School board discusses response to COVID-19

District to offer COVID leave up to 80 hours to faculty and staff

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A large portion of the Jan. 14 White County School Board meeting was spent discussing the district’s response to COVID-19 and the procedures in place for the spring semester but also included department presentations and recognition of previous school board members along with the usual agenda items.

Lea Condrey and Cindy Langford, who identified themselves as reading coaches, presented updates on the Read 2B Ready program that White County schools have implemented.

“This year has been a challenge for various reasons,” Condrey said. “In addition to COVID, teachers have faced the reality of implementing a new reading curriculum to students who finished the previous year in a very non-traditional format.”

Condrey said the focus of the Read 2B Ready programs is to support teachers as they begin working with the new curriculums and that she and Langford are routinely visiting and monitoring classrooms.

“During these visits, we are looking for effective ELA  (English Language Arts) strategies throughout various formats of instruction,” Condrey said. “This holds us all accountable to achieve our reading goals. These visits give us evidence and data to help strengthen and improve our program.”

Condrey added that through the classroom visits and instructional monitoring they are able to offer teachers specific feedback on the strength of their program and/or ways their instruction might be improved.                

Angela Fresh addressed the board about the seven Pre-K classes throughout the county. Fresh explained there are two types of Pre-K in the White County school system. She told the board the five Volunteer Pre-K (VPK) classes are funded differently through the state than the two Title I classes.

“The VPK is funded through a VPK federal grant,” Fresh explained. “It is totally funded – the teachers, assistants, retirement, materials and supplies. Every year about this time, it is time to write that grant. We’ve been very fortunate over the whole time I’ve been here to get this grant. It makes a big difference in our county.”

Fresh went on to say that this school year the number of enrolled students in the VPK program is the lowest it has ever been, but there is beginning to be an increase in students registering and requesting admittance to the program over recent weeks.

“We are about 86 percent capacity in our VPK,” Fresh said.

Fresh said there were originally over 200 applicants at the start of the school year, but, because of COVID-19, they have seen students exiting the program. However,  some returned to the program over the fall months. She said the hope is to keep the students in the classrooms this spring.

“VPK [classes] are totally based on economic disadvantaged,” Fresh said. “The state measures how many economically disadvantaged students you have in each classroom and base the grant on that.”

After the departments completed their presentations, the board took a few moments to recognize previous school board members Janet Webb and the late Richard McBride, who was represented by his wife, Kande.

“We are so honored to be able to have served with [Richard] and Ms. Janet for twelve years,” chairman Jayson McDonald said. “It was a blessing for me to be able to serve with you.

 McDonald then presented Webb and Kande McBride with a gift as a token of the board’s appreciation.

“Thank you for your service and all that you did,” he said.

Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger echoed McDonald’s thoughts as he expressed his thanks for the work of the previous board members.

“I was always so thankful for the way he supported me as a director and supported our kids and school system. His heart was really in service. I appreciate the time I spent working with him,” Dronebarger said of McBride before speaking to Webb. “Thanks for your support over the years. You could have had an easier director to work with, but I thank you for the support. You focus on the kids and what is best for them.”

Also discussed during the first meeting of 2021  was a new policy allowing the district to offer COVID leave in the amount of up to 80 hours to faculty and staff. According to Dronebarger, this has been done at a federal level but that policy expired and was not renewed, on Dec. 31, 2020. He went on to explain that the new policy would be identical to the federal policy but funded at the district level. The policy would allow any faculty member that had not previously used all the 80 hours allocated for COVID leave to do so should the need arise. After the 80 hours has been used, whether through the federal program or the local, then personal leave and sick time would need to be used. The board unanimously approved the policy.

Other items on the agenda included:

  • The approval of beginning to explore the possibility of creating a district logo and extending a contest to students to help in doing so
  • Discussion on the Use of ESSER 2.0 (CARES Act) Funds
  • The approval of purchasing a piece of land, owned by the Goff family, that a portion of the high school parking lot is sitting on and, by mistake, had previously been paved as part of high school parking

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