NV school calendar receives first look

Nodaway Valley Superintendent Dr. Pam Stangeland gave the first public look at next year’s school calendar during last Wednesday’s school board meeting in Fontanelle.

The calendar, developed after feedback from staff, will be up for approval at the March 11 meeting in Greenfield.

“Our new calendar will have 1,111.5 hours, 173 calendar days and we will have 12 full days of professional development, which equals 72 hours,” Stangeland said. “With that figured in, we have 31.5 surplus hours. Compared to this ye ar, we have 1,123.5 hours, 179 days of instruction, seven full days of professional development and an additional 36 hours of early release.”

Stangeland said switching to full days of professional development, instead of primarily relying on Wednesday early-release hours, would hopefully make professional development time more efficient. The proposed full-day PD days are primarily scheduled for Mondays.

“Teachers can get together, do the things they need and won’t have to be here as often or as much,” Stangeland said. “This was vetted through two surveys who gave input and direction.”

If approved, the first day of school for the 2026-27 school year would be Tuesday, Aug. 25. Christmas break would run from Wednesday, Dec. 23, through Friday, Jan. 1. Spring Break would be March 17-19 and the last day of school would be May 25.

In a separate public hearing, the board reviewed new director district territories. In the proposal, parts of District 1 (the old Greenfield district) and District 2 (formerly Bridgewater-Fontanelle) would each absorb a part of the Orient-Macksburg school district territory. The board would stay with five members: two from District 1, one from District 2 and two at-large, which would give Orient-Macksburg residents two ways to become Nodaway Valley board members: run as a district representative or run at-large.

Local mental health advocates propose Hope Squad

Pastor Melinda Stonebraker, along with Sam Schwartz, presented on a program called Hope Squad — a student-led, peer-to-peer suicide prevention program for elementary and secondary students.

“They have curriculum for elementary, middle school and high school, and it’s all age appropriate suicide prevention training,” Stonebraker said.

Hope Squad is built largely around the idea of connection.

“Generally speaking, we know loneliness has become an epidemic and it has health impacts that are as strong as smoking and obesity. That doesn’t just impact older people, but loneliness also impacts younger people,” Stonebraker said. “That connection is very important.”

Stonebraker added that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for people ages 10-34 and three out of 20 pre-adolesecnts experience suicidal thoughts.

If Hope Squads were established at Nodaway Valley, they could operate in each building and have adult leaders vetted by Brain Health Matters and school administration. The groups would meet as often as weekly.

“Among students, when they’re in a crisis, they’re more likely to talk to a peer than they are to talk to an adult,” Stonebraker said. “Hope Squad harnesses this peer-to-peer interaction to bridge students who are in crisis to adults who can help. We know connection is vital for well-being. Research has shown that when youth feel connected, they’re more likely to make good, healthy choices and are less likely to make harmful choices.”

There are more than 2,000 Hope Squads in the United States, and each school district in Cass County has a Hope Squad.

Stangeland said that while other measures are being taken to accomplish similar goals at Nodaway Valley, having a Hope Squad could be very beneficial. Administrators will want to give the program careful consideration as it gets started, if approved.

Stonebraker and Schwartz are representatives of a Greenfield-based group known as Brain Health Matters. Hope Squad will likely appear on a future board agenda for approval as a new group.