Flu absences

A reader asks:

Since the school says we should keep our kids home for 24 hours after the fever disappears, it could be a 5-7 day illness. Will the School be adjusting their absence policy this year due to this? Good students are afraid to be sick one day let alone 5-7 because their grades suffer - and will the teachers be lenient with those who are ill in getting them caught back up?

Thanks for your questions. The district did change its attendance policy last year to allow for more latitude with "excused" and "unexcused" absences. An absence due to the flu would be considered an "excused" absence and would not count against a student. District teaching staff will do everything in their power to help students get caught up in the event of a prolonged absence due to flu.

I hope that answers your questions. If not, I would be happy to provide additional information.

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Applications for absentee ballots available

If you need an absentee ballot for the Nov. 3 election you can request an application by calling the NBAPS district office at (651) 674-1000. The district will promptly mail an application, instructions, and a return envelope.

Ballots are expected in the district office around Oct. 2 and will be mailed to recipients.

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Leadership matters

Yesterday, I was fortunate to be invited to the corporate offices of Works Computing Inc. for a roundtable discussion with Mark Hurd, HP Chairman & CEO. Mark has been with HP since early 2005 and since then has strategically focused on establishing HP as a world leader in technology.The conversation included leaders from finance, higher education and small business.

Mark graciously outlined his strategy for moving HP to a top performer. What was clear was that “leadership matters.” Our administrative team will tell you that I often use that statement with them and Mark Hurd exemplifies that with high quality leadership; high performance follows.

I learned about the number of applications HP once had and how in order to reduce that number Mark assigned process owners who looked at all aspects of an application from bottom to top focusing on efficiency. Accountability by process owners, while not stated by Mark, was implied and that accountability must have been intense and consequently resulted in a much more efficient system and reduced applications.

As North Branch Area Public Schools begins its second year of implementing its strategic plan with me leading that effort, the conversation I was a part of yesterday, affirmed my belief that leadership matters…that accountability with directly assigned leadership is essential for results.

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Middle School will be open

In case you haven't heard, we are pleased to announce that school will start on Sept. 8 for all students. A rigorous assessment of the safety and functionality of the entire Middle School site has been completed and most of it will be available for use this school year. See more details at the district website.

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More on the Middle School

In case you are not already aware, we are utilizing the district website to try and keep people updated on progress being made assessing the damage to North Branch Area Middle School. There is another update there today.

What we know now is that the sixth grade wing of the building will be inoperable for an extended period of time. Assessors are still working on inspecting the building in its entirety but we expect that process to be complete very soon.

I can't tell you how much we appreciate everyone's patience as we work through this challenge. Rest assured we are doing everything we can to provide the answers people need as soon as we are able.

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More on OPEB

Kent Laugen of the the Minnesota Family Law Blog has more on Other Post Employmee Benefits (OPEB) and the issues school district are facing. He has also put together a collection of articles regarding OPEB funding strategies you might find to be of interest, especially with the NBAPS School Board considering funding options at this time.
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Neat!

This sounds like a fun way to learn technology:

For the second summer, Mankato’s Community Education and Recreation Department is hosting a week-long video-game making class for kids 10 and older. The course was created by Michigan-based education organization All About Learning, whose goal is to use technology to stimulate math and science achievement.

Students in the course spend five mornings building several different video games. The software allows students to control every aspect of their creations, from characters and villains to scoring and restarts. Students can add sound effects and multiple levels, and they can even program their own in-game cheats and secrets.

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