Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I would like to close out the year by saying, "THANK YOU"  for entrusting us with your children on a daily basis. As an educator it is truly a blessing to work in a district where we have parents and community members that truly care about our youth.  Whether you are a parent, grandparent or community member, we could not do what we do  on a daily basis without your continuous support.    I hope you all have the opportunity to spend the holidays with your families, friends and those closest to you.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Idaho School Boards Association Promotes "Stand Up 4 Idaho Public Schools"

Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA) is promoting http://standup4idahopublicschools.org/. The intent of the site is to initiate a positive conversation about Idaho’s public schools.  

HERE’S YOUR OFFICIAL INVITATION

We invite you to get involved. If you’re a parent, this affects you. If you’re an educator, this also affects you. If you’re just someone who believes that a good K-12 education is a fundamental right for students, this especially affects you! Your involvement is more crucial than ever. Help us sustain public and legislative support for our schools by standing up today!

You can share the following on this website:

1. Submit a good-news story about Idaho public school students.
2. Submit some positive news about an Idaho school district.
3. Tell us about you – how has an Idaho public school shaped who you are today?

Join us in supporting Idaho Public schools.

Posted on October 14, 2014 in Idaho School Boards Association

Genesee Offers "Little Bulldog" program for Kindergarten and Preschool Families

Genesee Joint School District  offer Extended Day "Little Bulldogs" program for students and families for the 2014/15 school year.

Starting Sept. 2, 2014, Genesee Joint School district began offering a tuition based extended day program fondly known as "Little Bulldogs" to our students attending Genesee School District Preschool and Kindergarten classes.  Little Bulldogs not only helps families with daycare issues, but  early childhood education can have a strong influence on student academic success.

Research has shown that students who participate in preschool programs tend to show higher language skills and kindergarten readiness.  Kindergarten students who have participated in early learning opportunities often will show significant gains in letter word identification, spelling and fine motor skills.

Prekindergarten as well as extended day classes also tends to ease the stress of transitioning into regular kindergarten and first grade classes.  These extended opportunities allow children the opportunity to become familiar with the school building, teaching staff as well as classroom environments and routines.  We hope that these programs will provide a bridge for our students to find success in the academic environment.

Interested in knowing more about "Little Bulldogs"?  Please contact the office at 208-285-1161 for additional information.

Genesee High School named 1A Div I 2013-14 IHSAA "School of Excellence"

 Genesee High School has been named the 1A Div I 2013-2014 IHSAA "School of Excellence".

Genesee has earned this distinction due to overall excellence in the three major areas of high school activities:  academic performance, athletic/ activity achievements and citizenship/ sportsmanship endeavors.

Genesee High School will be presented a plaque honoring this achievement at the IHSAA Annual Meeting on August 5th at the Boise Centre, Boise, ID.

Congratulations to all of our athletes and staff who made this outstanding achievement possible.

Genesee Schools combines Annual Fun Run with Jackson's Pay it Forward Foundation

Genesee's students and staff will be dedicating the Annual Fun Run to the Pay It Forward Foundation. Since 2006 the Jackson's Pay It Forward Foundation has helped families who have serious illnesses or injuries.  Their belief is that "paying it forward" is very influential and they encourage others to do the same.

The Jackson's Pay It Forward Foundation has helped two Genesee Families and students within the last two years and it is time for us to "Pay It Forward".  Students and staff will be collecting donations from May 19 - May 30, 2014.  Donations may be turned into the high school office.

 An assembly will be held 12:25 on June 3rd. to recognize the Pay It Forward Foundation.  The community is welcome to join us in this celebration.

If you would like more information on this organization, please go to http://jacksonspayitforward.com

Genesee heads to State Tournaments

Genesee School District will be headed to State tournaments this week.  

Genesee Girls softball finished 1st place in District II 1A competition  and Genesee Boys Baseball finished 2nd place in District II IA sending them both to the State tournaments to be held on May 16 and 17th.  Girls softball will be headed to Caldwell for State tournament play.  Boys baseball will play a little closer to home, playing in Lewiston on May 16th and 17th.

Along with softball and baseball, we will be sending 8 of our track athletes to Boise to compete in the State Track meet.

If you follow sports at Genesee district, this is the first year since 2008 that we have had all sports teams go to State competitions.  Way to go Bulldogs!

We hope that you can join us in supporting our teams!  Send off for all three teams will be Thursday a.m. at 9:40 a.m. on the front lawn.

Good luck to all our athletes!

Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC) begins in April

Genesee school's  is one of many schools  in the country participating in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test this spring. Schools in 24 states will administer the online assessment to certain grades in mathematics and/or English language arts/ Literacy starting this April, 2014.

The Field Test is an opportunity to “test the test.”  Information from the field test will be used to evaluate the testing software, ensure the quality of test questions, and evaluate the effectiveness of the test administration and training materials.

For our school, students in grades 3-11 have been selected to take the Field test.   The assessment will be administered over multiple days during the months of April and May.

This is a very exciting opportunity for our school. Students will be able to try out new, online testing software and innovative question types that will be very similar on future Smarter Balanced assessments. By participating in the field test, your child will be influencing the development of future Smarter Balanced assessments used in our schools.

If you would like more information about Smarter Balanced, please visit the Smarter Balanced website at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/. If you have any questions regarding your child’s participation, please contact Mr. Scripter, Mrs. Moore or Mr. Caldwell at 208-285-1161

2014 - 2015 Supplemental Levy Passed!

On Behalf of the School Board, Administration, Students and Staff of Genesee School District, I would like to thank you for supporting our 2014 Supplemental Levy.

Your support enables the district to continue to provide the quality education that our students will need to be successful. Your "yes" vote continues to show students and others that education is valued among the community. By supporting public education you are enabling us to be able to provide our students with skills and tools to be successful in the future.

As District Superintendent, I appreciate your support and hope to continue to be able to provide our children with the quality education that our children deserve and need. It is a pleasure to be a member of such a strong, supportive community.

Our school district wouldn't be the great institution it is today without such great community support. Thank you for voting YES!

Sincerely,
Wendy Moore
 Superintendent

Genesee School District seeks RENEWAL of 2013 levy

The Genesee School district will ask voters on March 11, 2014 to renew the proposed one-year levy of $935,000.  This levy is a renewal of the 2012 and the 2013 levies. 

The determination of the levy amount is based on the discrepancy between the revenue available to the District from other sources and the educational needs determined by the Board of Trustees. Taking into account the property tax reduction provided by the agricultural equipment replacement exemption, which is approximately $46,211,  and the personal business property tax exemption, which is approximately $6,000, the estimated cost of this levy will be  $871,307.

This supplemental levy allows  the District  to maintain educational, sports and other extra-curricular programs for students attending Genesee Schools for the 2014/15 school year.  The proposed levy provides the necessary funds that State and Federal Dollars do not cover.  

We will be hosting two community meetings regarding the proposed levy.  Please join us on Feb. 18th or March 4th  at 6:00 p.m. for levy information.

If you would like additional information or are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Mrs. Wendy Moore at 208-285-1161 or wmoore@sd282.org. 

For Electors in Latah Co.:  
Precinct 21:  Genesee Senior Center, 240 E. Walnut, Genesee, ID
Precinct 23:  Juliaetta City Hall Annex, 203  Main Street, Juliaetta, ID

Absentee(In Person) voting will take place at:  Latah County Auditors Office, Room 101, 522 South Adams, Moscow, ID.  Deadline for Absentee (in person) voting is March 7th at 5:00 p.m.

For Electors in Nez Perce Co.:  Ballots will be mailed to registered electors beginning Feb. 18, 2014.

Absentee (In Person) voting will take place at:  Nez Perce Co. Courthouse, Room 100, 1230 Main Street, Lewiston, ID.  Deadline for Absentee (in person) voting is March 7th at 5:00 p.m.

PLEASE VOTE AND SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS!

Smarter Balanced Assessment for Idaho Students

Here is some additional information from TJ Bliss, Director of the Assessment and Accountability at the State Department.  If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact myself, Wendy Moore or the State Department for additional information. Director's Note

Over the past year, the Assessment and Accountability Division has worked to support districts in preparing for the transition to the new Smarter Balanced Assessment System. Most of this effort has been focused on the “what” and “how” of transitioning: technology, scheduling, accessibility, etc. The Field Test this spring will help districts, schools, teachers, and students better understand the “what” and “how” of Smarter Balanced. However, as we continue the transition, please also consider some of the reasons why the move to the Smarter Balanced Assessment System is important and valuable for Idaho: Smarter Balanced is currently one of only two assessments fully aligned to the Idaho Core Standards. The summative test will measure students’ ability to balance conceptual understanding with procedural fluency, connect these two types of knowledge, reason mathematically, construct viable arguments, engage with complex texts, and use evidence to inform, argue and analyze. The Smarter Balanced assessment will probe student knowledge at much deeper levels than our current ISAT. The computer adaptive test engine and advanced item types will provide more accurate measures of student learning, while the performance tasks will measure student knowledge at both depth and breadth. Idaho educators and educational leaders have been deeply involved in the development and direction of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System from the beginning. As a governing member of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium going forward, Idaho will be able to continue this involvement in the future. Smarter Balanced is a complete assessment system, with summative tests to provide data to inform programmatic decisions, interim tests to inform student progress and curriculum throughout the year, and formative assessment resources to inform teaching and learning on a daily basis. Students can receive a direct benefit from the 11th grade summative assessment. All public colleges and universities in Idaho (as well as many in the other consortium states) have agreed to use student scores from the 11th grade test to make placement decisions. Students who score advanced or proficient will be eligible to receive exemption from remedial coursework in their first year of college. For more information please contact Dr. TJ Bliss: tjbliss@sde.idaho.gov/208-332-6842