H-BC gets ELL program

For the first time in school history, Hills-Beaver Creek Public Schools will operate an English Language Learner (ELL) program.
Board members approved the estimated $35,000 expenditure from the general fund at their Sept. 14 meeting.
“We haven’t had any students up until this year,” said Superintendent Todd Holthaus. “It’s money well-spent by the district.”
With the program’s start, H-BC will be eligible for state funding to provide pullout services.
Holthaus anticipates four to five students will need the added reading and writing assistance districtwide.
Elementary lead teacher and Respond to Intervention specialist Shelly Fischer will help build the new program with junior high English teacher Caitlin Slaba completing the instruction.
“We will help these students participate, be active and comfortable in both English and their native language,” Fischer said. “
We will help improve skills in reading, writing and vocabulary development as well as listening, speaking and grammar.”
Students will first be screened for eligibility before they enter the programs where the students will be pulled from class for one-on-one supplemental language instruction.
Startup of the ELL program is occurring as enrollment in Hills-Beaver Creek School District reached 380 students, the highest enrollment in more than a decade.
“That is as high as I’ve seen during my tenure,” said Holthaus, who is beginning his 18th year at H-BC.
There are 149 students in kindergarten through the fifth-grade levels at the elementary and 231 students in grades six through 12 at the secondary.
The junior class has the most students with 40, followed by the senior class and the ninth grade with 35 students per grade level.
Holthaus cautioned board members about the continued enrollment growth. He pointed to numbers in the upcoming kindergarten class with 17 students, a reduction of about half of the current graduating class.
“That’s a hit,” he said.
H-BC has increased by 20 students over the past two years. The district increased five students over the 2019-20 school year.
 
Board sets 2020-21 staff development goals
The ELL program fulfills one of the staff development goals the H-BC School Board identified for the current school year involving the district’s academic curriculum.
Goals include:
•work to identify individual student learning needs through screenings and formative assessments. The identified needs will be addressed through interventions and target programs at each level.
•align with Minnesota State Standards, be data-driven, embed best practice instruction, assessment and purposeful technology integration.
 
Union agrees to salary changes for coaches
The School Board and the H-BC teachers union agreed to salary changes for the 2020-21 school year involving extra-curricular assignments.
If a sports season is canceled, varsity head coaches will receive 50 percent of their normal stipends. If a season is reinstated, then the stipends will increase to 100 percent.
“These folks put in a lot of time outside of the season,” Holthaus said.
Junior varsity head coaches will receive a 33-percent reduction if a season is canceled and 100 percent if the season is reinstated.
 
In other business, the H-BC board:
•approved the purchase of 33 MacBook Pro computers. The $51,000 will be taken from the $88,950 the district received in Coronavirus Relief Funding. Other CRF expenses include personal protection equipment, interactive white boards and staff training.
•approved applying for a COVID relief grant through the city of Beaver Creek for $3,000. The money will be used to purchase additional cleaning supplies.