The Mahomet-Seymour School District will expand its administration team with new positions that will be funded through Evidence-based Tier funding through the state or ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) funding. Additional staff positions were also approved.
Superintendent Lindsey Hall told the board that the district needed a District Family Engagement Specialist, District 504 Coordinator, Assistant Principal at Mahomet-Seymour High School, 6-12 Math Instructional Coach, K-5 Instructional Coach, District Behavior Interventionist/Coach, Pre-K Teacher, Information Technology Specialist, Stipends for professional development and case management at the junior high and high school levels.
In the supplemental materials provided to the board, the need for the District Family Engagement Specialist came from the need for the district to communicate better with families. The family advocate will be responsible for coordinating with social workers, home visits, fee waivers, parent workshops and a coordinator for mentoring and volunteer opportunities.
The district also believes that coming into this stage of the pandemic, students who are returning to school may need additional support. A second Behavior Interventionist/Coach would ease the transition for students and also fill a space that has been contracted out for BCBA support.
Additionally the case management stipends will be used to pair teachers with junior high and high school students who may need additional support throughout the 2021-22 school year. Many of these students are already on the D/F list and have attendance issues, according to the board materials.
The need for an assistant principal at Mahomet-Seymour High School comes with increased enrollment and a need for more admins to do teacher evaluations.
The 504 Coordinator will work with counselors and social workers to manage 504 plans, which are growing — currently 165 in the district.
Hall said that the district is in need of additional Instructional Coaches to move towards par with staff and student enrollment. The Evidence-based funding model shows that the district is short of the number of instructional coaches needed.
The district is also behind on positions for technology support. In 2018, the two-person team, which still includes Director of Technology Jared Lynn, became one as another administrator took a job in another district.
As of June, the district had 27 at-risk preschool students with 12 tuition-based students on a waiting list, which accounts for the additional need for a Pre-K Teacher.
The district has been monitoring summer enrollment numbers as they look at classroom sizes and teacher needs. The graphic provided in the board packet showed that as the district tries to limit class sizes, classrooms throughout the district are limited, and in many circumstances are at full capacity.
