Next Steps for the High School Task Force

Last night the Board of Directors accepted and certified a petition from the high school task force calling for a special election that would authorize the sale of $11,650,000 in general obligation bonds. Following that, they passed a resolution ordering a special election for September 13, 2022. So what happens next? First, let's discuss how we got here.

In early February, the Board convened a task force of community members, parents, teachers, and various stakeholders to evaluate our current high school space to determine what, if any updates or renovations were needed. They examined the building carefully, discussed their findings and determined that yes, there were areas in our building that need to be addressed and that those needs could not be satisfied within the confines of our regular school budget. Among their findings included the following recommendations:

A Safe and Secure Entrance: Much like the elementary school prior to the construction of the new entrance, visitors and students can enter the building without going through the main office, which is virtually a blind entrance. We have partially mitigated this with the installation of cameras and a door buzzing system at the main entrance, yet that doesn't totally solve the problem. Once a visitor is buzzed in, they can bypass the office and enter into other academic areas of the building. The task force recommends creating a safe and secure entrance where patrons pass through the offices prior to entering academic spaces of the building.

Renovate, Remodel, Repair: This recommended work closely mirrors what was previously completed in the K-8 attendance center. Our building is going on 25 years old and just like your home it needs updating, maintenance, and renovation. During a downpour, the windows leak. Our ceiling sags throughout the facility with bent and broken ceiling grid and our lighting system still uses the old fluorescent light bulbs that are inefficient and obsolete. The flooring is worn and has been patched. And the elephant in the room when it comes to the renovations of this building: the HVAC system needs to be replaced. Truth be told, the system has never functioned properly; even when the building originally opened. In the interim, much of the equipment has reached 'end of life' and we are continually pumping money into a system that is inefficient, and trying to procure parts that are becoming obsolete.

At the same time, the task force realized it was necessary to look with an eye toward the future particularly as our community and enrollment grows. The task forces recommends that part of our renovation include reconfiguring some of the classroom and support spaces inside the building, in essence providing us with more instructional spaces for classrooms and offices. The task force also identified two key areas that should be considered within the scope of this project. 

Career and Technical Education Addition: Specifically speaking, our Agriculture and Industrial Technology space is the target of this improvement. You've all seen our building, it is in very rough shape. Under this proposal we would raze the current building and construct a new classroom addition specifically for our career and technical education classes that includes not only new classrooms, but lab spaces as well. At the same time, dependent on the exact location of this addition, it could provide an opportunity to add parking where the current building is located. 

High School Gym Expansion: When we evaluated our gym space it was determined that the current space just isn't sufficient for what we need now or in the future. I understand that when we say 'gym expansion' most folks automatically go to 'athletic facilities'. While there is no denying the fact this proposal will be beneficial for the activity program, that is really a secondary consideration. When we think about our our academic program holistically, we need to consider the fact that the gym first and foremost is a classroom. Our charge as an educational institution also includes promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. Currently, physical education is taught 8 periods each day and our class sizes aren't getting any smaller. As enrollment grows, so too will our need for gym space for instruction. We are not far away from a scenario where we will need two concurrent physical education classes. 

During the 2018 facility task force work, the group explored an idea that would have required the closure of Washington Street between the two attendance centers. When that was proposed to our community, we learned that was not a move that was supported by the community. When this new task force convened this winter, I wasn't all that surprised when the same idea resurfaced. This time we posed this specific question in our community survey, which affirmed what we already knew: closing Washington Street is not supported by the community. While we are still determining locations of the new additions that are being proposed, I can assure you that closing Washington Street is not part of the calculus here. That will not happen.

So what is next? Well, at this point we are a very long way from any of these ideas coming to fruition. As a start, we need to make certain that we answer any and all of your questions. I presume there will be a lot of them in the coming months, and frankly I hope there are. You need to be an informed voter and we'll be spending a lot of time over the course of the next several months leading up to the election answering those questions. The fact is, this will require an investment from all of us.

Then, come September 13th we'll all get to decide. As a community is the investment worth it?

Data Points Validate One Another

Once students leave the buildings for the summer our work activities look much different than they do when school is in session. During the first few days following the departure of our students, that work centers on finishing up with the teaching staff. This includes such things as making sure they have all their paperwork and requisitions in order, evaluations are up to date, and they have properly checked out with building administrators. Following that, one of the primary tasks on our 'to do lists' is completing numerous reports that need to be submitted to the state. 

For the most part, filing reports for the state is the antithesis of fun, but it does serve a purpose. It requires us to sift through multiple points of data. Data that includes attendance, numbers of students in courses, how many days (minutes and hours) of instruction were delivered, and most important: the academic gains of our students. Now, we don't have all our data yet but it is enough to begin painting a picture that, in many ways validates the hard work that was put in this year by our teachers and students. It enables us to take a holistic look at our systems and begin to think ahead and set goals for the school year that will begin in just a couple of short months. This week I found myself looking at elementary reading scores, which corroborates the outstanding academic achievement of our students. 

Here is a snapshot of those scores. The first thing that you should notice is the very high percentage of students who have shown growth in their respective grade levels Then, take a peak at the average gain across the school. I've got to be honest here, this is outstanding. Finally, if you look at second grade, you'll notice they made the most significant amount of growth! Any idea why this is so significant? This is the grade level that missed virtually the entire fourth quarter of their kindergarten year due to COVID. We have been watching them closely and have implemented numerous strategies designed to close the achievement gap. These gains clearly demonstrate that what we are doing in the classroom is working.  Now, to be fair we don't have our final ISASP scores back yet so it is way too soon to know what this will look like in the final analysis, but all signs are that our students continue to perform at very high levels. 

This high level of achievement isn't just limited to the elementary school. I just happened to be out of state when news broke about the latest rankings being released by the US News and World Report. Hudson High School once again was ranked in the top 25% of school nationally and in the top 10% statewide, (well actually 8.6% but who's counting, right?). It came as no surprise then, that the average GPA for the Class of 2022 was 3.57 with 10 students earning a 4.0 GPA. This, by the way is just shy of 25% of the entire class. That class also earned more than $450,000 in scholarships for their postsecondary education. 

Sometimes when we see this kind of academic excellence you begin to wonder: is this truly an accurate depiction? If there were but one data point, perhaps we could question the reliability of the instrument. That is not what we are seeing here. By every measure: Iowa School Performance Profile, US News and World Reports, and local achievement data our students are performing at high levels and making significant growth in their learning year over year.

Our secret is really no secret. We do what works. That starts by staying true to the Iowa Core Academic Standards and ensuring our curriculum is in strong alignment. It is through progress monitoring our students and designing and delivering interventions that are research based and proved to work. It is by implementing a robust professional development program where our teachers are able to learn about the latest instructional strategies and have dedicated time to collaborate with one another to ensure implementation with fidelity. 

This is not a one off. By every measure our students are performing at high academic levels. It's great to be a Pirate!

Reflections from Retiring Board Member Kala Featherstone

I was surprised and saddened when Vice-President Kala Featherstone called me a few months back to share that she was resigning her position on the school board. Since her husband Joe had just accepted a position in Atlanta, Georgia; it seemed commuting wasn't going to be a feasible option. Luckily we were able to rely on her steady leadership through the end of the school year. Kala officially resigned her seat at the board meeting held on May 18th. 

Kala was originally appointed to the board four years ago when then president Karyn Finn resigned due to a relocation to Kansas City. Following that appointment, Kala ran for, and then won a seat in the 2019 school board election. She was halfway through her term when she announced her intent to step down. 

We were able to put Kala's expertise in financing and budgeting to good use while on the board. She served as a member of the Finance and Audit Committee and could always be counted on to ask good, thought provoking questions at the board table. Following the election this past fall, she ascended to the role of Vice President where she helped steer meetings and provided key leadership while the district managed the COVID-19 pandemic. Kala also shared her outstanding leadership skills during the latest construction project that resulted in the renovations and upgrades to the elementary school. We could always count on Kala to keep us focused and on task!

As is customary when we have a board member leave their service, they are encouraged to provide reflections on their time with the board and to pass along any advice they may have to their successor. Kala shares the following:

The past four years have been very challenging and yet very rewarding serving on the Hudson School Board.  Highlights include seeing the finished remodel project at the Elementary, expanding the CTE program, starting on the high school remodel project and getting an Exceptional rating on the Iowa Report Card.  We have a great school system in Hudson due to amazing teachers, staff, parents and community support.  It’s wonderful to see so many parents and community members invested in our kids and their futures.  A huge thank you to my fellow board members, past and present, for all their hard work and coming to meetings prepared for discussion.  There were a lot of very tough decisions that we had to make and it was great how we could share our differing views in a respectful way.   I know Hudson schools will continue to be exceptional in new and existing ways and I will continue to cheer for Hudson from a far.

We are truly grateful and indebted to Kala for her service to the Hudson Community School District and wish her and her family all the best in Atlanta! In accordance with Board Policy 202.4, the board is set to fill this vacancy by appointment. The board then, will appoint Amy Thole to this vacancy at a special meeting scheduled to be held on June 15, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. You may recall Amy ran for an open seat during the November election this past fall. To learn more about Amy, please click here.  Ironically enough, Amy is being elevated to her seat in the same fashion Kala was four years ago!