Dayton School Board Meeting Summary

DAYTON— In her report to the Dayton School Board, Elementary Principal Pam Lindsley said the students have been hard at work making posters to advertise the Candy Gram Sale, which will take place between Feb. 6 and 13. The students will sell the candy grams before school, during lunch, and after school.

The curriculum committee will meet on Feb. 6 to look at several different curricula. The committee has found an on-line site with a tool to evaluate and score them, Lindsley said.

Lindsley said that elementary school enrollment stands at 195, with an additional 18 ECEAP preschoolers. Several students have enrolled in the past month from the Moses Lake area, she said.

School staff has been exploring the psychological study of Mindset, with regard to fixed versus growth mindsets, Lindsley said.

A fixed mindset is an assumption that character, creative ability and intelligence are static givens, while a growth mindset thrives on challenge, and sees failure as a springboard for growth, and stretching existing abilities.

“I need to get parents on board, too,” she told the directors.

In his report to the Board middle and high school principal Paul Shaber said the staff has recently completed a vision and mission statement, which is a part of the national accreditation process, and which will likely be adopted by the board at their next regular meeting.

Brad Henning, a nationally known speaker, will talk to the students about creating healthy relationships, and topics such as fun dating ideas, at a student assembly on Feb. 19 at 9:45 a.m., Shaber said.

Shaber also said the recent blood drive surpassed the goal by two units.

Superintendent Doug Johnson reported on the Community Visioning Meeting that was held Jan. 25 to determine priorities for the school district over the next ten years. “It was a fantastic evening. We had 85 or more people,” he said. Johnson said the next step is to determine how to allocate resources to implement the prioritized goals.

It has been an ongoing challenge for the district to find qualified candidates for employment, Johnson said. A long-term substitute with the health and fitness credential is being sought for the rest of the school year, but there have not been any applicants so far, he said.

The district has purchased an online service for advertising job openings and collecting resumes of potential candidates, and district officials will attend two job fairs in March.

One of the positions to be advertised is for a K-12 school counselor, and the other is for the MS/HS health and fitness teacher, Johnson said.

A Request for Proposal draft has been written for the upcoming asphalt project, and Johnson said he will have it reviewed before bid openings begin. Johnson hopes the asphalt project will be completed by Aug. 1.

The 2017-2018 school calendar that was approved by the board at the end of the meeting is similar to ones from past years, according to Johnson.