BLAIRSBURG — The Northeast Hamilton school board approved the grant for Modified Allowable Growth at At-Risk/Drop-Out Prevention at its regular meeting last week.

With board members Eric Patterson, Sally Greenfield, Tyler Burton and Sara Zorn present, the board approved the Modified Allowable Growth At-Risk/Drop-Out Prevention Grant in the amount of $57,373. Board member Marlin Pruismann was absent.

NEH Associate Superintendent and Principal Mike Kruger gave a Power Point presentation on attendance center rankings.  The Iowa Department of Education ranks buildings in districts throughout the state and Northeast Hamilton was rated as “Commendable” for the 2016-2017 school year.

The board set the School Improvement Advisory Committee meeting for Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. The meeting involves district patrons in policy development and reviews bullying within schools.

Kruger introduced a rough draft of the 2018-2019 school calendar. Board members asked the administration to coordinate the NEH calendar with the Webster City CSD calendar, including early outs/late starts between the districts.

It was reported that Superintendent Mike Sherwood, Kruger, Webster City Schools Business Manager and Board Secretary Cathi Hildebrand and NEH Business Manager and Board Secretary Kathy Biere will begin working on the 2018 budget. The administration will finalize the budget at an upcoming workshop in February. The initial budget will be presented to the NEH board at the February meeting. A public hearing on the budget will be held at the March meeting. The budget must be filed with the State of Iowa by the April 15 deadline.

Board members Greenfield and Patterson will attend the informal board meeting between Stratford, Webster City and Northeast Hamilton in Stratford on Jan. 17.

Kruger presented the facilities update as Sherwood was absent from the meeting. Kruger reported that the structural portion of the Greenhouse project is nearly complete. Also, a classroom wall in the lower level of Old Mail is bowed and cracked. The board will tour both the Greenhouse and Old Main classroom at the January meeting.

Kruger reported that the district is participating in the Power Snack Program which was established by the Jeff and Deb Hansen Foundation. The program provides coupons for a loaf of bread and five dollars worth of fresh ham per child for a family in need. The The NEH staff attended a Professional Development meeting on Dec. 14 at Missionary Alliance Church with Dr. Kevin Lein of Prairie Lakes AEA. The focus of the meeting was on customized learning or more personalized learning.

Also, Kruger reported that the entire staff has read the book “Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids” for their next book study. The Fourth Grade students will be participating in the National Association for Education Progress test for reading or science on Jan. 31.

Both the NEH dental audit for kindergarten students and the hearing screening for second graders are complete, reported Kruger. The district is also participating in the SWITCH program which focuses on wellness by increasing physical activity, increasing fruits and vegetables in the diet and decreasing time on electronic devices.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 18 at the elementary media center.