The Falls City Public Schools held its regular monthly board meeting on Monday, December 9, 2024. Here are the highlights of the meeting.

Falls City Public Schools Achieves 'Great' Designation in 2024 Nebraska State Accountability Report– Falls City Public Schools (FCPS) has earned a Great designation in the 2024 Nebraska Department of Education’s AQuESTT (Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow) evaluation, highlighting the district’s commitment to academic excellence and student success. The annual report, which evaluates school districts across Nebraska, assigns classifications based on key performance indicators, including student proficiency, growth, graduation rates, and college readiness.

Key Highlights from the 2024 Report:

• Academic Proficiency: Proficiency rates for students in grades 3-8 showed strong performance: 53% in English Language Arts, 57% in Math, and 75% in Science - a 6-point improvement in Science from the previous year.

• College Enrollment: The percentage of Falls City High School students pursuing post-secondary education rose from 63.79% in 2022-2023 to 67.92% in 2023-2024.

• Graduation Rate: FCPS achieved a 96.49% graduation rate, surpassing the state average by 8 percentage points.

• Chronic Absenteeism: FCPS reduced its chronic absenteeism rate from 17.6% to 15.0%, outperforming the statewide average of 21.19%.

In addition to the district’s Great designation, individual schools within the district also received favorable ratings. Falls City High School earned a Great designation, while the middle school, South School, and North School each received a Good designation.

FCPS also celebrated an important achievement in its federal performance ratings. The district received no federal designations for 2024, demonstrating progress in equitable student outcomes and performance across all subgroups.

Commitment to Continuous Improvement - While celebrating these accomplishments, FCPS remains focused on enhancing instructional practices to support all students. The district uses data-driven strategies, including formative and NSCAS assessments, to monitor student progress and tailor instruction. Initiatives such as the On To College program continue to support college readiness, and ongoing efforts to strengthen core subjects like English Language Arts, Math, and Science ensure rigorous academic preparation.

"These achievements reflect the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and community,” Tim Heckenlively, FCPS Superintendent. “We are proud of our progress, but we remain focused on ensuring that every student is prepared for success beyond graduation, whether in higher education or the workforce."

Strategic Plan Update 2024-2025 Regarding School District Master Planning - BVH Architecture is nearing completion of the heat mapping exercise for the district's master planning process. As part of this, they will be distributing a staff survey. The survey consists of three sections to evaluate each building based on key criteria, helping to score the current facility conditions. The survey is also designed to gather qualitative feedback, focusing on issues related to teaching and learning and facility design. These steps will provide critical insights as we move forward with the district's strategic master planning efforts.

The District 56 Board of Education acted on several items before concluding the regular meeting.

1.     Accepted the Resignation of Emily Osterhaus, effective the end of the 2024-2025 contract year (3 years as Middle School & Elementary Art Teacher).

2.     Amended the Superintendent Contract effective through June 30, 2027.

The next regular monthly Board of Education meeting is scheduled for January 13, 2025 at 7:00 P.M. in the Central Office in Falls City Middle School. Regular and special meeting agendas are kept in the Office of the Superintendent, Tim Heckenlively.

Falls City Public School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, citizenship status or economic status in its programs, activities and employment.