Trainer program beginning this summer or fall. Using the RTI Process in Mathematics and John Dudley Crisis Team trainings were discussed.
 * 9) SPED contracts are due back from our member schools. ESU 17 will conduct the non-public meetings for our schools, with the exception of Valentine, prior to July 31, 2012. Also, the IDEA Maintenance of Effort for schools has been submitted to Nebraska Department of Education.
 * 10) The Request for Approval of Core Services was presented. Darrell Peterson made a motion that ESU 17 core services funds that will be appropriated by the Legislature for the 2012-13 school year shall be expended according to state statute in the following service areas in order of priority; 1) staff development, 2) technology, and 3) instructional materials services and that revenues from the ESU 17 general fund levy for the 2012-13 school year shall be expended for staff development, technology, instructional materials services, and for the management and operation of ESU 17. Rodger Lenhard seconded the motion. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 11) Dennis presented a retirement gift from ESU 17 to Terry Hazard.
 * 12) The next meeting is scheduled for September 18, 2012.
 * 13) Motion was made by Dave Zumbahlen to adjourn the meeting at 12:35 p.m.

=March 6, 2012=

Present: Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community Schools; Terry Hazard, Cody-Kilgore Unified School; Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County Schools; Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public Schools and Molly Aschoff, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Mary Beel, Patty Finney, Ben Anthony, Germaine Johnson, Jeff McQuistan, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster. Jamie Isom, Valentine Community Schools joined the meeting at 9:45 a.m.


 * 1) Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:33 a.m. Announcement of the open meetings act posting was given.
 * 2) Rodger Lenhard made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 22, 2011 meeting. Terry Hazard seconded the motion. Roll call vote was unanimous. Absent: Jamie Isom
 * 3) Marshall Cavendish Children’s Ebooks, an online resource, has been purchased for our member schools. Germaine Johnson presented an update on the four online resources being considered to replace PowerMediaPlus. She is hopeful the decision to purchase will be made later in March.
 * 4) Molly Aschoff is working with ESU 17 schools on distance learning scheduling for the 2012-13 school year. She presented the 2012-2013 Intent to Purchase HD Upgrade 2 year plan. Mary Gurney is in the process of working with a grant writer on a RUS grant for ESU 8 and ESU 17 schools to upgrade obsolete distance learning equipment. Mary will be sending letters of support to our member schools in the near future. Molly stated testing of the DL equipment will be the first part of August.
 * 5) Ben Anthony is finalizing the school’s new bandwidth contracts which will begin on July 1.
 * 6) Mary Beel shared changes that need to be made to the internet safety policies by July 1. Patty Finney has area individuals in need of a human relations class. She will teach a class in Ainsworth if a minimum of 7 students is met. Patty and Dennis indicated ESU 17 could possibly hire a teacher for distance learning classes for our member schools if there is a need. Upcoming technology workshops will include smartboard, iPad, and google docs trainings. They are making plans for summer workshops which will include a beginning Angel workshop. Cody Kilgore’s Learning Web team will present at NETA this year. The 2012-13 team will be from Ainsworth. The grant theme will be improving reading instruction. The team members will receive iPads. NETA registrations are due March 23. The State Data Conference in Kearney is scheduled for April 2-3. The Summer Tech Institute will be held in Norfolk on May 29-30 with several area educators presenting. Patty distributed system and bandwidth requirements needed for the web-based MAP assessment system. Schools will need to make plans in their technology budgets if they wish to implement this testing procedure.
 * 7) Jeff McQuistan presented information on statewide conferences. The Perkins Intent to Participate is scheduled to open on the portal this month. The ESUCC will discuss and possibly vote March 7th on the NWEA certified Trainer Program proposal. Jeff and Germaine will participate in the textbook selection April 23, 2012. He presented a brochure on KICKS 2, a Summer Elementary Science Institute. Hal Urban will be presenting to teachers and parents on August 13, 2012. Jeff stressed the need to promote both events. An update on the Perkins Design Teams was given. The NCE Conference is scheduled June 5-7 in Kearney. Two sessions of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People will be held at NECC in June. ESU 17 AdvancED Leadership Team is moving forward in the accreditation process. Focus interviews will be conducted in March and April. Jeff will participate in a QAR visit at a Michigan school April 15-18, 2012. The all-staff meeting is May 18th.
 * 8) Dennis presented 2012-13 health check schedules prepared by Leanne Maxwell and important negotiation dates from the Perry Law Firm. Requests for SPED services were distributed to the superintendents.
 * 9) The next meeting is scheduled for April 17, 2012.
 * 10) Motion to adjourn was made by Rodger Lenhard and seconded by Terry Hazard at 11:50 a.m.

=September 20, 2011=

Present: Jamie Isom, Valentine Community Schools; Terry Hazard, Cody Kilgore Unified School; Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public School; Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community School; Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County School and Randy Peck and Molly Aschoff, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Germaine Johnson, Jeff McQuistan, Mary Beel, Ben Anthony, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster.

=March 17, 2011=
 * 1) Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:23 a.m. Announcement of the Open Meetings Act posting was given.
 * 2) Rodger Lenhard made a motion with a second from Terry Hazard to approve the minutes of the March 17, 2011 meeting. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 3) Germaine Johnson distributed informational items pertaining to the updated Media Center Homepage and the Media Center Online Catalog. Area educators and media specialists have received this information. She also shared articles on successful searching tips for the media catalog, DVD Duplication and Life of Tape or DVD policies, the following online resources: Media on Demand, Visual Thesaurus and World Book Online and the Fall Library Workshop in Norfolk on September 21, 2011.
 * 4) Molly Aschoff and Randy Peck, ESU 8, reported a rough start to the school year with the Renovo scheduling software. They are working hard to correct the problems and have suggestions to help avoid the same situations next year. The contract with Dascom requires George Hefner to report, not fix, problems while he is at a school. Molly said they may be able to negotiate this issue in the next contract. The ESUCC brochure “Building a Nebraska Virtual School” was distributed. Molly asked to be invited to the counselor and principal meetings as they plan the DL schedule.
 * 5) Randy stated that NASB has introduced CJUMP (Choice Joint Utilities Management Program). This consortium will allow the schools better natural gas pricing opportunities.
 * 6) Mary Beel provided information regarding ESU 17 upcoming technology trainings and workdays along with the 2011-12 NSSRS calendar. Diane Wolfe and Russ Masco will attend the workday on October 7th to help with the new Technology Plan. The Learning Web funding for 2012-13 has been approved.
 * 7) A Request For Proposal for a new internet provider has been submitted by Network Nebraska. The new email server, Zimbra, is up and going and has been well received so far.
 * 8) The RUS grant application for the new bridge and software is being reviewed by the USDA.
 * 9) Staff Development Director, Jeff McQuistan, reported on the recent APL training. We have an opportunity to host Hal Urban, a motivational speaker, for an in-service for area educators. The superintendents decided upon a target date of August 16 th or 17th, 2012. The NDE C4L trainings are in progress with the plan that the system should be ready for use in January 2012. There will be a MAP coordinator meeting on September 22nd and a Stepping Stones training on November 1st, both via polycom to Norfolk. A MAP Academy training will be scheduled for the second semester. Trainings for the three Perkins Design Teams are scheduled this Fall. ESU 1, 8 and 17 Math and Ag teachers will work together through the ACHIEVE Partnership to develop Ag projects that will reinforce Math standards. There will be a polycom session to ESU 1 to hear the latest developments in Nebraska Career Connections. Ainsworth, Cody-Kilgore and Valentine students will participate in the NECC 8th Grade Career Day. Ainsworth and Cody-Kilgore will also have participants in the NENCAP Career Academy.
 * 10) Dennis and Becky are working on transportation and pre-school final financials and the Maintenance of Effort for our school districts. They will submit the Statement of Assurances for all schools except Valentine when they become available on the portal.
 * 11) Dennis shared informational items from the NCSA’s Nebraska Paraeducators’ Conference and SPED expenditures and funding sources.
 * 12) ESU 17 will not bill the member schools for this past summer’s special education services.
 * 13) The Superintendents discussed how each of their schools is dealing with the BCBS premium holiday.
 * 14) The next meeting is scheduled for November 22, 2011.
 * 15) Rodger Lenhard made the motion with a second from Jamie Isom to adjourn the meeting at 11:33 a.m. Roll call vote was unanimous.

Present: Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public Schools; Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County Schools; Terry Hazard, Cody Kilgore Unified School; Jamie Isom, Valentine Community School; Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community School and Randy Peck, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Jeff McQuistan, Patty Finney, Mary Beel, Ben Anthony, Germaine Johnson, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster.


 * 1) Mr. Radford called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Announcement of the Open Meetings Act posting was given.
 * 2) Dave Zumbahlen made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 18, 2011 meeting. Rodger Lenhard seconded the motion. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 3) Germaine distributed the listing of titles being recommended for purchase consideration for the 2011 Spring Buy. ESU Media Coordinators will meet next week for the culmination of the Spring Buy process. They will also discuss statewide access of online resources.
 * 4) Randy Peck stated our member schools should have confirmation of the completion of E-rate Form 471. The Distance Learning class schedule is still a work in progress. Dascom delivery of the RUS grant equipment is scheduled for next week. Randy played a short video clip of the Nebraska Virtual Instruction Source composed by Molly Aschoff. Randy urged the superintendents to share the information with their principals and counselors on who needs an account and how to set up the account.
 * 5) Deb Paulman, Staff Development/Project Director at ESU 16, joined the meeting via Polycom to share information on the KICKS2 Nebraska Science Institutes for K-12 teachers. College credit is available through Chadron State College.
 * 6) Also joining the meeting via Polycom was Amanda Nipp, Director of Career Academies at Northeast Community College. The Health Science Career Academy is in its second year. This Perkins funded project is intended to give high school students exposure to opportunities in the medical field outside of nursing. New Career Academy offerings are Agricultural Career Academy and Skilled and Technical Sciences Academy. A listing of Articulated Credit Classes for Northeast Community College was provided.
 * 7) The ESU 17 Technology staff reported on future workshops and trainings. They reminded superintendents of the upcoming Data Quality Conference, NETA and Summer Tech Institute. This year’s Learning Web team from Keya Paha will present at NETA. The team for 2011-12 will be from Cody Kilgore. Patty and Mary are in the process of planning summer workshops. They will also do specific training at each school if there is a need.
 * 8) Ben Anthony informed the group that Zimbra has been selected as the new NNNC email provider. The start-up cost is $10.70 per account with the cost being reduced to $2.70 for the second and third years. Mary Beel updated the school’s email lists and distributed them to the superintendents for their review.
 * 9) Jeff and Germaine will attend a Curriculum Materials Selection and Textbook Selection workshop at ESU 6 on April 8. Jeff presented information on several upcoming workshops including 21st Century Learning, Perkins Design Team Follow-up Training, Nebraska Career Connections and Leadership Greatness. Jeff is available to help with any summer curriculum revision or school improvement needs. Dates have been secured for another APL workshop. There are programs offered in addition to Instructional Skills if our schools feel a saturation level has been reached in that area. Jeff will contact principals for interest and enrollment numbers.
 * 10) Forms for 2011-12 SPED Services were handed out to Dave and Darrell for their completion. Informational items concerning the future of Special Education funding and the implementation of LB 1006 (Kindergarten Date Change) were distributed. Dennis reviewed the probability of the retirement rate increase over the next 2 years.
 * 11) A Request for Approval of Core Services was presented. Rodger Lenhard made a motion that the ESU 17 cores services funds that will be appropriated by the Legislature for the 2011-12 school year shall be expended according to state statute in the following service areas in order of priority; 1) staff development, 2) technology and 3) instructional materials services and that revenues for the ESU 17 general fund levy for the 2011-12 school year shall be expended for staff development, technology, instructional materials services and for the management and operation of ESU 17. Jamie Isom seconded the motion. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 12) ESU 17 Superintendents have been invited to join ESU 1 and 8 for their Retreat at Niobrara State Park on June 1 – 3.
 * 13) The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

=January 18, 2011=

Present: Rodger Lenhard, Keya Paha County School; Dave Zumbahlen, Rock County Public School, Terry Hazard, Cody Kilgore Unified School; Jamie Isom, Valentine Community School; Darrell Peterson, Ainsworth Community School and Molly Aschoff, ESU 8. Representing ESU 17 were Jeff McQuistan, Patty Finney, Ben Anthony, Germaine Johnson, Dennis Radford and Jan Foster.


 * 1) The meeting was called to order at 9:25 a.m. by Mr. Radford. Announcement of the Open Meetings Act posting was given.
 * 2) Rodger Lenhard made a motion with a second from Dave Zumbahlen to amend the minutes of the previous meeting omitting the November 23, 2010 Advisory Council meeting. Roll call vote was unanimous.
 * 3) Molly Aschoff, ESU 8, presented the school superintendents and Dennis with an e-rate contract extension from Qwest for their signatures. She stated the RUS grant has been approved and Dascom will be installing the carts this spring. At a recent DEC meeting, there was discussion regarding UNL receiving money for a virtual high school program. Molly hopes that public schools will get this money to use for on-line distance learning classes. A vendor fair is scheduled at ESU 10 in Kearney on February 17th. She inquired as to problems the schools might be having following the contracted maintenance completed by Dascom. The Superintendents discussed compiling a list of conditions to be included in the next maintenance contract.
 * 4) Patty Finney announced an e-rate workday with Diane Wolfe on February 8th. Diane will work with school representatives individually. An NSSRS workday is scheduled at the Main Street office on January 24th with a follow-up session planned on February 22nd at the Tech Center. The State-Wide Data Conference will be in Kearney on April 18 and 19. The Learning Web team from Keya Paha County Schools will be presenting at NETA in April. Their presentation is on the Niobrara River and the resources it provides our area. The Learning Web team for next year will focus on Social Studies. The Summer Tech Institute in Norfolk, NE is scheduled for June 1st & 2nd. Katie Morrow, O’Neill Public Schools, will be the keynote speaker. The technology department is beginning to utilize wikispaces as a resource for presentation and training materials.
 * 5) Ben Anthony stated our email license with SunConvergence will expire in May. A new provider will be determined at the NNNC meeting in February. ESU 17 hosted a content filtering for servers training for our member school’s technology coordinators.
 * 6) Media Specialist, Germaine Johnson, distributed the 2009-2010 IMat annual report highlighting PowerMediaPlus, Spring Buy 2010 Special Projects, Anicillary Projects and IMat 2009-10 expenditures. Germaine also presented a listing of the 50 titles selected for the Spring Buy Preview. Personal Finance Streaming Service from Film Ideas is addressing the need for middle school and high school multimedia resources dealing with Financial Literacy, Health, Careers and Technology. Educators of ESU 17 schools have been offered access to the Personal Finance link via their “Free Trial”. Permission was granted by ESU 17 member school administrators for Germaine to contact area media specialists so that they could alert interested educators.
 * 7) Jeff McQuistan reported on the Perkins Grant Design Team Training. Educators from Cody Kilgore, Keya Paha and Valentine schools are participants in this 3-year training. Putting the Pieces Together: Strategies to Engage and Motivate is scheduled in Norfolk on February 23, 2011. Jeff stated Valentine Community School, Cody Kilgore Unified School and ESU 17 are using Wikis in their school improvement process. On January 4, 2011 the staff of ESU 17 had a CIP workday. A vision statement and an improvement goal were adopted with the focus of the improvement goal being to provide resources and professional development opportunities to school districts based on student performance data. All ESU 17 member schools have completed the Administration and Stepping Stones to Using Data trainings. A MAP Academy training via polycom is scheduled for February 25th at the Tech Center. April 27th is the date for the State Quiz Bowl. Valentine and Rock County have participated in this event. Jeff is available for curriculum alignment and school improvement assistance if there is a need. Upcoming Professional Development trainings are posted on ESU 17’s website.
 * 8) Dennis presented a spreadsheet to the Superintendents with IDEA funds that are available to their schools. A request for SPED services was also distributed. ESU 17 is currently advertising for an Occupational Therapist.
 * 9) The date for the next Advisory Council meeting is Thursday, March 17, 2011 at the ESU 17 Tech Center beginning at 9:30 a.m.
 * 10) Mr. Radford touched on several legislative bills being introduced and also distributed a policy on Intellectual Property he received from Perry, Guthery, Haase & Gessford.
 * 11) Rodger Lenhard and Dave Zumbahlen presented tentative calendars for the 2011-12 school year.
 * 12) Since all schools have completed at least one session of MAP testing, Dennis asked for pros and cons on the new testing process. Jeff will schedule a session with school coordinators to move forward with looking at data.
 * 13) Several options for online surveys were discussed. ESU 17 will schedule a training if there is a need or interest within our schools.
 * 14) The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.