Articles at Minidoka Schools

Unofficial Results

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

	Yes	No	Spoiled	Site Totals	% Yes	% No
Acequia	107	23	0	130	82.31%	17.69%
Heyburn	108	16	0	124	87.10%	12.90%
Paul	65	14	0	79	82.28%	17.72%
Rupert	113	13	0	126	89.68%	10.32%
East	69	9	0	78	88.46%	11.54%
West	70	15	0	85	82.35%	17.65%
Mt. Harrison	69	17	0	86	80.23%	19.77%
Minico	89	10	0	99	89.90%	10.10%
Cassia	6	6	0	12	50.00%	50.00%
Jerome	10	4	0	14	71.43%	28.57%
Lincoln	9	1	0	10	90.00%	10.00%
Absentee	5	0	0	5	100.00%	0.00%
Totals	720	128	0	848	84.91%	15.09%

(Official Results will follow Board canvas of election on 3/11/2010)

Election Day March 9, 2010

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Renewal of the Current $1.2 Million Dollar Two Year Supplemental Plant/Facilities Levy with “No” Increase in Taxes:

No dollar increase and no impact on local school tax levy.

Funds are not used for salary, benefits or general operations... only on approved plant/facilities projects.

The district’s 10 year plant facility plan calculates our actual need at $1.6 million per year to maintain current status, but we are holding the line at current funding level.

Patron Advisory Committee provides patron input for plant/facilities plan. School Board makes final decisions.

Focus is on preventative maintenance and upkeep...more cost effective than postponing regular maintenance/repair.

Major Projects Planned with 2010-2012 Levy:

Technology Equipment & Workstations- All Schools, Roofing & HVAC (Heating & Cooling), Paving & Sidewalks Repair, Entry & Parking at Softball/Soccer/Tennis Complex, Computer Lab Upgrades, Track Resurfacing- East & West, Parking for Mt Harrison Site, Drainage in the Bus Compound, Restroom Stalls Remodel- East & Paul, New Buses, Wrestling Mats, Bus Engine Hoist

For more information, please see the

State of the School District

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:00:00 GMT

Academic Achievement Highlights

The district launched a focus on instructional intensity as a part of the Board of Trustees? participation in the Lighthouse project.� The mission of the Minidoka County Joint School District is to increase INSTRUCTIONAL INTENSITY to significantly improve the academic achievement for all students.

We pay a great deal of attention to education and as a result provide many cutting edge opportunities to our students such as Reading First, Middle and High Schools That Work, dual credit and advance placement classes, as well as a wide variety of professional-technical programs. While we celebrate our many accomplishments, we recognize that continuous improvement is an integral part of all great programs.
For the first time since 2004, four of our schools met AYP goals (Acequia, Paul, Minico and Mt. Harrison). This is a 50% increase from last year.� Minico High school met AYP for the first time and received a commendation from the State Department of education for significant increase in Reading proficiency for LEP students.
A professional development calendar has been created to inform staff of the professional development plan and has been more focused on improving instruction and student learning and achievement.� We have focused on the SIOP training district-wide, as well as, Reading First.
Our goal is to provide a place for students to learn without distractions and concerns for safety. We closely monitor activities on our campuses and offer programs to prevent alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse. As required by state and federal laws and rules, we collect, monitor, and report on crimes and substance abuse incidents on our campuses and at school activities.
We are committed to ensuring that our students are taught by a highly trained and qualified staff of instructors. Parents are welcome to request information about the qualifications of their child?s teachers. In addition, if the need arises for your child to be taught by a teacher without complete qualifications for more than four weeks, we will notify you.
About our teachers:
- 98.76% Of our teachers were highly qualified teachers
- 1.81% Of our teachers were teaching with emergency/provisional certificates
- 1.24% Of our core classes are not taught by highly qualified teachers
About our students:
- District Enrollment: 3998 (approx 12% decline over past 10 years)
- 12.9% Participate in programs to learn English
- 62.6% Qualify for free or reduced-price lunches
- 2.5% Participated in gifted and talented programs
About our graduation rate:
- Our state goal is for at least 90 percent of students to graduate from high school.
- The most current graduation rate information is for the Class of 2009:
  - 79.11% for our District
  - 89.7% for the State of Idaho
- We have set goals to improve and are working hard our graduation rate.� We can?t afford to let any students slip through the cracks?.

ACT- Most of Idaho?s college-bound students take this exam.
Class of 2009 ? average score (Minico & Mt. Harrison)

	District	State	National
English	19.6	20.5	20.6
Math	19.3	21.3	21.0
Reading	20.9	22.3	21.4
Science	19.6	21.4	0.8
Composite	19.9	21.6	21.1

Report cards on each of our schools are available at www.minidokaschools.org.� Detailed achievement data for the district, schools, and state can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of the report card screen.
The District again offered summer school and extended school year for students with at-risk or special needs.
The District continues to offer College Night, Parents make the Difference Night, and focuses on scholarship opportunities for students.� We launched an expanded Parent Advisory Team to help us focus on all areas of school improvement and parental involvement at each building, as well as, district-wide.
The District continues to authorize the ARTEC Charter School (a regional professional-technical charter school) to enhance the funding of high end programs and assure best practices in vocational education.
The following ?6 A?s were also introduced as a way to improve academic achievement.
- Attitude- We need the benefit of positive attitudes in our classrooms, school buildings, homes, businesses, and entire community.� Minidoka County is a great place to live.� I have been so impressed with the quality of your children and the dedicated staff of this district.� We need to remember and reconnect with our Minidoka Pride?our Spartan Pride!� We encourage attitudes that foster cooperation, respect, trust, sportsmanship, and unity.� These positive attitudes will instill our community with enthusiasm and hope for the future.� Positive attitudes motivate us to work together on behalf of our children.� We need to eliminate gossip, rumor spreading, backbiting, or anything which is potentially negative.� When we dwell on the negative, it inevitably affects our students in adverse ways.� Let?s work together to improve our attitude?attitude determines our altitude!
- Attendance- Student achievement is directly tied to attendance.� When children are in classrooms receiving daily instruction, encouragement, and assessment from the teacher, success is within the reach of every child.� An absence is a missed opportunity for learning.� Idaho schools receive state money based on the reported average daily attendance of our students.� Every absence translates into lost revenue for our district.� Lost revenue means fewer resources to educate our children.� We need to improve our attendance and try to limit classroom interruptions and unnecessary appointments during the instructional day.� If we could raise our student attendance just 3 percentage points (i.e. from 95 % to 98 %), our state aid payments over the school year could increase by more than $500,000 or approximately seven teachers and classroom unit funding.� Staff is also focusing on improving attendance.� We need our teachers in class with our students as much as possible.�
- Achievement-�� Our main job is to improve student achievement.� Everyone in the community has an interest in seeing that Minidoka County students are well educated.� High student achievement is the hallmark of a quality education and requires the full commitment of students, teachers, and parents.� Our staff is responsible for setting learning targets, teaching to the targets, and monitoring each student?s growth.� Students must be actively engaged in the process of learning and should be encouraged to grow and succeed.� Our district believes in ?Excellence in Education.?� This means every one, every thing, every time, and every where!� We need to focus on continuous school improvement and helping every child to learn and grow.
- Activities- Educational research says that participation in extra-curricular activities is strongly correlated with student academic success.� We need to develop, maintain, and promote good and wholesome extra-curricular activities and programs.� We have an excellent Booster Club and Parent-Teacher organizations that help us promote positive social experiences and activities at all levels.� We need to attract and retain top quality coaches and advisors for these programs.� We continue to work on to providing adequate and appropriate funding levels for our programs that benefit students.� We also want to model and encourage excellent sportsmanship.
- Accountability- As a district, we must remember that parents are sending us their greatest possessions?their children?to nurture and educate.� We should never try to take the ?Public? out of public schools.� We have a responsibility to our patrons to provide the best possible education system and must communicate openly about our accomplishments and challenges.� We have school improvement teams in every building and encourage parents to become directly involved in helping us to continuously improve.� We pledge to provide excellent learning opportunities to all students regardless of achievement level, ethnicity, language, or economic status.� We will continue to provide accurate and timely reporting via newsletters, web site, board meetings, and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) school report cards as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).�� We are committed to assuring that our staff is ?Highly Qualified? and teaching the approved Idaho Achievement Standards.� We need to help all students grow and succeed on all district testing/assessment measures.
- Atmosphere- Student safety and well-being is one of our chief goals.� We need to promote and monitor safety and security in order to provide drug free schools, positive discipline, and a desirable environment free from all forms of harassment, violence, and bullying.�� Character education programs will be continued in all buildings to encourage the development of students into healthy, happy, and productive citizens of our community and the world.� We need to respect and celebrate diversity and differences.� Additionally, we are concerned about wellness and nutrition for all of our students and staff.� As a district we also need to operate attractive, well-maintained, and clean physical facilities, buildings, and playgrounds.� The physical and social climate we set will directly impact our students, so it is critical that the atmosphere be positive.

Extracurricular Highlights

As a District we were able to keep all our extracurricular activities in tact despite the budget reductions.� We also placed a greater emphasis on quality of programs, personnel, and sportsmanship in all of our activities.
A new ?events calendar? was created to have a single calendar with activities listed for all buildings and departments.
The past few years have seen many improvements in our activities programs.� Students at Minico and Mt. Harrison have been very competitive and have won many titles and awards.
A new committee was created to address ?school climate? in our secondary schools.� We have focused efforts on improving dress code, sportsmanship, student discipline, language, PDA?s, etc.

Financial Highlights

The District?s annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, includes a series of basic financial statements that show information for the District as a whole, its funds, and its fiduciary responsibilities.� The fund financial statements provide information about all of the District?s funds.� Information about these funds, such as the District?s General Fund, is important in its own right, but will also give insight into the District?s overall financial soundness as reported in the Statement of Net Assets and the Statement of Activities.

The district was recognized with an award of ?Meritorious Budget 2008-2009? from the Association for School Business Officials International for budgeting excellence.
The District saw a decrease in funding and reimbursements from the State from $23,634,857 in fiscal year 2008 to $23,500,947 in fiscal year 2009, or a decrease of 0.7% in all funds.� The difference stemmed from a decrease in units due to loss in attendance and a reduction in tuition equivalency.� The decrease in revenue was offset slightly by the increase in Medicaid grant reimbursements.
Local revenue in turn decreased from $3,880,007 in fiscal year 2008 to $3,222,077 in fiscal year 2009, a decrease of 17% due to less money invested for capital projects and declining State Pool investment and bank interest revenue.
Total General Fund revenues accounted for $23,798,929 in revenue or 77 % of all revenues.� Non General Fund revenues in the form of charges for services, operating grants and contributions, and capital grants and contributions accounted for $7,092,653 or 23 % of total revenues of $30,891,582.�
The District General Fund fund-balance decreased by $144,517 from $1,349,402 in fiscal year 2008 to $1,204,885 in fiscal year 2009.� The school district has only been able to maintain a contingency General Fund Operating Reserve equivalent to 2.4% of its General Fund revenue.� These funds will not be apportioned.� In July 2008, the District initially reserved $500,000 of its General Fund fund-balance to the contingency, and at year end the balance in the contingency reached $543,000.
The school district transferred $1,200,000 from the General Fund to the Permanent Improvement Capital Projects Fund.� Another $102,000 received from the State for bus depreciation was transferred into plant facilities for the purchase of two (2) new buses.� The school district also transferred $43,562 to the Food Service fund to match benefits.� $78,000 was transferred to the debt fund to pay for the interest payment on the energy audit loan.� Due to the new Classroom Enhancement package passed by the State, the District also transferred $80,000 to match revenue received for ISAT Remediation.
Beginning in 2006-2007, HB 743 provided that the school district allocate money for student occupied school building maintenance from the plant facility and general fund equal to at least two percent (2%) of the replacement value of school buildings.� The replacement value is determined by multiplying the number of square footage of building floor space by $80 per foot.� The amount of required maintenance allocation for the District was $1,014,067 for 2008-2009.�� The district received $157,714 in school maintenance match revenue and $253,288 in lottery funds from the State to spend towards the requirement.� The district amount required to match was $603,065.� Of the match $121,300 matching was spent on student occupied buildings, leaving $481,765 to be carried forward to 09-10 to match in subsequent years.�
Also beginning in 2006-2007, Minidoka County School District in collaboration with several other Region IV school districts developed a charter district to bring better funding to high end Technical Programs.� Minidoka County Schools received over $228,000 in reimbursements for ARTEC charter district in 2008-2009 to cover 3.25 FTE teacher salaries and benefits, equipment, building rental and other discretionary uses.� Minidoka also received $73,000 to cover the Administrative staff that is paid from Minidoka County Schools to administer the ARTEC charter district and $5000 for fiscal agent fees.� The District also received $42,000 in additional equipment and $5000 in professional development opportunities paid directly by ARTEC.

Current Financial Issues and Concerns

The Minidoka County School District is financially stable in spite of the recent economic downturn and education funding issues in the State of Idaho.�� The current economic outlook for the District and State of Idaho (and across the Nation) is one of caution and uncertainty.� The current recession may bring further budgetary holdbacks and financial cuts to the District.�
Despite these challenges, the District received the honor of ?Meritorious Budget? for the 2008-2009 fiscal year from the Association of School Business Officials International.�
The community supports its public schools and the school district renewed its two year supplemental levy on April 8, 2008 for $1,200,000.� The Minidoka School District has experienced gradual declining student enrollment, however, current projections indicate more favorable estimates for future stabilization.� The financial performance of the district has been affected by a corresponding decrease in State foundation funds representing decreased revenues for staffing and other expenses due to the declining enrollment.� The District has reduced staff and ancillary expenditures as instructionally sound to offset the fiscal impact of declining enrollment and revenue reductions.�
In planning for fiscal year 2009-10, the Minidoka County Joint School District #331 Board of Trustees and teachers from the Minidoka County Education Association (MCEA) each ratified the negotiated contract.� The main points of the agreement reached included a 2.1% reduction in salaries for teachers and certificated staff via four ?furlough? days unpaid, as well as, elimination of the ?Friday Early Release? (which was used for instructional prep time) and the associated school bus routes.� Instructional preparation time was reconfigured during the school day in order to assure quality instruction and eliminating the extra Friday bus runs. The District opted to declare a ?financial emergency? as a part of efforts to deal with budget decreases from the state.
In addition, the board effected a 3% salary reduction on the base for administrators (a net reduction of over 5% by including the a reduction in force of 2.25 administrators in the district), a 2.1% salary reduction for classified supervisors, a 2.1% decrease in classified salaries via four ?furlough? days unpaid, a 2.1% reduction on activity stipends, and reductions in discretionary funds allocated to schools and departments.
This was a mutual effort to address declining enrollment in the district and the State of Idaho?s budget reductions in education.��
The Minidoka County School District must educate a minority student population that requires additional costs in program funding.� Limited English Proficiency students comprise 12.9% of the Minidoka student population and a Special Education population of 10.7%.�
The Minidoka District community includes many households that function at a poverty level as indicated by a 2008 Federal free and reduced lunch rate at 62.6%.� The Minidoka County School District is a poor district with a very limited tax base.� The Idaho school district average expenditures per student for 2008 was $8,913; which ranked 89 out of 144 districts and charters according to statistics provided by the Idaho State Department of Education.
The Minidoka County School District?s financial condition is sound despite declining enrollment, increased numbers of Special Education and Limited English Proficiency students, and the maintenance needs of aging buildings.� The Minidoka County School District Board of Trustees has prudently managed budgets.� The Board of Trustees has maintained positive fund balances and has reduced staff in accordance with student enrollment declines.� The Minidoka County School District plans to continue its practice of sound fiscal management.

Plant/Facilities Highlights

A great deal has been accomplished with regard to the district?s buildings.� Two new schools were opened in August of 2009.� Acequia Elementary School and Heyburn Elementary School were put into service for the 2009-2010 school year.� In addition, the new Multi-Purpose Center at Paul Elementary was opened for use in May of 2009.� These are beautiful new buildings that were constructed to last many years in the future.
The Klebe Memorial Building (old armory building) was remodeled for the Food Service Department.� It is in a far safer location for deliveries and includes dry and cold storage facilities for the entire district.
Completed Plant/Facility projects in 2008-2010 tied to the renewal supplemental levy for 2 years:
- SECURITY DOOR LOCKS EAST/WEST
- NEW DOORS EAST/WEST
- MINICO WATER HEATER
- SECURITY CAMERAS EAST
- NETWORK CONTROLLERS FOR HVAC SYSTEMS
- PAUL CLOCK SYSTEM
- LOCKER REFURBISHMENT WEST
- LOCKER REFURBISHMENT MINICO
- TENNIS COURTS MINICO
- SCOREBOARD ELECTRICAL
- FOOD SERVICE LOT PAVING
- RUPERT ELEMENTARY PARKING OVERLAY
- EAST MINICO PARKING OVERLAY
- POLE VAULT AREA UPGRADE
- VISITOR BLEACHERS UPGRADES
- MINICO PARKING OVERLAY
- ACEQUIA PORTABLE STORAGE UNIT
- MAINTENANCE BAYS UPGRADE
- FOOD SERVICE REMODEL FINISH UP
- BLADES AND PLOWS FOR NEW TRUCK
- BUCKET TRUCK
- NEW 2009 MAINTENANCE PICKUP
- COMPUTER LAB UPGRADES AND SERVERS
- 2 NEW BUSES
- EAST MINICO KITCHEN REPAIR
- EAST REROOFING
- WEST REROOFING
- PAUL PARKING ASPHALT
- WEST PARKING ASPHALT
- MINICO PARKING OVERLAY
- PAUL SIDEWALKS
- TRANSPORTATION NEW 2004 WORK PICKUP
- COMPUTER UPGRADES
- 2 NEW BUSES
Plant/Facilities projects that are scheduled or in progress include:

SELF CONTAINED HOME EC ROOM WEST
MINICO PUMP HOUSE
MINICO CNC ROOM REMODEL
EAST/WEST AWNINGS
MINICO ROOFING
MINICO TECHNOLOGY ROOFING
ROOFING TRANS/FOOD SERVICE
SECURITY
LIGHTING SYSTEM AUDITORIUM
EAST SOUND SYSTEM
HVAC
TRACTOR/DIXIE CHOPPER
MINICO FLOORING REFINISH
TRANSP REMODEL
BASEBALL BACKSTOPS EAST
MODULAR MOVE
REMODEL NEW MT HARRISON
REMODEL NEW SERVICE CENTER

Emphasis was placed on preventive maintenance alongside the 10-Year Plant/Facilities Plan required by the state.
Efforts will continue to be focused on improving the condition and functionality of the grounds and improving facility standards for students and staff.
A relocation plan has been introduced to move Mt. Harrison High school to the old Heyburn South campus in 2010.� The proposal also includes relocating the district office to the old memorial campus along with the other central service departments.� Additionally, the Transportation Department building is in need of remodeling once the Information Technology Department has moved to the proposed District Service Center.
We appreciate our patrons who continue to support our supplemental levy for plant/facilities every two years.�
The Pershing School campus was donated to the City of Rupert in 2009.� The old Heyburn North building was donated to the City of Heyburn.� The art collection was donated back to the Heyburn Alumni Association.� The district also sold two properties to help with the ?right sizing? of our district due to declining enrollment; the old Heyburn bus compound and the Acequia welding shop.

Other Highlights

Special Programs that were conducted in the District this year included:
- H1N1
- Bullying
- Sex Respect (No means Know)
- Sex Abuse
- Safety (Safe Schools) Training
- Monthly Safety Team Committee
- Gang Prevention
- Attendance Court
- Wellness
Many improvements were made in the area of information technology to keep the District current with the 21st century skills needed to help students succeed in today?s world.� Here are some of the changes/improvements:
- Restructuring of the IT department with additional staff
- Expanded District Website
- Paperless board meetings
- Online Attendance Report & Tracking
- New Events Calendar
The Transportation Department converted to a digital format for bus routing and scheduling called ?Transfinder?.� This will help us to manage our transportation needs in a more efficient manner.
The Maintenance Department now uses an online process for all work orders and project requests.� As a District, we continue to participate in our own Energy Conservation Program to help reduce expenses and conserve our resources.
Our School Board Trustees have spent many hours doing board service and training on behalf of the District, our students, and all of the kids of Idaho.� Brian Duncan, Board Chairman, was elected President of the Idaho School Boards? Association.

Final Comments

Indeed, it has been said that ?it takes a whole village to raise a child.?� Much appreciation is expressed to the ?village? of highly skilled and dedicated teachers and staff of this District.� As a District, we are grateful for the many wonderful and supportive parents, patrons, and businesses in our various communities.� We are definitely moving in the right direction toward continuous improvement and excellence in this District.� We must continue to do what is ?best for kids? and the families we serve.

Cyberbullying

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:00:00 GMT

I am a knob turner in push button world.� I can type on a computer with two hands at a slower rate than most kids can text with one hand with out looking.� Our world is changing at a break-neck rate and, as parents, we are trying to keep up and we are allowing younger and younger kids to possess the latest in cell phones, music devices, and other portable electronics.

With these new hand held power plants comes accessibility and responsibility.� Kids can now send music to their favorite social web site, down load on demand videos, and communicate with each other through text in a matter of seconds.� This new and ever expanding technology is also producing new problems such as; cyberbullying.

What is cyberbullying you ask?� When people use the internet, cell phones or other devices to send messages intended to hurt or embarrass another, this is considered cyberbullying.� According to the National Crime Prevention Council almost half of all kids have been a victim of cyberbullying.� How do kids use these devices to bully others?� They pretend to be other people to trick others.� They spread lies and rumors about victims.� Some people use tricks to have people reveal personal information.� They may post pictures of victims with out their consent.

This new medium offers anonymity and some believe they will not get caught.� Kids don?t think it is a crime and their actions will not harm anyone.� Kids, when in groups will get encouragement from those around them, in turn making it easier to make the wrong decision.

How do kids react to cyberbullying?� They may feel anger, remorse, they may seek revenge they may be hurt or embarrassed or scared.� Prevention of cyberbullying can come in many ways.� Refuse to pass along hurtful messages, or messages that contain threats of violence or any messages intended to cause pain or embarrassment. Never share all of your personal information online.� Never agree to meet anyone face-to-face if you only know them online.� If your kids are being a victim of cyberbullying encourage them to talk to you, the school counselor or a law enforcement officer.� The primary source for this months corner is from the National Crime Prevention Council where you can find more information on� cyberbullying and other crime prevention ideas.

Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Two students, siblings of laboratory confirmed cases of Pertussis (whooping cough), attending your child?s school have exhibited symptoms of, but have not been confirmed with, Pertussis. Pertussis is a serious disease. Symptoms include a persistent cough. Usually the cough occurs in explosive bursts ending with the typical high-pitched whoop and, occasionally, vomiting. Between bursts of coughing, the person appears well. Coughing attacks continue for 4 to 6 weeks. Older children or adults may have less severe symptoms. Pertussis is frequently complicated by pneumonia and ear infections, particularly in infants.

Pertussis is spread by contact with droplets in the air from coughing or sneezing. Persons who are in close contact, such as family members or close friends, with a case of Pertussis are more likely to become ill. (Please refer to the attached Pertussis Fact Sheet.)

Children should receive diphtheria, tetanus, Pertussis (DTP) vaccine beginning at two months of age. By the time of school entry, most children receive five doses of DTP vaccine. Protection from the vaccine may decline throughout a person?s life. Older children and adults may be able to develop the disease even if they have been vaccinated. Disease in persons who have been immunized is usually less severe.

Antibiotics may be given to try to prevent this disease in people who have been exposed. Antibiotics are usually only given to family members living in the same household with a case of Pertussis or contacts with other severe medical conditions.

Symptoms usually develop within two weeks of contact with a case of Pertussis. If your child develops a persistent cough, even if they have been immunized, please keep him/her at home and consult your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Infected persons are contagious from the early coughing stage to three weeks after the beginning of coughing fits in children who do not receive an appropriate antibiotic. Children treated with an appropriate antibiotic are contagious for the first five days on the medication.

For further information, please call Mary Jensen at 737-5969 or Stacie Benkula at 737-5974. Please call the health district or your physician before taking a child in for testing. Special arrangements can be made to prevent spread to others at the time of testing.

Gang Prevention

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:00:00 GMT

School and community safety is a top priority. A few questions for parents come to mind as I have been asked to discuss gang prevention in our area.

Are you concerned about the gang problems in our area? Do gangs exist beyond the “wanna be” category in our area? What we do know is that there is a constant problem in our area as well as Idaho with ongoing gang activity. What can we, together, do about gang prevention and what are some of the signs of gang activity? Furthermore, what are the primary affiliations in this area?

A few answers first. Two of the more common gangs in this area are the Surenos and Nortenos. These are both Latin or Hispanic street gangs. The Surenos align themselves with the number 13. They often have this number tattooed on them in some form. “Trece, 13, X3, XIII, or SUR13” are often used to identify them. The primary color for this gang is blue. The Sureno’s is an old prison gang from the 1960’s that has become one of the most violent street level gangs in the western U.S. The Sureno’s rely on violence, drug distribution, extortion and are major players in the drug trafficking world.

The Norteno’s is another local gang that has its roots in the prisons in the 1960’s. The Norteno’s have alignments with La Nuestra Familia, another prison and street gang. Common markers for this gang include XIV, X4, 14 and N. The makeup of this gang is generally Hispanic men born in America. “Norteno” translates into northerner and is a known rival of the Surenos street gang. The primary color for this gang is red.

Parents, if you are seeing the numbers associated with gangs being written on notebooks, hands, or other items talk with your children about the problems associated with gangs. Our school district has a policy about gangs that prohibits wearing, possessing, using, distributing, displaying, or selling any clothing, jewelry, emblem, badge, symbol, sign, gesture, code or other evidence of membership of membership or affiliation with any gang.

As a parent you have the most influence on your children and how they respond to gangs. Tips for prevention may include but certainly are not limited to: proper encouragement, supporting them with hobbies, set rules and have appropriate punishments, apply punishment after your anger subsides, know your child’s friends, and know where they are and who they are with. Show them your family values, morals and norms and talk about them with your kids. When they know and want to do the right thing because it is the right thing, then choosing the better path will be easier.

Red Ribbon Week

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Here at West Minico Middle School we participate in Red Ribbon week to teach students not to do drugs. Drugs are a one time thing… yeah right. Drugs take away your personality, they take away your ability to think and take care of yourself properly, and they take away the rights you have allowing you to be your own person. The facts are…drugs are bad for your family, your health, and your sanity. Drugs make you hallucinate, make you give yourself to total strangers for another joint or line, and make loose your handle on life. Imagine you are a senior in college, you have the world at your finger tips, you’re an honor student and you’re only a few months away from graduating with honors and multiple degrees, until you meet a group of ‘friends’ who ask you if you want to do drugs and you say yes. Then, all of your goals are gone, all your hard work goes to waste, and you loose everything.

The Grim Reaper chooses students throughout the day to represent how many students die of drugs every ten minutes. At the end of the week we have a dance to reward the students for participating in Red Ribbon Week. We also have a poster contest as another way to teach students to make the right decision. Don’t do drugs! This year the winners of the poster contest were Bailey Bybee, Vanessa Nunez, and Prescilla Sanchez. They won five dollars for participating in the poster contest.

We want all of our students here at West Minico to succeed in life, so that is why we participate in Red Ribbon Week.

The Difference Between a Cold and the H1N1 Symptoms

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:00:00 GMT

We have had many questions about the differences between a cold and the Swine Flu. This article may help you understand the differences.

New Zone 5 Trustee

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:00:00 GMT

At a Special Board Meeting last night, the board interviewed seven very qualified individuals for appointment to the vacant position in Zone 5. Please join with us in welcoming Mark Sanderson as the new Zone 5 Trustee. Mark was appointed to this position last night and will be seated at the Board Meeting on October 19, 2009 at 7 pm at Minico High School. Mr. Sanderson will serve until the next Annual Meeting (July 2010) of the Board of Trustees. Congratulations to Mark and thank you to all of those who interviewed.

Attendance... District Goal 97 percent

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Student achievement is directly tied to attendance. When children are in classrooms receiving daily instruction and encouragement from the teacher, success is within the reach of every child! Regular attendance is vital to a child achieving and learning to their greatest potential. Research shows that attendance is the single most important factor in student success in school. We, as educators, are responsible for teaching and helping children succeed. Learning builds day by day. A child who misses a day of school misses a day of valuable learning. Children can make up assignments when they are absent, but they miss out on the important discussions, the questions, the explanations by the teacher, and the thinking process that helps learning come “alive”. Research also indicates that children who are in school most of the time achieve much better on state tests (such as the ISAT) and college placement/aptitude tests.

Furthermore, Idaho schools receive state and federal funding based on the reported average daily attendance of our students. Every absence translates into lost revenue for our school district. Lost revenue means fewer resources to educate our children. If we can raise our student attendance from an average of 94% to 97% our state aid payments over the school year would increase significantly, not to mention the academic increases we would achieve.

It has been said that every effective organization identifies a cause or purpose to rally the people it serves. Our school district will be energized by a common purpose that focuses everyone's attention on achievable goals. We invite you to be a part our district’s attendance goal. Please join us in promoting positive attitudes, high student achievement, and improved school attendance!

Region 4 Secondary Science Teacher of the Year

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Wow! We have such excellent teachers in this district. Congratulations go out to Gwen Leone from East Minico on her nomination and selection as Region IV Secondary Science Teacher of the Year. And thank you all for your efforts and quality teaching on behalf of our kids.

H1N1 Vaccination Update

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Principals & Secretaries:

Please read the attached letter from South Central Health District. The allotments to Idaho were far less than was promised (only 400 or so for the eight county region and 9000 total for the state). We obviously cannot control the availability of the vaccine, but we can use positive leadership to pass on the info and continue to do the best we can with our prevention efforts. We still need the permission form to complete a head count for future vaccination shipments. Please be positive and reassuring to parents and patrons that we are taking all the steps we can to keep kids safe and healthy. Thank you. I am a bit disappointed by this news. Thank you for all of the work to help get the parent letters out. Send any and all forms to the District Office on October 10. Stay tuned for more information.

Scott A. Rogers, Ph.D
Superintendent of Schools
Minidoka County Joint School District #331

Dear Community Partners,

RE: H1N1 Vaccine Distribution
ThereThere is an update in the initial allotment and receipt of H1N1 vaccine that has precipitated the need for me to contact you. First, let me say that South Central Public Health District’s (SCPHD) planning efforts have always been to meet the needs of the communities we serve. The initial allotment (and possibly future weeks) is much lower than originally planned.

The reason is the State of Idaho’s population in relation to the other states in the union, places us toward the bottom in terms of percentage of the allotment apportioned. Idaho receives 0.4937% of the total vaccine distributed, which in turn is broken down among the seven public health districts based on percent of the state population. Our eight-county region comprises only 12% of the total population and therefore we will experience a “trickle down” affect in the total weekly doses received into south central Idaho.

I am proposing the formulation of an Executive Steering Committee for the purpose of determining priorities and locations of mass immunization clinics for our region. The committee would be comprised of the Chair of each County Commission, a Board of Health representative, three School District Superintendents (representing a frontier, rural, and urban school district), the CEO or designee (e.g., Chief of Staff or Infection Control Nurse) for each of the area hospitals, and the CEO of Family Health Services. I will volunteer to host and facilitate this committee meeting.

I realize we all have busy schedules; but if we are to meet the intent of the National H1N1 Vaccination Program, I will need everyone’s input and recommendations to best utilize our weekly allotment of vaccine. Based upon estimates from CDC and IDHW, we will receive allotments from October 9, 2009, through January 8, 2010 (15 weeks). These allotments will cover ~60% of our population; therefore, we must adhere to the ACIP target group recommendations in order to provide the greatest coverage to those with the greatest need or risk.

I recommend we meet on October 14 at 2:00 p.m. at SCPHD’s office located at 1020 Washington Street North in Twin Falls (Katz Conference Room – north entrance). Please reply if you can attend or provide the name of your representative along with a contact number.

For more information about the H1N1 virus, please visit our H1N1 virus prevention plan page.

H1N1 Virus Prevention Plan

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:00:00 GMT

With the flu season approaching, Minidoka County School District will do the following to help reduce the exposure to the flu virus, including the H1N1 flu, to students, staff and the community.

On August 26, 2009 a letter to parents regarding the flu was posted on district website: www.minidokaschools.org. Resource information and prevention tips were also included as provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the South Central Public Health District (SCPHD). We will continue to use the district website as the primary place to post information and updates regarding the Flu Prevention Plan. This plan will be posted in all district buildings and schools and will be reviewed in all faculty meetings.

The Homeroom/Advisory teachers as part of their curriculum will do a special class on germ prevention methods. This will include but is not limited to:

Teach children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
Teach children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils.
Teach students to cover their sneezes with a tissue or their sleeve at the elbow.
Teach students to wash or sanitize their hands before eating anything.
Teach students that they need to stay home for at least 24 hours after their temperature has subsided- without the assistance of fever-reducing medications.

School Wide Plan

All teachers will be trained on what symptoms to be aware of and our procedures (training may include but is not limited to Safe Schools modules, emailed information from the CDC or SCPHD, etc.).
Any child who complains of aches, pains or general feverish symptoms will be sent to the office, designated person(s) or the school nurse.
The designated person will take the temperature- if 100 degrees or over, call the parents and send home.
Any student absent for 3 days or more must be fever free without the use of fever reducing medication for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
Teachers are provided with disinfectant to wipe down desks 2-3 times per day.
Custodial staff will disinfect door knobs and surfaces in common areas daily.
Teachers remind students to wash their hands often i.e. after using the restroom, before eating, and between classes.
Hand sanitizer will be available in strategic locations throughout the buildings and in all cafeterias.
Kitchen staff will wear gloves and sanitize tables 4 times per day.
Students are taught how to sneeze and cough into their elbow.
Posters will be displayed prominently to promote hand washing and not touching their face and how to “cover your cough.”

Personnel
Office staff, school secretaries, nursing staff, designated personnel and administrators:

All are able to take temperatures, isolate students, contact parents and send student’s home.
When students return to school the above personnel will check with the student to make sure they are not running a temperature.

Teachers

Encourage to error on the side of caution- when in doubt, send the student to the office.
The homeroom/advisory teachers as part of their curriculum will teach germ prevention methods.

Parents

Keep informed- take students to the doctor as needed- keep home until fever/symptoms are no longer present for 24 hours.
Pick up your child(ren) in a timely manner when contacted by the school.
Don’t believe rumors- call the school to verify information.

Students

Use cleanliness habits- wash hands often, cover mouth with arm when sneezing or coughing, keep teacher and parents informed about how they are feeling.

Please visit our H1N1 Prevention Plan page for more information.

President Obama's Address to Students

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:00:00 GMT

The full text of President Obama's Address to America's Schoolchildren can be found on the White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-in-a-National-Address-to-Americas-Schoolchildren/.

District Position on President Obama's Speech

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Dear Teachers and Administrators,

The controversy surrounding the President of the United States talking to America’s school children is just another sign of our challenging times. Like you, I am experiencing numerous emails and phone calls inquiring about our schools’ involvement in President Obama’s speech.

After considering input from patrons, direction from State Superintendent Tom Luna, feedback from our Board of Trustees and principals, and a review of Board Policy, the District rationale and position concerning the broadcast of the President’s speech in our classrooms is as follows:

Rationale:

Given the expressed concern surrounding the airing of this speech in our classrooms, it would seem prudent to allow teachers and administrators to first watch the speech and determine if it is age and message appropriate and related to the curriculum and/or learning objective of the classroom. Teachers should have the opportunity to integrate appropriate materials into their curriculum and show it to students at a time most fitting within the structure of the school day. Board Policy #602.81 states, “any such use of movies or videos other than short clips to enhance a teaching standard or lesson objective requires prior approval by the building principal”. We understand there are a wide variety of opinions on this matter; however, we need to be sure to follow District policy as currently outlined. Teachers and administrators can record and review the broadcast and should follow the proper course of audio-visual curricular material approval.

The White House has stated that President Obama’s narrative will be available for preview on their website Monday evening, September 7. Consequently, parents may wish to view the address and could use it as a teaching moment at home on delayed video stream or taped broadcast.

District Position:

On Tuesday, September 8, President Obama’s speech to school children will not be broadcast “live” within the Minidoka County School District. The event will be recorded and reviewed by each school’s faculty and administration to determine if it aligns with the District’s adopted curricular standards. On a side note, the District is limited with available bandwidth for video streaming in multiple classrooms simultaneously.

If deemed appropriate, teachers will have the option to integrate the recorded speech into the curriculum at a suitable time that meets their students’ educational needs. Parent notification will be sent home with students prior to any classroom use.

If parents receive notice of the viewing, they will have the ability to opt their students out of this activity and another educational alternative will be provided.

Feel free to contact me by telephone or email should you have further questions.

Respectfully,

Scott A. Rogers, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools