School board approves use of district buildings as emergency shelters for medical center

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City School District Board of Directors this week approved allowing Floyd County Medical Center to use Washington Elementary and/or Charles City Middle School if the hospital should become unusable because of damage or needs to be evacuated in an emergency.

Charles City Director of Operations Jerry Mitchell has worked with the Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City on updating a memorandum of understanding that would allow the medical center to use school district facilities as an emergency shelter.

The plan has been developed in coordination with Floyd County Emergency Management, local public health and others.

If the hospital is damaged or the hospital or clinic need to be evacuated, or extensive surge capacity is needed, the school district may be approved for government compensation if the governor declares the area a state of emergency. Or, if the criteria is met for a “disruption of service,” compensation may be approved by Floyd County Medical Center’s insurance provider. All costs to the school district will be billed to Floyd County Medical Center.

Also at the meeting Monday, school district social worker Jenna Haglund presented information to the board regarding empathy training for school district employees, which is ongoing.

Haglund said that the goal of the training is to find a way to communicate with a more “mindful, respectful and loving way within the district.”

She said that the training sessions utilize personal stories as a way to talk and engage. Training sessions include 20 people at the most. Of the district’s 305 employees, 121 have completed the training, and Haglund said that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Also Monday, the board approved the Imagine Learning software proposal for the Innovative Campus, totaling $114,000, to be paid out of ESSER III learning loss funding.

Innovative Campus Principal Larry Wolfe and stakeholders reviewed the current software program the Innovative Campus is utilizing, and agreed this is the most useful tool moving forward. Wolfe was able to work with Imagine Learning to get a three-year deal at a steep discount.

Also Monday:
• Lincoln Elementary Principal Marcia DeVore clarified the Charles City Community School District Curriculum Management and Assessment System Handbook. DeVore also shared the K-12 Curriculum Overview Table with the board.
• The board approved Special Education Director Nanette Smith’s proposed committee of parents, district staff and Area Education Agency staff, to review and revise the District Developed Service Delivery Plan.
• Teachers Carly Marten and Jennifer Seehusen presented to the board on how they gather data from MAP testing and use that data to guide instruction.
• Speech coach Michelle Grob and members of the Charles City All-State Speech team showcased their skills to the board. Junior Sophia Jensen presented her state-qualifying prose speech.