HURON Members of the Huron School Board heard several report during Monday nights School Board meeting.
A report was given by Stacey Westby, Kristie Clark and Tracy Albrecht on Madison 2-3 Special Services.
Christina Prehn, S.D. Regional Coordinator for TeamMates Mentoring program, talked to the Board about the possibility of establishing the mentoring program in Huron. This one-to-one mentoring program pairs post secondary students with elementary students in grades three and four.
Nationally, students taking part in the program had a 59 percent improvement in grades, 71 percent fewer unexcused absences and an 81 percent drop in behavioral problems. The ideal time to introduce a mentoring relationship is in grades three and four. Additional buildings and grades can be included in the program as capacity allows.
Supt. Kraig Steinhoff said he heard a presentation about the program in Sioux Falls and was interested in bringing the concept to Huron. Steinhoff said he had been contacted by a local church interested in a mentoring relationship, and hopes those individuals will be able to help.
Its unclear if the program would be ready to launch next fall.
Board president Tim Van Berkum said the bathroom bill that passed through the legislature has been signed by the governor and will become law.
Another law that is on the governors desk awaiting signature would require municipal elections be held in June or November. The governor has also signed a bill requiring elections for bonds or capital outlay certificates be held on one of three specific dates throughout the year. Theres our marching orders going forward with that, Van Berkum said.
Jolene Knoechne, director of ESL, requested an intent to apply for the ELA-South Dakota grant of up to $450,000 for four years or $1.8 million during the Jan. 13 board meeting. Steinhoff said he confirmed Monday that the school district is eligible for up to $775,000 for four years or $3.1 million due to having Pre-K instruction.
The Board will hear an updated intent to apply for the grant at the April 14 meeting.
Steinhoff said several months ago he reported on utilizing action research to enhance student achievement. The planning for action research for the spring and summer of 2025 included collecting and reviewing peer-reviewed journal articles regarding schools success in improving student achievement.
The Instructional Leadership Team has reviewed multiple articles and found two recurring areas where schools have found success in improving student achievement. Those two areas include improving family engagement and embracing collective teacher efficacy.
As a reminder collective teacher efficacy, according to Peter DeWitt, is the perception that teachers in a given school make an educational difference to their students over and above the educational impact of their homes and communities, Steinhoff said. I look forward to continuing on our path of action research with the next step being the consideration of what data points well measure to track and provide future reports on student achievement.
Ann Fenske, administrative assistant at transportation, was presented the Classified Employee of the Month for May award by Kathie Bostrom, director of transportation.
Congratulations were extended to senior Laurelis Feliz-Medina, a Culinary Arts Student who won the top overall Knife Skills Award showcasing both knife handling and knife cuts at the State ProStart Competition in Pierre.
The boys basketball team was commended for its sixth place finish at the state tournament, and coach Jim Noyes was recognized for his dedication to the sport and coaching for 50-plus years. Junior Blake Ellwein was selected to the State AA All-Tournament team.
Steinhoff also thanked activities director Scott DeBoer, as well as Tarryn Tomczak, Rose Ramirez-Garcia, Mike Arnold and Matt Watson for their work preparing Huron Arena to host last weekends State B girls basketball tournament. He also gave a shout out to members of the arena clean-up crew who were able to successfully turn the Arena over between all six sessions of the State B tournament.
Steinhoff said the many compliments about the Arena as a facility can be attributed in large part to the following individuals: Brad Katz, Rick Waldner, Wayne Wilson, Rick Nelson, Kurt Anderson, Israel Ramirez, Javier Acosta, Catherine Ramirez, Esther Ner, Mike Arnold, Matt Watson and Jose Ramirez-Garcia.
Several requests to apply for grant funding were brought before the board, including a $23,000 grant through Zee Zees Grab the Tab Grant program to help with school lunch debt relief.
April 3 is Paraprofessional Appreciation Day, and April 4 is School Librarian Appreciation Day. April 7-13 will be School Library Week.
The board also approved seven new hires to the district and three resignations.
The next School Board meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. April 14 in the Instructional Planning Center on the second floor of Huron Arena.
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