LIBERTY-BENTON LOCAL SCHOOLS

MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2007

REGULAR BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING

BOARD OF EDUCATION OFFICE 9190 CO. RD. 9, FINDLAY OHIO

REGULAR BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING 6:00 P.M.

I.                    Call to Order

Pledge of Allegiance ……………………………………………Jeff Shadle, Board President

II.                 Executive Session

III.               Recognition of Visitors

IV.              Approval of minutes from the Monday, July 16, 2007 regular board of education meeting.

V.                 Communications and Discussion

Hearing on Mr. Rissler as retire/rehire teacher

NEOLA – Third Reading

LBTA representative Mrs. McFarland

VI.              Principals’ Reports

Brian Burkett, Bruce Otley, Brenda Frankart

VII.            Treasurer’s Report ………………………………………………………………Lisa Dobbins

VIII.         Superintendent’s Report ……………………………………………………….Dennis Recker

IX.              New Business

A.     Approve Consent Agenda, to include:

1.      Listing of bills, expenditures, and investments through 7/30/07, and monthly financial report of the Treasurer.

2.      Approve appropriation modifications for August 2007

3.      Approve tuition rate of $4021.90.

4.      Approve change order G-4, labor and material to install epoxy finish in new concession/restroom area, plus install stall studs, insulation, and linier panel to separate restroom and storage area in the amount of $5400.

5.      Approve the agreement between the Logan County Educational Service Center, acting as fiscal agent, and the Liberty-Benton School District, for Orientation and Mobility Services and Vision Impaired Braille teacher for the 2007-08 school year in the amount of $2400, $15,125, and $360 respectively. 

6.      Approve trade-in of Bus #7 to Cardinal Bus Sales

7.      Approve middle school and high school fee lists

8.      Approve the following resignations:

Van Follas, elementary teacher, effective July 18, 2007

Van Follas, 7^th grade boys basketball coach, effective July 18, 2007

Jeff Lease, Junior High Football Coach, effective August 3, 2007

9.      Approve Sharon Freed, an increase of .5 per day for the 2007-08 school year for food service electronic management system.

10.  Approve the following classified staff members for the 2007-08 school year:

Carole Martin, Aide

Judy Shivers, Math Intervention Tutor

Theresa Eaves, ESL Tutor

Lennie Walters, Special Education H.S. Aide

Susan Stennett, M.S. Aide

Kerry Teeple, Elementary Aide

Melissa Cramer, Elementary Aide

Kerri Yake, H.S. Aide

11.  Approve bus routes for the 2007-08 school year

12.  Approve the bus route increase times for the following staff:

Tenna Tuttle, 2.25 hrs increase, total 4.5 hrs

Mary Kisseberth, 2.00 hrs increase, total 4.25 hrs

Ann Burner, 2.00 hrs increase regular route, 2.00 increase noon route, total 6.25 hrs

Jane Shank, 1.25 hrs increase, total 3.5 hrs

Brenda Helms, 2.00 hrs increase, total 4.25 hrs

Karen Crawford, 1.50 hrs increase, total 3.75 hrs

Marsha Desgranges, 1.75 hrs increase, total 4.00 hrs

Jan Powell, 2.00 hrs increase, total 4.25 hrs

Alicia DaPore, 2.00 hrs increase, total 4.25 hrs

Judy Kisseberth, 2.00 hrs increase, total 4.25 hrs

Kathy Borsay, 2.00 hrs increase, total 4.25 hrs

Joann Fenstermaker, 2.00 hrs increase regular route, 1.50 increase pre-school route, total 5.75 hrs

13.  Approve Dennis Rissler, one year contract, HS teacher

14.  Approve Justin Shank, one year contract HS teacher

15.  Approve Heagan Sparling, one year contract Elementary teacher

16.  Approve Terry Martin, as needed, grounds/outbuilding maintenance

17.  Approve the following elementary summer intervention personnel:  Laurie Adams-Cover, Tonya Gierke, Carol Waldman, Julie Newman, and Kathy Fields, aide

18.  Approve the following extra-curricular staff:

Mike Scoles, Co Junior Class Concession advisor

Joyce Jackson, Co Junior Class Concession advisor

Amy Teders, Sophomore Class advisor

Scott Arnold, increase from ½ time football pay to full time football pay

Scott Snider, Assistant Football Coach

Andy Schafer, Assistant Football Coach

Jim Speyer, ½ Assistant Football Coach

Shawn Martien, ½ Assistant Football Coach

Aaron Dietsch, ½ Assistant Football Coach

Lance Stevens, ½ Assistant Football Coach

Tony England, MS Football Coach

Drew Aukerman, Boys Soccer Coach

Jim Hayes, Assistant Boys Soccer Coach

David LaRocco, Girls Soccer Coach

Anne Hayes, Assistant Girls Soccer Coach

Christine Steinman, MS Boys Cross Country Coach

Christy Gray, Assistant Volleyball Coach

Nathan Bland, Assistant Volleyball Coach

Jeff Todd, Volunteer Assistant Volleyball Coach

Christy Cramner, 8^th grade Volleyball Coach

Shirley Reed, Assistant Girls Track Coach

Shirley Reed, Volunteer Girls Cross Country Coach

Sara Ransbottom, Volunteer Marching Band Instructor

Jonathan Honeycutt, Volunteer Marching Band Instructor

19.  Approve increase in step to 11 M+30 for Ben Gerken

20.  Approve supplemental contract (administrative 2 year) @28% of individual base salary.

21.  Approve Martha Boyd, increase time from .25 to .34 step 4B

22.  Approve classified substitute list as presented

B.     Approve the constitution of the Northwest Ohio Area Computer Services Cooperative.

C.     Approve contract with Renhill Staffing for substitute teacher services

D.     Approve the following NEOLA policies:

Revised Policy             1310    Employment of the Treasurer           

Revised Policy             1320    Duties of the Treasurer

Revised Policy             1330    Evaluation of the Treasurer

NEW Policy                 1411/3211/4211Whistleblower Protection

NEW Policy                 1415    Severance Pay

NEW Policy                 1481/3281/4281Use of Employee’s Personal Property at School

Revised Policy             2340    Field and Other District Sponsored Trips

DELETE Policy           2465    Suspension/Expulsion of Disabled Students

Revised Policy             5200    Attendance

Revised Policy                         5330    Use of Medications

Revised Policy             5460    Graduation Requirements

NEW Policy                 5605    Suspension/Expulsion of Students with Disabilities

NEW Policy                 5725    Students as Precinct Election Officials

Revised Policy             6320    Purchases

Replacement Policy     7300    Disposition of Real Property

Revised Policy             7420    Hygienic Management

Replacement Policy     7530    Lending of Board-Owned Equipment

Revised Policy             8400    School Safety

NEW Policy                 8470    Sex Offender Notification

Revised Policy             8800    Religious/Patriotic Ceremonies and Observances

Revised Policy                         9211    District Support Organizations 

E.  Approve a renewal of vendor contract with Coca-Cola for a period of five years.

      F.   Amend the contract with Northwest Ohio Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Inc. in the amount of

$9800 per year for a three year agreement.

X.                 Other Business

XI.              Executive Session

XII.            Adjournment

LIBERTY-BENTON LOCAL SCHOOLS

DENNIS L. RECKER, SUPERINTENDENT

AUGUST 2007 DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT

1. Enclosed is a copy of the OSFC’s pre-planning perspective.  (Item A)
2. We’ll need to interview architects to see who we want to do our design and to work with the Ohio School Facilities Commission.  We should complete this by the upcoming October.  I’ve spoken with Regency Construction, responsible for providing a master plan for your approval, and we’ll be having an assessment conducted in August.  Again, we’d be trying to complete a study which would allow our community to vote on this issue in November of 2008, in March 2008 if we “fast track”.
3. As requested, I spoke with NWO regarding expanded on-site athletic trainer services for sports other than those typically covered.  We’d be facing a minimum of $70 per event cost.  This could prove to be an additional cost of about $3500 per year.
4. This past 2006-07 school year, we spent just over $50,000 in field trip costs.  About $30,000 was in driver cost, and the rest was fuel, wear and tear on busses.
5. This past October, we received a congratulatory note from the state superintendent and State Board of Education President, congratulating Liberty-Benton on improving from 73.7 to 92.9 over a seven year period, a constant improvement.  For this reason, L-B was awarded an excellent rating.  This year, we’ve moved from to 98.3, another dramatic “jump” in performance.  Specifically, we were singled out because we had grown by 10 points over 2 years.  However, since we have sub-groups who were not able to sustain that same level of growth, we will be achieving an effective rating.
6. Enclosed is a copy of our Millstream end of fiscal year report.  This gives a good description of costs of the operation.  The only data lacking is our actual cost per pupil by career tech area.  Probably the most notable item is our administrative excess costs on page 3, which is based upon our enrollment.  Therefore our costs can fluctuate annually, plus we’re the only “growing” school in terms of enrollment.  Therefore, our costs escalate.

This cooperative is still a bargain for L-B residents in terms of cost.  Stand alone JVS’s have a 2 mil minimum as a required contribution.  We as a local, simply act as a conduit for those revenues.  (Item B)

7. This short article from the Missoulion shows how Montana is dropping the IOWA Tests.  This is an article the “cries out” for the very reason to keep this test.  By dropping the IOWA, Montana is now held hostage to the MontCAS and NAEP.  This is something we really need to keep in mind because the IOWA shows relative performance PLUS those areas of high performance as well as those areas where students may have a deficit. 

If we don’t have these different test batteries, we’ll all be designated as failures by 2014, which is one of the pitfalls of NCLB.  At L-B, we’ll need the IOWA up through 7^th grade, and we’ve now gone an extra step is utilizing the PLAN for all our sophomores.  We are able to accurately portray student performance comparing children to the general population and now the college bound population.

We’ll also be able to, not just get “measures” of performance, but actually look at our curriculum and courses provided, based on academic performance, over and above the state and federal “bench marks”.

With having our DVA’s and with the addition of a part time curriculum coordinator to focus on the data, L-B is positioning itself, not just as a school seeking a “rating”, but a school that is a leader in terms of education, even though we may occasionally be “at odds” with state and federal agencies in the interpretation of data.  (Item C)

8. I was able to pin-point the person who makes the determination of equity ranking.  In FY08, we’ll move to 317, with a final determination made in late August as to our final and official ranking.  This moves us from a shared cost of 50/50 for facilities to 52% local and 48% state.  This is why I put us on the “fast track”, to hold our share.
9. Here is an idea of how senior citizens will fare with property tax reduction throughout Ohio.  This, coupled with the $50 tax credit for school income taxes provided senior citizens, provide some relief for this segment of our population.  (Item D)
10. We’re finishing the epoxy surface and additional wall area to separate the restroom and storage area.  Total spent with be $5400 for two coats and silicon additive to prevent slippage.  There will be a third coat applied at no additional charge.

11. Enclosed is an excellent article “Gauging Growth:  How To Judge No Child Left Behind?”  Upon reading this, it is apparent that L-B is 10 years “ahead of the curve” in our method of analyzing and interpreting data, and publishing “this” information.  We will now have the capacity to continue the “institutional memory” needed to accurately depict student growth and performance (or the lack of).  (Item E)
12. The latest study conducted by the Gates Foundation find that of Ohio graduates, 28% need remediation in college math and 19% in English.  Even more interesting is the fact that students post-secondary options are remediated at a 9% rate in math and 3% rate in English upon matriculation to college.  When remediated in math or English, there is a remediation rate of 36% among all graduates and 11% among PSOE students.  This is “telling” because L-B’s remediation rate is 19%, or half the state average, and among the best performances in Ohio schools.  The Gates study recommends that in the “future”, Ohio look at dual enrollment possibilities.  L-B is already there, and has been for the past five years.
13. Speaking of dual enrollment, here is an article that is not very sympathetic to the process.  That is why we’ve become associated with a private institution of the highest caliber, this month, ranked #22 nationally.  (Item F)
14. Enclosed is a copy of our computer board’s constitution.  The Ohio Department of Education is now requiring our A-Sites to get local board approval of the constitution on an annual basis.  The constitution has been in effect for 20 years.  (Item G)
15. The principals, Lisa Dobbins and I met with Renhill staffing to help us in expediting our substitute teacher services.  We can be more timely in getting coverage for classes, and pull some of the administrative time away from phone calling to an automated, first choice system.  Other changes will be sharing a Bureau of Workers Compensation specialist with Findlay City, adding a .5 FTE secretary to the elementary to free up Susan to conduct her primary responsibility of EMIS Coordinator, adding to Judy Shivers the role of food service supervisor to free up Bruce, so he can focus on the instructional needs at the middle school level, and the addition of curriculum support (math especially) and assistance for Brenda at the high school.  All this also allows Mr. Horstman to oversee the CCIP, which becomes more complex over time.  One area which still may need “tweaking” is HR function, which we are monitoring.
16. We’ve received notification of our tuition rate for the 2007-08 school year.  This year’s tuition rate is $4021.90, a decrease of $108.72 from last year’s rate.  This is a bit over $22 per day per child.  As a comparison, daily day care costs are around $34 per day for an infant, $32 per day for a toddler, $28 per day for a pre-schoolers, and $17 per day for before and after school day care at a local care center.
17. With the new budget we can see our projected increase in state aid the next two years.  This is sometimes shocking, but these are the “numbers” we must work with.  See how we compare:

2007-08%        2008-09%        Average

            Findlay                                    3.19%              10.23%                        6.71%

            Arcadia                                    14.64%                        13.38%                        14.01%

            Arlington                     3.07%              3.26%              3.17%

            Cory-Rawson               7.13%              6.15%              6.64%

            Liberty-Benton                        0.00%              4.7%                2.35%

            McComb                      0.00%              0.91%              0.45%

            Van Buren                   0.00%              17.76%                        8.88%

            Vanlue                         0.00%              0.00%              0.00%

18. Brian has asked that we hire Tonya Gierke, Carol Waldman, Laurie Adams-Cover, and Julie Newman as summer intervention teacher, and Kathy Fields as an aide.
19. With our increasing student population, and our need to address student performance, plus providing needed student, family, and teacher support, I’ll be recommending that Dennis Rissler be rehired as social studies teacher, Heagan Sparling as elementary school teacher to replace Van Follas, and Justin Shank be hired as a high school math teacher.  I’m also asking that Mr. Gerken be provided an administrative supplemental contract to help Mrs. Frankart and to assist in providing support in math instruction.
20. We’re having a district wide building architectural assessment conducted August 30 by the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
21. For the upcoming 2007-08 school year, our health premium insurance rates will increase 15%, our dental premium rates will increase 14%, and no increase in vision insurance.
22. With this August’s special elections for schools, 3 of 21 issues passed (14.3%), which is a 85.7% failure rate.  Of nine new property tax requests (includes replacement levy), 1 passed and 8 failed.  Of property tax renewals 1 passed and 2 failed, and with new income tax 1 passed (only 1 on the ballot). 

Of capital, or bond issues, 0 passed and 9 failed.  I bring this to your attention because if history is accurate, special elections are the most difficult times to pass issues, though our high school building project was a special election, which passed.

23. Looking at spousal waivers on insurance, Mr. Moore of Sky Insurance told me that this could affect 8% of our staff.  His perspective is unions tend to look at this as a “take away” and some of his school clients have proposed it, and none have been able to institute it, due to this perspective.  Also, from strictly a “dollars and cents” approach, it would be more costly.  Similarly when exploring and investigating Health Savings Accounts, there was little if any savings to the district, when we had two different groups provide me estimates last year.

With the new rates in place, the following information summarizes the financial impact on the district.  We also need to realize that while health benefits are expensive, L-B does have married employees pay 20% of the premium and singles pay 5%, which is significant in the school sector.

Family health premiums will increase from $1123. 65 per month $1292.20 per month, and single employees premiums will increase from $451.27 to $518.96 per month.  While there is no change in vision coverage, dental will increase 14%, and since the Board of Education pays 100% of this premium, the total increased cost is $78.60 for dental insurance.  With the combination of health premiums, an annual increase of $2022.60 per family plan and an annual increase of $812.28 for single plan.  For the upcoming year our family plan employees will be paying an additional $404.52 in premium costs of the $2102.20 increase, and the board assumes the rest of the cost.  For single employees, the individual premium holder will be paying an additional $40.62 for the year and the board of education will be paying $809.65.

Theoretically, each family plan, when utilizing health, dental, and vision, has a total cost for the upcoming year of $15,506.40 for medical, $639.84 for dental, and $201.48 for vision, totaling $16,347.72 for the year.  Theoretically, the employee share for the year is $3141.58 and the board’s share in terms of compensation, is $13,206.14.  For our single policy holders, of the total annual insurance liability of $6953.28, the employee will be paying $329.22 for the year, and the board will be paying $6624.06.

If we have an identical number of health contracts from last year, our total premiums paid will increase from $1,227,515.99 to $1,435,267.92, which is an annual increase of $207,752 for the upcoming year.

24. We need to approve bus routes for the 2007-08 school year, which is a part of our annual business, as well as approve a list of classified substitutes.  (Item H)
25. Mrs. Shivers needs more time for Sharon Freed in the cafeteria. 
26. We just received some value added data from ACT, and have had some phenomenal results again.  Mrs. Frankart will share this in her report.  These results are based on over 81% of our senior class of 2007, being compared to less than 66% of Ohio seniors.
27. As an FYI, in 1991-92 our district wide monthly premium for insurance was $14,374.87 per month.  This coming year, now that we have our rate adjustment, assuming the same number of contract holders, our monthly insurance premium will be $120,264.66.  This is over a 800% increase in 16 years.
28. I’m still reviewing vendor contracts for beverage services to the district.  I hope to be able to provide a recommendation by Monday evening.  Coca-Cola has provided us the “best deal”.
29. We met with Ohio School Facilities Managers Wayne Coleman and Regional Program Consultant Monica Hamed.  Being on the “fast track”, we’re looking at having a master plan by this October 1.  If we were to meet all target dates, hypothetically we could be in “construction mode” this coming summer of 2008.  It appears that our acting now will generate an additional 1 million in state support, versus us having to contribute an additional 1 million dollars to construction.  To give an idea of how quickly costs are getting away from some schools, they are at $212 per square foot, based on this month’s data.
30. We’re being asked to share our “story” with different programs (university and “think tanks”) to work with them to show how successful districts evolve.  We’ll engage in discussions with these groups, meet with them and weigh the value of us participating.  However, we’ll not be drawn into situations that would cause us to disrupt or dismantle any of our successful programs, aka the Batelle/Gates Project.  Two programs actively seeking our participation are “Failure is Not An Option” and “High Schools that Work”.  These types of initiatives call for more “leadership” vs. “managerial” styles on the part of Brenda, Bruce, and Brian, while at the same time, having to deal with AYP, PI, NCLB, OAT, etc.
31. Last meeting it was asked that we look at extending trainer services to more athletic events.  The cost is $9800 per year for 106 covered events, up from $2100 for the limited overage we’ve been receiving.  Dean and Brenda believe this to be worthwhile, and we’ll approve this contract for the next three years.
32. Having finally received documentation from Pepsi and Coca Cola, we’ll renew our contract on a district wide basis with Coco-Cola for a period of 5 years.  The shorter contract will actually be more beneficial to us when we re-negotiate our commission rates.

ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Liberty-Benton Board of Education

August 20, 2007

1.   As of today, we have the following number of students in our elementary program:

                                                                                                   May 2007       Sept. 2006

Pre-school        -    20  (1 section – ½ a.m. & ½ p.m.)             (  22)                (21)

Kindergarten    -    75 (4 sections – avg. class 18.8)                 (  96)                (98)

First Grade       -    96 (5 sections – avg. class 19.2)                 (  75)                (77)       

Second Grade  -    72 (4 sections – avg. class 18.0)                 (  86)                (82)

Third Grade     -    91 (4 sections – avg. class 22.8)                 (105)               (108)

Fourth Grade   -  105 (5 sections – avg. class 21.0)                 (  85)                (85)   

Fifth Grade      -    91 (4 sections – avg. class 22.8)                 (107)               (104)

TOTAL (K-5):     530 School Average:  20.4                           (554)               (554)

                                     (520 with pre-school)                                         Average (20.5)

            Attendance analysis:  Although the elementary is down 24 students from last year (both beginning and

             End of year), there is evidence we are experiencing an increase in students this year.  We have had fewer

             students withdraw and have had more students enroll.  Under a zero growth scenario, we would expect to

             only have 517 students this year with kindergarten being 21 students down from last year and a net loss of

             16 students in 5^th grade compared to the 107 last year that are now in the middle school.  I anticipate having

             around 535-540 students this year.

2. The elementary enrolled twenty-four new students this summer that will start school with us in September.  We have only two students on IEPs coming in, which is extremely low compared to past years.  We have planned a New student/new parent orientation for Thursday, Aug. 23^rd at 7:00 p.m.  Mr. Horstman and Mrs. Gazette take the students and speak with them as well as provide a tour of our school.  I work with the parents and do the same thing.  We look forward to working with all our new families!

3. The elementary is currently providing summer intervention  programming to 24 elementary students (students going into grades 2-5).  Our numbers are down from previous years, but the teachers are doing a great job of working with our students during this time to provide strategies to our kids as well as provide an excellent transition back into school.  The program runs 8:30-12:00 noon and concludes this Friday, August 24^th.

4. I would like to welcome the following new members to our elementary staff for the upcoming school year:

Deserae Patterson will be working part-time as a special education teacher and part-time as a Title I reading teacher for us.  She comes to us from Elmwood.  Heagen Sparling will be joining our fourth grade team this year and she is a first year teacher, but you would never know it.  Lastly, we welcome Susie Stennett aboard as she will be working part-time as secretary for me in the office, as well as continuing to work for the middle school as a part-time special education aide.  We are very excited to have these people join our elementary team this year!

5. Our Meet the Teacher Night is coming up soon, Tuesday, August 28^th from 6:00-8:00 p.m.  This is such an exciting time each year and students/parents are able to come in on this evening (open house format) and meet their teacher, see their classroom, where their desk and locker is, bring all their supplies in, pay school fees, prepay on their lunch accounts, see volunteer opportunities through PTO and our school, order school spiritwear (t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc.), and of course, get an ice cream treat in the cafeteria.  We look forward to seeing almost 90% of our families again this year on this evening.  I want to thank our custodial staff for helping get the building ready for presentation by this evening.  We also want to say thank you to our teachers and staff that work hard to get their rooms ready for this evening and come in after school hours on this evening for the benefit of our kids!

Upcoming Elementary Events:

                Aug. 22                  PTO Budget Steering Committee

                Aug. 23                  New Student Orientation (Grades 1-5)

                Aug. 28                  Meet the Teacher Night (6-8 p.m.)

                Sept. 4                    First day of School

                Sept. 11                 Elementary Picture Day

                Sept. 25                 PTO Meeting 7 p.m.

Middle School BOE Principal’s Report

August 20, 2007

6:00 p.m.

1.  Projected Enrollment for 2007-2008:  The following is our projected enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year.  These numbers may (and most likely will) change slightly as we get closer to the first day of school.  We have had 11 new enrollees over the course of the summer and I believe that there a couple of students in the process of withdrawing, but are still counted in these numbers.   

Grade                         Male                 Female                       Total

    06                              51                       60                           111

    07                              58                       52                           110

    08                              47                       44                             91

Total Students:         156                      156                           312

2.  Building Maintenance:  New pavers and a drain were installed at the front entrance of the school.  The pavers and drain serve the dual purpose of improving the rain drainage in the front of the building as well as providing some beautification.  Work is also being completed on our air conditioning system and a new hot water heater has been installed.  The gym floor received a new coat of urethane finish and electric hoists were installed on the basketball hoops (a much needed safety improvement).  Our custodians have been working all summer to get our building ready for another school year, and the building is once again taking shape.  We will be ready for sixth grade orientation on August 21. 

3.  Liberty-Benton Middle School “Excellent”: Because of the hard work and dedication of both teachers and students during the 2006-2007 school year, I am proud to share that Liberty-Benton Middle School has met 10 out of 10 indicators and earned the highest rating of “Excellent” on our state report card.  There are a total of 9 tests administered to students in grades 6-8.  The results of these 9 tests, plus a student attendance score, make up the 10 indicators used by the state that determine our yearly building report card.  A minimum of 75% of the students in each grade must receive a grade of proficient, accelerated, or advanced in order for the building to achieve each state indicator.  As you can see in the charts below, our students experienced growth in almost every area tested.  I am extremely pleased with our overall performance in math.  Though the 8^th grade Science and Social Studies passage percentages look low compared to the rest of our scores, it is worth mentioning that the state averages for these tests were 62.7% (LBMS 12.6% better) on Science and 49.3 (LBMS 28.2% better) on Social Studies. 

I was also pleased with the performance of our students on IEP’s, especially in math.  41% of our students on IEP’s met the proficiency mark in reading and 38% met the proficiency mark in math.  11 out of 34 students on IEP’s demonstrated growth in reading and 20 out of 34 grew in math.  However, the target goals for the 07-08 school year continue to rise, until 100% proficiency will be expected in 2014 for all students.  Though we are making significant gains in this area of the report card and met AYP at the building level, we still have much work to be done in order to meet the 07-08 guidelines for AYP. 

We will again be data driven and student specific in helping our students grow to their potential and will endeavor to maintain our excellent rating for 07-08. 

Overall Liberty-Benton Middle School Performance

State Indicators Met 2004-2005           7 out of 9

State Indicators Met 2005-2006           6 out of 7

State Indicators Met 2006-2007           10 out of 10

Performance Index

4.  Summer Intervention:  Mrs. Christy Cramner, Mrs. Melissa Ruhe, Mrs. Melissa Stanton, and Mrs. Barb Foltz are providing the instruction for our summer intervention this m.-12:30 p.m.  There are 34 total students attending summer intervention this year.  year.  Summer intervention is from August 13-24 from 8:30 a.

5.  6^th Grade/New Student Orientation Tuesday, August 21 6:00-8:00 p.m. :  An orientation program for all incoming sixth grade students or any new student will be held at the Middle School on this date.  The program will begin with a presentation from the administration regarding expectations for students and parents for the upcoming school year as well as an introduction to the sixth grade teaching staff.  Students will then be able to pick up their schedules and tour the Middle School to find their classes.  At this time, parents will be able to pay school fees, pay the remainder of their balance for the Camp Storer field trip.  Representatives from the PTO will have a table set up you sold peelers for Camp Storer and are eligible for a prize.  

 6.  7^th and 8^th grade Meet the Teacher Night, Tuesday, August 28 6:00-8:00 p.m.  We will again have our Meet the Teacher night on this date in an open house format. 

7.  Picture Day September 12, 2007:  Students and staff should be prepared to smile and say “cheese” on this day.  Re-takes are scheduled for October 25, 2007. 

8.  Magazine Sales, September 14-Ocotber 3, 2007:  We will once again be participating in our fall PTO magazine sale.  Last year’s sale exceeded our expectations and students had a lot of fun on prize and incentive days.  I expect this year’s sale to be even better as I hope that many of last year’s customers will renew their subscriptions and perhaps add another magazine.  The rates are excellent, in many cases better than any other subscription promotion.  Below are some important dates regarding the sale:

9/14  Assembly 1:30 p.m. for sale kickoff

Prize/Turn in days   9/19, 9/21, 9/26, 9/28, 10/3

10/5  Hamster rumble 1 p.m. in the gym

10/18  Air Extreme reward 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the gym

10/26 Stretch Hummer/pizza lunch reward 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

9.  Sixth Grade Camp Storer Field Trip October 8-12, 2007:  Students in the sixth grade will again be traveling to south-eastern Michigan this fall.  This is a valuable bonding experience for both students and teachers and starts the middle school expe