Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle
April and Brent Tolbert, supervisors with Shelby County Schools, give an update on testing assessments for the school year. Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
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 stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and students, in meaningful, 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 that 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,” Tolbert said.
Here’s the update the Tolberts gave on assessments for this school year.
Pre-ACT secure (October). This was the first year 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 administration 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 that determines college and career ready indicators. Student have to earn a benchmark of four or above in all three subject areas. Tolbert said this year was the best number of students meeting the benchmark in the past few years.
ACCESS for ELLS (English Language Learners) that is for all students identified as speaking another language besides English in the home. In December, 1,148 students in grades K-12 took the assessment that will determine if they qualify for ESL services.
ACAP alternate (Feb- March). For those receiving instruction based on Alabama alternate standards. 238 students grades 2-8 and grades 10-11 were administered the assessment
ACT with writing (March 12) 1,567 students in 11th grade were administered the test that assesses English, math, reading, science, writing.
ACAP Summative (March 18-April 25). Administered to 10,984 students in grades 2-8 and includes ELA, 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 bldg administrators getting everything prepared,” April Tolbert said.
The board approved the following actions during the meeting:
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 Shelby County Board of Education $23,784.98
A contract change order for window replacement for Shelby Elementary School that saved the Shelby County Board of Education $10,500
A contract change order for a new canopy for Chelsea Middle School l that saved the Shelby County Board of Education $10,500.
The next Shelby County Board of Education meeting will be held April 18 at 5 p.m. at the Shelby County Instructional Services Center.
