Representatives of McAdams High School and the Attala County School Department were scheduled to present their student performance improvement proposal to the Mississippi Department of Education Tuesday afternoon, after The Star-Herald press time.
The school, which has received an F-rating from the state for the second year in a row, will likely receive some state funding to help implement an approved plan.
Superintendent Bryan Weaver said the goal of the overall plan is to focus efforts on remediation with the lowest performing 25% of the school’s students. That may involve an hour or more per day dedicated to one-on-one tutoring, as well as a variety of other efforts.
The Star-Herald will provide additional detailed coverage of the plan once it is available.
In other business at the Monday night meeting, the request of a student to be released to attend Kosciusko High School caused a debate. The student’s request was based on the lesser availability of dual credit and honors classes in the county schools than the city school district. Board member Vernita Rayford expressed displeasure with the number of students requesting the leave the district.
“Are we going to just release students until we close the schools? she asked. “We need to learn to fix what we need to to keep our students.”
Board President Christy Moody agreed.
“We do need to look at the availability of classes, but tonight, we need to act on this request,” she said.
Weaver noted that a major reason the Kosciusko schools can provide more honors and dual credit classes is simply a matter of it being a larger disctrict with more students.
The board also heard a proposal from Ethel High School Principal Culley Newman, presented by Chastity Whittington, that would provide first responders with free lunch at the county schools. The effort would reportedly improve the relationships between students and law enforcement, as well as allow law enforcement to become more familiar with the school facilities. After discussion of who might be eligible for the free lunches and under what circumstances they would be provided, the board tabled the issue until a more detailed proposal is developed.
The board approved a change in the sports that will be available at Ethel High School beginning in 2021. With slow-pitch softball going away, both powerlifting and volleyball will be added to the roster for female students. Cross-country track will be added for both males and females.
In personnel matters, part-time teacher Linda Smith was added to replace Cameron Fair as a science teacher and Sharon Davis was added as a substitute teacher at both Greenlee and Long Creek elementary schools.
After entering executive session to discuss the timing of an emergency license endorsement for Danielle Black to continue teaching in Long Creek Elementary School’s gifted education program, the board ultimately approved the license.
The board also approved substitute cafeteria workers and increased the hourly rate for the maintenance supervisor from $19.50 per hour to $21.50 per hour,
Also getting a financial bump are Ethel High School softball coaches - thanks to the team reaching the playoffis this season. Head Coach Chris Schuster will recieve an additional $750 and Assistant Coach Christian Fancher will receive an additional $300 in payment for the additioanal dozen games the team appeared in during the playoffs.
