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The Sequatchie County School Board agreed to visit several schools to determine which needs are priority in the designing process of Sequatchie County’s future intermediate school for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders during their meeting Monday, January 11.
Superintendent Johnny Cordell said, the middle school is overflowing with students and Griffith Elementary is far too big of a school.
“We’re still in the preliminary process, but we’re going to get this moving quickly,” said Cordell.
Board members will be visiting different schools in the state to see how each school is designed to deal with several concerns, such as natural lighting, cost-effective heating systems, security and safety.
In other business, the board discussed Work Keys testing for Sequatchie County High School.
“This is something we brought up at the last meeting and we are still looking at it,” said Cordell. “We may be able to test it this year.”
The Work Keys test is reviewed by a large number of industries to show how well a student will adapt and be able to succeed in a working environment, he explained.
The possibility of an elective class to prepare students for the Work Keys was brought up by Cordell, but not discussed.
“We have enough tests every year,” he said. “But this test is important enough for our attention.”
The superintendent pointed out, because of No Child Left Behind requirements, the board’s main concerns come down to ACT scores and graduation rate, so the board cannot spend too much energy on the Work Keys, but the high school may very well be testing later this year.
The board approved an energy grant, worth about $22 per student, used to replace lighting components at Griffith Elementary School. Cordell noted, the process of replacing the lighting units has already taken place and, coupled with an energy-saving mindset, the school has greatly decreased utility bills.
“The county has a $100,000 grant and expects to only use about $30,000 of it,” he said. “If we get the rest, we might do the same thing at the middle school.”
The new Tennessee Academy Standards was tabled by the board. The Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) sample board-resolution information set goals “to strive for,” said Cordell, but are highly unlikely for now.
Some of the examples Cordell read at the meeting included supplying each school to make a 1:1 ratio of computer to student and giving a laptop to every teacher for school use.
“These are great goals to strive for, but I don’t see where the funding will come from,” he said.
The board agreed to come back to the subject later to give each member more time to look over the new standards.
Principals from Griffith Elementary and Sequatchie County Middle School gave board members an update on how the 2008-2009 school year proceeded. Information from the high school was submitted directly to board members.
Griffith Principal Sarai Carbaugh said she has learned several things during the past school year and the fall semester of 2009. She said, students have received average scores for reading and math, scored an A average in social studies and scored an F in science through state testing.
“Writing has also been an emphasis,” she explained. “We have done our best to integrate the arts and have seen three musical performances over the past year.”
Carbaugh began as a first-year principal during the 2008-2009 school year.
Principal Donald Johnson said, his school is considered to be under “School Improvement” status under No Child Left Behind. He noted, 85 percent of the 400 plus students who are considered economically disadvantaged reached testing goals for the program, while the quota for schools with this sub-group required 89 percent of the students to score satisfactorily.
Johnson said, if board members would calculate that number of students, it means only 16 students failed to perform well enough during testing, holding back the entire school under No Child Left Behind.
“Now, we have a writing prompt which is school-wide, just like Griffith. We write one of the prompts for each grade level during each six-week period of the year,” he explained.
Another problem the school has faced in the past year is school-wide standards have been raised. Now, not only must the school improve testing scores, but it will be harder to do.
Johnson praised the local community for supporting the school and helping to keep students focused on schooling during the past year through volunteer work and activities within the institution.
The second reading of a computer-use policy was approved and officially accepted at the meeting.
The first reading of a punishment policy was approved at the meeting. The policy will need one more approval at a regular meeting before becoming official.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Central Office. The next working session will be held Tuesday, January 26, at 7:00 p.m.
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