The summer break is winding down for the Demopolis City Schools System and with school beginning in less than two weeks, the DCSS Board of Education held a called meeting Tuesday, August 2, to handle personnel matters and approve a new strategic plan.
During the meeting the board approved the conditional hiring of L’Oreal Moore as an English Teacher and Hannah Shirley as a temporary Science Teacher at Demopolis High School. Shirley will be replacing Barbara Wallace while she is on sick leave through the end of 2016.
The board also approved FMLA/maternity leave for Blythe Smith, Science Teacher at Demopolis Middle School, from Oct. 17 until Dec. 02.
Shirley Dial Mack was added to the substitutes roster and the board also accepted the resignation of Karen Kerby, Access Lab Teacher at DHS, who is set to retire on Oct. 01.
Before the start of the business meeting, the board met to review the DCSS Five Year Strategic Plan for 2016-2021. After the review the plan was approved.
The plan includes the vision and mission of the system as well as the five core values of integrity, professionalism, knowledgeable, cooperativeness and fairness.
The system will also address five “standards for quality,” which each have key goals to meet, in helping to move in a positive direction.
The five standards as as followed: Purpose and Direction, Governance and Leadership, Teaching and Assessing for Student Learning, Student Support Systems and Continuous Improvement and Monitoring.
For the first time, the system will have a motto which is “Doing Things Differently and Inspiring Futures.”
The board also approved an Alabama State Department of Education Innovation/Flexibility Application. The state requires 30 minutes of physical education each day. However, to accommodate enrichment/gifted classes, the Demopolis system is asking that the PE requirement be suspended one day each week.
According to Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff, the waiver is normally not hard to get waived, but the school system has to apply for the waiver.
Kallhoff hinted that there may be a called meeting next week to make some hires before the start of the school year. However, the next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 15 at the central office.