WEST ALEXANDRIA — On Monday, Oct. 1, Butler County Educational Service Center (ESC) staff visited the schools for professional development with Twin Valley Community Local School district staff.
During the TVCLSD Board of Education meeting on Monday, Sept. 24, Principal Patti Holly reported on the planned visit.
“They are going to target Reading, English Language Arts, and Math throughout the year. They are going to come into the classrooms, they are going to observe and coach our teachers with some new ways to reach our kids,” she said.
“Teachers are a little bit nervous about it, thinking it is an evaluation, but it is not. It is to help them with some new ideas and to freshen what they are doing. That is going to happen throughout the year, but our first [professional development day] is going to be about poverty. How poverty affects our kids, actual scores on any test they take, that divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the attitude that we often take with kids of poverty. We are going to jump into that. I’m really excited about that.”
She added, all Reading Improvement Monitoring Plans (RIMP) will be completed by Oct. 1. A RIMP is an individual plan for students in grades K-3 to target their reading deficits with intervention strategies.
Jeff Tully, Maintenance and Transportation Director, reported, leaks were discovered during recent heavy rains and have since been repaired. Problems in the kitchen have also been repaired. Most of the building lighting project has been completed.
He met with Musco Lighting regarding adjusting security lighting so they light up the corners better on the track. This should also light up the scoreboard so it is easier to see, he noted. Security lights are to remain on overnight in the stadium for safety. Although there is additional light, it uses less than half of the electricity of the previous system.
Estimates for landscaping around the ticket booth were received. Those estimates were high, so the team is thinking up a different plan, according to Tully.
Scott Cottingim, 7-12 principal, reported there are approximately 20 high school students in jeopardy of not fulfilling graduation requirements by receiving all 18 points on end of course exams. Last year, alternative pathways to graduate were approved, but those options have not been approved for this school year.
The 20 in jeopardy are going to have to get those points from end-of-course exams, he noted.
Cottingim added, this is not an isolated issue — Dayton City School Districts have many students in jeopardy of not reaching graduation requirements.
