K-3 Shows Top Reading Growth in the State
Meadows Valley School announced news that their kindergarten through third grade students showed the highest percentage of growth in early literacy in the state of Idaho for the 2024-25 school year. Results were measured by Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI) tests taken throughout the school year. Superintendent and Principal Dee Fredrickson announced the accomplishment at the regular School Board meeting on Tuesday, August 12 as well as via press release stating, “this success is thanks to the hard work of our incredible students, dedicated staff, committed school board, and the amazing support from our community volunteers.” She said, “Literacy is a shared goal here and we’re proud of the steps our kids are taking toward reading at grade level by third grade.”
Elementary teachers and administration put together a plan before the start of last school year to reach their goal of getting over 80% of students reading at grade level by the end of the school year. Meadows Valley is a small school with around 30 students represented in those grades and a high percentage of special needs students. Fredrickson said these stats further highlight the school’s commitment to meeting the needs of all learners.
Superintendent Fredrickson said the school leaders recognize that this success in early literacy is one part of a broader effort to improve student outcomes across multiple areas, including attendance, graduation rates, college and career readiness, and performance in core academic subjects as literacy is a foundational skill that opens doors in a multitude of areas.
Fredrickson said they will continue to work hard to improve in all areas, but today we celebrate this milestone. She said, “We are incredibly proud of our students and thankful for the collective effort that led to this success. It’s a win for our entire school and community.”
Fredrickson also said they would be putting together something special for the students to celebrate as they return to school.
In other back to school news, Fredrickson reported on teacher trainings leading up to the first day of school on Monday, August 25 as well as Back to School night which is scheduled for Thursday, August 21 from 5:30-6:30 p.m..
Jared McIlvain was in attendance in his new positions as Vice Principal and Athletic Director. He updated the board about athletics saying one student is participating in co-op high school football with McCall and nine JV volleyball players including two seniors have been training for the upcoming season. He said middle school volleyball is starting practice as well.
Fredrickson reported that two para-educator candidates and two middle school science candidates had been interviewed that day.
The Superintendent said updates to the building’s fire suppression systems including exterior piping are complete minus a few sprinkler fixes. She said the playground improvements are moving along and equipment should all be installed before school starts.
Fredrickson reported a hot water heater was found leaking and that created some mold on both sides of a wall. ServPro has been to the school and all involved hope the clean up will be completed before school starts.
Tim Wilcox has been evaluating and working on the school’s HVAC system since early this year and gave a report to the board on needed updates. Wilcox owns Toolman Tim’s and has been in the trade for 31 years. He said it seems that some areas of the system have not worked for quite a long time and continued maintenance will be important moving forward.
Wilcox is putting together a list of parts needing to be replaced and used for fixing the system as well as an overall quote and plan for updates. Fredrickson said they may be able to use capital improvement fund money for this project, but the board understood this will be a long term project. Wilcox said the system was upgraded in 2004, but 20 years is about the life expectancy of this type of system.
Representatives from Charter Impact, a business management company, gave a presentation for what could be the school’s chosen option moving forward as Business Manager Carol Whitney looks toward retirement. CI Director of Business Development Greg Burroughs and Regional Director Jonathan Gillent, discussed fiscal health and their personal and company qualifications and offerings. They said they “work to understand and incorporate current operations” including business management, payroll, retirement, accounting, finance, benefits, and tax reporting.
The cost was presented as $65,000 annual plus $25 per employee per month. With current numbers, the school would be paying $73,100 per year. Charter Impact noted this amount could be prorated to reflect their start date. They said their goal was to be transparent with what the school would be getting and for what cost.
Meadows Valley Youth Advocacy Coalition (YAC) Coordinator Teresa Fanselow and Meadows Valley Community Center Director Angie Crow then discussed with the board a Memorandum of Understanding for use of the school’s cafeteria and outdoor areas for the YAC after school program on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This will be the third year for this program. Fanselow said they regularly had 60-80 kids in attendance ranging from preschool to high school age. Fanselow said often the older kids grab a snack and leave, but some were caretaking younger siblings.
The program has four local staff members onsite to run the program and receives support from Community Center members who put together snacks for attendees. Crow noted they would continue to use the Community Center kitchen for making snacks and would bring them to the school.
Safety concerns were stated since the Community Center is right on the highway. Fanselow also said they looked at using the new Youth Center once it is open, but weren’t sure the size would accommodate the group on busier days.
Mayor Julie Good was present and said she hoped YAC would use the Youth Center and to keep in mind the daycare and skatepark as other after school options. Fanselow said she hoped to use the Youth Center for activities for older students. Mayor Good agreed she hoped the center would be used for quality programming.
Fredrickson said the school has room depending on how the program grows. She is familiar with the YAC staff and confident in their capability. She said her only concerns were ensuring the program kept to the designated areas and honored commitments to not add work to already stretched custodial staff.
Board member Chris Peterson also brought up the library program as an option for kids. Mayor Good added that librarian Audrey Crogh has been working on a junior high STEM program. All parties said they were hopeful the community could offer multiple places for youth. The MOU was approved unanimously.
An MOU with the City of New Meadows for use of the youth center for preschool was introduced. Mayor Good said both parties’ attorneys and City Council had reviewed the MOU. She affirmed the Youth Center plans from the beginning always included collaboration between the city and the school and that this MOU should note how the project is mutually beneficial.
The MOU says the school will use the preschool building for morning programming and the daycare will use the space in the afternoon and evening. Mayor Good said City Council had asked that the school state some tangible input for use of the school. She said this did not need to be monetary, but since the grants they had received for the building stated collaboration, the City wanted to be able to show that on paper.
Mayor Good said the building of the Youth Center started with a grant from the Idaho Department of Workforce Development and was considered a partnership between the school and city. She explained the building is split into two parts separating the childcare/preschool and youth center with each side having a separate water, sewer, and electrical system.
The city will provide snow removal and has received free internet from AirBridge. Preschool teacher Angie Mettie has said she will be responsible for cleaning the room after preschool.
Fredrickson replied noting this is not an unreasonable request, but that the preschool program receives no money except for special education students. The preschool expects 25 students this year.
Fredrickson continued saying the budgets for this year have been finalized and this is coming a bit late to try to pull funds out. Mayor Good asked if furnishings could be shared with the daycare. Fredrickson confirmed that they have furniture in storage and they are waiting to get into the building to see what fits where and what is still needed before utilizing the remaining grant funds received for the preschool from Blue Cross of Idaho. Fredrickson said they can talk about what daycare and preschool needs are together once they have been in the building and can absolutely share.
Good affirmed this request was not necessarily about dollars, but more about saying to grant funders that this is a partnership benefitting both parties. She recognized the earlier discussion about the HVAC system and the school having a tight budget. All parties also agreed they will create an inventory list of what items are set apart and which are shared. The Board agreed to add a line saying they would provide something per the agreement and approved the MOU. The memo will be reviewed annually.
The board approved elementary and secondary athletic handbooks noting updates to names, dates, and cell phone policies.
The meeting closed with an executive session. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the school library.
