Johnston County
Board
of Education report from special sessions held Sept. 30 & Oct. 1 |
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Board members present Sept. 30:
Chairman Mike Wooten, Teresa Grant, Terri Sessoms, Todd Sutton, Tracie Zukowski
Absent: Ronald Johnson, Peggy Smith
Board members present Oct. 1:
Vice Chair Peggy Smith, Teresa Grant, Ronald Johnson, Terri Sessoms, Tracie Zukowski
Absent: Todd Sutton, Mike Wooten
"Low performing" schools present
improvement goals for
current year
The Board of Education met in special sessions three times over the past two weeks to receive Improvement Plans from 14 of Johnston County's schools defined as "low performing" by state guidelines. Those are schools graded either "D" or "F" and "did not exceed growth" as expected, based on overall performance of their students on end-of-grade testing.
Formal approval of the improvement plans is expected at the school board's regular monthly meeting next Tuesday (October 8).
Here are highlights of the plans presented by Smithfield-area schools:
SOUTH SMITHFIELD ELEMENTARY TO FOCUS
ON BLACKS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Principal Laura Makey presented her school's improvement plan at the board's Monday evening session. Goal No. 1 is to raise the school's performance grade from a "D" to a "C" by the end of the academic year next June.
To achieve that goal, the school seeks the following increases in overall student proficiency based on end-of-grade testing: For reading --- from 33.8% last year to 37.8% this year; for math --- from 35.9% to 41.3%; and for science --- from 32.9% to 42%.
Another goal in South Smithfield's plan focuses on poor academic performance recorded this past year for black students and students with disabilities. For blacks, the school wants to increase reading proficiency from 8% to 18% and math proficiency from 10.8% to 17.3%. For students with disabilities, the plan calls for raising proficiency from 4% to 10% in reading and 2% to 9.4% in math.
To achieve those academic goals, the school's plan relies heavily on coaching and collaboration among teachers and administrators. The plan calls for a "literacy team" to maintain focus on objectives and "weekly walk-throughs" by administrators and coaches to check on teachers' progress.
A third goal in South Smithfield's plan is to reduce what amounts to bad behavior by some students: "All students at SSE will be able to self-manage their emotions through age-appropriate strategies in order to be highly engaged in learning," the Improvement Plan states.
Principal Makey said her school registered 215 "class-office referrals" for misbehaving students this past year. Having two counselors on duty at South Smithfield this year will help deal with those problems, she noted. And a system of "daily and weekly rewards" should help keep tempers under control, she added.
Board members commended Ms. Makey and her team for an aggressive approach to dealing with the school's problems rather than downplaying them. Terri Sessoms was especially pleased to see the school's emphasis on improving the academic standing of blacks and students with disabilities. "Thank you for ripping the band-aid off and looking at these subgroups," she said.
Of South Smithfield's 521 students, 41% are Hispanics, 28% are blacks, and 24% are whites (the rest are classified by race as "other").
Follow this link to access details of South Smithfield's Improvement Plan>
South Smithfield Elementary's Principal Laura Makey (center) was accompanied to Monday's school board session by a sizeable delegation made up of members of the schools' Improvement Team and Parent Advisory Council: (left to right) in front --- Casey Tetterton, Cali Durning, Jill McKay, Megan Barnes, Ms. Makey, Marcie Arango, Alesia Sanders; in back --- Jessica Fariss, Elisabeth Mumford, Carson Cataliotti, Hadley Lee, Cindy Jones, Doyle Woodall, Heather Misiuda, Cat Webster.
SMITHFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL'S GOALS
Principal LaShunda Faison presented her school's plan at the board's Tuesday evening session. Goal No. 1 is increase overall student proficiency in all grades from 43.9% this past year to 46.9% by next June.
Goal No. 2 is to raise overall proficiency for students with disabilities from 17.2% to 25% by the end of this academic year.
Goal No. 3 is to increase the percentage of students "who feel they have at least one adult who knows them well and shows interest in their education." Principal Faison told the board she is disheartened that less than half the student body at Smithfield Middle feels that way, based on past survey results.
Follow this link to access details of Smithfield Middle's Improvement Plan>
WEST SMITHFIELD ELEMENTARY'S GOALS
Goal No. 2 is to "guide students in managing their emotions, and arrange for supports and interventions based on student social and emotional needs."
Goal No. 3 is to increase proficiency among African-American students from 10.2% to 21.3% in reading and from 2% to 15% in math by next June.
Follow this link to access details of West Smithfield's Improvement Plan>
WILSON'S MILLS ELEMENTARY'S GOALS
Principal Andrea Jones presented her school's plan at Tuesday's session also. Goal No. 1 is to increase overall student proficiency in reading from 38.7% to 41.7% "or above" by the end of the school year.
Goal No. 2 is to track reading performance data for blacks and students with disabilities "to improve their reading achievement indicator by 5%."
Goal No. 3 is to raise measurement of the school's overall level of "self-management skills which reflect how students manage their emotions, thoughts, and behavior in different situations."
Follow this link to access details of the Wilson's Mills Improvement Plan>
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