Members Present: Wayne Ferguson-Morrill, B.J. Peters-WNDLC, John Bays-ESU #13, Rod Borders-Gordon, Eldon Hubbard-Gering, Ed Hollinger-Hemingford, Jerry Williams-Kimball, Allen Gross-Minatare, Jim Calder-Bridgeport, John Cruzeiro-Sioux County, Gary Fisher-Crawford, Chuck Squier-Rushville, Roy Ingram-Banner County.

Members Absent: Garden County, Mitchell, Hay Springs, Scottsbluff, Chadron

AGENDA

Fall Progress Report - WNDLC Coordinator B.J. Peters noted that the fall semester has gotten off to a relatively smooth start with very few technical problems. The four new schools on the system are all operating well. Minatare had some problems early but the phone company was able to resolve them. For the fall semester there are 22 courses being offered on the system. Eight of the classes are college offerings, the other 14 are high school course offerings. All 16 high schools are receiving or offering at least one course.

ACT Prep - Peters told the group that Gering will be offering the ACT Prep class starting Monday, October 15 and running through Friday, October 26. The sessions will be offered live at 7 a.m. and repeated by tape three other times during the day. The cost is $10 per student regardless of what session they attend, payable to ESU #13, with all money going to the instructors. There was discussion of whether more schools could be added to the 7 a.m. session because it is a popular time slot. Most agreed that for this kind of class the interactivity is not a big factor, the information given is more important. The group as a whole decided to have Peters broadcast the 7 a.m. live session to all 16 schools. It will now be just a one-way broadcast for all sessions. The ACT class will be offered to everyone at 7 a.m., 10:55 a.m., 11:50 a.m., and 3:35 p.m. if your schools system is free at those times. Peters made it clear that this type of a broadcast (one-way only) will never be used for a credit class because of the need of interactivity in those situations.

Reports from WNCC & Chadron State - Peters shared two handouts with the group on the course offerings for the Spring 2002 semester over the WNDLC system. The WNCC offerings have been offered first to the schools that took classes from WNCC in the same time slots in the first semester. A number of the classes are already full. Peters noted the Intro to Psychology class. He said since an adjunct faculty member is teaching the class, the course will be taught on the WNDLC bell schedule from 12:45 to 1:35 p.m. (6^th Period). Right now three slots are available for this class. Peters said the two classes offered in the spring by Chadron State are graduate level courses aimed at teachers. The handout is in the form that could be placed on a bulletin board in the teachers lounge. CSC requires at least two people per site for their graduate level courses and a minimum of 6 students total. Sites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Both classes are being taught on the Chadron State campus.

Adult Education Classes - A wide range of discussion was held on the adult education offerings from WNCC. There is concern on how the classes are being marketed in their respective communities. None of the offerings yet this fall have had enough registrations to make the class. Peters said that Lori Mayor, the adult ed coordinator from WNCC, is trying to line up community coordinators that would handle some of the marketing duties. Right now it is up to the schools to promote the classes. Peters said he would visit with Lori Mayor about her expectations of the schools and her community coordinators and offer her time on the DL system to train the coordinators. The group continues to think the area of adult education is a place that has a lot of potential for growth, but would like to know what are the minimum student numbers and registration procedures for the adult ed classes.

LB833 Update - Peters updated the group on the schools from the Panhandle that have shown intent on applying for distance learning funds through LB833 that was passed last spring by the Unicameral. At the time of the meeting Alliance, Potter-Dix, Leyton, Sidney, Lodgepole, & Chappell have said they will apply for funds. B.J. found out Thursday afternoon that Bayard sent their intent card in late and have also voted YES on their intent to apply for DL grant funds. Grant applications will be due in mid-December with grant awards announced on January. Part of the application process is applying to join an existing consortium. The WNDLC Board will need to meet in early December to vote on the new schools membership in our group. All the new schools are aware of the membership fees and annual assessment responsibilities of joining WNDLC.

Review 2000-2001 usage - Peters went over the usage numbers for the WNDLC system this past school year. The usage grew tremendously from the first year operation. The first year there were around 40 classes and meetings over the system and a little over 500 participants. This past year the activities on the system grew to 106 classes and meetings and the participants grew to 2449. There were 60 credit classes on the system last year, 11 non-credit classes, and 37 meetings. Peters commended the group for their willingness to use the system.

E-Rate Update - Peters told the group that if their school received e-rate discounts for Year 4 of e-rate they need to have the Form 486 filed by October 28. This date has been set for schools to show they are complied with the new Internet filtering regulations now in place. He said that he has already filed the forms for each school for the distance learning e-rate discounts. Peters also said the recent computer virus outbreak is extremely serious and has affected several schools in the region. It is strongly suggested that schools invest in virus software to protect their schools computers and networks.

DL Teacher Stipends - This has been a continuing topic of discussion for the WNDLC board. Gary Fisher of Crawford said that in lieu of the recent CIR decisions in regard to deviations outside of negotiated agreements that DL Teacher Stipends should be put aside for now unless directly negotiated for by the teacher unions. The group agreed.

Spring 2002 Plans - Peters said there are some efforts underway to offer some remedial type classes in American Government and English in the Spring 2002 semester for those students that still need those classes for graduation requirements. Nothing firm has been set up yet.

From the Group - Peters said that for now the STAR grant application that had been discussed last spring has been put on hold since the U.S. Dept. of Ed has failed to release RFP information yet and in light of the recent developments in Washington it may be some time before that happens. Peters said there is some movement in the state for the K-12 systems to join in with the University of Nebraska's Internet 2 project which could potentially increase our speed to the Internet. Money from a STAR grant could be used to pay for setting up this kind of network.

Jerry Williams of Kimball asked the group to think about how we could be using the DL system for K-6 enrichment activities. Schools were urged to have their enrichment directors and/or principals contact Kimball if they were interested in pursuing that type of activity.