By Stephen Smoot
During the course of the year, the Pendleton County Board of Education has traveled to each school in the county to hear from their school leaders about improvements implemented. For the most part, the schools have shared their techniques for encouraging better attendance, which normally leads also to better academic outcomes.
As at the other schools, the evening commenced with dinner at 5:30. The staff at Franklin Elementary School served up chicken alfredo, salad, and apple pie with ice cream for dessert. On the cafeteria wall, a poster read “Be the Reason Someone Smiles Today.”
Lori Moore, FES principal, thanked the board because it “had faith in me.” Moore took the position after Barbara Whitecotton accepted a role in the board of education main office. She added that “I have worked in several places, but this by far is the best.”
“Attendance has been a focus for us,” Moore indicated. A great deal of the foundation for success comes from the spirit of collaboration among all involved in trying to bring the best educational experience to each child.
Moore explained how the school worked to set and reach academic goals. They chose to try to hit a threshold where 50 percent of the students did 50 percent or better on the STAR assessment. At the start of the year, 42 percent scored 50 or better, but by the end of the semester, that number had jumped to 52 percent.
The school also focused on fostering a welcoming culture so that every student felt that someone appreciated them coming every day.
She shared a wish list, saying that the teachers wanted the telephone system restored to the class and that the school could be cheered up with a little landscaping. More secure doors were also requested.
Moore explained how the school library relied on extraordinary volunteers, such as Carol Vandevander, but discussed the need for a trained and experienced professional.
The final request was to receive at least a part time librarian.
After the FES presentation, the board opened its regular meeting. J. D. Wilkins, board president, provided the invocation and said, “We ask that You will be with the boys tonight,” referring to the regional basketball game at 7 that evening.
- P. Mowery provided the treasurer’s report, saying, “another solid month of receipts.” A number of federal reimbursements and grants arrived to boost the school system’s cash flow. Normally in a time of low tax payments, cash flow becomes tight for a school system. As of March 5, the school system had a balance of more than $2.1 million with a minimum of $1.5 million needed to carry over into the next school year. Mowery indicated there would be no problem there.
Travis Heavner provided a facilities update, spending most of his time on conditions at FES.
“We did have some issues at FES,” he shared, going on to say that he had requested that the School Building Authority send engineers to look at the effects of structural settling. Though there are some cracks and other problems, “we got a pretty good report,” he said.
“We can fix these pretty easily. The SBA is pretty happy,” Heavner commented.
Carrie Nesselrodt then provided an update on chronic absences through the system. She stated that improvement “has been pretty good, except for a few hiccups.”
