11-26 Board Meeting Results

These were the events at a meeting of the Rock Hill school board on November 26, 2007:

approved minutes of the Oct. 22, Nov. 3, and Nov. 12 meetings of the board; personnel recommendations; and overnight field trip requests from Sullivan, South Pointe, and Rawlinson Road; vote was 7-0

appointed Bryan Hullender, a fifth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary in York School District One, as assistant principal at Old Pointe Elementary effective in January. He will succeed Latoya Dixon who will become principal of Mount Gallant Elementary in January. Vote was 7-0

recognized Michelle Crissinger (Belleview) on her selection as the 2007-08 South Carolina Dance Educator of the Year; Castle Heights Middle School on its selection for a state Relay for Life community involvement award (coordinated by Asst. Principal Michael Waiksnis); and community volunteers who have served as facilitators at the District's Challenge Course;

listened to citizens Edward George, Jesslyn Carothers, Felicia Moseley, and Dwayne Davis who spoke against their children’s being reassigned from Oakdale to Belleview;

heard Supt. Moody make the following announcements:
        …Sullivan Middle School will host the board's next work session on Monday, December 10, and Mount Gallant Elementary will host the work session on January 14. Both work sessions will begin at 5:30 p.m. in each school's media center with a presentation by the principal on the topic "Student Achievement."

        …All schools will be closed for the winter holidays December 20 through January 2. The District office will be open during the holidays on Dec. 20, Dec. 27, and Dec. 28. All schools and the district office will be closed on January 21 in observance of Martin Luther King's birthday.

        …January 17 will mark the end of the 90th day of school and second grading period this school year. Students will receive report cards on January 24.

          …State Supt. Jim Rex will visit several schools in York County on Nov. 27, including the following schools in District Three: Central, South Pointe, and Rawlinson Road. Dr. Rex will hold a Town Hall meeting at 6:00 p.m. at the Manchester Meadows Pavilion.

received a report on Exceptional Student Education from Director Wendy Dover.  She said that there are many new guidelines, including those for Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and that the new motto is “Special education is not a place, but a service!”

heard a report on Title 1 and parent educators provided by Missy Brakefield, Dir. of Federal Projects. Missy stated that a primary goal of Title I is to increase parent involvement, and that Marie Heckard and Catherine Frailey are now working with seven Title I schools as part-time parent/teacher specialists. Marie and Catherine will provide reading and math workshops, family nights, and parent booklets.

listened to Mary Chandler, principal at Independence Elementary, who provided information on Saturday School, a new district initiative. A number of 4^th and 5^th grade students who barely scored below Basic 2 on PACT have been invited to attend Independence for extra assistance with reading, writing, and math. The school will be held on Saturday mornings from 8:45 until noon, beginning January 5 and ending on April 26, with teachers from schools across the district and with Christopher Roorda as administrator on site. 

heard a report on the new Power of Mentoring Program by Coordinator Zipporah Little. The program will initially get underway in January at eight elementary schools with the goal of providing adult mentors for 10 students in each school. Mentors, who will be trained on how to work with students, will come from targeted businesses, faith organizations, and community groups.

heard Board Chairman Bob Norwood review topics discussed at the board's work session on
Nov. 12.  These included a report on how the district is held accountable for student achievement and a report on staff development.

approved new high school courses as recommended by high school teachers and the Instruction Department; vote was 6-1 with Vining against. (Primarily because of the inclusion of Total Body.  This was the Administration's justification, "Some students already take this course 4 times, differentiating levels 3 and 4 would allow students to earn credit each time rather than 2 times only." They verbally stated this would help toward improving our graduation rate above 62%. I wasn't buying any of that - Jim)

approved the proposed calendar for school year 2008-09. For the first time in many years, all school districts in York County will follow virtually the identical calendar. The first day for teachers will be Wednesday, August 13, and the first day for students (excluding transition day for 6th and 9th graders) will be Wednesday, August 20. The last day of school will be Thursday, June 4, with graduation at all three high schools slated for June 6 in the Winthrop Coliseum. Vote was 7-0

approved second reading of Policy GBEBD/BVEBD-R, "Acceptable Use of Technology;” Vote was 7-0

The Board approved the new middle school assignment plan. Vote was 7-0.  The Board approved the new high school assignment plan. Vote was 5-2 with Reid and Douglas against (didn't move enough students away from Rock Hill High).  The Board approved the new elmentary school assignment plan. Vote was 5-2 with Reid and Douglas against (didn't balance schools enough).  Unless No Child Left Behind is changed, this will probably be the last time our Title I schools can be rezoned.

Under “new business, the board discussed the possibility of using the grass in the District Three Stadium, which will be replaced by turf, at other district facilities.  The administration will bring back information on this and progress toward new field turf and scoreboard at District Three to the board in January.