School board renews teacher, counselor, librarian contracts
The Italy School Board of Trustees renewed teacher, librarian and counselor contracts at its monthly meeting held Monday evening.
The board, following an executive session, returned into open session to accept the resignations of Heather Richters, Jennifer Reeves, Tanya Parker and Karen Dalquest at the high school and voted to not renew the probationary contract of Teresa Cockran at Stafford Elementary. All remaining teacher contracts were unanimously renewed on both campuses.
The board also approved the contract of Sharan Farmer, librarian. Melissa Bedard, Stafford Elementary counselor, and Sharon Davis, high school counselor, also received contract approval with Davis receiving two no votes from Mark Stiles and Paul Cockerham.
Casey Holden, math teacher, presented a brief overview of the math book she has put together.
She said this took her five years to put together and has added the C-Scope into the curriculum. She told board members that a lot of schools are going digital and explained her long range and short range goals for the math department.
Holden’s ultimate goal is for every student to have an I-Pad which the student can use as an interactive textbook. She said the book(s) can be downloaded and would allow students to take tests, do their homework and prepare for tests with the iPad.
She presented a computer demonstration of the various free apps she is using for the math applications. Her short-term goal is for every teacher to have an IPad so they can begin to develop their programs.
The meeting was filled with many reports that Stiles demanded at the previous monthly meeting.
The first report, the transportation report, was compiled by Speed Hamby, maintenance director.
He presented a report from 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and the current school year to date.
The reports listed each school bus, total miles, fuel used for the year, estimated miles per gallon, fuel costs, maintenance costs and total costs for each year.
Stiles told Hamby, “You’re getting there.”
Stiles also complained about the lack of seat-belts on the buses and said the district needed to look into installing them.
A second report dealt with Career and Technology Education (CTE) classes.
The report indicates approximately 188 students are enrolled in the classes. The report said 16 students dropped the class after the semester was in progress – three to assist as elementary aids, two for work release, six for the A+ lab for credit recovery to graduate and five for dual credit class scheduling.
Barry Bassett, superintendent, said they want to prepare every student to enter college but realize that will not be the case.
Lee Joffre, high school principal, said they are academically building on a business administration, agricultural management and the principles of child development.
As far as dual credit data, the fall semester enrolled 22 students. Students earned a total of 114 college hours.
When discussing ACT/SAT tests, Joffre said he would like to have PSAT classes during the summer. He said they could purchase practice tests and administer them at a reduced cost to local students. He said the class could last two or three weeks for four hours a day.
He said this would be squeezed between TAKS/STARR testing and summer school.
To help fund this program, Joffre said he plans on serving a hamburger meal prior to the softball and baseball games scheduled April 17.
Bassett presented an Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) for 2010-2011. The report compared the local, region ten and state TAKS score averages in the core classes for students in the third grade and up.
Grade 3
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2011 | 90% | 91% | 91% |
| 2010 | 92% | 93% | 95% | |
| Math | 2011 | 88% | 89% | 88% |
| 2010 | 87% | 87% | 81% |
Grade 4
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2011 | 86% | 88% | 86% |
| 2010 | 86% | 88% | 85% | |
| Math | 2011 | 89% | 89% | 86% |
| 2010 | 89% | 89% | 92% | |
| Writing | 2011 | 91% | 92% | 86% |
| 2010 | 92% | 93% | 88% |
Grade 5
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2011 | 87% | 89% | 80% |
| 2010 | 86% | 87% | 87% | |
| Math | 2011 | 86% | 87% | 82% |
| 2010 | 86% | 87% | 74% | |
| Science | 2011 | 86% | 88% | 82% |
| 2011 | 87% | 88% | 83% |
Grade 6
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2011 | 85% | 87% | 99% |
| 2010 | 86% | 88% | 93% | |
| Math | 2011 | 83% | 85% | 97% |
| 2010 | 83% | 85% | 93% |
Grade 7
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2011 | 86% | 87% | 82% |
| 2010 | 86% | 88% | 82% | |
| Math | 2011 | 81% | 83% | 84% |
| 2010 | 82% | 83% | 84% | |
| Writing | 2011 | 93% | 94% | 98% |
| 2010 | 94% | 94% | 97% |
Grade 8
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2011 | 89% | 91% | 94% |
| 2010 | 91% | 92% | 91% | |
| Math | 2011 | 80% | 82% | 67% |
| 2010 | 81% | 81% | 37% | |
| Science | 2011 | 79% | 81% | 69% |
| 2010 | 78% | 79% | 36% | |
| Soc. Studies | 2011 | 95% | 96% | 99% |
| 2010 | 94% | 95% | 80% |
Grade 9
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 2011 | 89% | 90% | 93% |
| 2010 | 92% | 93% | 93% | |
| Math | 2011 | 72% | 74% | 68% |
| 2010 | 72% | 74% | 63% |
Grade 10
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English/LA | 2011 | 91% | 92% | 94% |
| 2010 | 91% | 91% | 92% | |
| Math | 2011 | 75% | 77% | 73% |
| 2010 | 75% | 77% | 76% | |
| Science | 2011 | 76% | 78% | 52% |
| 2010 | 75% | 76% | 65% | |
| Soc. Studies | 2011 | 93% | 94% | 86% |
| 2010 | 93% | 93% | 92% |
Grade 11
| Class | Year | State avg. | Region 10 avg. | District avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English/LA | 2011 | 94% | 95% | 98% |
| 2010 | 93% | 93% | 93% | |
| Math | 2011 | 90% | 91% | 92% |
| 2010 | 88% | 89% | 82% | |
| Science | 2011 | 90% | 91% | 94% |
| 2010 | 90% | 91% | 82% | |
| Soc. Studies | 2011 | 98% | 98% | 97% |
| 2010 | 97% | 97% | 92% |
Bassett then presented the District Improvement Plan which consisted of seven long range goals. These goals include improving public relations, preparing graduates to reach their full potential, enhancing dropout prevention efforts, providing a balanced and appropriate curriculum, providing a safe and disciplined environment conducive to student learning, keeping educators abreast of the development of creative and innovative techniques in instruction and administration, and staying in compliance with directions outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Bassett said, “This is a living document, a work in progress.”
The group discussed whether to charge admission to baseball and softball games, whether all athletes paid for their shoes and whether all students were fed on academic and sporting trips.
Hank Hollywood, incoming athletic director, said admission prices are agreed upon on the district-wide level.
Tammy Gillespie said the athletic director evenly divides the money among the various athletic programs. It is up to the coach as to how that money is used.
Bassett briefly discussed booster club guidelines from the University Interscholastic League along with a booklet for cash handling procedures.
Current enrollment is 564 students with 308 students enrolled at the elementary school and 256 enrolled at the high school. Refined average daily attendance is 96.18%. Bassett said the district has filed 13 truancy cases through the justice of the peace. He said the district is aggressive in calling parents when a child is not at school.
The board approved minutes from the previous two meetings and the check register. Total revenue, to date, is at 57% with expenditures at 51.56%.
The next school board meeting is slated for April 16.