American Education Week Celebration

Thanks to all who turned out this evening for the American Education Week Celebration! There was lots of great food, cool door prizes, and live music. Special thanks to the many community sponsors who made our reception possible.

We had a great crowd at West Wind Farm.

• West Wind Farm (host and gift)
• Nate Montgomery (live music)
• Lemon's Jewelers (gift)
• Wohlfahrt Haus (gift)
• Annie Zorn with Premier Designs Jewelry (gift)
• Denise Davis (gift)
• Risk Solutions (donation)
• Wythe Sheet Metal (donation)
• First Bank (donation)
• First Century Bank (donation)
• David Martin Insurance (donation)
• Community Animal Clinic (donation)

We enjoyed great company and good food.

We gave away several door prizes.

We shared our stories.

We enjoyed music by Nate Montgomery.

School Board Meeting - November

Attendance: 6 teachers, 7 School Board Members, 11 Central Office Staff/Admin, 1 Media, 5 Community Members, 2 Retirees

Cub Scout Pack #855 - Performed Pledge of Allegiance

Awards/Recognitions

-Veterans Day Assemblies were recognized

-American Education Week is next week; WCEA is hosting a celebration on Tuesday, Nov 18

-Take Your Legislator to School Month - all of our legislatures have been invited, none have attended as of yet

IT Update - Mr. Cochran

-Several Purchases have been made in past year highlighted by 310 Lenovo Laptop/Tablet combination through the e-backpack program for FCHS freshmen, sophomores

-Pointed out the valuable resource of having ITRTs support teachers use of technology in the classroom

-Support 2,800 devices, handled 1,500 support requests last year

-Was asked about getting laptop/tablets in other HS; Dr. Brannon said he would  like to propose this be included in future SB budget, but that would depend on funding

WCPS Foundation for Excellence - Audra Lucas

-new director is getting her feet wet; 10th anniversary of FFE

-Grant received to support Summer Enrichment Program

-9mile Sand Mt. Marathon Run

-Received $179K grant for Sheffey fitness room addition

Capital Improvement Update - Dr. Brannon

-Phase II will be included in Budget planning process (Spiller, SMMS, Speedwell)

Water Project @ JMES - Mr. Skeens

-Grant received to continue and finish water line project

-Planned to finish prior next school year

Budget Forecast - Dr. Brannon

-Went through several state/national job statistics

-$272 million budget gap for state budget in FY16; cuts to fill the gap will be announced in December

Central Office Staff Discussion

-Ms. Hines fielded several concerns over having school in session during Election Day; will be considered by Calendar Committee in planning for next year

School Activity Fund Audit - Dr. Brannon 

-reports to school, schools must create a plan for improving on any auditors suggestions

-no of the suggestions are reoccuring  at same school from year to year

Goals & Objectives - Dr. Brannon

-Reveiwed goals & objectives and were adopted 

Officiating Services - Mr. Skeens

-Appalachian Officials Association was recommended noteably for having a larger pool of officials

-Negotiating rights remain with WCPS should the AOA fail to provide services

-Southwest Officials Association (Basketball) & Southwest Soccer Association

-After much discussion and questions SB passed by role call vote to go with AOA

December School Board Meeting moved to December 18

Superintendent Search

-contact VSBA for superintendent search process

-much more cost effective organization than national search agencies with similar services

Governors School Pilot Program has been a success so far

American Education Week Celebration

Please join us!

WCEA Polo Shirts

Check out the shirts the WCEA is offering! They are polo shirts to meet dress code :) There are a variety of colors to show your school spirit. Each will have the WCEA logo. All orders are due to the WCEA representative at your building by Nov 17 OR you can bring your order to the American Education Week Celebration on Nov 18 at West Wind Winery.


Here's a proof of the product...

Here's the order form...

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

School Board Meeting Update

Attendance: 8 teachers, 2 retirees, 1 building admin, 13 central office admin/staff

1. Dr. Brannon's retirement letter was accepted effective June 30, 2015.

2. Public Comment

    a. Mitch Anders (community member, parent) spoke in favor of basketball officiating organization that is attempting to compete with the current officiating organization. He cited better officiating as a benefit to the new group.

    b. Betty Billingsley (Spiller, WCEA member) spoke requesting the board to reconsider the policy to ban refrigerators. She cited that many teachers used their refrigerators for student snacks not personal items.

    c. Stephanie James (Spiller, WCEA Secretary) spoke about her disappointment with only having three night time School Board meetings which decreases the SB's opportunity to communicate with their employees and the community. She also spoke about the excessive heat at our non-air conditioned buildings.

   

3. Billie Murray from the American Lung Association spoke about potentially becoming a 100% tobacco free school zones including students, employees, parents, and community organizations. SB members questioned enforcement issues. Dr. Brannon will discuss with principals and report back to the SB.

4. Dr. James reported on the SOL results from last year. All schools who were Accredited with Warning achieved 70% pass rates in math. Significant improvement in math scores across grade levels were noted. Reading and writing scores dropped at many grade levels. She noted the increased rigor on these tests. History & Science basically maintained their pass rates. She noted the PD focus will remain on vocabulary strategies. She also noted that a focus is being placed on middle school reading with more PD on remediating students and participation in the PALS testing expansion.

5. Dr. Robinett gave a Special Education update. Many of the schools met the 12% AMO increase goal that was set for identified students in reading and math. She noted the new P.A.E.S. lab at the WCTC. She also spoke of the School and Community Services Fair that was held recently to provide information for parents about these services. 

6. Dr. Poole asked for questions on the capital improvements at Sheffey and RRMS. It was noted that the Sheffey project is further delayed than RRMS. The SB went on a tour earlier in the day of both locations. There's a planned ribbon cutting ceremony for RRMS on Oct. 2nd @ 1:30 and for Sheffey on Oct. 10th @ 1:30. 

7. A resolution was passed allowing bid competition for officiating services. This was in reference to Mitch Anders comments and organization mentioned earlier.

Meeting Dates

Dates to Know

The School Board has set its meetings for the 2014-15. Due to "poor" attendance at the past year's meetings, they decided to revert back to having morning meetings with three night meetings during the year. All meetings will be held at the School Board Office beside George Wythe HS.

Here is the School Board meeting schedule. Please plan to attend the nighttime meetings!

• Thursday, August 14th at 9:00 am
• Thursday, September 11th at 7:00 pm
• Thursday, October 9th  at 9:00 am
• Thursday, November 13th at 7:00 pm
• Thursday, December 11th at 9:00 am
• Thursday, January 8th at 9:00 am
• Thursday, February 12th at 9:00 am
• Thursday, March 12th at 7:00 pm
• Thursday, April 9th at 9:00 am
• Thursday, May 14th at 9:00 am
• Thursday, June 11th at 9:00 am
• Thursday, July 9th at 9:00 am

All School Board Meetings are held at the School Board Office. Meeting agendas can be found on the School Board's BoardDocs page at http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/wythe/Board.nsf/Public.

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The WCEA Board meetings will be on Thursday afternoons after the morning School Board meetings. For the months of the nighttime meetings, the WCEA monthly meeting will be the following Monday. All meetings will be held at Spiller Elementary School. Association Representatives and Officers make up the Board and are expected to attend the monthly meetings. All members are welcome to attend as well. 

Here is the WCEA meeting schedule:

• Monday, August 25th @ 4:30pm (Representative Training @ Peking)
• Monday, September 15th @ 4:15pm
• Thursday, October 9th @ 4:15pm
• Tuesday, November 18th (during the American Education Week Celebration)
• Thursday, December 11th @ 4:15pm
• Thursday, January 8th @ 4:15pm
• Thursday, February 12th @ 4:15pm
• Monday, March 16th @ 4:15pm
• Thursday, April 9th @ 4:15pm
• Thursday, May 14th @ 4:15pm
• Thursday, June 11th @ 4:15pm
• Thursday, July 9th @ 4:15pm