Sue Sitter/PCT Rugby High School student and FBLA Chapter President Olivia Belisle gives a presentation about her club to the Rugby Public School Board March 14.

Rugby school board members learned of a “concerning” dip in reading scores for fourth graders at Ely Elementary School at their regular monthly meeting, held March 14 in the Rugby High School Library.

Angela Hager and Ashley Seykora, who work as intervention specialists in math and reading, presented data gathered in spring 2022 from third graders taking the North Dakota State Assessment (NDSA) test. The students are in fourth grade this year.

Data shows just 24% of the group of third graders at Ely meet or exceed reading proficiency standards. About 76% require some sort of intervention, such as one-on-one tutoring, to help them reach grade level.

“That has been one of our more concerning grades for quite a while,” Hager said.

“We had many students who did grow a lot this year, so we saw high growth and high achievers, or maybe we saw high growth with lower achievers because we have our striving readers program,” she added, referring to a reading intervention program being used in the school.

Hager and Seykora said more than 15 staff work with struggling students to help them read at grade level. They noted intervention through one-on-one tutoring and small group instruction begins at kindergarten.

Other ways to help students reach grade-level proficiency include offering summer school sessions.

Seykora said funding from programs such as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Act (ESSER) have made it possible to offer reading help.

School club updates

The board also heard updates on clubs offered at Rugby High School. Agriculture instructors Kristi Tonnessen and Isaac Ripplinger presented information on the Future Farmers of America (FFA), a club with the most members of any at the school. Both said the club would enter a busy time for competitions before summer, and many members would receive honors at a banquet to be held March 23.

Both praised the hard work and dedication of the young members, who they credited for helping the Rugby Chapter earn a National Three Star designation, the highest honor possible for a chapter.

Next, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Advisor Paola Trottier introduced Olivia Belisle, a student serving as chapter president.

Belisle described the activities the chapter involved itself in to serve the community. She noted the club had organized a successful food drive for the Pierce County Food Pantry, where members had collected 3,500 items. Other activities included sponsoring a blood drive and collecting eye glasses for the Rugby Lions Club.

Trottier said the club is younger than in past years, with several members in seventh and eighth grade.

One middle school-age student, Tambrey Brossart, had won first place in a digital citizenship competition at the FBLA National Convention in Chicago in summer 2022.

Trottier said she hoped more chapter members could attend the 2023 national convention in Atlanta.

Brittany Lovcik, who advises the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter for Rugby High, presented information on the club’s activities, which include fundraising for the Children’s Miracle Network. The club will also sponsor a craft show fundraiser in April to help with expenses incurred in competitions at the state and national level.

Policies approved

In other business, the board approved a policy based on the teaching of critical race theory, content that has stirred controversy across the nation. The policy affirms compliance with North Dakota Century Code, which prohibits teaching CRT in public schools. The policy includes procedures for requesting to view materials taught and reviewing complaints about instruction and resource material.

The board also approved a policy for employees requiring breaks to pump breast milk.

Reports heard

Also approved were bills and financials and reports by Ely Elementary Principal Jason Gullickson, Rugby High School Principal Jared Blikre and Business Manager Dawn Hauck.

Hauck reported school funds were “tracking well,” with a temporarily large balance in the school’s general fund due to delayed transfers and the time the deposits were made. She added activity and school lunch funds were adequate, but she noted the school lunch fund might need a transfer in the near future.

Gullickson said Ely Elementary students were preparing for a music festival March 22. Fourth graders looked forward to an event called “Pizza Extravaganza” sponsored by the Pierce County Farm Bureau. At the event, students would learn about how farms play a central role in producing pizza ingredients.

He added parent-teacher conference week had recently wrapped up, with 92% of parents attending the meetings, which he said was “a little down” from past years.

Blikre said Rugby High School sophomores and juniors were preparing for Pre-ACT and ACT tests to be taken in spring. Students were also making preparations for baseball, softball, boys’ golf and track season.

Other students looked forward to prom March 25, club competitions and regional music competitions in Cando at the end of March.

The board presented results from an evaluation of Superintendent Mike McNeff, who received satisfactory marks.

McNeff attended the meeting by phone, telling the group he was on the road to Bismarck for a legislative session.

He said he felt “disappointed” that House Bill 1185, which would allow school projects facing unanticipated inflation in costs to receive funding from the North Dakota Coal Development Trust Fund had failed in the state senate.

McNeff added he had concerns about HB1532, which would allow state-issued vouchers for families to send their children to private schools. He voiced concerns that the $24 million for the proposed program would mean less funding for public schools indirectly by shrinking the sum available to them. He noted proposed payments of $1,500-$3,000 for private schooling in the bill would affect the per-pupil amount in some school districts who receive less than the $10,136 per-pupil amount paid by the state school funding formula.

He also worried funding increases for public schools would fall short of the amount public school districts anticipated.

Other concerning pieces of legislation mentioned by McNeff included HB1205, which critics say applies a broad definition to pornography that could potentially cause even classic literature to be banned.

Board members pointed out teenagers can be exposed to inappropriate content just by looking at their phones.

In other business, the board received an update on the progress of a construction project expanding the Ely Elementary School building and campus.

Gullickson told the board asbestos in the school’s kitchen walls had caused the project to move more slowly than anticipated, but masonry work on that section of the building was underway.

The board will hold its next regular meeting Tuesday, April 11 at 7 a.m. in the Rugby High School library.