NEVC board hears junior class bill of rights

Saturday, November 26, 2016
NEVC board member, Gina Ensor, holds up the signature page to the 15-point "Junior Class Bill of Rights," presented to the board at its recent meeting. Johannes Brann/Daily Mail

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During its November meeting, Northeast Vernon County School Board heard from seniors about their class trip, received the school's annual performance report, added cyber liability insurance, received principal reports and heard a reading of a proposed "Junior Class Bill of Rights."

"What began as a request about several things from some of the juniors has turned into a class project of sorts which I've tried to use as a learning exercise and all I can say is it is awesome," high school principal Chris Hudson said.

Superintendent Charles Naas, read to the board the 15-point "Junior Class Bill of Rights."

As part of the exercise, Hudson had the junior class study the first 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution -- the Bill of Rights -- which can be seen in the language of the requests.

For example, "An unrushed student, being necessary to the health of a scholar, should have the right to have more time in between classes, understanding, we will have to stay till four o'clock, shall not be infringed."

"While there are 15 points, it really boils down to three," said Hudson.

Students sought the "right" to have snacks in class, girls to wear shorter shorts and tank tops and for there to be an elective course on Christianity.

For reasons of food safety, sanitation and distraction from learning, the United States Department of Agriculture and Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has limits on the consumption of food in class, other than in a home economics class or certain special situations.

School board policy sets a minimum length for shorts and bans the wearing of certain articles of clothing to promote modesty.

Hudson added, "Our dress code needs to be straightforward because I refuse to spend my time being the 'wardrobe police.'"

NEVC currently offers a course on world religions, which includes a unit on Christianity, however the teacher keeps that unit shorter than others since most students are familiar with its people and concepts.

"I got the students to look beyond what they want, think about what others might want and think things through to see the unintended consequences of their requests. This is like society in miniature and it's been great," Hudson said.

The high school principal told the board the list was likely to undergo further revisions with another presentation at a future board meeting.

Seniors Emilia Gilpin and Trey Ast came before the board with a request to add an extra day to the four-day senior trip to Colorado Springs in May.

Gilpin told the board, "A majority of the 12 students who are going are "outdoorsy" and so we're thinking about doing things like hiking, horseback riding and going to the top of Pike's Peak."

The added time is for a daytrip elsewhere, possibly Denver. Unanimous approval was given.

On Nov. 7, DESE released the Annual Performance Report scores for each district in the state. Naas spoke about the score and the areas it identified as weaknesses needing to be addressed.

Based on a 14-factor formula and out of a potential top score of 140 points, NEVC earned 129 points or a 92.1 percentage. The state average is 90 percent.

"While it's usually helpful to look at several years and watch any developing trends, this year and next we really can't do that," said Naas. "Because the legislature did away with No Child Left Behind and replaced it with the Missouri Learning Standards, this year and next we are in transition years and so the curriculum and testing don't really match up with each other."

Naas identified math and science as well as the college and work readiness of seniors as areas needing to be strengthened.

Missouri law has special rules concerning excused absences for students at events as part of Future Farmers of America, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and 4-H. Such absences are not counted against the school's daily tracking of attendance. The board adopted a policy concerning this and set a school year maximum of 10 excused days.

The board welcomed news of a roughly 10 percent decrease in the district's premiums for property, liability and worker's compensation insurance. The board approved the addition of cyber insurance providing coverage for a data breach in the student information system or a first party extortion.

"I think this sort of coverage is very important in this day and age," board member Gina Ensor said.

The board agreed and gave its unanimous approval.

Following a request by parents, the board directed Naas to send a letter to the El Dorado Springs R-2 district seeking to establish an agreement for co-op football. The R-2 board chose not to take action.

Earlier in the year, the board approved purchase of a used school bus with delivery to be just before Thanksgiving.

Elementary principal Kendall Ogburn reported an enrollment of 124 students, the annual student vision screening, the well-received Veterans Day assembly and the upcoming Christmas program on Dec. 13.

Ogburn commented on the annual presentation of dictionaries by Nevada Rotary to those in the third grade.

"We run it like a graduation with each student's name being read and one-by-one they step forward to shake the hand of Bob Vineyard and Mark Miller who present the dictionary which has the student's name on the inside cover," said Ogburn.

Hudson reported an enrollment of 102 students, work on updating staff job descriptions and a professional development conference. The high school principal described the construction of a cardboard planetarium, which was large enough to hold 30 students at a time and how it was both educational and well received.

The board approved filing dates of Dec. 13, 2016 to Jan. 7, 2017 for the April school board election. Terms expiring include those of Robert Fox, Jeanne Hoagland and Deland Prough, none have yet indicated if they intend to run.

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