Troy school board earns top honors

The Troy Public Schools Board of Trustees was recognized by the Montana Association of School Superintendents as the 2015 School Board of the Year at the association’s annual conference Oct. 15.

The purpose of the award, according to an announcement from the association’s president, Randy Kline, “is to recognize and focus attention on the dedicated and ethical service rendered by school boards to the children of Montana.”

Nominations were accepted from school superintendents and evaluated based upon accomplishments and efforts in the areas of board policy, facilities and grounds and programs.

The Troy board, comprised of John Konzen, Doug Chapel, Mark Roesler-Begalke, Melinda Thompson, Hy Boltz and Andrea Huisentstruit, was nominated for the award by district superintendent Dr. Jacob Francom, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2015 Montana Principal of the Year. In his letter of nomination, Francom said the board has built a solid foundation for the advancement and development of public education in Troy.

“Troy Public Schools Board of Trustees is a board that works cohesively, professionally and effectively,” Francom wrote. “The students and community of Troy are well served by the work of our board of trustees. The board has strengthened and shored up the educational foundation of Troy Public Schools that will continue to be built on with the goals and direction that the district is heading.”

In the letter, Francom said the board has spent the past two years overhauling the district’s policies and procedures, as well as all handbooks and other district documentation, and then worked to make those easily available to the public. 

“Two years ago the Troy Public Schools Board of Trustees worked with Montana School Board Association to do a thorough review of all board policies, handbooks, etc.,” Francom wrote. “The policies and district documents are not only up-to-date, but easily accessible on the district’s new website for the entire community. Since this review, policies are kept up-to-date by regular policy committee meetings each quarter. In addition to this, our board and administration has worked with local legislators, authorities (city, county, etc.), and other local school districts to establish attendance procedures that encourage students to attend school and stay out of trouble on the streets.”

The board has also undertaken aggressive projects with the schools’ infrastructure needs, including remodeling and renovation projects, energy efficiency work in the buildings and the improvement of the playground and W.F. Morrison Elementary.

“Troy Public Schools Board of Trustees has made it a priority this past year to improve the facilities and grounds of the district to improve the learning and teaching enviornments,” Francom wrote. “The following areas have been remodeled and updated to ensure that our learning environments are welcoming and effective: Hallway and classroom lighting, painting, relandscape and installation of new playground equipment, new flooring throughout the elementary. Further, the district has focused some of its energy on improving energy efficiency of the facilities – a new biomass boiler system, lighting, sprinkler systems, etc. These energy updates have allowed saved funds to be put towards student-centered activities and programs. Safety upgrades have also been done and include additional cameras in school buildings, new exterior reinforced doors, installation of a new public address system, phone system upgrades and training for all staff.”

Francom said the board’s work on the new playground at W.F. Morrison not only helps to provide a fun and safe atmosphere for the children, but helped to unite the community in an effort at civic improvement.

“The area has been updated to allow better monitoring of students and increase student activity,” Francom said. “This is also an area that is regularly used by community members throughout the evenings, weekends and summer. The board worked hard to get grants and volunteer groups to do this major project, which has brought the school and community together.”

Francom said the board’s most significant achievement was in the area of new programs. 

“Troy Public Schools Board of Trustees has been dedicated and focused on improving the educational programs of the schools, which has been the most significant impact the board has had on the district,” he wrote. “Many of these innovative programs have been adopted and are in full swing with many changes and improvements happending for the schools and the students.”

One of the programs Francom highlighted was the district’s technology program. The goal of the technology program, Francom said, is to prepare students for the world after high school, be it in college or in the 21st century workforce.

The board brought in a number of technology experts, comprised of businesses and associations, to evaluate the schools’ technology infrastructure and make recommendations for improvements. The recommendations were presented to a committee with a two-pronged goal of improving the school’s technology and the student’s technology-based curriculum.

“A comprehensive technology plan was developed by a team composed of teachers, administration, support staff and parents,” Francom wrote. “This plan not only included the needed technology for the district, but the professional development, and what each student will learn each year in school. This curriculum will ensure that each student has the skills to be successful as they enter college and the 21st century workforce. The board has done this by ensuring that the infrastructure is sufficient for the technology needs of the district. Bandwidth and hardware have been purchased and implemented.”

The board has also prioritized student nutrition and wellness programs, expanding the breakfast in the classroom program and developing a district-wide comprehensive wellness program. The program focuses not only on the nutrition side of the equation, but also works to ensure Troy students are getting a proper amount of exercise to keep them well and enhance classroom performance.

The schools have also adopted an early intervention program, aimed at improving performance by identifying and working with struggling students. Each school has an on-staff intervention coordinator to work one-on-one with students and their parents. The high school has adopted the HiSET program, an alternative equivalency testing program which allows students who are behind to test upward and graduate with their classes.

The board, Francom said, has also been actively working toward greater levels of community engagement. The district hired an adult education supervisor to help bring more adults into the education programs. With the new coordinator and the changes implemented by the board, participation in adult education in Troy has increased by 300 percent, Francom said. The district has also hired an historian to prepare and organize a record of the district’s history in preparation for the school’s 100 year anniversary. The district also sends out a quarterly newsletter, the District Communicator, to all parents and community members, in order to keep the community informed and involved on the activities and programs of the district.

Francom also touted the district’s strategic plan. The plan, he said, was a year-long effort to modernize the goals and mission of Troy Public Schools, including evaluating the schools in a number of categories and developing initiatives to address those goals.

“This past year a main focus has been to develop a comprehensive district strategic plan,” Francom wrote. “This plan took a lot of time, discussion and people. Committees in each school were created to evaluate five different improvement standards. These committees evaluated their school based on these standards. The overall ratings of the committees, in addition to surveys of parents, students and staff, were conducted and gathered. In addition to these, assessment data was used in discussing and formulating the goals and areas of professional development to focus on. During this review the district’s mission and belief statements were reviewed, modified and updated. Once the strategic plan was drafted it was presented to the community through the newspaper, community meetings, board meetings, community leader meetings and in district brochures. The board wanted to create something simple and easy to remember, not something that was long, difficult to follow and was just in a folder on the shelf. The strategic plan has become an integral part of the planning of the district.”

The members of the Montana Association of School Superintendents’ review committee evaluated Francom’s nomination, along with those of other school superintendents, and voted to award the Troy Public Schools Board of Trustees the 2015 honor. After the award was announced, Francom said, “This is a great way to recognize our great board for all the wonderful work they have done.”