School Board Meeting Update - October

Attendance: 6 SB members, 2 teachers, 10 SBO Admin/Staff, 1 FFE

1. Federal School Accreditation - Dr. James
• Most schools fully accredited; 3 schools in improvement/accredited with warning
• PD Focus will continue to be on vocabulary instruction
• Focus on Writing to provide K-8 curriculum continuity 
• Dr. Brannon spoke in support of school staff who are working hard to meet expectations
2. AdvancED (Nov. 16-19) - Dr. James
• Team of 6 from VA, NC, SC
• Schedule
• Sunday - review the documentation
• Monday - interviews with SBO Admin, SB Members, Principals, Parents
• Tuesday - school observations, interviews with teachers & students
• Wednesday - debrief with SBO, SB members, Principals, Parents
• Observations - don't know which schools yet; focus is on student engagement & technology
3. Capital Improvement - Dr. Poole
• RRMS - had opening ceremony, few projects still to be finished
• Sheffey - opening ceremony is Friday, Community Center, several projects still to be finished
• Parking Lots at these two locations will be resealed in spring/summer
4. Personnel Report - Mr. Thomas
• New hires: 34 teachers, 1 administrator, several support staff
• Partnered with Virginia Employment Commission for hiring support staff
• Training new sub bus drivers (recent events have been cancelled due to lack of personnel)
• PALS Tutor positions are filled (90% retention rate)
5. Tobacco Free Campus - Dr. Brannon
• Dr. Brannon investigated with principals and other administrators
• Designated areas seem to be working well right now; areas in winter will be relocated away from doors
• No policy action to be taken on this until possibly next July when new policies are adopted
6. Title 6 Part B Funding Application - Ms. Cochran
• $80,000 to be used mainly for MS/HS instructional needs (ES have Title I funds)
• Application was approved to be submitted