Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2011
County school system adopts 2011-12 calendar
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE 2011-2012 calendar
adopted by the Jackson County
Board of Education this week
will have students returning to
class for the new school year on
Thursday, Aug. 4.
The calendar was one of two
proposals on the table for the
board to consider on Monday.
Both calendars were posted on
the school system's website for
public comments.
The first — called proposal A
— was submitted by superinten
dent Shannon Adams: the second
— proposal B — was drafted by
a teacher's advisory council. The
calendars were largely the same,
expect for the timing of vacation
days in October, February and
April.
Of the 73 comments submitted
on the school system's website.
Adams said 34 favored proposal
A, while 17 preferred proposal
B. Another 23 responses were
a mix of opinions on the two
calendars.
Adams recommended that the
school board approve proposal
A, which it did.
But the adopted 2011-2012
calendar may still be changed
during the school year, Adams
warned. The calendar will
include a statement saying it may
be amended due to budget cuts.
“We are certainly hopeful that
we won't have to shorten the
school calendar by any days next
fiscal year,” Adams said Monday.
“But, we’re not at all certain
— and we want people to know
... that there is no guarantee that
it won’t change at some point
in time, based on the financial
situation.”
Board member Michael
Cronic also suggested that the
BOE discuss during its annual
retreat in March the pros and
cons of starting the school year at
a later date.
Jackson County Schools
Calendar for 2011-12
• Monday through Wednesday, Aug. 1-3: Teacher pre-planning
•Thursday, Aug. 4: First day of class for students
• Monday, Sept. 5: Labor Day holiday
•Thursday, Oct. 6: Vacation day (system)
• Friday, Oct. 7: Vacation day
• Monday through Friday, Nov. 21-25: Thanksgiving holidays
• Friday, Dec. 16 through Monday, Jan. 2, 2012: Winter break
•Tuesday, Jan. 3: Teacher planning day
• Monday, Jan. 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday
• Friday, Feb. 17 and Monday, Feb. 20: Vacation days/weather
make-up days
• Friday, March 9: Vacation day (system)/weather make-up day
• Monday, March 12: Vacation day/weather make-up day
• Monday through Friday, April 2-6: Spring Break or weather
make-up days
• Friday, May 18: Last day of class for students
• Monday and Tuesday, May 21-22: Teacher post-planning days
•Wednesday, May 23 through Monday, May 28: Vacation days
(system)/weather make-up days.
EJMS named a ‘Georgia Lighthouse School to Watch’
EAST JACKSON Middle School has
been selected as a 2011 “Georgia Lighthouse
School to Watch.”
EJMS is one of only four schools in
the state selected for this recognition.
Across the United States. 200 schools
were named.
“East Jackson Middle School has demon
strated that they are committed to continu
ous improvement and, in doing so, serve as
a model for other schools to emulate.” said
Brad Bryant of the Georgia Department of
Education.
Schools are rated on academic excellence,
developmental responsiveness, social equity
and organizational structures and processes.
‘The site team was very impressed with
the degree to which your school has fulfilled
the criteria of the program,” said Linda
Hopping and John Lounsbury. co-directors
of the Georgia Lighthouse Schools to Watch
program.
The report from the committee that vis
ited the school included the following: “The
school facility is clean and attractive. It
contributes to a climate that welcomes and
encourages learners and their families. One
feels an immediate welcome when walk
ing into the school. Teachers seem to enjoy
working at East Jackson and it was evident
that there is a true sense of belonging to the
East Jackson family.”
The committee found the faculty and staff
to be “energetic, positive, professional, child-
focused and committed to excellence.”
“This speaks volumes about the effec
tiveness of the principal and other school
leaders,” the committee wrote in the report.
“East Jackson bases decisions on what is
best for students and they collaborate as
they continue to look for better ways to
provide programs and practices to meet the
unique needs of adolescents. The faculty
and staff demonstrate a high level of caring
and compassion for all students. The com
mittee recommends without reservation that
East Jackson Middle School be designated a
Lighthouse School to Watch.”
CRCT analysis continued from page JA
room, flagging those class
rooms in which the number
of wrong-to-right changes
proved to be significantly
higher than the state average.
Schools were then placed
into four categories — rang
ing from “clear of concern”
for those schools that had
less than five percent of class
rooms flagged to “severe”
concern for those with 25
percent or more.
All of the schools in
the Jackson County and
Commerce City school sys
tems fell into either the “clear
of concern” or “minimal con
cern” categories.
Overall, 97 percent of
Georgia's elementary and
middle schools fell into the
“clear” or “minimal concern”
categories — compared to
80 percent and 10 percent,
respectively, a year ago.
At Jefferson Academy, 17
percent of classrooms were
flagged by the state agency
— placing it in the “moderate
concern” category. Statewide,
three percent of schools fell
into that designation.
But officials at the Jefferson
City School System say its
internal analysis shows that
students were erasing wrong
answers on their own and
replacing them with correct
responses.
In the days since the state
released its report, the school
system has reviewed the test
taking records of the 260 stu
dents questioned in the analy
sis, and interviewed teachers
and students.
No action has been taken
against a teacher because
there have been no findings
of unethical or inappropriate
behavior, according to Donna
McMullan, associate superin-
tendeEJMS nt of the Jefferson
City School System.
“There is clear evidence to
support a substantial num
ber of erasures resulted from
students getting off track dur
ing testing when transcribing
their answers from the test
booklet to the answer docu
ment.” McMullan wrote in an
e-mail to The Jackson Herald
on Tuesday. “Students are
encouraged to focus exclu
sively on the test throughout
the entire time allotted and
to doublecheck their work.
While it is permissible for
students to put their head on
their desk or read a book,
we discourage this during the
time the test is being given.”
For the 2011 CRCT, dis
trict officials plan to keep its
existing practices in place for
students.
“We have not presently
found anything that neces
sitates the need to adjust
what we have done in the
past; we certainly plan to
review our protocol, which
is a typical practice every
year.” McMullan wrote.
“Our testing procedures are
designed in such a way as
to require collusion between
two or more individuals if
any unethical activities were
to take place. We certainly do
not see evidence of this hav
ing taken place.”
In its internal analy
sis of those students who
were flagged by the state.
McMullan said the same stu
dents have consistently met
or exceeded standards in pre
vious CRCTs. And out of the
11 teachers flagged by the
agency, 10 had proctors in
their classrooms during test
ing.
The majority of the students
flagged by the state are either
regular education or gifted
students. Only three percent
were special education stu
dents and one percent was
English Language Learners
(ELL) students.
“One would reasonably
assume that if somebody is
going to go through the trou
ble and take the risk of chang
ing answers, you wouldn’t
pick the students who have
never had a problem with
it.” said superintendent John
Jackson.
Jefferson Academy teach
ers also documented 22 stu
dents who lost track marking
responses on their 2010 CRCT
answer document, which was
reported in a form completed
by all test examiners during
each test administration.
McMullan was also asked
why Jefferson Academy was
flagged with a “moderate
concern” when other schools
were mostly cleared by the
state analysis.
“If the information that we
have gathered through our
investigation is accurate, the
only answer we can give you
is more students at Jefferson
Academy changed their
answers as the result of either
getting off track or deciding
their initial answer was incor
rect,” she said.
“Attempting to come up
with definite hard and fast
answers in an exercise such
as this is extremely difficult
and frustrating,” she added.
“For example, several of the
teachers who were flagged
were flagged for subject areas
they did not and do not even
teach.”
The Jefferson City School
System has forwarded the
results of its internal investi
gation to the state for review.
School board OKs joint
rec. project at WJMS
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A JOINT project between
the county and the school sys
tem will bring a new recreation
facility to West Jackson Middle
School.
The Jackson County Board
of Education agreed Monday to
spend $100,000 of sales tax rev
enue to build a combined rest
room and concession stand on
the field at WJMS. The building
will also include storage.
Likewise, the board of com
missioners is expected to use
its own Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)
revenue to fund the remainder
of the $302,100 project. The
Jackson County BOC will vote
on the proposal next Monday.
Shannon Adams, superin
tendent of the Jackson County
School System, said the WJMS
field is extensively used for rec
reation — including activities
for the school, county recreation
department and other citizens.
The Jackson County Parks and
Recreation Department has rec
ommended approval of the plan.
“I was unaware of the exten
sive use of that field — and
apparently it's about all of the
time,” Adams said.
Under the agreement, the
board of education would have
ownership of the facility, and be
responsible to pay the monthly
water and electric bills, which
are expected to be no more than
$3,000 a year. The county would
be responsible for construction,
maintenance and cleanliness.
BOE member Celinda Wilson
raised a concern on Thursday
about the cleanliness of the park,
since she said she knows that
some schools have helped main
tain county-owned parks.
Michael Cronic, another
school board member, said the
recreation department has done a
good job with the new Hoschton
Park — located next to West
Jackson Primary School. That
park is also part of an intergov
ernmental agreement between
the county, school board and
Hoschton.
The school system would
have first choice of when to use
the facility, followed by the rec
reation department, according to
Adams.
The Jackson County Parks and
Recreation Department currently
uses the WJMS field for seven
football and cheerleading teams
and four to five soccer teams. It
is also used for baseball, softball,
and track and field.
The school system uses
the field for its football, soft
ball, cross country, track, and
physical education and health
classes, along with basketball
training and physical education
at the neighboring Gum Springs
Elementary School.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the BOE:
•met in a closed-door session
for 45 minutes to discuss person
nel on Thursday. The board took
no action when the meeting was
opened to the public. The board
also met in a closed-door ses
sion for 10 minutes on Monday
to discuss real estate. When the
meeting was opened to the pub
lic, the board authorized Adams
to enter into discussion with the
Boys and Girls Club of Jackson
County for a potential land trans
fer in Jefferson.
•learned that the board
will hold its annual retreat on
Monday. March 14, from 12:30-
5:30 p.m., and Wednesday,
March 16, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m..
at the central office. The board
will still hold its regular work
session on Thursday, March 10,
at 6 p.m.. at the Gordon Street
Center. It will also hold its regu
lar meeting on Monday, March
14. at 6 p.m., at the central office.
The board is expected to dis
cuss a range of topics, includ
ing the proposed budget, policy
changes, the new Georgia Core
Curriculum Standards, the high
school math controversy in the
state, and administrative and ath
letic supplements.
•learned that the financial
report showed that revenue has
exceeded expenses for January.
While revenue topped 73 per
cent of the fiscal year to date,
expenses were kept at 64 percent.
Through January, the school
system has collected 79 percent
— or $24.8 million — of antici
pated local taxes for the fiscal
year. Jackson County property
taxes were due in December.
•learned that energy consump
tion among the schools generally
rose in December, compared to
December 2009. Overall, energy
costs for the district rose by 14
percent for December 2010. The
severe winter weather may have
affected energy-saving efforts,
board members said.
•learned that the SPLOST
collection for December was
$492,123 — compared to
$416,800 in November. In
December 2009, the school sys
tem collected $478,500 in sales
tax revenue.
•learned that West Jackson
Intermediate School had the best
attendance record among the
schools last month.
•learned that Gum Springs
Elementary School and West
Jackson Primary School were
honored in January by the
Office of Student Achievement
and the Georgia Department of
Education by the state’s Single
Statewide Accountability System
(SSAS) award program. Both
schools were honored in the cat
egory of highest performance
and were given a bronze award
for their results on the CRCT.
Benton Elementary School was
also honored with a gold award
in the category of greatest gain.
•learned that West Jackson
Middle School and Jackson
County Comprehensive High
School were selected by
readers as the top schools in
Jackson County, based on a new
Reader’s Choice award given
by MainStreet Newspapers. A
complete list of the winners will
be published on March 2.
•learned that the audit reports
for internal accounts at the school
level have been completed.
Adams said most of the reports
were OK. with the exception of
some minor items.
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