Hunt Elementary (Arts A+), Loess Hills Elementary (Computer Programming), Morningside Elementary (STEM), Perry Creek Elementary (International Baccalaureate), and Spalding Park Elementary (Environmental Sciences) will discontinue the specialty programs at the end of the school year.
Nodland-Sunnyside Elementary will maintain its international baccalaureate specialty and approach the board at a future meeting with a new proposal. Irving Dual Language Elementary was not discussed and will remain as is.
The school board on Monday approved the change after hearing from district staff on the review process and the suggestion from Director of Elementary Education Jared Mozer.
The district originally implemented specialty schools to attract students to the district and promote varied learning opportunities. Over the past few years, the district staff have reviewed the programs.
"During the last five years, the specialty focuses in these buildings have been difficult to carry out due to lacking individualized staff for the programs, challenges with ongoing training and difficulty in finding funding to acquire necessary resources to function," according to the board packet.
Over the past three years, very few students have transferred into the five targeted specialty schools specifically due to their specialty, with Morningside elementary seeing the most at 5 percent, or 10 students. Mozer said these students are specifically students already within the district that are specifically seeking the specialty status.
Staff was asked if the vision of the specialty schools were being met, and a majority of staff at each building said no. When asked if the staff in each school wanted to keep their specialty status or end it, 72 percent at Hunt, 76 percent at Loess Hills, 71 percent at Morningside and 86 percent at Perry Creek wanted to end the specialty status.
Overall, the programs have a cost of $224,000 with per school costs ranging from $8,000 at Loess Hills to $80,000 at Perry Creek, with a majority of the funding coming from the building budgets.
To fully fund the programs and provide additional staffing to focus on the specialty status, the programs would need a total $721,000 funding, with per school costs ranging from $113,000 to $180,000.
LANCE EHMCKE RESIGNS FROM SIOUX CITY SCHOOL BOARD DUE TO HEALTH
Lance Ehmcke has resigned from the Sioux City school board due to health concerns effective immediately. The resignation comes two months after Jan George resigned from the board.
SIOUX CITY SCHOOLS STAFF SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF JIM VANDERLOO BEING NEXT SUPERINTENDENT
The board on Monday heard from more than a dozen individuals in support of Vanderloo serving as the superintendent, including parents, administrators, and teachers. Each individual voiced support for Vanderloo, sharing personal experiences working with him over his 34 years in the district.
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