ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas R. Wermedal

You have probably observed this scene this many times in your town too. Let’s say you are at a grocery store, minding your own business, inspecting the pasta offerings, and whilst you are concentrating on the Creamettes you hear the unfiltered joy in a child’s voice exclaim,

“Mrs. Nelson!”

This declaration of recognition and indeed affection, is followed by the rhythmic clump-clumping of a kid running in winter boots toward Mrs. Nelson. You look up in time in from the elbow macaroni to see Mrs. Nelson get one of those soul-rejuvenating hugs from a child. The connection between them is that Mrs. Nelson is the child’s third grade teacher. The child is so accustomed to only seeing Mrs. Nelson in the classroom that seeing her about her business at the grocery store produces the unrestrained hug you had the privilege to witness.

Cute story, Wermedal. But what does this have to do with school board work? Believe it or not there, is a chain of conditions extending from the hug in the pasta aisle to the Monday night’s agenda for your school board meeting. Hang with me and I will explain.

Mrs. Nelson-type hugs certainly happen because of Mrs. Nelson’s inherent character, how Mrs. Nelson relates with her students, who Mrs. Nelson is. But also because of how Mrs. Nelson and the 10,215 teachers like her in South Dakota’s public schools are encouraged by their administration and school boards to be more than just spouters of facts and knowledge.

It takes a teacher to connect with the student, but that connection is fostered by a school board which encourages educators to connect with and have a genuine interest in the development of the students. Since I served on the selection committee, I can say with confidence that this attribute of genuine student/teacher connection is the one characteristic that all of the excellent South Dakota’s Teacher of the Year candidates had in common, no matter what subject, age, or setting in which they taught.

Teachers do not have a monopoly on this type of connection. The magic of the school environment is that this connectivity can be expressed to students through everyone who draws a paycheck from the school district. In districts functioning at the highest-level, students sense their personal possibilities because they are receiving emanations on the topic from the first to the last bell of the day. Custodians, maintenance staff, food service workers, bus drivers, administrative support staff, teachers, district leadership and indeed school board members can all reinforce the district’s message of academic excellence, caring and connection.

School boards create the educational environment which empowers superintendents and principals to lead in a way which allows teachers to achieve “Mrs. Nelson” status with their students. Effective classroom environments start with school boards who equip the principals and superintendents to focus on the teachers, teachers to focus on the students and the entire educational enterprise to engage parents as partners in outcomes which nurture their child. Simple to describe, but hard to execute, and easy to identify when it goes astray.

If a teacher can have “Mrs.-Nelson-gets-a-hug” impact, then sadly the opposite must be true as well. A teacher (or principal, or superintendent, or school bus driver, or support staff, or food service worker) who can encourage with a word, can also discourage, or demoralize, with a word. This is why it is critical for school board members to set the standard and conduct yourselves in ways which lift up the staff and students. If we are casual about comment regarding students or staff, then that can generate similar behaviors across the district at every level and every point where students and district personnel interact.

That doesn’t mean you become a simple-minded Pollyanna and give up making any critical assessments of staff and students – these tough conversations are also part of school board work. Genuinely applying this operational truth of well-placed critical comment simply means conversations regarding such topics are always confined to confidential settings, executive session or similar environments. The best thing a school board member can do for a student is create an administrative and policy climate in which administrators and teachers can thrive. It takes a teacher to help a student succeed, so it starts with you.

House Bill 1021

House Bill 1021 was an amendment to SDCL 13-42-9 that would merge the Professional Teachers Practices and Standards Commission and the Professional Administrators Practices and Standards Commission.

“Does a problem really exist or does a problem need to be solved?” SASD Executive Director Rob Monson asked the committee, adding administrators don’t believe so and pointing out an increased cost to school districts to have teachers out of the classroom and on the board.

“I really understand the concern about teachers being out of the classroom, and needing a sub,” District 9 Rep. Bethany Soye said.

District 4 Rep. Fred Deutsch said the change was “appropriate to at least try” in the interest of reducing the size of government.

“I just don’t think this is the most viable, most effective, most efficient” way to hand down judgement on teachers and administrators, said Dianna Miller, a lobbyist with the Large School Group. “Keep the current boards in the composition that they are.”

ASBSD was monitoring the bill, which was defeated by House Education on an 8-7 vote.

House Bill 1072

House Bill 1072 would have amended provisions for appointment to the state Board of Education.

S.D. Secretary of Education Joe Graves called the bill an “unreasonable intrusion on the Executive Branch.”

“Senate confirmation already provides a reasonable check” on appointments, Graves testified, adding it’s necessary having people serve on BOE that are “not trapped in the existing paradigm.”

District 7 Rep. Roger DeGroot called the bill “common sense,” saying the standards created through the amendment puts the board in line with other professional practice boards.

“It establishes a little bit of qualification for the seven members,” DeGroot said. “The decisions made by the board have a direct impact” on educators and schools.

ASBSD monitored HB 1072, which was defeated in House Education by a 10-5 vote.

Jacob Boyko

ASBSD Communications Intern

Did you see or overhear something that concerns you? Are you worried about someone’s safety and wellbeing? There’s now a resource for students, teachers, and community members to help with that.

Safe2Say is a new tip reporting platform with the goal of improving school and individual safety.

“(You can report) everything from alcohol abuse, to assault, self harm, suicide ideation, gang violence, general harassment, planned school attacks, drug use and distribution, and domestic violence,” said Brett Garland, the state school safety program director.

All tips are anonymous and can be submitted via the Safe2Say app for iOS and Android, via the Safe2Say website (safe2say.sd.gov) or the toll free number (1-844-373-7233).

Once submitted, tips are delivered to state radio dispatch in Huron where trained first responders can engage with the tipster in real time and gather information. While the tips are made anonymously, the program has mechanisms that allow for someone who has made a tip to get back into that tip and add more information if they choose.

“We work hard to ensure anonymity,” Garland said. “People are reluctant to report threatening or concerning behavior … Maybe they’re afraid they’re going to get in trouble, they’re going to get someone else in trouble, they’re afraid of being labeled a snitch, or what was told to them was told in confidence … [Ensuring anonymity] is an absolute critical component of what Safe2Say is all about.”

The state Department of Health’s 2023 Suicide Surveillance Report shows suicide is the leading cause of death for South Dakotans ages 10-29, with overall deaths increasing 31% in the last 10 years. Data from from the state DOH's Youth Risk Behavior Survey Summary also revealed more than 21% of the state’s high school students considered suicide in 2021, and nearly 12% made an attempt.

Additionally, self harm, which includes intentional poisoning and cutting or piercing of the body, was the cause of over 3,600 hospitalizations and more than 5,300 emergency department visits.

“We’ve received tips that have suicide ideation involved,” Garland said. “People who are concerned about their friend or classmate because they’ve expressed thoughts of harm or thoughts of suicide.”

Safe2Say has also received tips regarding domestic abuse, child abuse, bullying, and drug use

“It’s reassuring to the schools knowing that if there’s a threat to life, that tip will be delivered to a first responder that can respond accordingly,” Garland said. “We receive tips at all hours of the day; weekends, holidays—tips come in.”

Garland encourages anyone—students, teachers, parents, or even community members—to utilize Safe2Say if they have any concerns, however small, about an individual or a situation.

“We know we’re having an impact with this platform,” Garland said. “We know the schools that have engaged us to provide that information to their students and staff and communities have appreciated the fact that they’re able to obtain information and step in and intervene. The challenge for us is ensuring that everyone knows about it and the benefits of a platform like this.”

Senate Bill 72

Senate Bill 72 is an act to increase the annual limit of tax credits from $3.5 million to $5 million that an insurance company may claim through the private school scholarship program.

ASBSD opposes this bill, which would allow tax credits to fund a private school scholarship and permits contributions to remain anonymous, raising concerns about special interests and transparency.

ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas Wermedal testified in opposition, noting a $50 million commitment over ten years at the level requested.

“This record of constant increases has more than doubled” the funding from its starting point, Wermedal said, citing increase in 2019 and 2022.

“We have a concern that funding seems to have become routine in terms of its increases. Tax money is meant for the state of South Dakota and its political subdivisions.”

District 6 Sen. Herman Otten also questioned the routine funding increases.

“The program when it was approved back then was assured it would only be a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Sen. Otten said. “My fear is … there’s no cap on this … (and they’ll) come back every year and ask to change the number.”

SASD Executive Director Rob Monson also testified against the bill.

“In South Dakota, we do have school choice,” Monson said. “I think this is a diversion of tax dollars.”

Proponents of the bill argued the bill saves taxpayers money.

“The cost to the taxpayers of South Dakota” to educate a child is more than $7,400, District 3 Sen. Al Novstrup said.

“My opposition … is the taking of the general fund (dollars) … those dollars would go directly to the general fund” and they’re being bypassed now, Otten said. “Saying we’re saving the state funds is just an end-around. The state’s not saving anything.”

Sandra Waltman from the South Dakota Education Association said public schools are doing a good job educating kids on a very limited budget, adding that proposed program would limit dollars available to the state fund.

The bill passed Senate Taxation 6-1, the Senate 25-7 and the House Education Committee passed it 10-5 after a motion to refer it to House Appropriations failed 8-6.

However, SB 72 was referred to House Appropriations following a voice vote on the House floor and now awaits a hearing by the committee.

Senate Bill 94

Senate Bill 94 is an amendment to SDCL 13-65-1 that amends provisions in the private school scholarship program.

“It’s more about allocating between multiple [scholarship granting organizations],” Sen. Lee Schoenbeck said.

The bill says scholarship granting organizations “must have entered into a participation agreement with at least [20%] of the qualifying schools in the state,” and disallows qualifying schools from entering into an agreement with more than one scholarship granting organization.

“This is an attempt to tighten (the program) up,” District 11 Sen. Jim Stalzer said.

ASBSD opposes the bill.

“Senate Bill 94 uses terms like contributions, allocations, and tax credits, and sometimes interchangeably,” Dr. Wermedal testified in opposition.

“We ask for definitions of those terms in Section 1.”

The bill passed Senate Commerce 8-1, and now awaits debate and vote on the Senate floor.

Tyler Pickner

ASBSD Director of Communications

Recognize the dedicated individuals in your communities who devote their time and energy to serving on your locally elected school board during the 2024 South Dakota School Board Recognition Week.

“School board members put forth a great deal of effort to ensure their students receive a great public education, their staff members have an excellent working environment and their community has a district to be proud of,” ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas R. Wermedal said.

South Dakota School Board Recognition Week is set for February 19-23, which may take place after some districts are scheduled to hold their monthly meeting, but we encourage your district to recognize school board members at your February school board meeting.

“South Dakota School Board Recognition Week provides an opportunity for everyone to show our appreciation for the work of public school board members,” Wermedal said.

ASBSD has provided a certificate recognizing each school board collectively for South Dakota School Board Recognition Week, but additional documents helping your district celebrate the week can be downloaded from ASBSD’s Documents page under the “Event Documents” header.

If you have any questions, please contact Director of Communications Tyler Pickner at tpickner@asbsd.org.

Thank you for your support in making South Dakota School Board Recognition Week a success.

House Bill 1022:

HB-1022 appropriates $6 million to the state Department of Education to provide professional development to teachers in the subject of literacy education based on the science of reading, which is an educational framework that incorporates phonics-based learning.

ASBSD is supporting the bill.

ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas Wermedal testified that the passage would “significantly enhance” teacher training and overall improve student learning.

Secretary of Education Joseph Graves called the bill an “incredibly important step forward” for students in reading literacy,” adding that schools that adopt the science of reading framework “will show increasing proficiency rates.”

“I think this program … is what we need right now,” testified SASD Executive Director Rob Monson.

Also in support of the bill was Large School Group lobbyist Diana Miller.

“That is the basis of everything,” she testified. “Reading and understanding.”

The bill was referred to Joint Appropriations with a “Do Pass” recommendation on a 15-0 vote by the House Education committee.

For updates on K-12 related bills, check the ASBSD Bill Tracker: https://asbsd.org/services/billtracker-2/.

Senate Bill 1

Senate Bill 1 is an amendment that would expand eligibility for the reduced tuition benefit to school counselors. Presently, teachers and vocational instructors who are required to take college courses as a condition of employment or to maintain a certificate can do so at a Board of Regents school with a 50% deduction in tuition costs and 100% off required fees.

The amendment also adds an average academic grade requirement of 3.0 or better in any course the benefit is used for.

ASBD supports SB 1, with ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas Wermedal testifying that “the inclusion of school counselors in this legislation is especially important because these are the personnel” that help students prepare to enter the workforce.

SIoux Falls School District Sam Nelson called the bill “a worthy endeavor” despite the minimal cost to the state budget.

“We need more school counselors, and we have to support the ones we have,” testified Sandra Waltman from the South Dakota Education Association.

Opposition came from the Board of Regents and the state Bureau of Finance & Management, who argued the bill would be an “unfunded mandate” for BOR and have “significant budgetary impact.”

District 14 Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt estimated the cost to the state would be at most $25,000.

SB 1 passed Senate Education on a 5-1 vote, the Senate 30-3 and was referred by House Education to House Appropriations with a “Do Pass” recommendation on a 14-0 vote.

Senate Bill 2

Senate Bill 2 would amend SDCL 13-28-37 to remove provisions for establishing a uniform method for calculating high school credit received from completing a postsecondary course.

ASBSD supports SB 2.

ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas Wermedal testified it’s a “simple, straightforward change” that “honors local control at the school district,” and “most of all, it serves the students.”

SASD Executive Director Rob Monson took a similar position, saying, “letting each school district decide … we’re fully in support of it.”

District 1 Sen. Michael Rohl said it’s important to “return this back to local control” and let the local school make the decisions regarding dual enrollment.

“We need to leave it up to the schools themselves to decide this issue,” District 7 Sen. Tim Reed said.

The Senate passed SB 2 33-0, House Education then passed the bill 15-0 and the full House passed the bill unanimously.

SB 2 now heads to Gov. Noem’s desk for signature.

House Bill 1020:

House Bill 1020 revises the method by which completion of a required suicide awareness and prevention training is verified.

State Department of Education Secretary Joseph Graves said the bill provides “a simpler way” for verification and certification.

“The requirement still remains with the teacher,” Graves testified. “Districts would simply be the custodians of those certificates.”

ASBSD is monitoring HB-1020, which includes the confirmation of training completion in the school accreditation process.

The bill passed House Education on a 14-0, the full House unanimously and the Senate Education committee, 6-0.

It awaits vote on the Senate floor and, if passed, will head to Gov. Noem’s desk for signature.

House Bill 1055

HB-1055 is an act to raise the appraisal value of surplus property that may be sold to a political subdivision without notice from $500 to $2,500.

“This bid threshold hasn’t been raised since 1997,” District 5 Rep. Byron Callies said.

ASBSD supports HB 1055, with ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas Wermedal testifying in support that HB 1055 achieves a nice balance of “efficiencies gained and “streamlining public transparency.”

“It makes a cumbersome process easier to accomplish,” Wermedal said.

District 29 Rep. Gary Cammack said the bill would “remove the complications” from the process.

No one testified in opposition to the bill.

HB 1055 passed House State Affairs committee 11-2, the House 58-11 and Senate Local Government 5-0.

It awaits vote on the Senate floor.

For updates on K-12 related bills, check the ASBSD Bill Tracker: https://asbsd.org/services/billtracker-2/.

Tyler Pickner

ASBSD Director of Communications

Legislative Cracker Barrels in your area offer access to your local legislators, as well as the chance to hear their answers on a variety of legislative topics.

Below you will find a list of dates and locations of legislative cracker barrels being held throughout South Dakota that have been posted thus far.

Please send any dates and locations of legislative cracker barrels in your area that are not listed below to Tyler at tpickner@asbsd.org and we will add them to the list, which is still being and will be updated throughout session.

Aberdeen:

In the Kessler’s Champions Club in the Barnett Center on the NSU campus from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

· Saturday, January 27

· Saturday, February 10

· Saturday, February 24

Belle Fourche:

At the Branding Iron from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

· Saturday, February 3

Brandon:

At the Bethany Meadows Brandon Community Room from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

· Saturday, February 10

Brookings:

In the third floor chambers of the City/County Government Center beginning at 9:30 a.m.

· Saturday, January 27

· Saturday, February 17

Canton

At The Canton Depot from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

· Saturday, February 3

Deadwood

At Deadwood Mountain Grand from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

· Saturday, February 24

Hot Springs

At the Mueller Center beginning at 2 p.m.

· Saturday, February 17

Huron:

At City Hall from 9 to 10 a.m.

· Saturday, January 27

· Saturday, February 10

· Saturday, February 24

Miller:

At the Miller Community Center from 2-4 p.m.

· Saturday, February 3

Mitchell:

At the DWU School of Business in Lecture Hall 103 from 12 to 1 p.m.

· Friday, March 1

Newell:

At Newell City Hall beginning at 9:30 a.m.

· Saturday, February 3

Piedmont:

Piedmont Valley American Legion Post from 1:30 to 4 p.m.

· Saturday, February 17

Pierre:

In the Chamber of Commerce Community Room from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

· Saturday, February 10

Rapid City:

In the Event Center at the Western Dakota Tech campus from 9 to 11 a.m.

· Saturday, January 27

· Saturday, February 17

· Saturday, March 2

Redfield:

At the Depot beginning at 2 p.m.

· Monday, February 19

Sioux Falls:

At Hamre Recital Hall on the Augustana University campus from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

· Saturday, January 27

· Saturday, February 10

· Saturday, February 17

Spearfish

At Joy Center from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

· Saturday, February 3

Sturgis:

At the Meade County Erksine Building from 9 to 11 a.m.

· Saturday, February 3

· Saturday, March 2

Vermillion:

In the City Hall-Council Chambers from 9 to 11 a.m.

· Saturday, February 10

Watertown:

At the Codington County Extension Complex with times listed below:

· Saturday, February 10 from 8 to 9 a.m.

· Saturday, March 9 from 10 to 11 a.m.

Yankton:

In the City Commission Room at the CMTEA building beginning at 10 a.m.

· Saturday, February 10

· Saturday, March 2

School board elections are coming up! Make sure you have all of the information you need and take note of any applicable deadlines.

Below is a guide from the secretary of state’s office:

• For those with April 9 Elections

  • Make sure at your first regular scheduled meeting you are establishing your election date.

  • Between January 15th and 30th, you need to publish your notice of vacancies and time and place for filing petitions each week for two consecutive weeks.

  • January 26th is the earliest date for the candidate to sign their declaration of candidacy.

  • Continue to watch your calendar!

  • 
    

  For those with June 4 Elections

  • Make sure at your first regular scheduled meeting you are establishing your election date.

  • Start reviewing your calendars and preparing notices so you are prepared.

  • Think about election workers!

  • 
    

  For those with June 18 Elections

  • Make sure at your first regular scheduled meeting you are establishing your election date.

  • Start reviewing your calendars and preparing notices so you are prepared.

  • Think about election workers!

  
  

  If you need access to the city and school lookup site, email elections@state.sd.us.

  
  

  For questions, contact Divisions of Elections Director Rachel Soulek at rachel.soulek@state.sd.us or (605) 773-5666.

  
  

  The election calendar can be found here: https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/assets/2024SchoolElectionCalendar.pdf

  
  

  Information regarding petitions, campaign finance, webinars, and more can be found here:

  https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/upcoming-elections/municipal-school-information/default.aspx

Senate Bill 34

Senate Bill 34 would have required a school to have a SRO or School Sentinel in each school building in the district, as well as put in place additional measures.

ASBSD opposes SB 34.

ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas Wermedal pointed out many of the systems outlined in the bill are already in place, and described the bill as requiring districts to be “almost omniscient rather than vigilant.”

Large School Group lobbyist Diana Miller testified the bill’s SRO requirement, which would have covered only 35 percent of the cost for the officer, created a there is a workforce issue and asked how districts can meet the mandate if they’re unable to find someone to hire.

SB 34 also required the Department of Public Safety to create a school safety tipline, which already exists through the Safe2Say program.

The bill was defeated by the Senate Education Committee on a 5-2 vote.

House Bill 1002

House Bill 1002 would require school districts to administer the ACT test for 11th grade students in place of the smarter balance test.

District 13 Rep. Tony Venhuizen said smarter balance results is a small-stakes test for the 11th graders but a high-stakes test for their school.

State Department of Education Secretary Joseph Graves testified that having the ACT as the standardized test would incentivize students to try harder on the test and save parents the cost of taking the test.

The bill was tabled 12-0 after DOE announced it would make the ACT the standardized test for 11th graders by the 2025-2026 school year.

ASBSD was monitoring the bill.

House Bill 1042

House Bill 1042 is an amendment to SDCL 13-35-2 and would have created a free school lunch funding program through the state for eligible students.

District 15 Rep. Kadyn Wittman hoped would mean that all South Dakota students could eat meals at school.

“We are not able to require families to fill out this paperwork,” Rep. Wittman testified, adding that the goal of the bill is to offer a greater incentive for parents to fill out the form and get their kids fed.

Bureau of Financial Management Commissioner Jim Terwilliger said while the bill is well intentioned, there’s a cost attached.

“This would be a new, ongoing commitment” to the state budget that’s “already subsidized by the federal government,” Terwilliger said, estimating a $570,000 annual cost.

District 23 Rep. Scott Moore questioned what the bill accomplishes, since the crux of the issue is getting parents to fill out the paperwork.

“I don’t think the system’s broken; we just can’t get the paperwork filled out,” he said. “What’s going to change?”

District 7 Rep. Roger DeGroot made a motion to send the bill to House Appropriations, but it was shot down.

“Forget about school debt, this has to do with kids … health, and learning,” he said. “When we get done with our budget, we will probably have $80 to $100 million in surplus.”

ASBSD was monitoring the bill, which was defeated by the House Education committee 8-7.

House Bill 1066

House Bill 1066 aimed to create a teacher incentive program administered by the Department of Education that makes grants available to prospective teachers with the pilot program providing 30 teachers with a $10,000 grant each over a five year period.

“It’s no secret South Dakota is suffering a broad workforce shortage,” District 4 Rep. Fred Deutsch said. “I can’t think of a bigger challenge for us when we look forward to the future than filling those (teaching) spots.”

He said the bill incentivizes new teachers to enter the profession, young South Dakotans to stay in state, and attracts teachers and students from other states.

ASBSD supported HB 1066, with ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas Wermedal testifying that the bill will help alleviate the teacher shortage.

“This is an opportunity to deepen the real-world experience of our teaching staff,” Wermedal added. “It has the potential to attract new talent.”

Opponents of the bill said the impact wouldn’t be significant enough with just 30 teachers and that school districts could implement and fund a similar program independently.

The bill was defeated in House Education on a 9-5 vote.

For updates on K-12 related bills, check the ASBSD Bill Tracker: https://asbsd.org/services/billtracker-2/.

You’ve been elected to the school board and have experience in how school boards operate, but are you a leader on your board, in your school and community?

Want to enhance your leadership skills, and learn how to lead with purpose? ASBSD is excited to announce the creation of the School Board Leadership Academy (SBLA).

Click here to download the application.

This dynamic course is designed to enhance the leadership skills of school board members. Each session is designed to foster self-reflection and gain new expertise about leadership as well as how to apply that knowledge to their school board work.

Three in-person sessions along with three online meetings, will bring a cohort of 25 current school board members together to learn about leading their school boards and community. Guest speakers, with extensive leadership experience, case studies designed to engage participants in deep conversations, and lessons on effective leadership strategies will engage the cohort in lively meaningful discussions regarding effective leaders do. The course will be facilitated by former ASBSD Executive Director, Dr. Wade Pogany.

SBLA outcomes for the course; participants will:

1. Learn about key principles of effective leadership, and how to apply them.
2. Interact with guest presenters, learning from their leadership experience.
3. Learn the importance of student achievement as a core purpose of schools, understand the fundamentals of student achievement and the need for leadership of student learning.
4. Learn essential skills of working as a team.
5. Learn how leadership is about change and how to affect change.
6. Understand how to lead with purpose.
7. Reflect on their own leadership experience and share with others.
8. Participants will be asked to create and present a leadership project of their own choosing that demonstrates an activity designed to enhance the goals of their school board and school district.

The course will begin in May, 2024, and continue through January, 2025.

The tentative dates being considered:

• Session #1 (online); March 27, noon to 1:00 (1 hour)
• Session #2 (face-to-face in Pierre); May 8, session runs 10:00am to 3:00pm (5 hours)
• Session #3 (face-to-face in Pierre); August 14, session runs 10:00am to 3:00pm (5 hours)
• Session #4 (face-to-face in Pierre); Nov 7, session runs 10:00am to 3:00pm (5 hours)
• Session #5 (online); Dec. 5, noon to 2:00pm (2 hours)
• Session #6 (online); Jan. 8, noon to 2:00pm. (2 hours)

Click here to download the application.

The first cohort will be selected based on:

1. Applicant must be a current school board member serving from May 2024 to February 2025.
2. School board members must have, or will have at least 2 years of service as a South Dakota school board member by July, 2024.
3. School districts must agree to pay for all transportation, travel costs and fees associated with the Leadership Academy. Course fee is anticipated to be $500.
4. Participants must commit to 3 in-person sessions and 3 online sessions as well as a capstone project at the end. University credit will be available.

For more information, contact ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas R. Wermedal at dwermedal@asbsd.org or to Dr. Wade Pogany at wpogany.DEC@gmail.com.

ASBSD Director of Communications Tyler Pickner

The 2024 election cycle for the ASBSD Board of Directors has begun and school board members from your district can run for election in the region and enrollment category in which your district is in.

Those region and enrollment categories include:

Central region with enrollment 265 & Under:

• Agar-Blunt-Onida, Bowdle, Burke, Colome Consolidated, Edmunds Central, Eureka, Gettysburg, Herreid, Highmore-Harrold, Hoven, Jones County, McIntosh, Selby Area, Smee and South Central

Central region with enrollment 1,400-9,999:

• Pierre and Todd County

Northeast region with enrollment 1,400-9,999:

• Aberdeen, Brookings, Huron and Watertown

• Brandon Valley, Harrisburg, Mitchell, Tea Area and Yankton

• Bennett County, Haakon, Hill City, Kadoka Area, New Underwood and Wall

Eligible board members interested in running for a four-year term on the Board of Directors can click here to download the Announcement of Candidacy form, and return it to ASBSD by Tuesday, February 20. Only one member from a school board may serve on the ASBSD Board of Directors.

Send completed forms to ASBSD Executive Secretary Katie Mitchell-Boe by email to katie@asbsd.org, by fax to 605-773-2501 or by mail to ASBSD at P.O. Box 1059, Pierre SD, 57501. Only one school board member per district may sit on the ASBSD Board of Directors.

If you have questions, please contact me at tpickner@asbsd.org or at 605-773-8382.

ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas R. Wermedal

Author’s Note: Curriculum content is intended to stretch students, perhaps to make them think and act outside their comfort zones. Comfort zones are not always academic-related, and effective education will encourage students in these areas as well.

I did not want to dance. I desperately did not want to dance. Yet, there was definitely going to be dancing, and I was definitely going to be a dancer.

The year is 1977 and the Minnesota educational system decided that the overall experience of 8th grade was not quite awkward enough. What was needed was a way to ensure really regrettable memories were associated with 8thgrade. What the educational authorities settled upon to accomplish this aim was a physical education curriculum which contained a four-week unit on (insert foreboding music here) -- social dance.

Thus, all across the Land of 10,000 Lakes 8th grade boys and girls, at the absolute apex of adolescent insecurity, were made to learn the fox trot, the waltz, the polka, and other tortures. I am not certain why these types of dances were selected for our compulsory dance education. I guess in case our grandparents suddenly rose to power and -- mad with their absolute authority – they determined survival depended on showing a tolerance for accordion music.

There is a reason human beings dance at night. There is a reason human beings dance in dimly lit rooms with flashing lights. So few of us are good at dance; that dancing in the dark spares everyone the embarrassment of a visual demonstration of just how unskilled we are.

My P.E. class was at 9:00 a.m. Nobody dances at 9:00 a.m. unless it is someone still having a really good time from the night before, and even then, the dance would most assuredly not be a fox trot.

My P.E. class met in the giant air force hangar-sized gymnasium of Southwest Junior High School in Albert Lea, Minnesota. “Junior High” is the pre-historic term for middle school.

Few venues are as well-lit as the gym of my junior high school. We would not be dancing in the dark. Overhead, powerful industrial lighting is buzzing away in giant wire-grated fixtures glaring at the polished wood basketball floors. Gleaming white walls reflected all this light back on to the floor, the whole thing was like being inside an enormous tanning bed. This gigantic gym was actually a double- gym with a two-story divider that could split the space into two regular-sized gymnasiums. On the north wall stretching horizontally was a dramatic 30-foot mural of an aggressive, sinewy tiger in a full-on charge, bounding across the gym wall.

I doubt there is a point on this planet’s surface further removed from an actual tiger in the wild than Albert Lea, Minnesota. How did a tiger become our mascot? I understand why Albert Lea didn’t go for alliteration like the Brookings Bobcats. After all, the Albert Lea Alpacas does not sound all that intimidating. (Actually, it’s called “assonance” — not alliteration — when the initial sound of two consecutive words is a vowel instead of a consonant, but this is a light-hearted newsletter column — not a snooty college English class.)

Meanwhile, back at dance class, the wall was folded up and we were going to be dancing on the widest, brightest space in the state outside of nighttime runways at the MSP airport. The boy’s gym teacher was a guy named Gary Neist. Five years before he was teaching me to waltz, Mr. Neist had been an Olympic wrestler and was not to be trifled with. When Mr. Neist said dance, you danced. I can not recall the name of the girl’s gym teacher, but with the five-acre gym floor to spread us out on, she and Mr. Neist were able to walk between the paired off couples and shout instructions over the recorded music. I don’t think Mr. Neist enjoyed the dance unit anymore than his reluctant pupils. But in Mr. Neist’s book, if the State of Minnesota wanted 8th Graders to polka, then by-gosh those little teenyboppers were going to Six-Fat-Dutchmen their hearts out. (The Six Fat Dutchmen is a famous polka band for those amongst the membership who did not attend 8th grade in Minnesota.)

It was all very surreal. Something artistic like dancing, being taught by instructors stalking up and down rows of nervous teens, shouting instructions like drill sergeants. I was dancing with Rhonda Roberts. Rhonda was pretty, which made me more nervous.

Rhonda and I did okay. By staring at our feet and counting out loud, we executed the dances reasonably well, and Rhonda even smiled at me once when I got a particularly difficult sequence right. Mr. Neist was coming down our row to inspect the couples. I thought we were doing alright, but Mr. Neist thought otherwise and shouted his correction. “Stop looking at your feet you two,” Niest shouted, and for god’s sakes Wermedal, put your hands on her ... you won’t break her.”

Why couldn’t I have been a Johnson or an Anderson, Niest could have been hollering at anyone of a dozen people in class with those Norwegian names, but with my last name there was only one guy it could have been. I had been dancing as far away from Rhonda as I could manage with just the fingertips of one hand on Rhonda’s shoulder because I was significantly taller and significantly uncomfortable. I am sure we presented a comical picture like two frightened mimes doing their best to not quite touch. Neist strode up to us purposefully and moved my hand from her shoulder her hip.

To my surprise Rhonda did not slap me for touching her actual hip, and I did not burst into flame with embarrassment. The 30-foot tiger seemed to smile at me as I headed off to band class to play trumpet badly for the next 45 minutes.