SUBSTITUTE SYSTEM UPGRADE
The board approved the purchase of a substitute notification system that will upgrade the way the district places substitute teachers in classrooms without an instructor.
WHAT IT MEANS
The district started a trial run of the system on Tuesday. The contract for the full AESOP system will last from July 1 to June 8, 2008, at a cost of $18,858.
The new system would use automated phone calls to notify substitute teachers when there is an opening in a classroom. The system also employs a database online where substitutes can check for openings in advance.
VOTE: 5-0 approved
FOCUS ON RESULTS EXPANDED
The board approved a contract with Focus on Results for the 2007-08 school year at $278,400.
WHAT IT MEANS
The program will provide leadership training and instructional improvement for teachers at all schools in the district. In the first two years of the program — the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years — only 13 schools participated. The board's decision will expand the program to all 29 schools.
Almost all of the money is used for substitute teachers to cover the classrooms as a group of teachers and administrators look at student data to check what instructional methods are working or not.
The program also lets schools choose an instructional focus for the school — many schools have chosen reading comprehension or writing as their focus.
The district spent $248,400 this school year for the program also.
VOTE: 5-0 approved
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
The board approved a resolution to support H.R. 648, the federal No Child Left Behind Improvements Act of 2007.
WHAT IT MEANS
The resolution states the school district's support for school accountability and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, but also states that improvements could be made to the legislation.
H.R. 648 offers various modifications to the federal legislation that addresses many of the unintended consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which was passed into law in January 2002.
VOTE: 5-0 approved
END OF YEAR AWARDS
The board presented the Burtis E. Taylor Community Education Award, Robert A. Sanchis Award of Excellence and James R. Brown Leadership Award to honorees in the school district. The awards are among the district's most prestigious awards and are named after highly regarded past employees.
WHAT IT MEANS
