Members of the Claiborne School Board spent four hours during a special-called meeting last week absorbing four individual ‘takes’ on what the school system can achieve in the next five years.
It appears the school directorship finalists have similar goals in mind to achieve a brighter technological future for county students. Raising the ACT (American College Testing) scores and improving student safety seemed to be high on the agenda, as well.
As the presentations proceeded, it became clear that each individual shares a certain passion for his or her vocation, is dedicated to educational excellence and possesses the credentials to excel at the job.
The choice could very well come down to personality.
Each candidate took approximately 30 minutes to detail individual five-year plans of action. A question-and-answer segment occurred directly following each presentation.
Linda Keck, who is currently the principal of Cumberland Gap High School, ‘drew the first straw’ to determine the order the candidates would go before the board.
Keck said she would like to see every student become a lifelong learner. As for building better teachers, Keck said she would like to see peer coaching and the implementation of a rewards system.
Looking toward the future, the school system will need to expand wireless abilities and hire qualified staff, she said.
Turning to the budget, Keck said the school board needs to be “very involved.”
“You need to see it. You need to understand it – the details,” said Keck.
She ended her presentation by saying she wants Claiborne county schools to be “the lead dog.”
Pushing value will bring that about, she said.
During the question and answer segment, board member Shane Bunch asked Keck what keeps her “up at night.”
Her response was ‘testing’ and the ever-changing state educational guidelines.
It is hard, she said, for teachers to adjust their instructional plans every couple of years to accommodate the new regulations created by state lawmakers.
“Let’s use the ACT, because that’s what they’re pushing, and that’s what they’re looking at, when you go to college. That’s what a lot of businesses, now, are looking at when hiring people – are they the problem solvers,” said Keck, adding that ACT has been virtually unchanged for the last 20 years, making it a stable alternative for teachers and students.
The Common Core curriculum, she said, is not always ‘appropriate.’
“They make it the same for every state. If you live in Harrogate, or you live in New York, you have the same standard.
“The biggest problem I have with Common Core is, if we were going to do it, we should have used it longer. About the time our students get used to that style of thinking, they want to change it…If you’re going to change the way we think, you got to start at kindergarten and come all the way through,” said Keck.
Otherwise, she said, students get frustrated and ‘give up.’
Joseph Miller, the current director and principal of Career Technical Education in Morgan County – Wartburg, was the second candidate to face the school board. Miller outlined seven conditions for an effective school which include a supportive workplace for staff, shared leadership and community involvement.
Miller equated the directorship with the position of CEO, saying his role, if chosen, would consist of streamlining efforts for the best use of resources and maintaining open communications with the school board.
He said he envisions diversifying personnel where staff is trained to handle multiple jobs. Implementing a technical and a career coach within the next five years is also on the short list, he said.
As for the ACT scores, Miller projected an improvement of .56 percent, per school year, bringing the score to state standards by the end of his five-year plan.
During the question-and-answer portion, board member Justin Cosby asked Miller what inspired him to become an educator.
Miller, who had considered law school, said he came to a “crossroads in life.”
“I decided I didn’t want to spend my time in a courtroom or a law office. I would like to spend it helping kids before they face (life) choices,” said Miller.
When asked about his impressions of the Common Core curriculum, he said he has a problem with a student achieving high school status but unable to recite the multiplication tables.
“Now, that’s wrong,” said Miller.
He said he would like to see more time spent on the ‘basics’ of educational instruction.
“In Common Core, teachers are told what to teach. They’re not necessarily always told how to teach it. So, I think, sometimes a little bit of this could be intertwined with creativity by the teacher and, hopefully, students will walk away with a little more (liberal) education,” said Miller.
Meredith Arnold, the current principal of Lafollette Elementary in Campbell County, was the third candidate to present her ideas.
Arnold said that communication is a necessity. If chosen for the job, she said she would make sure every principal spent time regularly inside his or her school classrooms.
Hiring teachers based on knowledge of subject matter, using research-based teaching methods and installing an academic coach and an instructional principal at every school are some of the critical points outlined by Arnold during her presentation.
“Another thing that I would suggest is that we reward teachers based on performance. I’m talking about monetary rewards. So much that we improve, we provide incentives for proven high (performing) teachers that teach at our lower performing schools. This would help attract prime teachers for hire, with staffing retention while improving test scores, because improving student achievement has to be our top priority,” said Arnold.
Increasing accelerated courses, strategic teacher placement and strengthening the career/technology program are ways to secure improved ACT scores, said Arnold.
As for Common Core, Arnold said she felt the state did not introduce the program in a way that would have met with better acceptance.
“I think some of the core beliefs for common core are valuable. By that, I mean, causing your children to think on their own – I think that’s huge, and very important. We don’t need children who are just regurgitating information.
“It also takes into account student individuality,” said Arnold.
Tweaking programs to accommodate those not looking toward a college degree should begin in middle school, she said.
The board addressed the current battle in the state legislature to mandate safety belts on all school buses. If the law passes, it would cost Claiborne county about $500,000 to outfit every school bus with enough seat belts for every person.
“When we choose not to place seat belts on buses because of the almighty dollar, we sacrifice students’ safety, and I’m against it. If a child gets hurt, due to the fact that there’s not one on a bus, simply because we chose not to fund it – no life is worth that,” said Arnold.
Current Springdale Elementary principal Jim Shipley apparently drew the longest straw as the fourth and final candidate to present his five-year plan of action.
Shipley said that, while putting together his ideas, he recalled what someone had advised him to do, many years ago.
“Change takes time. It’s a process. It’s something you cannot do, overnight. Do things, a little at a time and make sure you’re doing them right,” said Shipley.
Putting the students first and concentrating on teaching, learning and achievement is the number one priority, he said.
To that end, a team effort must be in place where the main goal is to be in agreement or at a minimum, a consensus of agreement, he added.
“All stakeholders in a school system must have input, for it to work and be successful,” said Shipley.
There are many areas in our school system in which we must continue to work and improve. Budgeting, safety, technology, building maintenance, transportation come to mind, he said.
Shipley said he envisions increases each year in the proficiency of test scores for students grades three through eight. ACT scores would improve yearly. Graduation rates would rise and attendance levels would never drop below 90 percent.
The system would be filled with satisfied personnel, he said.
“However, even with these improvements, I see us not being satisfied with where we are. If you’re not improving, you’re falling behind,” said Shipley.
Protecting instructional time by limiting interruptions and seeing that teachers focus on the literacy of their students would be two important measures to success, he said.
“We need to be challenging our students, every day and insuring that they are reading at their grade levels, especially in the early grades,” said Shipley.
Increasing ACT scores could be accomplished, in part, by decreasing the amount of time spent on test prepping. Instead, focus on developing analytical and problem-solving skills and provide rigorous but appropriate instructional tiers, he said.
“Make learning fun,” said Shipley.
Implementing a mentor program in both high schools and pushing career technical and dual-credit programs are two significant ways in which to improve graduation rates, he said.
Common Core, Shipley said, needs to be completely revamped. The Core method seems to work better for reading and the language arts. Math – not so much, he said.
The full school board is expected to make its choice for the directorship during its next regular monthly meeting, beginning at 6 p.m. on April 13, at Claiborne High School.
Reach Jan Runions at 423-254-5588 or on Twitter @scribeCP.
