Highland has ‘Count Day,’ parent-teacher conferences

RIVERSIDE — The first school day in October is a very important date for schools in the state of Iowa. This is called ‘Count Day’ by many educators. This is the day of our official count of students in our school district. This count is what the state bases the money they send each school district. This year, each student is worth $7,635. If a school’s enrollment is going up then a school gets more money for the next year. The money isn’t realized until a year later. If your enrollment is going down, then there is less money coming in for your district.

Highland’s enrollment numbers have been decreasing these past few years, which makes for challenging budget decisions while maintaining a quality education for our students. I believe we have done that while even adding important positions in the elementary and secondary schools. We have added a math interventionist at the elementary and hired back an Industrial Tech instructor at the secondary. We feel these positions help our students and expand our curriculum for the students to have the best possible experience at school and classes they enjoy as well. We have been prudent and cautious with our spending but we are still working to provide the best environment for Highland students.

We did have our second Facilities Advisory Committee meeting the last week of September. We had just under 20 people attend to discuss the facilities plan that OPN Architects did this past summer. The group took an extensive list of ideas and then made a top 10 priority list. We’ll get that list back when we meet later in October. We are working on getting consensus for possible facilities improvements in the coming years.

As always, we have completed a successful homecoming week with a variety of student activities, dance, and Boom Night where many organizations were recognized. Of course, the crowning of the king and queen is always a fun experience for the school community.

We had parent/teacher conferences on Oct. 4, and another round coming up Oct. 11. I encourage every parent to attend these conferences. It is a valuable tool to talk with our staff about your student. Even if you know the grade in the class, the interactions with the teacher and a few stories about your student is valuable relationship building for the school environment. Personal conversations are critical if any future interactions take place. Feel free to attend either night. Enjoy the start of the fall season! Go Huskies!