KINGDOM CITY - During their next meeting, the North Callaway Board of Education will hear an update on students' mental and physical health.
The meeting is scheduled to take place 7 p.m. Thursday at the North Callaway High School's media center. However, continued cold weather and dangerous driving conditions could force the district to reschedule. Any changes in plans will be posted on the North Callaway R-1 website and Facebook page.
Thursday's meeting will feature annual updates from health services, counselors and the wellness committee.
Despite an unusual year, district nurse Sara Speight and health aides that make up the health services department have "stayed very busy" seeing students, according to a summary prepared by Speight. In total, the district's health rooms were visited 9,049 times during the 2019-20 school year.
Students in kindergarten through seventh grade are screened for vision, hearing, height and weight. Additionally, dental screenings took place at the district's elementary schools and the T-Bird Learning Center.
The district offered flu shots for staff Oct. 26, and thanks to a partnership with the Callaway County Health Department, they were for the first time able to offer flu shots to students as well. Volunteer register nurses and the CCHD administered flu shots Nov. 24.
Students in Missouri's schools are required to receive certain vaccinations each year. Immunization compliance at North Callaway stood at 98 percent in October 2020; compliance at each school ranges from 95 percent at Hatton-McCredie Elementary to 98 percent at Williamsburg Elementary and North Callaway Middle School.
The district's counseling team has added one new counselor: Abby Massman, who's stationed at Williamsburg. In the 2020-21 school year, counselors have set a goal of teaching one virtual lesson per grade per month. They're also working on a trauma-informed plan for all buildings, suicide prevention presentations for parents and students, and bullying presentations.
Counselors, administrators, teachers, parents and community members raised concerns during a counseling advisory committee meeting in January.
"It was unanimous that we are all concerned about our students, staff and community's mental health in light of the pandemic," states a report included in Thursday's meeting packet.
The board of education will also hear reports on finances, curriculum, the A+ program and changes in class offerings at the high school. North Callaway High School is considering adopting the "laude" recognition system common at colleges for graduates, rather than ranking based on GPA and only recognizing the top students.
In other business, the board members will discuss financial matters including a budget amendment and insurance. They'll also hear an update on how the district's Comprehensive School Improvement Plan for 2015-20 played out.
To view the full agenda and all related materials, click here.
South Callaway
The South Callaway Board of Education has rescheduled its own board of education meeting - initially slated for last Wednesday but canceled due to bad weather - for this evening at 6:30 p.m.
It will be hosted virtually via Zoom rather than in person. The agenda and instructions for joining the meeting may be viewed here.
The meeting will feature discussions about weather days on next year's academic calendar, COVID-related leave for staff, a Missouri ethics ordinance, replacing Apple devices and asphalt sealing bids.