At the December 19 Board of Education meeting the adoption of the agenda and approval of consent items (found on BoardDocs) took place after the Pledge of Allegiance. In addition, President, Todd Wojciechowski, provided a Board Update.

Sweeny Elementary students shared about their journey to Leader In Me Lighthouse Certification. CLICK HERE To watch a video the students produced for more information.

After the students, KPM presented their results on the 2019 district audit report. In addition, CTA presented and the monthly MSBA video was viewed.

 

Administrative presentations were as follows:

• RHS Principal, Mr. Overstreet and RHS teachers presented ACT data and response actions.
• Dr. Wistrom provided a monthly update to the Board regarding district finances, DESE updates and district happenings.

All administrative reports can be found on BoardDocs.

 

Board policies were the only discussion item on the agenda. (details on BoardDocs). Also, the 2020-2021 school calendar was approved. In addition, the retirement notification of Dr. Wistrom was accepted along with the hiring of Dr. Matt Pearce as the Superintendent of Schools for the 2020-21 school year due to the reviewing of succession planning that had taken place over the last several years. (See additional sections for details.) 

 

The next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m.

On December 20 Dr. Wistrom announced his retirement from public education at the end of the 2019-20 school year. In that same announcement current Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Matt Pearce was named Superintendent of Schools for the 2020-2021 school year due to a succession plan that has been established for several years.

As a follow-up, the Assistant Superintendent position was posted just after this announcement, and the district is actively working to fill this vacancy. When the Board of Education approves a candidate, an additional announcement will be shared. 

 

Throughout the 2019-2020 school year the Elementary Curriculum Specialist position that existed for the 2018-2019 school year has gone unfilled due to the late spring resignation. Thus, providing an opportunity for the reworking of assigned duties of several positions to best meet the needs of our district. Over the last several years our district's focus has been to build and create a centralized curriculum structure. Thanks to the tremendous leadership and work of the CIA Department and participating teachers, this focus has provided amazing results. As a district, we are now at a point where we need to adjust our focus to sustain those amazing results. Therefore, a new structure of duties explained below allows the flexibility to do just that.

At the December 19 meeting, the Board of Education approved for the district to move forward in hiring a Director of Elementary Learning for the 2020-2021 school year. This position will oversee elementary building principals, the Republic Early Childhood Director along with numeracy and literacy specialists. The interview process for this position is currently undergoing.

Filling this vacant position will allow for adjustments for other positions in our district. The current Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment; Dr. Yonke, will transition to the Director of Professional Learning and Instructional Support for the 2020-2021 school year overseeing assessments, professional learning, university partnerships and new teacher support. 

The Assistant Superintendent role will supervise the new Director of Elementary Learning position along with secondary principals. This individual will also oversee Special Education, Federal Programs, Technology and secondary curriculum specialists. The Assistant Superintendent will also continue to serve as the district compliance officer.
These adjustments will allow us to better meet the needs of our students, employees and families moving forward.

The Board of Education approved the 2020-2021 school calendar found HERE. As a reminder, due to new legislation from the state of Missouri, the earliest day the district could begin school was August 24. Also, please note that there are three built-in snow day make-ups. If we have snow days prior to those days they will be used to make up school days missed. However, any days missed after those three built-in make-up days have passed will not have to be made up. Therefore, May 26 will be our last day of school (1/2 day). 

Dr. Engelhart Named MAESP SW MO Distinguished Principal
Sweeny Elementary Principal, Dr. Beth Engelhart was named 2019-20 Missouri Distinguished Principal for the Southwest Region of the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals! She is one of 11 elementary principals from across the state to be recognized for this prestigious accolade, and will now be considered for Missouri's overall candidate for the National Distinguished Principal accolade! Dr. Engelhart will be honored for this award at a MAESP banquet in February. We are so #repmoproud of you, Dr. Engelhart! 

Mr. Overstreet Named SBJ 40 Under 40
Congratulations to Tyler Overstreet, Republic High School principal, for being selected to the 2020 class of 40 Under 40 for the Springfield Business Journal!
Mr. Overstreet will be celebrated during a 5:30 p.m. ceremony March 31 at Oasis Hotel and Convention Center.
We are #repmoproud of you, Mr. Overstreet!

As a reminder, school will be in session on Monday, January 20 due to the snow day on November 12. 

Thank you for your patience! The SISFin Portal (HR information, requisition portal, etc.) is now available on all internet capable devices, both on and off campus. There is a link on the district website under the "staff" tab, and the direct URL is  https://hr.republicschools.org