Photo by Jon Anderson
The Hoover school district is fully prepared to be in compliance with a new state law that requires schools to make their curriculum available for parental review within 30 days of the start of school, Chief Learning Officer Chris Robbins shared with the Hoover school board at their Aug. 20 meeting.
All curriculum being used this year has been listed on the school district’s website under the Curriculum and Instruction Department section of the website, and teachers on or around Sept. 1 will be listing the resources being used in their specific classrooms through the new ParentSquare communication platform the school district has adopted for this year, Robbins said.
The ParentSquare platform will allow teachers to post their syllabus, including any required reading, as well as other classroom procedure documents for parents to see, he said.
“It’s designed to keep families informed and well-connected to what’s going on in our classrooms and help our families better support learning taking place with their students,” Robbins said.
Also, a process has been established by which parents and guardians can ask to review specific books or materials, ask questions or raise concerns about curriculum. That process is spelled out here.
“We certainly understand that open communication is essential with our families,” Robbins said. “We are committed to providing a timely response and effective response if people have questions or concerns.”
These changes were made to meet a mandate outlined by a state law passed by the Legislature this past spring known as the Parents Right to Know Act.
In other comments on Aug. 20, Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox said the beginning of this school year was one of the smoothest starts to the school year he has ever experienced, and he thanked the staff and faculty of Hoover schools for being ready for students.
Most of the “summer” capital projects that were being done have been completed or are very near completion, thanks to the work of Operations Director Matt Wilson and his staff, Maddox said. “It’s not possible to get all those things done in June or July, but he sure makes it seem possible sometimes,” Maddox said.
The superintendent also said he has heard a lot of positive response to the school board’s approval of a third personal day for school staff and for the hiring of additional interventionists to help struggling learners.
“All of those things make a huge difference, not only impacting students, but also in the morale of our staff,” Maddox said. “We’re off to a great start. We want to keep it rolling.”
School board Vice President Alan Paquette said that, after three years on the school board, this is the highest he has seen employee morale. Things are never going to be perfect, “but I think we’re really poised to respond to any challenges that come our way, and I really think we’re going to have a phenomenal school year,” Paquette said. “Our properties look good. They feel good, and people are smiling, so let’s keep the momentum going.”
