I’m pleased to announce that Staples Motley ISD #2170 has reached a contract settlement with Staples Motley Education Ass o c i ation, led by SMEA presid e n t Dave Barnett. The school board app r o ve d the agreem e n t with our teachers for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years at the Dec. 21, 2009 school board meeting. Consequently, the teachers signed the contracts on Jan. 13, 2010, two days before the deadline of Jan. 15, 2010.

We clearly had a superior group of individuals working toward an equitable agreement. The district, like all Minnesota districts, had until Jan. 15, 2010 to ratify its teachers’ contracts or face a loss of state appropriations. The district would have lost about $37,000 as a penalty for not reaching a contract agreement. A 1989 state law penalizes districts $25 per pupil in state aid if they fail to reach agreements with their teachers’ unions by Jan. 15. Teachers’ contracts in Minnesota expire in July of every odd-numbered year and correspond with the state’s biennial budget.

On Jan. 25, SM teachers had their second day of training on the new interactive white boards. Julie Mertens, technology teacher, was in charge of training at Staples Elementary during the teacher inservice day. This was their 2nd round of training for the new Promethean Interactive Boards. The first was back in November. The boards are basically a giant touch-screen on which an LCD projector can display the computer’s screen for the entire class to see. Instead of lecturing students, the teachers can teach a concept and let students illustrate those ideas on the spot. Teachers were able to practice what they learned while Ms. Mertens walked them through it step by step. Later in the day they broke out into smaller groups where teachers that may have had more experience and time with the boards can be in a classroom with the teachers who are newer to the technology and are in need of hands on help. Interactive whiteboards are a great new classroom innovation, and our school district is quickly recognizing their importance. With a single computer and the Internet, a whiteboard can be an important factor in teaching, promoting great student focus and participation.

During Friday night’s boys basketball game against Crosby Ironton, their superintendent, Jamie Skjeveland and I placed a friendly wager over the outcome of the game. We wagered that whoever lost the game would wear the other team’s jersey the next Monday at school. Of course, he didn’t know we didn’t have school on Monday! After our loss, Jamie should be ready for a little payback when CI comes to play Staples-Motley later this season.