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November
10, 2004
The
Catawba County Board of Education met in regular session on November 10,
2004, at noon at Sweetwater Elementary School with Chairman Charlie
Wyant presiding. The following members were present: Mrs. Blackburn,
Mrs. Sherrill, Mrs. Butler and Mr. Sigmon. Also in attendance were
Superintendent Ann Hart, Assistant Superintendents Pat Hensley, Rick
Sherrill and Nancy Yount, Attorney Crystal Davis, Finance Director
Sondra Wolfe, Chief Technology Officer Terry Bledsoe, Public Information
Officer/Grant Writer Beverly Lampe, Student Services Director Paul
Holden, Director of Instruction William Ross, Secondary Education
Director Debbie Long and Federal Programs Director Barbara Piekarski.
Mr. Biggerstaff and Mr. Scott were not present for the meeting.
Christina
Cupo represented the Hickory Daily Record for a brief portion of the
meeting.
The
meeting was called to order by Chairman Wyant. Members observed a
Moment of Silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr.
Sigmon.
Chairman
Wyant made an amendment to add three additional field trip requests and
one basketball tournament to the Consent Agenda. Mrs. Butler made the
motion to approve the agenda as presented including the amendment made
by Chairman Wyant. Mrs. Sherrill seconded the motion with no
opposition.
Public Hearing:
Attorney
Davis conducted the Public Hearing phase of the meeting for comments
concerning any agenda items. No person present wished to address the
Board on any agenda item.
Superintendent’s Report was moved to a later portion of the meeting.
The
following Consent Agenda items were transacted:
Budget
Amendments:
Finance
Officer Sondra Wolfe presented two budget amendments for the Board’s
consideration budgeting additional funds allocated by the State Public
School Fund and the Capital Outlay Fund. A copy of these amendments may
be found between pages ___ and ___ and become an official part of these
minutes.
Personnel Requests:
*approved
certified employees Phillip Batten, Gretchen McManus and Richard Stuffle;
*approved
classified employee Raymond Belton;
*approved
rehire of retirees Karen Eades, Mike Lawing, Phyllis McMahan and Bonnie
Pritchard;
*granted
the retirement requests of certified employees Karen Eades, Bonnie
Pritchard and Sandra Tallant; and
*accepted
the resignations of certified employee Kay Henderson.
The Board
was also furnished a listing of substitute teachers.
Field Trip
Requests:
*St.
Stephens High School Cross Country to Hendersonville, North Carolina,
October 29-30, 2004
*Arndt
Middle School Chorus to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, November 13-14,
2004
*Maiden
High School AFJROTC to Goldsboro, North Carolina, January 12-13, 2005
*Fred T.
Foard High School Symphonic Band and Concert Band I to Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania and New York, New York, March 29-April 2, 2005
*Tuttle
Middle School Band to Atlanta, Georgia, April 1-3, 2005
*Fred T.
Foard School Bi-Annual Basketball Tournament, Thanksgiving Weekend 2004,
$15.00 per participant.
There
being no questions or discussion, a motion was made by Mrs. Blackburn
and seconded by Mrs. Sherrill to approve the presented budget
amendments, field trip requests including the additions, and personnel
requests. The motion carried.
The
following item of New Business was transacted:
NB#1:
Administrators, along with other staff members from their schools, were
in attendance to present their School Improvement Plans. Members
received, prior to the meeting, copies of the individual school plans
for their review. Schools were allotted ten minute time spans to
highlight one major focus/revision to their plans for the 2004-2005
school year. Individual schools were announced with representatives
standing before the Board to present and allow time for any questions
from members. Presentations were as follows:
Mountain
View Elementary School – In attendance: Kim Penley and Alycen Wilson;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Improve reading skills using theme
“Reading Renaissance.
Sherrills
Ford Elementary School – In attendance: Vermel Moore, Dianna Freestone
and Kelly Nicholson; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Continue with
differentiated instruction to decrease gaps in the school.
Oxford
Elementary School – In attendance: Dean King and Heather Ollis;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Focus on sound practices not on
“programs” improving writing and reading skills.
Following
Oxford Elementary School’s presentation Superintendent Hart gave her
Superintendent’s Report:
Superintendent Hart began her report with sad news. Clyde Campbell
Elementary School’s Principal Walter Zahler’s nineteen year old nephew
was killed by an automobile. Kim Sipe, secretary for the
Career-Technical Education Department, was hospitalized due to some
health problems she was having.
Other
items of updated included:
•Members
were given a copy of requested SAT information from the Testing and
Accountability Department. The information compared the number of
seniors versus the number of seniors that actually took the SAT by
ethnicity.
•The week
of November 8-12, 2004 was proclaimed as School Psychology Week.
Superintendent Hart introduced Student Services Director Paul Holden.
Student Services Director Holden briefed members on the number of
psychologist employed by Catawba County Schools and their job
responsibilities.
•Lastly,
Superintendent Hart distributed to members a draft letter to the County
Commissioners that prioritized the strategies that were discussed at the
Joint Boards of Education Meeting on November 8, 2004. Possible dates,
which included December 14th (first choice) and December 13th (second
choice), were given to members for follow-up meeting with the three
Boards of Education and the County Commissioners. The meeting will
begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Annex Boardroom, once a date is decided upon.
School
Improvement Plan presentations continued.
Startown
Elementary School – In attendance: Rob Fuldner and Janet Yount;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Improve reading and math scores, growing
partnerships with community and initiated a Science Action Team.
Maiden
Elementary School – In attendance: Marilyn McRee and Coach Deborah
Brinkley; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Implementation of Healthy
Active Children component through the physical education program.
Maiden
High School – In attendance: Dwayne Finger, Maria Ballard and Steve
Hensley; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Focus on improving all the
programs such as writing and reading skills.
St.
Stephens High School – In attendance: DeAnna Taylor; Focus/Revision for
2004-2005 – Met school goal of top ten percent, continue challenging
classes focusing on reading, writing and math.
Following
the presentation by Principal DeAnna Taylor, Principal Grover Linebarger
welcomed everyone in attendance and introduced Victorious Wright, a
third grade student at Sweetwater Elementary School. Principal
Linebarger along with Victorious conducted a school tour for members.
After the informative tour, the group was escorted to the school’s
cafeteria where lunch was provided. Upon completion of the tour and
lunch, the School Improvement Plan presentations resumed in the school’s
media center.
Fred T.
Foard High School – In attendance: Sally Bradshaw, Rebecca Smith and
Stephanie McDaniel; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – To change student
weaknesses into strengths.
Bunker
Hill High School – In attendance: Jerry Griffin and Shawn Clemons;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Increase awareness of substance abuse and
bullying.
Bandys
High School – In attendance: Michael Wyant and Alan Sigmon;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Increase remediation to improve academic
achievement.
Arndt
Middle School – In attendance: Jeff Taylor and Tammy Shook;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Increase EOG Growth Goal and to educate
not only students but parents as well.
Mill Creek
Middle School – In attendance: Beth Isenhour, Debra Burris and Kim
Jordan; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Increase AYP in math, target
exceptional children goals.
Jacobs
Fork Middle School – In attendance: Ken Weaver; Focus/Revision for
2004-2005 – Increase proficiency, focus on growth factor, improve
reading and after-school remediation.
River Bend
Middle School – In attendance: Bill Long and Cindy Sestric;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Administration proud of scores and
growth, focus on AYP math goals and continue to keep doing what has been
done.
Tuttle
Middle School – In attendance: Nan Van Hoy; Focus/Revision for
2004-2005 – Continue programs in place and improve reading scores,
Character Education (area of bullying) and focus on inclusion in
exceptional children.
Sweetwater
Elementary School – In attendance: Grover Linebarger and Janice Poovey;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Revisions centered round after-school
remediation program.
Balls
Creek Elementary School – In attendance: Jeff Isenhour; Focus/Revision
for 2004-2005 – Emphasis the importance of making all student literate
(as stated in belief statement) and focus on writing skills.
Catawba
Intermediate School – In attendance: Diana Dagenhart and Dee Robertson;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Improve reading skills and implementation
of the Healthy Active Children component.
Clyde
Campbell Elementary School – No representatives from the school present
due to an emergency – Presented by Assistant Superintendent Yount;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Continue to improve areas of writing,
math and reading including implementation of Star Reading Program.
Murray
Elementary School – In attendance: Mickey Barnett; Focus/Revision for
2004-2005 – Continue to improve areas of reading, writing and math and
implementation of the Healthy Active Children component.
Banoak
Elementary School – In attendance: Joe Biggerstaff, JR Sigmon and Mary
Young; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Improve area of reading with the
implementation of the Renaissance and Accelerated Reading Programs.
Blackburn
Elementary School – In attendance: DeAnna Finger and Brian Benton;
Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 -
Claremont
Elementary School – In attendance: Chris Gibbs, Shelly Black and
Stephanie Kale; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Keep expectations high,
target Level One and Level Two students, EC and ESL, and implement ways
to decrease “bullying” issues.
Lyle Creek
Elementary School – In attendance: Leslie Barnette, Thalia Matthews and
Lynne Workman; Focus/Revision for 2004-2005 – Implement Healthy Active
Children component and address bullying issues.
St.
Stephens Elementary School concluded the presentations. In attendance:
Marsha Woodard, Dawn Covington and Pam Whitlock; Focus/Revision for
2004-2005 – Implement inclusion differently, building Character
Education Program and encourage strong family and community support.
Members
commended schools on their outstanding plans. The 2004-2005 school year
is the last year of the current School Improvement Plans.
Public
Comments:
Attorney
Davis conducted the Public Comments section of the agenda at which time
no one present desired to address the Board.
There
being no other items of business to be conducted, Mrs. Butler made the
motion to adjourn with Mrs. Blackburn seconding the motion. All members
were in favor. The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________
Charlie C.
Wyant, Chairman
__________________________
Ann Y.
Hart, Secretary
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