BSB addresses ESSA scores

BLEVINS – Among the topics discussed at the November meeting of the Blevins School Board were last year’s ESSA scores.

Though the annual assessment was discussed last month, Superintendent Stephanie Dixon took the opportunity tonight to address it in depth. Dixon read off each of the scoring categories individually, highlighting specific areas in need of immediate attention. While the school did receive a passing grade, it was by an extremely thin margin, as evidenced by some of the percentiles. These included a 4 percent grade in computer sciences and a 0 percent grade in community service. As Dixon put it herself, “if these numbers don’t make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, we’re not in education for the right purposes.” 

Dixon has already put some changes in motion to improve the 2019-2020 school year results. There’s a strong push to increase attendance, the high school now offers concurrent credits, and community service is being added to the curriculum. The superintendent hopes focusing energy in these specific areas will result in the improvement of other areas as well. “This is school improvement,” Dixon said, “and we’re in the middle of it.” 

Another issue that came up during the meeting elicited substantial discussion. In the past, when some teachers first joined the district, as part of their contract they signed a Planning Period Waiver. This waiver allowed for the teachers to give up planning periods to instead teach a class. This decreases the instructor’s prep time and increases the materials they must prepare. It was a practice inherited from the previous superintendent, and Dixon has been steadily phasing it out, with the intention to have it completely gone by the beginning of the next school year. However, this upcoming spring semester has two such classes planned, both of which require the school board’s approval. 

Some members of the board opposed the practice, even for a semester, concerned about the additional strain on the teachers. Others voiced concern that the two classes had already been included in next semester’s schedule, and removing them would require a complete reorganization of the schedule. While the board agreed that phasing-out of the Planning Period Waiver was best, they voted 4-2 in favor of approving the classes for the next semester. 

The school board also addressed the continuing success of the K-12 Culinary Connection, amended the student handbook to add a missing page, and approved the Driver’s Education Statement of Assurance. For a full account of the meeting’s minutes, they can be found on the Blevins School District’s web page.