VOICE meetings, assessments wrap up for school year

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Superintendent Lewis Brooks shared during the March 21 Shelby County Board of Education meeting that earlier in the month, he and members of the Shelby County Schools leadership team completed VOICE advisory meetings in all seven school zones.

VOICE is an acronym for Vision, Openness, Insight, Communication and Engagement. The meetings are held to engage teachers, parents, and students in open dialogue about what makes Shelby County Schools a model of excellence and areas where the district needs to make improvements.

Brooks said he was very pleased with how this year’s meetings went. A new approach was implemented this year, which Brooks described as well received and productive. Instead of the meetings being held at the central office and the Shelby County Instructional Services Center, the leadership team went out into the communities and schools.

“We met with parent groups and talked about things that are going on in their various communities and schools,” Brooks said. “My assessment of that is that the dialogue was really productive and insightful, and we gleaned some really good information from our parents. We will take that information as a district leadership team and process it and see how to look forward in various communities.”

Also during the meeting, April Tolbert (supervisor of guidance and testing) and Brent Tolbert (supervisor of data and accountability) gave an update on assessments for the school year. 

Brent Tolbert said the process begins in late August and goes through May, and anytime he attends state training, the excellence of Shelby County Schools is always discussed. 

“They come to monitor us every year, and we always have good remarks,” he said.

Here’s the update they gave on assessments for this school year.

  • Pre-ACT secure (October): This was the first year that the assessment was taken online, and around 1,667 students in 10th grade took the test, which gives a predicted ACT score that helps students, parents, teachers and administrators see what standards need to be improved before students take the ACT the following year. 
  • ACT WorkKeys (October): Almost 500 students in 12th grade took this assessment, which determines college and career ready indicators. Students have to earn a benchmark of 4 or above in all three subject areas. Tolbert said this year had the highest number of students meeting the benchmark in the past few years.
  • ACCESS for ELLS (English Language Learners): In December, 1,148 students in grades K-12 took the assessment that will determine if they qualify for ESL services.
  • ACAP alternate (February-March): The assessment is for those receiving instruction based on Alabama alternate standards, which included 238 students grades 2-8 and grades 10-11 this year.
  • ACT with Writing (March 12): A total of 1,567 students in 11th grade were administered the test that assesses English, math, reading, science and writing skills.
  • ACAP Summative (March 18-April 25): Administered to 10,984 students in grades 2-8, this assessment includes English language arts, math and science.
  • “It takes a village to have a successful assessment program, and we appreciate the camaraderie we have with our instructional staff at Central Office as well as building administrators getting everything prepared,” April Tolbert said.  
  • The school board also approved the following:
  • A bid for entrance upgrades to Wilsonville Elementary School for $790,523, to Duncan and Thompson Construction
  • A bid for interior renovations for Shelby County High School for $425,812, to Williford Orman Construction
  • A renewal bid for ceiling tile installation, to E&E Acoustical & Drywall
  • A renewal bid for electrical lighting and supplies, to Mayer Electric Supply Company
  • A renewal bid for portable classroom leasing, to Metro Trailer Leasing
  • A contract change order for classroom additions to Calera Elementary School that saved the BOE $23,784.98
  • A contract change order for window replacement for Shelby Elementary School that saved $10,500
  • A contract change order for a new canopy for Chelsea Middle School that saved $10,500