Board Workshop Presentations

Human Resources Program Update
Dr. Michael Schumacher, associate superintendent of human resources, Dr. Jeremy Higgins, director of secondary human resources, Pam Lewis, director of elementary resources, Dr. Jarius Jones, director of classified human resources, Dr. Brittany Gonser, director of professional learning, and Kaitlin Schulman, Coordinator of diversity, equity, and inclusion, provided an update on Shawnee Mission School District Human Resources.

The presentation focused on demographic information concerning the district administrative and certified teams, retention and turnover rates, recruitment and retention efforts, mentorship and instructional coaching, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging work, and equitable hiring practices. Olivia Boone, Rosehill Elementary first grade teacher, and Javen Betts, a sixth grade teacher at Overland Park Elementary, provided perspective on the district recruiting process. Sarah Dent, SM Northwest teacher, and Margo Schuerman, SM Northwest senior talked about the district’s teacher education program. Roderick Gayta, a sixth grade teacher at Corinth Elementary provided reflections on the experience at New Team Member Academy. Shelby Johnson, a fourth grade teacher at Trailwood Elementary provided details about new team member cohorts.

Click here for the program update slides.
Click here to review the program update and evaluation.

Student Athletic Participation
Kent Glaser, director of athletics and activities, presented an update on athletic participation in the Shawnee Mission School District. He noted the benefits of athletic participation and how it serves the mission of the district. In summary, Glaser noted how participation numbers continue to improve in Shawnee Mission schools.

Click here to view the athletic participation update.
Click here to view athletic participation update slides.

Benefits Renewal Presentation
Dr. Michael Schumacher, assistant superintendent of Human Resources and David Johnson, senior benefits consultant with CBIZ Employee Benefits, reported on the 2024 renewal of employee health benefits. The presentation provided a summary of current benefit programs, including medical, dental, and vision. Dr. Schumacher noted this report is being presented earlier this year to provide awareness of a change to the prescription drug formulary. The new formulary will impact approximately 4.3% of prescriptions and will result in a savings of over $1 million annually.

The Board of Education later approved the renewal of the medical insurance program with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas City, effective January 1, 2024, with a 2.7% increase in premium cost. This also reflects the negotiated rate increases jointly determined by the Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) Negotiations Team.

Click here to view the presentation.
Click here to view the approved plan.

Real World Learning
Dr. Ryan Flurry, principal of career education campuses and coordinator of career and technical education, Laura Harsch, business to education liaison, and Britt Sherer, Real World Learning (RWL) counselor at SM North presented an update on Real World Learning in the Shawnee Mission School District.

Dr. Flurry opened the presentation by sharing how Real World Learning is directly connected to the Strategic Plan objectives. SMSD has partnered with the Kauffman Foundation and school districts throughout the Kansas City metro area to give students the opportunity to earn Market Value Assets (MVAs). MVAs are defined as industry valued and recognized skills. Acquiring MVAs while in high school helps students achieve a more seamless transition from school to postsecondary education or the workplace.

Click here to review the full presentation.

Substitute Services Discussion
Dr. Michael Schumacher, associate superintendent of human resources, Dr. Jeremy Higgins, director of secondary human resources, Keith Elliott, senior director of client services for Kelly Education, and Sari Kreutzkamp, Shawnee Mission account manager for Kelly Education led a discussion about plans for substitute services in the 2023-2024 school year. Kelly Education handles all aspects of the Shawnee Mission School District’s substitute teacher program. The discussion included updates on absence and fill rates, ongoing recruiting plans and events, details about next action steps, and rates renewal information. In the 2022-2023 school year, Kelly fulfilled a commitment to achieve a 90 percent fill rate for substitutes, with a fill rate of 90.81%. The discussion also provided a comparison of fill rates before and after the Shawnee Mission Board of Education approved a rate increase in December. Later in the meeting, the Board of Education approved proposed substitute pay rates for the 2023-2024 school year. The approved proposal included continuing a $155 per day rate for Special Education substitute jobs. The proposal also included a higher rate for substitute nurses.
Click here to view the presenation.
Click here for more information on the approval of substitute pay rates.

Strategic Plan Update: Superintendent Dr. Michelle Hubbard introduced Dr. Leigh Anne Neal, chief of early childhood/sustainability who presented the semi-annual progress report on the Strategic Plan. The report encompassed work completed by teams during the second semester of the 2022-2023 school year and concludes year four of the strategic plan. 

Dr. Neal opened the presentation by sharing the mission statement that guides all work in the strategic plan. Dr. Neal provided a detailed overview of the work accomplished in the five strategy areas of the strategic plan, broadly categorized as teaching and learning, culture, quality educators, systems, and facilities. 

Dr. Hubbard reported that as the end of the current plan approaches she has received many questions about the next iteration of the plan. The district is working now to prepare for developing the Strategic Plan Cycle II for 2024-2029. The planning process and tentative timeline will be presented to the Board of Education in August 2023. The Cycle II planning process will launch in December 2023 and the Strategic Plan Cycle II 2024-2029 will be presented to the board for approval in June 2024. 

Click here to view the presentation slides.

Student Discipline Update

Kent Glaser, director of athletics and activities, Dr. Dan Gruman, director of assessment and research, and Mark Schmidt, chief of police, provided an update on the topic of student discipline.

Glaser stated the goal of the Shawnee Mission School District is to ensure relationships are developed to foster a positive environment for students to remain in school. He provided an overview of the discipline matrix and defined levels one through four.

In Shawnee Mission, 99.999 percent of students are not involved in a disciplinary hearing. As of May 8, 2023 there have been 20 total hearings for the 2022-2023 school year.

Dr. Gruman shared that the matrix is working as expected and provided a detailed statistical analysis across several categories including offense level and student demographics. Accounting for the variable of the pandemic, current year data is being compared to 2019 data as it is the most directly comparable.

Click here to view the presentation materials.

 

Health Services Program Evaluation

Paula Bunde, coordinator of health services, provided an update on the health services department.

Bunde stated the mission of the health services department is to provide professional nursing care to students and staff through assessment, prevention, health education, early intervention, case management and collaboration. She defined the program goals, gave comprehensive information on staffing, and shared an overview of the types of health conditions the health services team and nurses assess and manage. Bunde also shared that visits to the nurses offices have increased since 2019.

Click here to access the presentation materials.

 

Budget - Operating Funds and Federal Funds

Russell Knapp, chief financial officer, presented a budget workshop focused on operating funds and federal funds.

Knapp provided an overview of the budget development process which begins in November with the assessment of building needs.

The operating funds consist of 12 funds that pay for daily expenditures in running the school district, including salaries and benefits, transportation, utilities, and supplies and services.

Knapp shared the anticipated 2023-2024 operating funding breakdown, with an estimated total of $279,569,341. Knapp also detailed the 2023-24 anticipated operating expenditures, with total expenditures estimated at $268,281,102. Knapp shared the budget assumptions that have been built into the budget, including benefits, salaries, and transportation costs.

Dr. Hubbard thanked building leadership teams for contributing to the building needs assessments that were conducted in preparation for this meeting and the August budget hearing.

Click here to view the building needs assessments on the website.

Click here to view the May Workshop Presentation.

Budget Workshop - Non-Operating Funds

Russell Knapp, chief financial officer, provided a budget workshop presentation focused on non-operating funds.

Non-operational funds are dedicated mostly to maintaining, repairing, and rebuilding district facilities. These funds include the district’s capital budget and bond funds.

Knapp also provided further detail about self-supported funds, flow-through-funds, and bond debt funds. He also provided details about the district’s Aaa Moody’s credit rating, the highest rating possible offered by Moody’s.

The strong economy in Johnson County and sound operating fund reserves were among the reasons noted for the issued rating. Both Knapp and Superintendent Dr. Michelle Hubbard noted how the rating positively influenced bond sales in the district.

Click here to view the full presentation.

 

Early Childhood Education Program Update

Dr. Leigh Anne Neal, chief of early childhood learning and sustainability, provided an overview and update on the Early Childhood Education program to the Board.

Dr. Neal shared that the Early Childhood Education team strives to provide a program that is educationally and developmentally appropriate for students by emphasizing active learning and helping children experience the joy of learning through discovery and exploration.

The Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) offers early childhood learning through Parents as Teachers, Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K), and Jump Start to Learning. Together, these programs support the needs of families and early learners from birth to kindergarten.

Parents as Teachers promotes early development, learning, and health of children by supporting and engaging parents and caregivers as the child’s first teacher. The program provides opportunities for social activities, playgroups, parenting classes, and personal home visits that provide information, support, and encouragement to parent-educators.

Pre-K in the SMSD has been designed to follow the Kansas Early Learning Standards and Pre-K educators work to stay in alignment with K-12 program planning. The program currently serves 659 students and offers 19 Pre-K classrooms at 18 elementary schools, as well as classes in the Shawnee Mission Early Childhood Education Center. To provide as many opportunities as possible, the district offers no-fee and fee-based Pre-K options.

Jump Start to Learning is a three week summer program that provides incoming kindergarten students with the skills to begin Kindergarten with confidence. Students practice literacy, numeracy, and the skills they need to be a student. Dr. Neal provided a breakdown of enrollment and performance data for the program.

“Jump Start does provide students a substantial head-start toward being prepared for kindergarten,” noted Dr. Neal.

Click here to view the full program report and to view the slides.

 

Food Service Program Update

Grace Liss, director of food services, provided an update on the food service department.

Liss shared that the food service team is committed to providing affordable, high quality, freshly prepared nutritious food and personalized service to students every day. She provided a detailed overview of the school lunch program, breakfast program, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the summer food service program.

Liss explained that the 2022-2023 food service program has been about transition. During the pandemic, school lunches were free to all families through a federal United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) program. This year the federal universal free-lunch program did not continue and families had to start putting money on their accounts and completing meal benefit applications.

Liss shared a current status on school meal account balances. The Food Service Department encourages caregivers to monitor their child’s account through School Cafe where they can view account balances, apply for meal benefits, and set ala carte restrictions. Click here to access the School Cafe website.

Liss highlighted that the food service department has opportunities for members of the community to join the team; interested community members are encouraged to apply here.

Liss thanked the SMSD custodial staff for assisting the Food Services Team by receiving after-hours deliveries. She also celebrated the hard work and dedication of the Food Services Team who make a difference for students every day.

Click here to view the full report and presentation.

Winter MAP Update 
Dr. Dan Gruman, director of assessment and research, presented an update to the Board on student progress on mid-year interim assessments.

The report provided an in-depth evaluation of mid-year student assessment data, examining the data in multiple ways, using sophisticated statistical techniques.

Dr. Gruman shared that overall the data shows indications of positive signs of learning recovery from the pandemic, it also shows the need to maintain interventions.

One key finding in the data is that students are rebounding in reading and math. However, student achievement remains lower than in a typical year, and full academic recovery from the pandemic is likely to be several years away. Dr. Gruman shared data indicating the level of rebounding is also uneven among school subjects, grade level cohorts, and demographics.

Click here to view the full presentation.

Strategic Plan Update 
Dr. Leigh Anne Neal, chief of early childhood/sustainability, provided a report on the progress of the Strategic Plan.  Dr. Neal opened the presentation by sharing the mission of the Shawnee Mission School District and the three objectives within the Strategic Plan that focus on ensuring that every student will:

• Achieve academic success through a challenging, personalized learning plan
• Develop and utilize personal resilience while mastering essential competencies that lead to college and career readiness
• Develop interpersonal skills to be an engaged, empathetic member of the local and global community.

These objectives are being accomplished through five strategies in the areas of teaching and learning, culture, quality educators, systems, and facilities. Dr. Neal shared detailed progress that has been completed through the first semester of the 2022-2023 school year in each strategy.

Dr. Hubbard noted that the district is in the fourth year of the five-year Strategic Plan. In the spring, members of the executive leadership team will meet with a facilitator to develop a plan for updating the Strategic Plan. A proposal for updating the plan will be presented to the Board of Education in the fall.

Click here to review the report and slides presented at the meeting.

Click here to review the Strategic Plan page on the Shawnee Mission School District website.

 

PriorityOne Presentation 
Erin Eason, National Director, Clinical Consulting Practice from CBIZ, presented a Priority One Health Clinic Annual Review. Priority One is a health center that serves Shawnee Mission School District employees and is located at the Center for Academic Achievement. The review included a look at participation rates, visit details, survey results, the estimated employee savings since the clinic opened, and the return on investment for the district. Click here to view the presentation.

 

ESSER III Presentation
Russell Knapp, chief financial officer, led a discussion about the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) III Allocation. The presentation featured details about stakeholder engagement and the role it played in the application process, provided details about the application that will be submitted in February, and outlined positions that were previously funded by ESSER funds that are anticipated to be moved to the operational budget. Click here to view the presentation.

Title Program Update

Dr. David Stubblefield, associate superintendent of leadership and learning, Dr. Darren Dennis, chief academic officer, Kristie Darby, director of elementary services, and Dr. Brittany Gonser, director of professional learning, provided a report to the Board about Title services.

Dr. Stubblefield described how Title funds are “federal funds distributed by the state that are to be utilized to maximize student learning.” He also spoke about the annual reporting process.

Kristie Darby provided details about Title I and the schools that receive Title I funds in Shawnee Mission. She also provided examples of ways Title I funds have been used to support student learning through professional learning, Jump Start to Learning, and Family Engagement Nights, to name a few examples. Dr. Gonser spoke about Title II funds and how they are focused on training, recruitment, and retention of highly qualified teachers and principals and gave details about how those funds are allocated in Shawnee Mission. Dr. Dennis spoke about Title III funds, used for Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant students. Dr. Gonser also spoke about Title IV, used to support Well-Rounded Education, Safe and Healthy Students, and Supporting the Effective Use of Technology, and detailed how those funds are allocated.

Click here to learn more about Title funds in the Shawnee Mission School District.

 

Reduction of Paid High School Bus Routes

Starting January 5, 2023, high school student bus riders who fall within 2 miles of their high school will no longer have district-provided transportation available, with the exception of Shawnee Mission North students who live West of I-35. DS Bus Lines, the district’s contracted provider, has worked to hire additional drivers over the last two years to avoid this scenario, but faces a critical driver shortage. Service will continue for nearly 1,600 high school students who reside more than 2 miles away from their school. These changes will be in effect through the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

Superintendent Dr. Michelle Hubbard began the presentation by stating this is not an action anyone would ever want to do mid-year, but that it is being done out of necessity.

Dr. Christy Ziegler, chief of student services, diversity, equity, and inclusion, provided a presentation about the transportation reduction plan. The presentation included details about the current service model, staffing challenges and future challenges, possible solutions, and details about the reduction plan. More information will be shared with families impacted in the coming days. Click here to view the presentation.

Student and Family Services Program Update

Dr. Christy Ziegler, chief of student services, diversity, equity, and inclusion; Dr. John McKinney, director of student and family services; Dr. Tyrone Bates, Jr., coordinator of diversity, equity, and inclusion; Mr. David Aramovich, McKinney-Vento liaison, and students Perla Moreno (SM West), Ace Cofield (SM South), Genessa Hughes (SM North), and Jeanne Ozkan (SM East) presented a program update on Student and Family Services.

Dr. Ziegler opened the presentation by sharing how the work of the Student and Family Services team supports the work of the District’s Strategic Plan, Strategy 2: To relentlessly create a fully unified, equitable, and inclusive culture. The team strives to promote student well-being and school participation, which fosters growth in academic achievement.

Dr. McKinney shared information about Social-Emotional Character Development in the SMSD. He also provided details about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the district, explained that SEL is part of the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) process, and provided details about the Panorama survey, a resource used to measure and assess student Social Emotional Learning.

Dr. McKinney reported that the team collaborates with curriculum and instruction on the development and implementation of SEL standards. The team also supports schools with a wide range of services that include summer programs, volunteers, suicide prevention, case management, community resource referrals, and food and transportation assistance as

needed for students and their families. The student services team also facilitates the school-based 504 accommodations process for students, and implementation of federal programs that include McKinney-Vento (houselessness.)

David Aramovich provided information about students and families in the district facing houselessness, prevention work, and efforts to support students who are houseless.

Dr. Bates shared that the focus of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) training for staff is on developing an internal, sustainable model that includes administrators and building DEIB teams. Dr. Bates also shared information on the Youth Equity Stewardship (YES) program, an opt-in leadership opportunity for students from all Shawnee Mission high schools.

To highlight the positive impact of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging programs, the students each spoke about the value they’ve received as participants of the YES program. Perla Moreno, stated, “YES has led me to be comfortable to speak out, and meet new people who are like me and unlike me. My experience has been amazing.”

The program report can be viewed here.

The program presentation can be viewed here.

Human Resources Program Evaluation: Dr. Michael Schumacher, associate superintendent of human resources; Dr. Jeremy Higgins, director of secondary human resources; Pam Lewis, director of elementary human resources; Dr. Jarius Jones, director of classified human resources; Dr. Brittany Gonser, director of professional learning; and Dr. Tyrone Bates, coordinator of diversity, equity, and inclusion provided a program evaluation on human resources. The program evaluation provided information including but not limited to details about hiring practices and recruitment, retention work, onboarding, mentoring, and training new employees, wellness initiatives, and goals for human resources.
Click here to view the program evaluation information.

Athletic Participation and Student Discipline Hearings Update: Kent Glaser, director of athletics and activities, presented an update on athletic participation and student discipline hearings. Glaser highlighted how participation numbers are showing increases in the fall of 2022, compared to the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. Glaser also provided an update on student discipline hearing rates. In Shawnee Mission, 99.999 percent of students are not involved in a discipline hearing. In 2021-2022 there were 37 total hearings.
Click here to view the presentation information.

 

Security Update: Dr. Joe Gilhaus, deputy superintendent, Chief Mark Schmidt, chief of police, and Philip Lofflin, district police officer presented a report on the subject of safety and security in schools. Dr. Gilhaus explained this presentation was previously shared with all district staff as part of ongoing professional development centered on safety and security.

The report provided a history of the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) police department and gave an overview of safety and security procedures and protocols that are currently in place throughout the district. Officer Lofflin shared details about technology that supports safety and security, including communications tools available at each school, visitor management and bully incident software, and panic alarms. Chief Schimidt and Officer Lofflin provided additional information on updated emergency procedures, types of drills, how the district partners with local law enforcement, and ongoing training for staff focused on school safety. Dr. Gilhaus stated, “The top priority of the Shawnee Mission School District is and always has been the safety and security of our students and our staff.” 
Click here to view the presentation.

Real World Learning/Personalized Learning: Dr. Ryan Flurry, principal of career education campuses and coordinator of career and technical education, Dr. Darren Dennis, chief academic officer, Dr. Dan Gruman, director of assessment and research, and David Stubblefied, associate superintendent of leadership and learning presented an update on Real World Learning and Personalized Learning in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD).

Dr. Flurry shared that Real World Learning shares many connections to the SMSD’s Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan states that every student will have a personalized learning plan, which will prepare them for college and careers, with the interpersonal skills they need for life success. In partnership with the Kauffman Foundation and other districts across the Kansas City metro area, SMSD is giving students the opportunity to obtain a Market Value Asset (MVA).

Dr. Dennis defined Market Value Assets (MVAs) as industry valued and recognized skills acquired in high school that create a more seamless transition from school to postsecondary education and/or the workplace. The four categories of MVAs are entrepreneurial experiences, work experience, nine or more college credit hours, and/or employer recognized certifications and credentials. Dr. Gruman shared data on the number of students in the SMSD who have earned an MVA.

David Stubblefield explained how Real World Learning opportunities will be expanded in 2022-2023, and the effort being made to increase student access to those opportunities. 
Click here to view the presentation

KESA Presentation Kim Barney, assistant director of curriculum and instruction, and Kristin Ridgway, secondary coordinator of English Language Arts and Social Studies, provided a report on year four of the five-year Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) process. They also provided a summary of a visit by the Outside Visiting Team (OVT), a yearly external review that Is part of the KESA process. Click here to view their presentation. A full summary can be viewed here. 

Substitute Services Discussion Dr. Michael Schumacher, associate superintendent of human resources, introduced Dr. Jeremy Higgins, director of secondary human resources, and representatives from Kelly Educational Staffing. They led a discussion about plans for substitute services for the next school year. The discussion included a review of absences and fill rates in the past year and planning and action steps for improving in the next year. Click here to view the presentation.

Notice of Budget The Board of Education approved the publication of notice of hearing for the 2022-2023 budget and a notice of hearing to exceed the revenue neutral tax rate for the 2022-2023 school year. Russell Knapp, chief financial officer, provided a presentation, outlining budget assumptions, a summary of fund balances, and the information that will be published. Click here to view the notices and presentation.

Strategic Plan Update:
David Stubblefield, associate superintendent for leadership and learning and Dr. Leigh Anne Neal, chief of early childhood/sustainability, provided an overview of progress on the Strategic Plan.

Spring 2022 Strategic plan update

Additional information and data on each of the five strategy areas of the Strategic Plan was provided by Dr. Darren Dennis, chief academic officer, Dr. Dan Gruman, director of assessment and research, Dr. Michael Schumacher, Associate Superintendent of Human Re sources, Dr. John McKinney, director of student/family service, and Dr. Brittany Gonser, director of professional learning.

Spring 2022 strategic plan report

Budget - Non-Operating Funds
Russell Knapp, chief financial officer, presented a budget workshop focused on self-supported funds, flow-through funds, bond debt funds, and capital outlay funds.

Knapp opened the presentation by stating the district’s objective upon which budgetary decisions are based is that every student will have a personalized learning plan that supports them in being college and career ready with the interpersonal skills important to life success.

Knapp provided an overview of the budget development timeline, a history of the mill levy, and a history of the instructional resource fund. The goal is for the instructional resource fund to become self-supporting, it is currently supported partly by operating funds.

Budget - Non-Operating Funds Presentation

 

Transportation Program Evaluation
Dr. Christy Ziegler, chief of student services and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and Dana Gulick, coordinator of transportation, provided an overview of the work of the transportation department.

The transportation department supports the strategic plan objectives by ensuring students have a safe and reliable transportation system to travel to and from school each day and providing the ability to physically access the resources they need to be successful.

Dr. Ziegler shared the transportation providers, number of bus riders, the overall goals of the program, and provided a detailed overview of the budget.

district transportation presentation

 

Health Services Program Evaluation
Dr. Christy Ziegler, chief of student services and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and Shelby Rebeck, director of health services, provided an update on the health services department.

Rebeck shared an overview of the health services program. The mission statement of the health services department is to provide professional nursing care to students and staff through assessment, prevention, health education, early intervention, case management, and collaboration. She defined the program goals, provided information on staffing, and gave an overview of the types of health issues the health services team  and nurses assess and manage.

Rebeck discussed how the nurses have worked to meet the health and safety needs of students, staff, and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebeck introduced Paula Bunde who will be assuming the health services coordinator role starting July 1, 2022. Members of the Board of Education and Dr. Hubbard thanked Rebeck for her leadership and service to the Shawnee Mission School District.

health services program presentation

Food Service Presentation 
Dr. Christy Ziegler, chief of student services and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and Grace Liss, director of food services, presented an update on the food services department to the Board. 

Food Service Program Evaluation 

Food Service Program Evaluation Slides 

Enrollment Analysis Report 
Robert S. Schwarz, founder of RSP and Associates, presented an enrollment analysis conducted for the Shawnee Mission School District to the Board. 

Enrollment Analysis Report
Security Presentation 
Chief Mark Schmidt, chief of police, led a presentation on district security. He was joined by Tony Woollen, district resource officer from Shawnee Mission East, Seth Myers, school resource officer from Shawnee Mission East, James Carmody, district resource officer at Shawnee Mission West, Philip Lofflin, district police officer, and David Ewers, Shawnee Mission North principal, who spoke about the role of district security in schools.

Security Program Evaluation

Security Program Evaluation Slides 

English Language Arts Presentation 
Dr. Darren Dennis, chief academic officer, introduced Krista Carson, elementary coordinator of curriculum and instruction, who led a presentation on a proposed K6 English Language Arts resource adoption.

English Language Arts Presentation

Winter MAP Update
Dr. Dan Gruman, director of assessment and research, presented an update to the Board on student progress on midyear interim assessments. The presentation was designed to provide a “big picture view of status and progress this school year,” Gruman noted. He also noted tha this data includes much to be optimistic about, including signs of recovery.

winter map update

Priority One Annual Review
Dr. Michael Schumacher, associate superintendent of human resources, and Erin Eason, national director of clinical consulting practice from CBIZ presented a Priority One Health Center annual review. They outlined a variety of details about how the health center serves district employees. Priority One Report

ESSER Update
Superintendent Dr. Michelle Hubbard, Russell Knapp, chief financial officer, and David Stubblefield, associate superintendent of leadership an d learning, provided a report on the district’s COVID19 Response plan, with a focus on the use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER). They outlined that ESSER I and II funding have been allocated for specific needs through Se ptember 2023. Information about the allocation of these funds can be found here .

ESSER III will provide funding through September 2024.  Details about the allocation of funds and the ThoughtExchange Feedback from stakeholders that informed the development of the allocation plan can be found in the prsentation slides. ESSER III Presentation

Communications Program Evaluation
David A. Smith, chief communications officer, introduced Kristin Babcock, communications coordin ator, and Michaela Scruggs, communications coordinator, who provided a communications program evaluation. The presentation highlighted the many ways the communications team shares stories about the district and schools to a broad and diverse audience. Community members are always welcome to provide story tips for highlighting school activities, students and staff to the department at adcommun@smsd.org. The presentation also highlighted the numerous ways the team supports staff and students across the district. report. 
communications team presentation

Financial Report
The presentation can be Russell Knapp, chief financial officer, presented the monthly financial report and an update on ESSER II expenditures. He also provided an update on operating funds, based on the September 20, 2021 enrollment count. Based on those numbers, it is estimated the district will see a loss of about $4.2 millio n in general state aid and atrisk weighted funds. The budget office expects that projected vacancies will offset the revenue loss.

Sustainability Summit Presentation
Dr. Leigh Anne Neal, chief of early childhood and sustainability, along with several Sh awnee Mission high school students, presented information and recommendations from the 2021 Shawnee Mission Sustainability Youth Summit. Students outlined five priority areas of focus for the district.
The presentations included:
Priority 1: “Renewable En ergy,” presented by Shawnee Mission West students Soli Guinto, junior, and Arlasia Jones, senior.
Priority 2: “Education, Awareness, and Student Involvement,” presented by Shawnee Mission South students Carolyn Armstrong and Rosemary Derr, junior, with th e support of teacher P.J. Born.
Priority 3: “Compost and Recycling,” presented by Shawnee Mission North senior Molly Laughton.
Priority 4: “Rain gardens, school gardens, and nature preserves,” presented by Shawnee Mission East senior Erin Hansen, with th support of teacher Rusty Debey. e
Priority 5: “Transportation,” presented by Shawnee Mission Northwest senior Logen Grey.
The group also shared an Essential Consideration focused on mental and physical health and wellbeing. 
sustainability presentation

ICT Program Evaluation
Drew Lane, executive director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT ), Bill Shaffer, director of network infrastructure, technical services, and security services, James Morgan, director of data and programming services, and Doug von Mosch, director of customer services shared an ICT program evaluation. Lindsay Stephenson, coordinator of instructional technology, provided information about lessons learned related to the use of educational technology during the pandemic.  
Ict program presentation

Human Resources Program Evaluation
Dr. Michael Schumacher, associate superintendent of human resources, Dr. Jeremy Higgins, director of secondary human resources, Dr. Jarius Jones, director of classified human resources, Pam Lewis, director of elementary human resources, Dr. Brittany Gonser, director of professional learning, and Dr. Tyrone Bates, coordinator of diversity, equity and inclusion, presented a program evaluation and update on Human Resources in the Shawnee Mission School District.

Dr. Schumacher introduced the Human Resources Team and shared the team philosophy that people are Shawnee Mission School District’s greatest resource. He introduced the five main functions of Human Resources, including Recruitment and Retention, Safety/Compliance, Employee Relations, Compensation and Benefits, and Training and Development. 
hr presentation slides

hr program evaluation 

Student and Family Services and Student Activities Program Evaluation
Dr. Christy Ziegler, chief of student services, Dr. John McKinney, director of student and family services, Dr. Tyrone Bates, Jr., coordinator of diversity, equity and inclusion, and Kent Glaser, director of athletics and activities, presented a program evaluation and update.
Student & Family Services Presentation

program evaluation presentation

Strategic Plan Update: Strategy 1
Dr. Leigh Anne Neal, chief of early childhood and sustainability, Dr. Darren Dennis,chief academic officer, Dr. Ryan Flurry, principal of career education campuses and coordinator of career and technical education, and Dr. Dan Gruman, director of assessment and research, presented an update focused on "Strategic Plan Engaging, and Applied Learning.” 
Strategic plan: strategy 1 presentation