Wilkes County Schools

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2017-18 Board Meeting Minutes » October 2, 2017

October 2, 2017

Summary of Board Minutes
October 2, 2017
The Board of Education of the Wilkes County Administrative Unit met in a regular meeting at 5:30 pm Monday, October 2, 2017, in the Arnold and Becky Lakey Boardroom at 613 Cherry Street, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28659.
 
Present for the meeting were Chairman Mr. Randall “Rudy” Holbrook, Vice-Chairman Mrs. Sharron Huffman, Board Members Mr. Darren Shumate, Mr. Kirk Walker, and Mrs. Leslie Barnes.  Also present were Superintendent Mr. D. Mark Byrd, Associate Superintendent Ms. Anna Lankford, Chief Technology Officer Ms. Julie Triplett, Chief Finance Officer Mr. Seth Prevette, Director of Development Mr. Dennis Huggins, Director of Athletics and Healthful Living Mr. Chris Skabo, Director of CTE Mr. Wayne Shepherd, Director of Child Nutrition Mr. Marty Johnson, Director of Student Services Ms. April Marr, Director of Testing and Accountability Dr. Donna Cotton, Director of Exceptional Children Ms. Jennifer Blankenship, Director of Pre-K & Elementary Education Dr. Susan Blackburn, Director of Maintenance Mr. Bergie Speaks, Director of Foreign Languages Dr. Joe Bullis, AIG Coordinator Ms. Angie Lamb, GEAR Up Coordinator Ms. Jodi Freeman, Public Relations Officer Ms. Morgan Mathis, and Executive Administrative Assistant Ms. Carolyn Triplett.
 
Prior to calling the meeting to order, Chairman Mr. Rudy Holbrook recognized Board Member, Mr. Kirk Walker, to lead the Invocation.
 
On a motion by Mr. Shumate, seconded by Mrs. Huffman and duly carried, the agenda was approved as presented.
 
Chairman Mr. Randall “Rudy” Holbrook recognized Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd for the Devotion and Pledge of Allegiance. 
Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd, Associate Superintendent Ms. Anna Lankford, and Director of Student Services Ms. April Marr presented the HOPE Award. Our school counselors, school nurses, and school social workers support the work of our teachers, administrators, and other school staff. Their work is essential in our schools as they help address the social, emotional, and health needs of our students and their families so that our schools can be places for optimal teaching and learning to occur. Thus, the HOPE Award was created to recognize those whose sole professional focus is helping other people excel. We are pleased to recognize the ten candidates who were nominated for this award from the 2016-2017 school year. Board members were invited to attend a reception following the business meeting in the Stone Center.
 
2016-2017 Nominees for the HOPE award were:
  •  Alica Billings - School Counselor at Ronda-Clingman Elementary
  • Regina Brown - School Social Worker for C.B. Eller Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, North Wilkes Middle School, North Wilkes High, and Traphill Elementary
  • Angie Church - School Counselor for Roaring River Elementary
  • Crystal Edwards - School Counselor for Wilkesboro Elementary
  • Kim Forester - Former School Counselor for East Wilkes High
  • Rebekah Hayes - School Nurse for C.C. Wright Elementary
  • Billie Howell - Former School Social Worker for Boomer-Ferguson Elementary, Central Wilkes Middle, Moravian Falls Elementary, West Wilkes Middle, and West Wilkes High
  • Allison Lambert - School Nurse for Millers Creek Elementary and West Wilkes High
  • Megan Roberts-Clawson - School Counselor for Mulberry Elementary
  • Kim Welborn - School Counselor for North Wilkes Middle
 
The Winner of the HOPE Award was Regina Brown. Congratulations to Mrs. Brown!
Focus on the Curriculum was presented by Associate Superintendent Ms. Anna Lankford. Ms. Lankford gave an update on the Curriculum Focus and the Accountability Data from 2016-2017. The State Board of Education released the 2016-2017 READY Accountability Data for all North Carolina Schools on September 7, 2017. All grades are based on 80% proficiency and 20% growth with a 15 point grading scale. All Elementary and Middle Schools are based completely on EOG Scores in ELA, Math, and Science. High Schools have several indicators:  EOCs (Biology, Math 1, and English II), ACT, ACT WorkKeys, Math Course Rigor, and Cohort Graduation Rate. ESSA will require new indicators in 2017-2018. In 2016-2017, seven schools exceeded growth, ten meet growth, and five did not meet growth. The grades issued in 2016-2017 were as follows:  Grade A (one school) Wilkes Early College High School, Grade B (four schools) C.B. Eller, Moravian Falls, Roaring River, and West Wilkes High School, Grade C (seventeen schools) Boomer Ferguson, C.C. Wright, Central Wilkes Middle, East Wilkes High, East Wilkes Middle, Millers Creek, Mount Pleasant, Mountain View, Mulberry, North Wilkes High, North Wilkes Middle, North Wilkesboro, Ronda-Clingman, Traphill, West Wilkes High, West Wilkes Middle, and Wilkes Central High. We had no schools reporting as a D school. Our overall performance composite was up 3.5 percentage points for a total of 60.3%. Wilkes County Schools met participation rates in all tested areas!
Chairman Mr. Holbrook asked if anyone had signed up for public comments. No one had signed up.
 
On a motion by Mr. Shumate, seconded by Ms. Barnes and duly carried, the minutes for September 5, 2017 were approved as presented.
 
On a motion by Mr. Walker, seconded by Mrs. Huffman and duly carried, the Personnel Report was approved as presented.
Retirement(s):
 
Rex Call – Custodian – Mulberry Elementary School
Retirement effective January 1, 2018, with sixteen years and four months of service
 
Kenneth Joines – Custodian – North Wilkes High School
Retirement effective January 1, 2018, with five years and eight months of service
 
Penny Lankford – Teacher Assistant – Millers Creek Elementary School
Retirement effective January 1, 2018, with thirty years and five months of service
 
Rick Lankford – General Maintenance – Maintenance Department
Retirement effective January 1, 2018, with twenty-eight years and one month of service
 
Christine Tedder – Payroll Specialist – Finance Department
Retirement effective December 1, 2017, with fourteen years and eight months of service
On a motion by Mr. Shumate seconded by Mrs. Huffman and duly carried the Out of County/Overnight Field Trips were approved as presented and they are listed below.
 
School Group Destination Dates
East Wilkes High Beta Club Leadership Summit Charlotte, NC 10/09/2017-10/10/2017
East Wilkes High Women’s Golf Team Pinehurst, NC 10/10/2017-10/11/2017
Wilkes Central High FFA Members Indianapolis, IN 10/24/2017-10/28/2017
West Wilkes High EV Team Garysburg, NC Dates TBD 10/2017
West Wilkes High ASU Upward Bound Chapel Hill, NC 11/10/2017-11/11/2017
Wilkes Central High Choral Department Winston-Salem, NC 11/10/2017-11/11/2017
West Wilkes High Chorus Winston-Salem, NC 11/11/2007-11/12/2017
West Wilkes High EV Team Raleigh, NC 11/17/2017-11/18/2017
North Wilkes High Ninth & Tenth Grade Choral Students Wingate University, NC 01/26/2018-01/27/2018
Wilkes Central High Ninth & Tenth Grade Choral Students Wingate University, NC 01/26/2018-01/27/2018
North Wilkes High Northlanders Mars Hill University, NC 02/02/2018-02/03/2018
Wilkes Central High Choral Department Asheville, NC 02/02/2018-02/03/2018
Wilkes Central High Men’s Golf Team Myrtle Beach, SC 02/15/2018-02/17/2018
East Wilkes Middle Eighth Grade Washington, DC 02/22/2018-02/24/2018
Wilkes Central High Choral Department New York, NY 03/14/2018-03/18/2018
West Wilkes High HOSA Greensboro, NC 03/21/2018-03/24/2018
West Wilkes High Varsity Softball Wilmington, NC 03/31/2018-04/03/2018
West Wilkes High EV Team Garysburg & Raleigh, NC Dates TBD 04/2018
On a motion by Mrs. Huffman seconded by Mr. Shumate and duly carried the Current Expense special Use fund Budget Fund was approved as presented.

 

Chairman Mr. Holbrook had the following announcements:
  • October 18, 2017 - First Grading Period Ends
  • October 19, 2017 - Required Workday
  • October 20, 2017 - Optional Workday
  • October 23, 2017 - Second Grading Period Begins
 
Chairman Mr. Holbrook announced the next meeting to be November 6, 2017. This meeting will be held in the Arnold and Becky Lakey Boardroom located at 613 Cherry Street, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
 
On a motion by Mr. Walker, seconded by Mr. Shumate and duly carried, there being no further business, the board adjourned at 6:10 pm.