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The Board of Directors of the Red Oak CSD held a public hearing on the 2023-2024 District Calendar during the regular meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. The hearing took place in the Virtual Learning Center at Red Oak Jr-Sr High at 5:35 p.m.

The approved 2023-2024 District Calendar features 1101.6 hours of instruction. The school year will begin on August 23, 2023, and conclude on May 23, 2024.  The first semester will end prior to Christmas Break, and the school year will end prior to Memorial Day.  Christmas Break will be from Monday, December 25 through Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Spring Break will take place the week of March 11, 2024.  The calendar will shift from two-hour early dismissals each Wednesday to 90-minute early dismissals each Wednesday.  Graduation is scheduled for May 19, 2024.

Approved 2023-2024 District Calendar.pdf

The USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) provides all children in our elementary school with a variety of free fresh fruit and vegetables as healthy snacks each week. The goal is to increase a child’s consumption of fresh produce as they continue to be introduced to new and different types through nutrition education and tasting opportunities.  Be sure to ask your child what fruits or vegetables they have been trying in their classroom, any they were surprised they liked or interesting facts they have learned about related to the fresh fruits and vegetables they have tasted.

The Red Oak Community School District’s Board of Education is committed to supporting wellness, good nutrition, and regular physical activity as a part of the total learning environment. The school district supports a healthy environment where students learn and participate in positive dietary and lifestyle practices. The board believes for students to have the opportunity to achieve personal, academic, developmental, and social success, there needs to be a positive, safe, and health-promoting learning environment at every level., in every setting.

The school district provides a comprehensive learning environment for developing and practicing lifelong wellness behaviors. The entire school environment, not just the classroom, shall be aligned with healthy school district goals to positively influence a student’s understanding, beliefs and habits as they relate to good nutrition and regular physical activity. In accordance with the laws and this belief the board commits to the following:

The school district will identify at least one goal in each of the following areas:

· Nutrition Education and Promotion: schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that helps students develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors

· Physical Activity: Schools will provide students with age and grade appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity that meet the Iowa Healthy Kids Act.

· Other School Based Activities that Promote Wellness: As appropriate, schools will support students, staff, and parents’ efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The following nutritional guidelines for food available on school campuses will be adhered to:

· The meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program will be appealing and meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by state and federal law.

· Schools providing access to healthy foods outside the reimbursable meal programs before school, during school, and thirty minutes after school shall meet the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Smart Snacks in Schools nutrition standards, at a minimum. This includes such items as those sold through a la carte lines, vending machines, student run stores, and fundraising activities.

· Snacks provided to students during the school day without charge (class parties) will meet standards set by the district in accordance with law. The district will provide parents a list of foods and beverages that meet nutrition standards for classroom snacks and celebrations.

· Treats will be limited in the classrooms and students will get to choose other physical activities or games to play instead of bringing treats for celebrations (get ideas from Get Movin’ packet).

· Schools will only allow marketing and advertising of foods and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks in School nutritional standards on campus during the school day.

The superintendent or superintendent’s designee shall implement and ensure compliance with the policy by:

· Reviewing the policy at least every three years and recommending updates as appropriate for board approval.

· Implementing a process for permitting parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, administrators, and the public to participate in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the policy.

· Designate two staff members from each building to be advocates for our Wellness Committee and to help implement our policies in the District.

· Making the policy and updates assessment of the implementation available to the public (e.g., posting on the website, newsletters, etc.) This information shall include the extent to which the schools are in compliance with the policy and a description of the progress being made in attaining goals of the policy.

· Developing administrative regulations, which shall include specific wellness goals and indicators for measurement of progress consistent with law and district policy.

GOAL 1: Nutrition Education and Promotion: schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that helps students develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors.

A) Provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;

B) Promote fruits, vegetables, whole-grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, and healthy foods;

GOAL 2: Physical Activity: Schools will provide students with age and grade appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity that meet the Iowa Healthy Kids Act.

A) Promote the benefits of a physically active lifestyle and help students develop skills to engage in lifelong healthy habits;

B) Afford elementary students with recess according to the following: At least 20 minutes a day, outdoors as weather and time permits, and encourages moderate to vigorous physical activity;

C) Discourage all employees from using physical activity (e.g. running laps, pushups) or withholding opportunities for physical activity (e.g. recess, physical education) as punishment;

GOAL 3: Other School Based Activities that Promote Wellness: As appropriate, schools will support students, staff, and parents’ efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A) Permit students to bring and carry water bottles filled with water throughout the day;

B) Promote wellness activities and opportunities during professional development;

C) Encourage opportunities for physical activities to be incorporated into lessons across all subject areas using the Get Movin’ Activity Breaks packet from the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Nutrition Network.

Approved August 27, 2018          
Reviewed November 28, 2022          
Revised November 28, 2022

Please note see full wellness policy and regulations on the Board of Directors Information Page 

ARP ESSER III Plan

Red Oak Community Schools

The American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER III) Fund provides school districts resources to reopen, sustain safe operations, and address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students. To be an acceptable use of ESSER funds an expenditure must be necessary to “prevent, prepare for, or respond to coronavirus” and reasonable in terms of cost.

The Red Oak CSD proposes the following uses for ESSER III funds.

Address Unfinished Learning:

• Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning (e.g., summer school);
• Planning and implementing activities relating to supplemental after-school programs (e.g., after school enrichment programs, study table at secondary campus);
• Contracting with community-based partners to provide after school enrichment programs; and
• Addressing learning loss or unfinished learning through targeted interventions as part of a multi-tiered system of supports (e.g., social skills groups, self-regulation supports, supplemental academic instruction)

Professional Development:

• Providing staff training on trauma sensitive care and restorative practices (e.g., inclusiveness, relationship building, problem solving);
• Providing staff training on standards-based planning, effective instructional practices, conditions of learning, and other professional responsibilities;
• Providing staff training on effective assessment and academic interventions;
• Purchasing flexible virtual training modules tailored to the needs of students and staff; and
• Contracting with guest speakers, consultants, and trainers to present to staff on topics such as curriculum, instruction, and assessment, targeted interventions, wellness, social-emotional learning, and other topics

Intervention Based Curriculum

• Purchasing research-based curricula that are aligned to state and local standards, use diagnostic assessments to determine student’s level of mastery of key concepts and skills, and include alternate or supplemental materials to differentiate instruction

Maintaining Consistent Operations and Continuity of Services:

• Subsidizing paraprofessional salaries; and
• Hiring additional general education and special education paraprofessionals

Providing Social, Emotional, Mental Health Services and Supports:

• Contracting for additional counseling services through Green Hills AEA;
• Enhancing Jr/Sr High School Beyond School program by including additional social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health instruction;
• Development and implementation of an after-school enrichment program at Inman Elementary School;
• Development and implementation of social and emotional learning and social skills instruction at the 7^th and 8^th grades;
• Implementation of evidence-based trauma informed instruction and supports (e.g., Conscious Discipline) to enhance behavior management and coping strategies at Inman Elementary; and
• Contracting with guest speakers and panelists to present to students and staff on topics such as self-care, goal setting, positivity, practicing gratitude, persistence, self-advocacy, social connectedness, healthy coping strategies, substance abuse, relaxation, nutrition, physical activity, etc.

Purchasing Educational Technology (e.g., hardware, software, connectivity, assistive and adaptive technology)

• Upgrading switches and internet access points to enhance connectivity;
• Upgrading servers to enhance connectivity;
• Enhancing network (i.e., cabling and fiber) infrastructure;
• Installing wireless routers on school busses to provide internet access to students traveling on daily bus routes or to and from district activities;
• Purchasing additional student and teacher devices and other instructional technology;
• Implementing a single sign-on authentication service at Inman Elementary allowing students to use one login credential;
• Implementing a System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) server to manage and safeguard devices;
• Purchasing charging stations for student and staff devices;
• Purchasing additional Chromebook device storage; and
• Creating a virtual learning space at the Red Oak Early Childhood Center

Purchasing Supplies to Sanitize and Clean Facilities

• • • • Purchasing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure to the coronavirus;
      • Purchasing alcohol-based hand sanitizer to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus; and
      • Purchasing supplies to clean and disinfect district facilities

Facilities and Equipment

• Installation of ADA compliant playground equipment at Inman;
• Upgrading HVAC system at Inman Elementary to enhance air quality;
• Purchasing Picnic Tables at Inman Elementary; and
• Purchasing adaptive equipment to enhance interactions between students, peers, and classroom teachers