The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a hit on education at West Liberty High School, Principal Brenda Arthur-Miller reported Monday, March 15, at the meeting of the West Liberty School Board of Education.
The administrator told the board that 100 percent of students who have come back to full-time in classroom education have seen improvement after about 50 percent of the students in the high school elected to stay with virtual education when schools reopened last month to the possibility of face-to-face education.
Arthur-Miller talked about at-risk students who may not qualify to graduate and said the problem is bigger this year than in previous years due to the virus, which caused the district to provide hybrid education for most of the year, with students in classroom one week and getting virtual education on opposite weeks while many students simply went virtual.
Working to try to get the required 44 credits to graduate, a total of 44 percent of the students had fallen behind on credits after the first trimester, Arthur-Miller said.
“The hybrid model worked very well for some students just as virtual learning works well for some students,” the principal added. “The hybrid model was the safest way to deliver instruction to those students who wanted to be face to face in the first half of the year. It allowed us to keep students and staff as safe as possible”
Along with assistant principal Kyle Steffen, the administration and faculty are working constantly with seniors to ensure they graduate.”For many of the students who have returned to full face-to-face learning, grades and attendance have improved,” Arthur-Miller said, pointing out the administrators will provide an update to the board on credits and at risk again in early April when the distrcit also has second trimester data.
College courses
The high school’s goal of having every senior enroll in a college level course before graduation is falling below standards as well, according to Arthur-Miller. The principal said 82 percent of seniors took college level courses in 2018-19 and that grew to 87 percent in 2019-20, but it fell to 84 percent in 2020-21.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the concurrent offerings taught by high school teachers could not be offered to students including conservation and wildlife, western civilization and music theory.
Other offerings included classes at the Muscatine Community College Career Academy, including advanced manufacturing, agriculture, culinary arts, information technology, nursing and welding. Many of the students, lacking transportation are bussed to Muscatine to take the courses.
Students could also enrolled in college classes through Muscatine Community Colege in a program known as College Connection Individual Registration (CCIR). Students could take classes in person or on line.
Comets were also offered advanced placement (AP) classes at the high school, giving them credits for college. Classes included calculus, statistics, psychology, Spanish language and culture, English literature, computer science principles, art history and biology.
Arthur-Miller said at least 10 students need to take AP classes and said a new certified nurse assistant program will also be offered this Spring and said there is a strong possibility of adding auto-CAD (computer aided design) classes as well as welding to the AP curriculum.
She said more and more students are looking to get into programs where they can earn college credits in high school.
Personnel changes
The board of education accepted three resignations at the March 15 meeting. Bianca Loya resigned as the elementary dual language teacher, David Lynch left his position in food service as of March 19 and Robynn Anderson resigned as special education and pre-school teacher after her position was eliminated, despite being offered two other teaching positions in the district.
In her resignation letter, Loya called it “truly an honor” to return to her hometown as a first-year first-grade teacher, noting she was able to create “lifelong memories,” noting she has grown personally and professionally.
Lynch was hired as a high school van driver beginning March 22 while Rob Chief was also hired as a school bus driver for the district. Evelyn Martinez was also awarded a position as a paraprofessional in the Early Learning Center.
Six teachers were also awarded leadership positions including middle school model teachers Kelsie Garcia, Nikki Koenig and Darci Watts along with high school model teachers Erica Jennings, Ashley Smith and Melanie Clark.
The district also accepted the retirement of Deborah Weiss, the high school art teacher, art club advisor and co-advisor for the National Honor Society at the end of the school year. Starting in the district as a middle school art teacher in January 1976, Weiss said she has had “a most fulfilling career.”
“I have experienced the rare joy of one who has literally seen generations grow in appreciation of art,” she said, calling it “time to move on” to enjoy other adventures.
Other city business
In other business, FFA advisor Zach Morris was granted permission for an overnight trip request to attend the state FFA convention from April 18-20 in Des Moines. Approximately 45 members of the organization will be attending from West Liberty.
The board also accepted an overnight trip request from Gus Garcia and Mike Hart, boys and girls high school track and field coaches, for an overnight stay in Des Moines to attend the state track and field meet. Any athlete that qualifies for state will be welcomed to take part in the meet.
Concerning the budget, which will be the subject of a public hearing at the next meeting on April 5, business manager Abby Ortiz said the proposed property tax rate will drop slightly this year. She also reviewed “new money” trends and discussed future financial planning based on slow to no student growth in the district. West Liberty did see a decline in students last year, likely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Activities director Adam Loria praised the West Liberty FFA Chapter for being named the best chapter in the state for 2020 and also gave kudo to the West Liberty Fine Arts department for their recent band and vocal music presentations, calling them both “great performances.”
He also gave updates on West Liberty’s live YouTube streaming accounts that saved the public from not being able to see live sporting and extra curricular events at the high school.
The next meeting of the board is set for Monday, April 5, beginning at 6 p.m. from the office of the superintendent of schools. The agenda will include a report from Superintendent Dr. Diego Giraldo, a public hearing on the school’s fiscal year 21 budget and information from the high school on at risk students following the end of the second trimester.