2018-2019 Calendar Revised to Allow Week Off for Thanksgiving approved a change to the district calendar for the 2018-2019 school year. The district s Thanksgiving break has traditionally been the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week. The board action changes Thanksgiving break to the entire week of the Thanksgiving holiday five full days out of school for both students and teachers. The change aligns the district with the other large metro school districts that already close the week of Thanksgiving. Taking two additional days off means adding them back in somewhere else. The original calendar called for no classes and teachers not to work on Aug. 31 and Oct. 22. With tonight s board-approved calendar change, teachers will report for professional development on Aug. 31 and Oct. 22, allowing their contractual days to be fulfilled. There will be no classes for students on those days. The 2018-2019 calendar still calls for classes to begin on Thursday, Aug. 16, and end on Thursday, May 23. The revised calendar can be seen on page 2. (continued on page 2) We are excited to report that Putnam City Schools has been chosen as a recipient of one of the 2018 Governor s Arts Awards. Five organizations and 14 individuals will be honored for their contributions to the arts during the 2018 Governor s Arts Awards on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The awards will be presented during a special ceremony beginning at 4 p.m. on the fourth floor rotunda at the Oklahoma State Capitol. The district will receive an Arts in Education Award, which recognizes a school, organization, group, educator or other individual for outstanding leadership and service in the arts benefiting youth and/or arts in education. As a district, we are very proud of each of our 99 fine arts specialists and the incredible opportunities they offer our students. We view the arts as an integral part of the total academic success of our students and our mission to educate the whole child. We specifically want to thank Dr. Jason Memoli for his efforts to provide this opportunity for our district to be recognized. (continued on page 4) Cindy Gibbs said district athletic teams are playing well and that basketball teams are very impressive. She said the recently completed high school course guide was a well designed and organized piece. She also congratulated seven district students who are members of Girl Scout Troop 3469. The troop finished sixth in the world for the Olave Award, an international award given to troops that have created positive change in their community. Troop 3469 became a sister troop for an inner city troop of about 80 girls in a low-income area, putting on a Girl Scout Camp for their sister troop, holding badge days and undertaking other activities. Gibbs said the district students who are part of Troop 3469 are Paige Bush, Piper Bush, Olivia Cleburn, Katie Francis, Madison Lonteen, Haley Velez and Jennie Wheat. Gail LoPresto said the Yuletide program at Putnam City West was a great night. She said Joe Ellis and John Murphey are doing a good job operating (continued on page 4) Meeting Date: Monday, Jan. 22, 5 p.m. Location: Administration Building Roll Call: Four members of the board were present: Becky Haliburton, president; Gail LoPresto, vice president; Cindy Gibbs; and Bill Wetmore. Also present were Dr. Fred Rhodes, superintendent; and Sandy Lemaster, board clerk. Next Meeting: Monday, Feb. 5, 5 p.m. Putnam City Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, or disability.
2018-2019 Calendar Revised (continued from page 1) approved a change to the district calendar for the 2018-2019 school year. The 2018-2019 calendar looks like this: Monday, Aug. 13 Teachers report Thursday, Aug. 16 Classes begin Friday, Aug. 31 Monday, Sept. 3 Labor Day Monday, Sept. 10 Thursday, Oct. 18 End of 1st quarter (43 days) Friday, Oct. 19 Fall break Monday, Oct. 22 Monday, Nov. 19 - Friday, Nov. 23 Thanksgiving break Friday, Dec. 21 End of 2nd quarter (39 days) End of semester (82 days) Monday, Dec. 24 Christmas break begins Monday, Jan. 7 Professional day (no classes) Tuesday, Jan. 8 Classes resume Monday, Jan. 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Friday, Feb. 15 (no school, district offices open) Friday, March 15 End of 3rd quarter (48 days) Monday, March 18 - Friday, March 22 Spring break Thursday, May 23 Last day of classes (if no snow days need to be made up) End of 4th quarter (44 days) End of semester (92 days) Snow days added to end of calendar if needed Friday, May 24 (or day after last day of classes) Monday, May 27 Memorial Day (no school) Course Guide approved the high school course planning guide for the 2018-2019 school year. The guide, which serves as the board s approved high school curriculum, is designed for use in the spring by students in grades 8 through 11, along with their parents and counselors, in planning student course selections for the succeeding school year. The guide covers in detail the descriptions of high school courses in the district, courses offered by Francis Tuttle Technology Center and the enrollment process. The guide also includes college and career tools and resources, including information about Oklahoma s Promise, college admission requirements, specific listing of college prep course sequences, separate and unique college planning checklists for high school freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors, and financial aid information. New in the guide this year is a link to the Oklahoma State Department of Education s Individual Career Academic Plan (ICAPs) web pages. ICAPs help students begin defining interests, career goals and postsecondary plans beginning in grade 6, giving them the opportunity to make important decisions regarding coursework and extracurricular activities that align with their postsecondary career and life goals. ICAPs will follow each student through middle and high school and evolve to reflect any changes in interests, strengths and growth. They will include interest inventories, written goals, a stepby-step plan to reach those goals, career surveys, academic progress measures and a list of completed apprenticeships, internships or mentorships. Students will also be able to create individualized portfolios, explore career options and access college campus information.
PAGE 3 2019-2020 District Calendar Approved approved a district calendar for the 2019-2020 school year. Approving a calendar almost two years in advance helps the district better plan needed professional development opportunities and helps district families and staff better plan their lives. Here is the 2019-2020 calendar: Tuesday, Aug. 13 Teachers report Monday, Aug. 19 Classes begin Monday, Sept. 2 Labor Day Monday, Sept. 16 Thursday, Oct. 17 End of 1st quarter (42 days) Friday, Oct. 18 Fall break Monday, Nov. 25 - Friday, Nov. 29 Thanksgiving break Friday, Dec. 20 End of 2nd quarter (40 days) End of semester (82 days) Monday, Dec. 23 Christmas break begins Monday, Jan. 6 Professional day (no classes) Tuesday, Jan. 7 Classes resume Monday, Jan. 20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Friday, Feb. 14 (no school, district offices open) Friday, March 13 End of 3rd quarter (48 days) Monday, March 16 - Friday, March 20 Spring break Friday, May 22 Last day of classes End of 4th quarter (45 days) End of semester (93 days) Snow days added to end of calendar if needed Monday, May 25 Memorial Day (no school, district offices closed) Tuesday, May 26 Professional Day (or day after last day of classes) (no classes) Oklahoma Autism Center Agreement approved a memorandum of understanding with the Oklahoma Autism Center, part of the Oklahoma University Health Science Center. As part of the agreement, the Oklahoma Autism Center will partner and provide technical assistance to Kirkland Elementary School s early childhood program. Technical assistance provided will include general information about autism, instructional and behavioral interventions, and use of assistive technology to promote learning. The Oklahoma Autism Center will also provide a one-time stipend in the amount of $1,000 to be used for supplies and materials associated with the consultation and technical assistance. There is no cost to the district as a result of the agreement. Sale of Bonds Request approved a resolution setting the date, time and place for the sale of $32,250,000 in bonds. The bond sale will take place at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the board room of the district s administration building. The bonds were approved by voters in two elections, one in August 2014 and another in October 2017. Funds from the sale of bonds will pay for numerous improvements throughout the district.
PAGE 4 Superintendent s Report (continued from page 1) Congratulations to the 5th-graders from James L. Dennis Elementary who won first place in the Life Change Ballroom Competition in mid-december. Dennis Principal Renita White says the dedicated group sometimes gave up recesses and free time to practice and represented the district with grace and poise. Tulakes Elementary, another hard-working and talented team, placed third. In addition, four district students were chosen to be part of Life Change Ballroom s Advanced Troupe that performs at events around the city. It was a good showing by all! The second annual Men s Day of Singing in the district will be Tuesday, Jan. 30. Men from all our district high schools and middle schools will come together to spend the morning rehearsing with renowned clinician Dr. Steven Curtis (retired from OU). At noon, the public is invited to an informal concert performance in Putnam City High School s auditorium. We congratulate the Putnam City High Academic Bowl Team for finishing second place recently in the area competition at Norman. They are only one of eight teams that will advance to the OSSAA State Academic Bowl Championship at Redlands Community College on Feb. 3. Museum Honors Five for Lifetime Service The Putnam City Schools Museum presented Lifetime Service Awards to five people whose sustained volunteer work has contributed to the betterment of Putnam City Schools, Putnam City Museum committee chairman told board members Monday night. The 2018 honorees are: Marcia Moon Feisal, a 1977 graduate of Putnam City West High School, who has coordinated class reunions for 40 years, and who has been active in PC West alumni activities; Jim Shields, a 1950 Putnam City High School graduate whose father was a longtime elementary school principal and who has served in leadership roles with both the Putnam City High School Alumni Association and with the PC Schools Museum; Beverley Stinchcomb, a retired Putnam City teacher who has served as acquisitions coordinator for the museum, helping maintain its extensive historical collection; David Apgar, a 1976 Putnam City High School graduate who is current president of the Putnam City High School Alumni association; and The late Etta Green Schneider, one of three members of the original Putnam City graduating class of 1919, who was active in alumni affairs throughout her long life and who both donated and collected memorabilia that formed the museum s original collection. The Putnam City Schools Museum is the largest districtwide school museum in Oklahoma, with hundreds of thousands of artifacts, yearbooks, photos and other items. Its collection of items dates back to Putnam City s founding in 1914. The museum, located at N.W. 40 and Grove, is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and by appointment for reunions and special tours. The museum has also published a centennial history of Putnam City Schools. Board Comments (continued from page 1) the district s truancy program. She said she appreciated the Putnam City High School Alumni Association and hopes that in the future other district high schools will also have active alumni associations. She also asked about the appropriate amount of money to keep in the district s fund balance and whether it must be kept in reserve due to continuing state budget cuts. Becky Haliburton thanked the Putnam City High School Alumni Association. She also mentioned that district staff or patrons coming to the State Capitol should stop in and visit her in Room 309, and she reminded visitors that a kind word to legislators and their staffs goes a long way. Board Highlights is not a comprehensive review of every item that takes place at board of education meetings. Its purpose is merely to provide information about items that seem of most interest to district employees and patrons. Complete board meeting minutes may be found at http://www.putnamcityschools.org/boardofeducation/boardmeetingminutes/tabid/565/default.aspx
PAGE 5 Board Hears Report on College Readiness The number and type of college readiness programs is expanding at district high schools, Executive Director of Secondary Education Rick Croslin told board members Monday night. Croslin said the district is in its first year of working with students on Oklahoma s Individual Career Academic Plans. The plans come from a multi-year process that intentionally guides students as they explore career, academic and postsecondary opportunities and create their own meaningful pathways to be career and college ready. Eventually, all district students in grades 7 through 12 will create such plans. Croslin told board members that ACT scores at each high school are climbing following implementation of detailed plans by the district. Putnam City North s 19.4 composite scores is the highest in the district and equal to the state average. The district s goal of 65 percent of 2018 graduates to have an ACT composite score of 20 or higher remains in place. One part of the plan is giving the pre-act to all sophomores. Results of the test tell the district what areas need focus a year-and-a-half before students take the full ACT and give students and their parents information about what classes to enroll in. Additionally, the district s ACT prep course curriculum has been redeveloped to better prepare students for the test. Efforts to increase college readiness also includes four concurrent enrollment classes courses for both high school and college credit being offered to and taken by students at Putnam City North, and visits to nearby college campuses being taken by all Putnam City West freshmen. The college visit program by freshmen will expand to other high schools next year. Representatives from more than 40 universities, businesses and organizations were on hand at a district-sponsored college and career fair in November at the Francis Tuttle Reno campus to share information with students and parents, Croslin said. The fair attracted more than 1,000 students and parents from a variety of school districts in the west metro area attended to talk with college representatives about college and university admissions, majors, financial aid and more. Croslin also addressed the board about dropout numbers and programs to increase the number of students staying in school. For the 2016-2017 school year, the district had a total of eight dropouts from its five middle schools, one more than last year, and 131 more from its high schools, two more than last year. The district s dropout rate for grades 7 through 12 is slightly less than the state average. Board Hears Update on Finances A mid-year cut of about $257,000 in state aid to Putnam City along with Oklahoma s uncertain economy means the district will continue to budget cautiously, Shannon Meeks, the district s chief financial officer, told board members Monday night. The good news is that district finances are in sufficient shape to allow the release of an additional $225,000 in curriculum funds to schools. The district released 50 percent of curriculum funds to schools at the beginning of the year with the understanding that more funds would be released at mid-year if possible. The $225,000 to be released represents 25 percent of the curriculum funds in the budget. Meeks told board members that the district s fund balance essentially, its savings account is now budgeted to be slightly less than it originally was. The fund balance, initially budgeted to be $12,625,740, is now budgeted to end up at $12,282,138.