School Board Meeting Summary
Pamela R. H. Bailey
School Board Meeting Summary
The regularly scheduled meeting of
the Spotsylvania County School Board was held on
Topics of Discussion
Non-Controversial Topics Overview
Three participants were recognized for their placement in the Tri-City Soil and Water Contest, “Love a Stream”. Their teachers and subject area supervisors were also recognized for their work and efforts in the facilitation of the projects. All those involved appreciate the recognition for efforts on activities that are over and above the normal job requirements.
Two
general items were presented to the board. Dr. Donald Alvey presented the first
item, a report on the increase in number of students taking advanced placement
courses. The boost is an indicator of an overall increase in student
achievement and accomplishment. Concern with AYP pass rates has been foremost
in the thoughts of the board members so the advanced placement issue was good
news. The second item was the school budget calendar, a yearly item. The budget
calendar dates were set in an effort to facilitate communication between the
Controversial
Topic Details
Overview of the Topic. Mr. Anthony Jackson, Director of Curriculum and Instruction in Spotsylvania County Schools presented the big topic of the evening, C.A.R.E. The plan was developed to aid administrators in meeting or exceeding expectations for accreditations and AYP and as an action plan for the FOCUS program previously adopted in 2006-2007. FOCUS is a document that details four main goals for the county in relationship to student achievement. C.A.R.E. is a very specific list of 15 items that will be accomplished in order to achieve the FOCUS goals. Some of the items are targeted intervention plans, enrichment and extension activities and parent engagement.
Positive aspects of C.A.R.E. The C.A.R.E. Plan was created to encourage positive, constructive strong conversations to facilitate student centered lessons and activities and to provide differentiation to meet all students needs, specifically the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) subgroups. Money is an issue as local education associations receive funding and are held accountable for student achievement through Title 1 Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Riddle, 2007). Accountability is based on the evaluation of 29 different areas and is reported in AYP which is under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Riddle (2007) states that the AYP categories were established to focus on “…disadvantaged pupil groups” so that they might continually improve academically, maintain and/or establish a challenging curriculum for all, and encourage consistency between local education associations and between states.
Negative aspect of C.A.R.E. One of the controversial items in C.A.R.E. states that school administrators will observe every teacher in their building twice a month. Directors, supervisors, and coordinators at the central office are also conducting observations dialey and having open conversations with the administrators about their activities. The C.A.R.E. Plan is creating tension between administrators and their teachers and teacher stress levels are increasing as the plan is implemented. At a recent meeting a mathematics specialist reported that many of the teachers cried when she went in to collaborate on lesson plans. Teachers are feeling that they are doing a horrible job due to this parade of individuals. They are staying after school for training and meetings on their own time as well as taking work home with them to complete without any acknowledgement for their efforts. Time is a major concern even during school hours as teachers attempt to maximize their efforts and feel that collaboration meetings are not necessary.
Teachers state
that those in power are not looking at student growth each year only SOL test
scores and whether or not the school made AYP. Gary Feuerberg from The Epoch Times reports in his article
on
Summary and Closing
The C.A.R.E. plan may help encourage teachers that are not performing to go on to another occupation but school systems may be losing some great teachers. Communication is a key element to begin the process of change as many teachers learn to differentiate lessons to meet student needs. Mr. Lore, a school board member, spoke up at the end of the C.A.R.E. presentation. He stated that he felt that C.A.R.E. was good and that he would vote for its implementation however he was also concerned about teachers, their feelings and stress levels, and with how the various aspects would be implemented in each school. Mr. Jackson did not respond.
References
Feuerberg,
G. (2007, June 18). No Child Left Behind – Should it be renewed [Electronic
version]? The Epoch Times, Article
56601. Retrieved
Riddle,
W. (2007). Adequate Yearly Progress: Implementation of the No Child Left Behind
Act. Congressional Research Service for
Congress, CRS-2007-DSP-0766, RL32495. Retrieved