D93 Family Update

Last night the Board approved Casey Faulkner as the assistant principal at Bonneville High School. Casey is currently an 8th grade Science Teacher at Rocky Mountain Middle School and has taught for a total of 15 years. He has lived in the area for 16 years and his Bonneville roots run deep. In his free time Casey loves to work, camp, hike, fish, travel, listen to music, and anything sports related. Casey is passionate about helping kids develop into the best version of themselves. Welcome to Bonneville HS Casey.

The Board approved Phil Abshire as an assistant principal at Hillcrest High School. Phil has a B.S. in Education from Baylor University with an emphasis on Health and Special Education, an M.A. in Education for Education Leadership and Administration from North Central College, and an M.A. in Education for Differentiated Instruction from Concordia University in Chicago. His previous experience includes teaching special education at both the elementary and secondary level, coaching softball and basketball, Special Olympics, and working in district administration as a K-12 Special Education Curriculum Coordinator in Illinois. He is married to Amber and has three children, Reagan, Jackson and Harrison. They enjoy fishing, camping, sports and sports. Welcome to Hillcrest and D93 Phil.

• Registration
• Elementary schools: August 7th 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
• Middle schools and high schools: August 14th 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
• Back to School Nights
• Elementary schools: Thursday, August 22: 5:00 pm – 7:00 p.m.
• Middle schools and high schools: Monday, August 19th 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• First day of School
• Elementary Schools: Monday, August 26 (full-day)
• 7th grade, 9th grade, and Lincoln HS: Monday, August 26 (half-day)
• 8th, 10th, 11th, & 12th grade: Tuesday, August 27 (full-day)
• Elementary Collaboration Day: August 30th (no school for K-6th grade students)
  

• Elementary Teachers & Certified Staff:
  
• Monday, August 19
  
• District Professional Learning: 8 am - 12 pm @ Hillcrest HS PAC
  
• School Opening Meetings: 1:30 pm - 4 pm
  
• Tuesday, August 20
• District Professional Learning: 8 am - 4 pm @ Thunder Ridge HS PAC (lunch provided)
• Wednesday, August 21
• School Professional Learning (time set by school principals)
• Thursday, August 22
• Teacher Workday
• Friday, August 23
• Teacher Workday
• Secondary Teachers & Certified Staff:
  
• Monday, August 19
  
• Half-Day School Professional Learning (time set by school principals)
  
• Half-Day Teacher Workday
  
• Tuesday, August 20
• School Professional Learning (time set by school principals)
• Wednesday, August 21:
• District Professional Learning: 8 am - 4 pm @ Thunder Ridge HS PAC (lunch provided)
• Thursday, August 22
• Half-Day School Professional Learning (time set by school principals)
  
• Half-Day Teacher Workday
• Friday, August 23
  
• Teacher Workday
• All Classified Staff
  
• Thursday, August 22:
• District Professional Learning: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm @ Hillcrest PAC (lunch provided)

This year, the Board traveled to Salt Lake City to attend a 2 1/2 day institute on Professional Learning Communities at Work with other key members of the District Leadership team, including the school principals of Sandcreek, Falls Valley, Cloverdale, Iona, and Bonneville Online and Praxium Mastery Academy.

The PLC at Work principles have been the framework that Bonneville School District has adopted for our school improvement planning since 2012. These principles and practices drive the work of our teachers during collaboration time on Monday. They also drive our work to provide additional time and support to our students who need it to help them learn essential outcomes and to provide extended learning for students who are ready for it.

This is the first time that all of our Board members have attended a PLC at Work Institute and it provided a valuable foundation for our work to continue designing success for every student in every school in Bonneville School District.

The Board approved the District's Continuous Improvement plan last night during the Regular Board meeting. Last month, Superintendent Woolstenhulme presented the plan to the Board. Here are some of the highlights from his presentation:

• 74% of kindergarten students reached grade-level reading, our highest percentage since 2019
• 85% of 3rd grade students were reading grade-level texts continuing, an increase of 16% since 2021
• 92% of our graduates earned college credit while in high school
• 70% of our graduates earned 9 or more college credits while in high school
• Our graduation rate for the Class of 2023 was 90%, 10% higher than the state average, and the highest we have had since the introduction of the new federal definition of graduation adopted in 2012.

You can see this data as well as other our progress on each area of our "Pyramid of Student Success" by clicking on the picture below.

The Board and Guy Wangsgard, Executive Director of Finance and Operations, discussed the renewal of the District's $5.8 million supplemental levy which will expire in June of 2025. The Board considered different options for the approaching levy, including renewing it at the same amount or asking taxpayers for an increase. The supplemental levy supports the district's classified staffing and extracurriculars. The Board asked the district, under the advisement of the district's legal representatives, to help draft a proposal for the Board to review. The deadline to submit a resolution to Bonneville County elections is September 6, 2024.

Upcoming Board Meetings:

August 14, 2024 - Regular Board meeting - 6:00 p.m. (Public Business will begin at 7:00 p.m.)

August 28, 2024 - Work Meeting - 11:30 a.m. - PLC Building.

This summer we would like to invite you to participate in our district-wide summer reading program. At this link you will find a Bingo card: Bonneville Joint School District 93 Summer Reading Bingo Children ages 0 to 18, or students enrolled in district programs until age 21, are welcome to participate. If your child gets a BINGO or a blackout, you are welcome to pick up their prize at the District Office, or your school library if it is open. Children 5 and under, or with disabilities, may be assisted with reading tasks.

Please click this link to see if your school library is open this summer: Open School Libraries Your schools will be sending out more information.

Our district’s online library/eBook service will be available all summer. Please see this link for more information: Sora Information. You may also download the Sora app on any device. If you have questions or need help, please contact Julie Briggs at briggsju@d93mail.com

Little Community Libraries are installed at Cloverdale, Bridgewater, Fairview, Falls Valley, Mountain Valley, Rocky Mountain Middle School, Tiebreaker, and Ucon. Students can take a book for their reading enjoyment. These will be stocked throughout the summer.

There is still some spots available for the Pine Basin Eco-Science Camp. If you have a 7th - 12th grade student who would be interested in a fun week of science and fun, then this is a great opportunity for them. The following weeks are available

• Week 1: July 29 – Aug 2
• Week 2: Aug 5 – 9

The cost is $226.42 plus state tax of $13.58 for a total of $240.00 (includes Pine Basin Summer Camp T-shirt and admission to Jackson Hole Playhouse). We cannot guarantee a reservation until it is paid in full. Follow the fee payment portal instructions to reserve your date. For more information and a detailed itinerary, please click here.

To complete the registration process for 7th-12th grade Science Camp:

1. Fill out the Pine Basin Eco-Science Application
2. Pay your fees

The recently opened youth crisis center “Rise Up” is now able to serve children in our region ranging in ages of 5-17 years old. This center provides a safe, secure, facility for children in crisis for up to 23 hours and 59 minutes (per crisis). This fully staffed facility will provide food, lodging, case management services to connect children and families with community services, and programming to support de-escalation, stabilization, and support. This is all free of charge to the family or individual and is funded by the State of Idaho. This is a great referral source for students in crisis. The contact information is below.

Phone: (208) 862-0994

Email: ybhcccdirector@gmail.com

Website: www.riseupyouthcrisiscenter.com

Address: 1140 Science Center Dr. Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402

ParentGuidance.org is website with free online courses and resources for parents and anyone who needs support. There is Parent Coaching, Ask a Therapist and Get Help options as well as specialized courses for your specific needs and support measures. Spanish is available if needed. Again these services are free.

Students, parents, and employees can reach out for help with bullying, harassment, suicidal tendencies, self-harm, threats, or to report weapons at school by going to d93.org/gethelp or sending the text @gethelp to 855-528-0074.

Thank you to our community partners at EIRMC for supporting our D93 News Family Update.

Follow us on Instagram for exclusive content.