Superintendent's Message for October 2024

Hello, Chargers!

Well, it is that time of year to attend parent-teacher conferences, and set our clocks back, Nov 3rd.  It is incredible how quickly time flies when you start a new school year. 

Our conferences will be held next week on Wednesday and Thursday, October 23rd and 24th. I hope you have time to attend and see all the wonderful things your child has been doing so far this year. You will receive specific information from your child’s school and teacher if you haven't already. Due to the staff working evening, there is no school on Friday, October 25th.  

Infinite Campus Parent Portal

Our school district will be registering online next year. It seems early, but now is the time to plan and prepare for this exciting change. Parents have been asking for this option, and our school and secretarial staff have worked on it for the past few years. Now, we are ready to make the change.  Online Registration (OLR) will be available through our student information system, Infinite Campus. Please follow the link’s instructions to complete this task in the next couple of weeks. Infinite Campus Parent Portal Information

Disposal of School Vehicles

In recent months, we have updated our transportation fleet.  We are getting our vehicles back on a replacement schedule, like our buses, to ensure we keep them up to date. Ordering and receiving a bus in the same calendar year was a standard practice.  That is no longer the case; it can take up to 18 months to order and deliver one.  We will liquidate the used vehicles' inventory using a sealed bid process.  We will post the vehicles on our district website so interested buyers can bid.  We have cars, trucks, and vans if you are interested.  Please visit our website if you are interested in the next couple of weeks.  

Chronic Absenteeism Law Update

If you read last month’s update, you know we have been working through the new chronic absentee law passed by the 2024 legislators.   The school board passed the first reading of the board policy suggested by our legal counsel.  We also used the Iowa School Board Association as a resource, which we often do.  If you have a student, you will receive information from your child’s school through Parent Square.  We want to ensure all students and parents know the information contained in the passed law, what must be done to meet it, and the Compulsory Education Law, which states children between the ages of five and sixteen must attend school in the State of Iowa.

Virtual Learning Days

The administrators proposed to the school board this month to only use virtual learning days as a last resort to make up lost hours in our school year. This year’s 2024-25 school calendar has nine days built into it for missed days, late starts, and additional instruction and learning.  With this calendar, the last day for students will be May 30th unless we have a very unusual winter. This link,  2024-25 Virtual Learning Day Communication, outlines our plan this year.

School Advisory Committee Members

Our School Advisory Committee Members (SIAC) for the 2024-2025 school year were chosen and approved at this month's board meeting. This committee is vital for our school's growth and success. Members' names can be found on our website on this month's board agenda. We thank them for dedicating their time and efforts to our school district.

District Leadership Team (DLT)

Our District Leadership Team has partnered with the Iowa Reading Research Center. The center will provide our school district with consultation time to examine our current practices and develop best practices based on research. The research center will also offer professional development opportunities for our teachers and DLT.  We are excited for his opportunity at no cost. Pictured below is our District Leadership team participating in one of the opportunities to benefit our school district.  This session was about the Science of Reading.

Please visit our website at https://www.charitonschools.org/ for additional information about our school district.

GO CHARGERS AND THINK BIG !!!!  

Mr. Baker, #LBE

Phone - 641-774-5967

Email- brad.baker@chariton.k12.ia.us

Twitter -  @Super_Charger