During Monday night’s monthly meeting, the Kosciusko School Board approved new guidelines for virtual learning in the elementary schools, changes to Kosciusko Upper Elementary’s grading scale, and staffing changes for the coming school year.
Virtual Plan Overview
The district approved guidelines for families that choose to keep their children in a virtual learning environment for the upcoming school year:
Lesson delivery
• There will be one virtual teacher per grade level. Virtual teachers will be limited to 10 in-person students or less.
• Teachers will use virtual meeting tools to allow for live student participation.
• Students will be required to attend live, synchronous class sessions.
• Daily classwork will be delivered through a predetermined Learning Management System and printed materials.
Attendance
• Students will be required to login to their virtual class session on time each day to be counted present.
• Students who are failing after the first 9 weeks will be required to transition to on-campus attendance, unless they have a doctor’s excuse.
Assessments
• Students will be expected to take all assessments (weekly/diagnostic/benchmark) in person.
• Space will be made available for appropriate distancing and cleansing measures.
Student expectations
• Students must apply to be virtual for the 2021-22 school year.
• Students will be expected to finish assignments on time.
KUE Grading Scale
The board also approved changes to the KUE grading scale. Previously, grades were calculated with homework counting toward 10% of the grade, daily grades counting for 40%, quizzes counting for 20% and tests counting for 30%.
In the new calculations, test performance is given increased weight, accounting for 60 percent of a student’s grade. Daily grades will now count for 30% and homework will count for 10% of a student’s grade.
Hirings and Resignations
The board accepted resignations for teachers Susan Nail, Shelby Russell, Derrik Boland, and Christy Cheek. They also accepted resignations for coaches Allison Johnson as KHS assistant softball coach, Eddie Duncan as KHS assistant baseball coach, and Eleazarus Greenleaf as KJH boys’ basketball coach.
Hiring approvals were made for teachers Tamara Hopkins, Austin Parker, and Dottie Dearen at KJH; Emily Martin at KUE; and Rachel Mangum at KME. The hiring of Melissa Hill as a full-time worker for child nutrition was also approved.
Public Comments
When the meeting was opened for public comment, attendee LaShawn Speed spoke, challenging the board to increase the number of African American teachers in the district.
Annually, the district undertakes recruiting efforts at HBCUs in the region, and after Monday’s meeting, Superintendent Billy Ellzey said the district seeks diversity in its hires.
“Our district encourages and embraces diversity in our staff, and we work to meet those standards each and every year as we look to hire people,” he told The Star-Herald.
