Educational Programs and Services

Board Committee Meeting

September 5, 2013

Minutes

Committee Members: Marc Whichard, Jill Camnitz, Benjie Forrest, Christine Waters,

Mary Williams

Present: Jill Camnitz, Benjie Forrest, Barbara Owens, Christine Waters, Marc Whichard

Staff Members Present: Cheryl Olmsted, Tim DeCresie, Pokie Noland

Mr. Whichard declared a quorum present and called the meeting to order. He asked for a motion to approve the August minutes. Motion to approve the August minutes was made by Mr. Whichard with a second by Ms. Waters. Minutes were approved with a unanimous vote.

Impact of Policies and Programs Concerning Graduation

Dr. Noland presented data showing the Four-Year Graduation Cohort which highlighted Pitt County Schools’ graduation rates over the past three years and how they compare to the state’s rates. During the 2012-13 school year, the state graduation rate was 82.5% and our district rate was 77.5%. The data is also broken by individual schools and demographic subgroups. Dr. Noland pointed out areas where we’ve had significant growth.

Dr. Noland went on to say that when we looked at the increase in our graduation rate, we asked ourselves how our alternative programs impacted this overall growth. She presented data showing the affect of alternative education programs on the graduation rate in Pitt County Schools. Eighty-three students earned their diploma using the 21credits policy in the 2012-13 school year. Seventeen students graduated from Pitt Academy and twenty-eight students graduated from summer school. This data proves our alternative programs play a significant role in the growth of our graduation rate.

Ms. Waters asked for clarification on the difference between Twilight Academy and Pitt Academy. Dr. Noland explained that Twilight Academy allows students to recover credit from classes in which they had partial credit; Pitt Academy serves our long-term suspended students. Mr. Whichard asked if the Pitt Academy students have a home base school and if their graduation success reflects back to their base school. Dr. Noland affirmed that they do have a home base school and all credits are reflected in their individual schools’ data. Dr. Noland explained that we have no way to trace Twilight Academy because it is available to all high school students. Twilight Academy is designed to help students who have fallen behind in their credits get back on course and graduate with their co-hort. Dr. Noland explained that Pitt Academy uses Odysseyware, a web-based program that provides individualized instruction, prepared lesson plans and automatic grading. From spring and summer 2013, there were over 300 credits awarded through Odysseyware. We are utilizing, Cortney Reason, Transcript Clerk, to assist Mike Lutz in downloading the grades and credits from Odysseyware.

Mr. Forrest asked that with our graduation rates trending up, if we have noticed anything trending down. He asked if we keep track of GPA, attendance, discipline referrals, etc. as a district. Ms. Olmsted advised that we do track this data, and shared that our suspensions have trended down. She will pull our ACT, SAT and AP scores and will share this information with the committee at a future meeting. Mr. Forrest stated that basically, his concern is that we maintain rigor in our curriculum, not water it down in order to show graduation growth. Mr. Whichard stated that graduation rate is tied to a school’s performance so principals are working hard to improve their scores. Important questions that we should ask ourselves are: Where is our rigor? Are our honors programs growing? What trend do we see with our AP courses? If these areas are thriving and GPAs are showing an increase, then we can be assured of the validity in our graduation increase. Ms. Olmsted will compile some of this data and share with the committee.

Dr. Noland mentioned that David Jenkins has stressed to our high schools how important it is to track students transferring out of our schools. If we don’t receive a records request from the high school they supposedly transferred to, then principals should contact the high school to verify the student’s enrollment.

Mr. Jenkins has gone through the last two years data and cleaned it up. He has met with all of our high school principals and instructed them on how to go through their data and keep it accurate.

Presentation of Technology Plan

Mr. DeCresie presented the revisions to the Technology Plan that was created in March of 2012 (blue highlighted text is that which is being added; yellow highlighted text is that which is being removed). Two years ago, our goal was to get our district prepared for online testing. To make that happen, we had to have a sufficient number of devices in our schools. The Board approved a two million dollar purchase of ChromeBooks. Ms. Olmsted commented on the excitement in the schools over the ChomeBooks roll-out. Teachers are not encountering the same problems they experienced with iPads. Now that the devices are in place, our plan is shifting to professional development. The Vision Statement shows the Instructional Impact Model which is how technology is applied and integrated in daily classroom instruction. Our ultimate goal is to redefine how tasks are completed and to create something that previously seemed inconceivable without the new technology.

Mr. Whichard asked if we have considered partnering with the Friday Institute and have them conduct some of our training. Mr. DeCresie explained that our Impact Ventures teachers received 20 hours of staff development and will follow up with two DPI online courses on digital integration. If we continue on our current purchasing plan, we will be 1:1, but that is not the main focus. Our focus is instructional integration. Mr. Whichard shared his concern over 1:1 programs that have not been successful because the roll-out and implementation was flawed. Edgecombe County is currently rebuilding their 1:1 program and reviewing which components worked and which did not work. Ms. Olmsted mentioned that our focus was to get enough devices in the schools so teachers and students have access, and then shift the focus to professional development and how to effectively use the devices.

Mr. DeCresie met with the Media Coordinators yesterday to help them see the shift in their roles in the schools. Along with the Instructional Coaches and the Impact Ventures teachers, our Media Coordinators are being trained to be the tech facilitators and tech support in the schools. With more devices in the schools, it is necessary to have more trained personnel on-site to quickly resolve technology issues. We have redefined the roles of this staff and our Media Clerks. The goal was to utilize the Media Clerk, who is not an educator, to handle book check outs and crowd control in the Media Center. Mr. DeCresie took the state’s Media Coordinator’s goals, the Technology Facilitators’ goals, and wrote Instructional Coach goals aligned to the state’s guidelines and wove them together to support the goal of improving academic success in the school. As we roll-out more devices, the role of the Media Coordinator will change.

Mr. DeCresie further explained that the goals of the Technology Plan have not changed. Basically, they focus on keeping our infrastructure up to date and purchasing new devices. The major part he added pertains to the implementation of HomeBase. Mr. DeCresie asked if there were any questions. Mr. Whichard asked if we, as a district, have experienced a wide range of problems with the implementation of PowerSchool. Ms. Olmsted advised that most of the glitches with PowerSchool have been resolved. TrueNorthLogic has posed a problem as they are at capacity and our folks cannot access the program.

Mr. Whichard asked if there were any additional questions or discussion. There being none, Mr. Forrest moved that we adjourn with a second by Ms. Waters. All were in favor and the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cheryl Olmsted