SUPERINTENDENT: New school year brings excitement, opportunities
Greetings to all of Sedalia #200! Welcome back for another successful school year!
Allow me to first take the time to once again thank Sedalia School District voters for approving the levy this past April. Making the temporary operating part of the total operating levy will enable the district to start making significant improvements across the district. You can expect to start seeing these improvements over the next few years. The district will be asking for more input from our parents, patrons, and staff in identifying and prioritizing these improvements. Each building will be hosting the public this fall to walk throughout the building in order to get your suggestions. District administration and the Board of Education values your feedback!
Moving into the 2023-2024 school year, we have both challenges and opportunities on the horizon. I can assure you that our administrative team will work hard to achieve success in bringing the very best opportunities for our students and staff.
TRANSPORTATION: The district’s transportation contractor, First Student, continues to work hard recruiting potential bus drivers. Sedalia 200 will begin the year with enough drivers to offer the same service as in previous years, but this could quickly change at any time. I want to ask for the patience and cooperation of our parents should the bus driver shortage force disruptions or cancellation of routes and trips. I want to give a personal shout out to Connie Miller (“Bus Barn Connie”) as she continues to work diligently to keep our school district running. Sedalia is in a much better position than many other schools across the state and the nation.
DISCIPLINE: As I explained last school year, Sedalia Schools will focus on improving student behaviors and holding accountable those who choose to continually disrupt the educational process. Negative and disrespectful behaviors are not acceptable. These disruptions take away from the educational opportunities of those who make good choices. While we will work hard with all of our students to achieve success, there also will be accountability.
REDISTRICTING: The district’s population continues to shift. Hard decisions may need to be made in regards to possible redistricting of our elementary boundaries. With Skyline and Parkview being the two buildings with the largest populations and Horace Mann and Washington having historically low enrollments, the need to change boundaries is becoming inevitable. Please bear with us throughout this process.
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES: On a more positive note, the district has been expanding student opportunities, especially at the junior high level. Adding junior high wrestling for boys and girls as well as cross country and cheerleading serve as examples of new opportunities for kids to participate and belong to a team. In addition, having JROTC in eighth grade will only serve to elevate student achievement and self-respect. The district also hopes to extend its robotics program to the junior high level, offering yet another opportunity for students to compete and succeed. Smith-Cotton High School will be developing its CAPS, Center for Advanced Professional Studies, with the plan of implementation during the 2024-2025 school year. Students will be fully immersed in a professional culture with real-world problem-solving, using industry standards and receiving mentorship from actual employers.
FACILITIES UPGRADES: Circling back to our facilities needs, each of our buildings will begin to receive significant upgrades in security, including guided secure entry systems for each facility. The district will have enhanced camera capabilities including AI software, and exterior doors are on rotations to be replaced with electronic entry systems that can identify persons coming in and out of those doors. Exterior doors already have camera and door alert systems in place. Moving forward the district will extend its abilities to monitor entry and exit onsite and even offsite remotely.
SMS: The Sedalia Middle School will be receiving significant upgrades to both the gymnasium and the former pool areas. Additionally, the district needs to finalize a decision on the best usage for the south wing of SMS. Discussions on grade-level configurations and best practices continue to be a top priority, but we realize not everyone will agree and a decision will be made.
ATHLETIC FACILITIES: New athletic facilities on the campus of Smith-Cotton High are being discussed and planned. Smith-Cotton Baseball, Softball, and Tennis have never had a home and the district has depended on the Sedalia Parks Department to meet those needs. As our community continues to grow and prosper, those facilities are in an ever-increasing demand. We want families to choose Sedalia over surrounding districts when it comes to raising a family. We want our whole community to prosper. This means being forward-thinking as a school system and as a community with a growth mindset.
I am personally looking forward to these challenges and prefer to see them as opportunities! Growth doesn’t happen without change. Change doesn’t happen without discomfort and often requires hard decisions to be made. Let us succeed with high expectations and offer our students the best opportunities.
Remember to ask this question: What is best for kids? Let us have a fantastic school year!
K - Knowledge
I - Innovation
D - Determination
S - Success
Dr. Todd Fraley
Superintendent, Sedalia School District 200
HEALTH SERVICES: Immunization requirements for the 23-24 school year
This is a reminder that Missouri state law and health regulations require students to be properly immunized and provide verification to the school nurse, unless they have an appropriate exemption card on file. Below you will find the list of immunizations your student may need.
***Students without the proper immunizations or a proper exemption card will be excluded from school. Please do not delay in getting this paperwork to your school nurse.
***Please get your student immunization record to your school nurse or email to curryd@sedalia200.org ASAP
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Kindergarten Immunizations
Dtap (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis): 4+ doses (last dose on or after the 4th birthday)
IVP (Polio): 3+ doses (last dose on or after the 4th birthday)
MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella): 2 doses
Hepatitis B: 3+ doses
Varicella (Chicken Pox): 2 doses
8th grade
Tdap (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis): 1 dose
MCV (Meningococcal): 1 dose (must be given on or after 10 years of age)
12th grade
MCV (Meningococcal): 1 dose
**12th graders are required to have two doses of MCV unless the first dose was administered at 16 years or older, in which case only one is required. At least one dose must be given after 16 years of age.
ALSO: School nurses are back in the buildings and will be at Open Houses. No student medications can be brought in on the first day of school, but they can be dropped off prior to the first day.
VACCINATION LOCATION OPTIONS
-- Katy Trail
821 Westwood Ave
660-826-4774
Call ahead for an appointment
Must be an established patient
No office visit charge if they have had a well child check within the last year
-- Pettis County Health Center
911 East 16th Street
660-827-1130
Call ahead for an appointment
Do NOT have to be an established patient
No office visit charge
-- Bothwell TLC Pediatrics
2925 Clinton Road
660-829-5852
Same day appointments available
*Call ahead is preferred
Do NOT have to be an established patient
No office visit charge
Dana Curry
District Health Coordinator
School supply lists available at TeacherLists, in district app
1. Go to https://www.teacherlists.com/
2. Click on "Find A List" at the top of the page and search by our ZIP Code, 65301
3. Click on your child's school.
4. Click on your child's grade level/class.
Parents have the option to purchase all items from a variety of stores with one click at the top of the page. While name brands are listed for some items, you are not required to purchase the name-brand version of any item.
There is a supply list for Smith-Cotton High freshmen, but due to the number of possible class schedules, all other S-C High students will get lists of needed supplies from their teachers on the first day of school, Aug. 24.
FOOD SERVICE: New entrees, scratch-made meals coming
The Sedalia School District 200 Food Service Department is preparing for an exciting year. I welcome Ben E. Keith Company from Edmond, Okla., as our new food supply company. With this change, I recommend you check the Sedalia 200 website breakfast and lunch menu section often. We are planning new and exciting menu options using chef-inspired, scratch-made recipes. You will even see pictures of some of the options. It will continue to evolve as the year progresses so check often!
A friendly reminder, you can put lunch money on your student's lunch account using the Rev-Track online system, or by sending cash or a check to the building cashier. Someone will be at each school during the back-to-school open houses, as well.
Please remember to fill out the free and reduced lunch form in your child's registration packet. This information is not only used for the lunch program, other important funding is tied to these forms.
I am looking forward to the important job of feeding your child.
Debra Wenig
Food Service Director
SAFETY & SECURITY: Stark promoted to district's director
During the regular meeting session on Monday, July 24, the Sedalia School District 200 Board of Education approved the promotion of district security officer Ashley Stark to Director of Safety and Security.
Stark has served as a district security officer since 2018, starting at Whittier High School then moving to Smith-Cotton High in the 2019-20 school year. A Smith-Cotton graduate and United States Navy veteran, Stark also has served as a juvenile detention officer in the Missouri Division of Youth Services, a deputy juvenile officer for the state’s 18th Judicial Circuit and as a youth care advisor for the Johnson County (Mo.) Department of Corrections. She earned an associate’s degree of applied science in Criminal Justice from State Fair Community College.
The district’s Director of Safety and Security is responsible for developing, implementing and managing programs designed to provide a safe and secure environment for students, staff, parents and patrons. They also coordinate a comprehensive school safety program, which includes working with public safety agencies and district personnel, and addressing emergency situations as outlined in district and building safety plans.
NOW HIRING: First Student needs bus drivers, district seeks paras, security officer and more
First Student, the district's school bus service, is hiring drivers. Pay starts at $17.25 an hour; during the school year, drivers will guaranteed 4 hours per day (20 hours per week). Training leading to your Commercial Driver's License (CDL) is paid. No night or weekend shifts but extra hours are available through trips and charters.
Apply online at workatfirst.com or in person at the First Student bus facility, 3507 S. Park Ave. For more information, contact Connie, the location manager, at 660-826-5800.
The district also has openings for a variety of openings for paraprofessionals, food service workers, a school security officer and more. For details, go to https://www.sedalia200.org/domain/27
