Notes From The Wicomico County Board Of Education: Meeting At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11; Board Notes Posted From August Meeting

The Wicomico County Board of Education will hold its next monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11 at the Board of Education office in Salisbury. The agenda is posted online at BoardDocs, the school system’s new paperless online meeting system. Visit this link to view the agenda:

http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/wcboe/Board.nsf/Public

Board Notes provide an unofficial summary of business conducted at recent meetings of the Wicomico County Board of Education. The Board of Education at its monthly meeting held on Aug. 14, 2012:

BoardDocs Pro

Began using BoardDocs Pro, a paperless online meeting system designed to deliver better public access to agendas and supporting materials, increased efficiency and significant cost savings in some areas. Robert Langan, Director of Technology, explained how the community can view meeting agendas and can virtually attend a meeting through following the BoardDocs scoreboard, which shows votes on agenda items. Other Boards have confirmed that BoardDocs is a useful tool for managing Board agendas, policies, minutes and other Board business. The Board will work toward making BoardDocs the repository of its policies so they are searchable locally and by other BoardDocs members. The Board anticipates saving paper and about $14,000 in distribution costs each year while offering improved access to information to the community.

BoardDocs for Wicomico County Public Schools is located at http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/wcboe/Board.nsf/Public

The Scoreboard, for access during meetings, is at http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/wcboe/Board.nsf/scoreboard.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent of Schools Dr. John E. Fredericksen shared with the Board that:

-He and other school system officials attended a meeting of the Wicomico County Chapter of the NAACP to participate in a discussion on the question, “Are black students disciplined more harshly than whites?” Preliminary findings appear to indicate that the answer is yes, and that disciplinary differences manifest in multiple, often subtle ways. Wicomico school officials will continue to discuss the issue with the NAACP and others in the community, and will explore ways of addressing the issue with families, staff and students.

-The Consistent Attire Program (CAP) pilot is ready to kick off in nine elementary schools: Beaver Run, Charles H. Chipman, Delmar, North Salisbury, Pemberton, Pinehurst, Prince Street, Wicomico Early Learning Center and West Salisbury. CAP dress requirements will be in effect with the start of the new school year Aug. 27, and schools will work with students and families to ensure full compliance. Some students from Title I schools who attended a summer camp for children in homeless circumstances received a flyer (not a voucher, as was erroneously stated) about CAP clothing; qualifying students could receive three sets of CAP outfits, purchased from a dedicated Title I fund for serving homeless students. Research has shown that consistent attire improves discipline, safety and learning, and results in savings for families.

-Applications for Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs) have already exceeded 6,000 for the new school year, with more expected in the coming weeks. Wicomico had 58% of its students eligible for free and reduced-price meals last year due to family income.

-The Summer Feeding Program run by Food Services was very successful, and will look to add even more faith-based partner locations next year.

-Wicomico is rolling out “Why Try!,” a Christian Moore program designed to help students succeed. Themes include relationships, relevancy and resilience, and understanding different styles of learning including seeing (visual), hearing (auditory) and feeling (kinesthetic). “Why Try!” is being tried out in a few schools first.

-Teams are continuing to make great progress on developing effective observation/evaluation tools for teachers, with professional development on the new tools done Aug. 13 and 14 for principals, supervisors and coordinators. Work continues on setting the criteria for measuring student growth for principal evaluations. A full work session was set for Sept. 4.

-About 130 principals and supervisors attended the 2012 Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Educator Effectiveness Academy held in Cambridge this summer. Sixty people had training at North Salisbury Elementary on Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility, the new School Progress Index (which replaces Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP), the new teacher evaluation system, and Year 3 action plan and budget for Race to the Top.

-The Comprehensive Master Plan will soon have its annual update, with some changes due to ESEA flexibility and new Master Plan requirements. Race to the Top is integrated into the Master Plan. Wicomico is awaiting guidance from MSDE for the update, which is due Oct. 15.

-Technology renovations are nearing completion to have a secure staff wireless network and an “EDUGUEST” network to provide access for guests during meetings and special events. The school system also had a new, higher-speed connection with Comcast at a lower cost than the previous contract. A cutover to the new Outlook system for email is planned for Sept. 28, and the school system is looking at shortening the current five-year length of time it keeps emails in its archive due to storage issues.

-Facility Services has taken care of building projects throughout the school system this summer, include the roof and parking area/access lane at Fruitland Intermediate, locker replacement at Pittsville Elementary and Middle, roof replacement at Charles H. Chipman Elementary, and auditorium upgrades at Parkside High and Wicomico High.

-The school system continues to work on adjustments to programming because of the non-renewal of the STARS I grant.

-The attendance policy review is continuing.

-The equipping of buses with Zonar GPS systems continues, with installations scheduled for Aug. 24. Three days of bus inspections will also take place in August to ensure that all buses meet safety requirements to transport Wicomico students.

-The first Superintendent’s Open Door of the 2012-13 school year will be held 4-6 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Board of Education Office. Anyone who wishes to share comments, concerns or questions with the Superintendent may come in that timeframe for a 15-minute meeting on a first-come, first-served basis.

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