Sand Springs Board of Education approves 5-year Strategic Improvement Plan

The Continuous Strategic Improvement (CSI) team was recognized for their work in developing the 5-year plan for SSPS.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Board of Education handed out a plethora of awards at their regular monthly meeting Monday evening and discussed the strategic plan for the next five school years.

Brock Smith received the Sandite Spirit Award for making the 2017 Academic All State team, Charles Page High School Head Baseball Coach Bill Hutson received a Coin of Excellence, and the team behind the new Strategic Plan received the Sandite Pacesetter Award and were recognized both individually and as a group.

The official mission for SSPS going forward will be to "empower every child to maximize their potential for responsible productive citizenship in the 21st century." The strategy identifies four pillars for success. 

  1. Empower Students with successful learning and behaviors.
  2. Empower Teachers and Staff through successful recruitment, training, mentoring, school culture, and climate.
  3. Empower Families and Community with successful community and family engagement.
  4. Empower Resource Innovation through successful integration of technology, environments for learning, and financial support and resources. 

Allison Potts, Angelia Noel, Brian Jackson, Catrina Edgar, Claudia Smith, Christina Abbott, Dick Ford, Emily Glaser, Jay Rotert, Jennifer Smith, JJ Smith, Kami McCabe, Karen Biggs, Liz Binger, Megan Morrow, Michael Bynum, Mikael Howard, Mindy Roley, Renee McFarland, Rusty Gunn, Sarah Lattie, Stan Trout, Sylvia Fooshee, Vicki Harbaugh, Sharon Dean, Sharon Wilbur, and Stephanie Hyder were all a part of the Continuous Strategic Improvement (CSI) team.

The Board approved three out-of-state trips for the CPHS Volleyball team. The Lady Sandite varsity squad will head to camp in Branson, Missouri, while the 7th Grade, 8th Grade, JV, and Freshman teams will make two trips to a camp in Fayetteville, Arkansas. All three trips will be held in July. The trips are funded in full by the Booster Club.

The Lady Sandites celebrated their best season in school history last year and Head Coach Janna Green was named the Frontier Valley Conference Coach of the Year. The volleyball season will begin in August, possibly up to a week before the school year actually begins.

The Board rescinded an agreement passed last month with Oklahoma LED, then passed the same agreement but along a lease-own option rather than outright purchase.

The Board authorized the use of $55,449.50 to hire American Demolition to raze the former Twin Cities Elementary building. The school intends to retain the property with expectations of district growth in the foreseeable future, but the currently building would be too costly to renovate.

The Board authorized a $0.05 increase in the price of student lunches, as recommended by the Director of Child Nutrition. 

The Board voted in favor of shortening the 2016-2017 school year by one day, thanks to a number of unused snow days. The last day of school for students will be Thursday, May 25th, allowing teachers to use the 26th as a professional day without having to return after Memorial Day Weekend. 

The Board approved a $35,240 contract with Sports Unlimited for a partial floor replacement in the Ed Dubie Field House. The plan also includes a $5,000 contingency. The floor became warped on one side of the court, within the three-point line, during basketball season. The Lady Sandite Conference Champion team had to give up their right to host a Regional Tournament because of it. 

The Sand Springs Board of Education meets on the first Monday of every month in the Charles Page High School Fine Arts Building at 7:00 p.m. The meeting is open to the public with opportunities for public questions, concerns, and comments.