June 28, 2022 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  In attendance:  Board Chair Butch Campbell, Vice Chair David Settles, Wes Ballard, Roseann Barton, Becky Goff, Amanda Moore, and Jimmy Richardson

Staff:  Dr. Trey Duke, Ralph Ringstaff, Sheri Arnette, Kim Williams, Joe Marlin, Maria Johnson, Kristina Boone, Lisa Trail, Ranesa Shipman, Andrea Oakley, Robin Newell, Tony Hartman, and Jamara DeBerry

Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Taylor was absent.  City Liaison Mr. Bill Shacklett was present.

 

Rationale:  The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Maria Johnson, new Director of Human Resources and Educator Effectiveness, and Kristina Boone, principal at Discovery School. 

Rationale:  MCS was well represented in June at TCAP committee work for the state. We're proud of our teachers and their willingness to share their knowledge, time, and skills on a state level.

•         Cherry Ross (OCE): Grade 5 ELA Item Review
•         Macy Greeson (Bradley): Grade 4 Math Item Review
•         Kim Gambill (Black Fox): Grade 4 Math Item Review
•         Hannah Blanks (OCE): Grade 4 Math Item Review
•         Anita Spann (OCE): Math Item Review
•         Kim Inglis (Black Fox): Grade 5 Science Item Review
•         Whitley Troutman (OCE): Grade 5 Science Item Review
Cathy Presnell (CO): Grade 3 ELA Range finding, Grade 5 ELA Item Review


Kindercamp is scheduled for July 18-22, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  This is a great opportunity for our newest students to make new friends as they learn school rules, routines, and Kindergarten readiness skills from Murfreesboro City Schools certified teachers. Participants must be registered for Kindergarten at Murfreesboro City Schools. The cost is $75 per student.

ESP registration for Fall 2022 opens on July 11 at 9 a.m.  Registration is online.


 

Rationale:  Mrs. Arnette presented a PowerPoint to the board with some highlights of the summer school program. She thanked everyone involved with the program this year.  She explained that there are two days left, and teachers have received a survey. She will be reviewing those surveys to make decisions or improvements for next year. Ms. Jamara DeBerry, an administrator at summer school, and Mr. Tony Hartman, a teacher at summer school, gave a testimonial of their wonderful experiences this year.

Jimmy Richardson commented that it was a wonderful report. 

Wes Ballard said that he visited one of the summer school sites and gave kudos to all that put this program together. He was very happy to see the small class sizes.

Chair Campbell said that he was happy to know that students were having fun and becoming smarter.  He said that it's important for students to enjoy school.

Rationale:  Dr. Duke introduced Ms. Ranesa Shipman, new principal at Scales Elementary, and Mrs. Andrea Oakley, new assistant principal between Scales and Salem.  He welcomed them and is excited to have them begin these new roles. They each addressed the board and said that they are excited to begin.

Rationale:  David Settles stated that TSBA pulled out of NSBA, a national school board organization. He asked if anyone knew if TSBA was associated with any other national organization. Dr. Duke told Mr. Settles that he would find out and let the board know.

Rationale:  Dr. Duke presented a short PowerPoint explaining the test data and how it will be presented to the public.  He told the board that there will be four sections in school accountability.  The sections being as follows: achievement, growth, ELPA, and chronically out of school.

He also explained that schools will also begin receiving letter grades A-F beginning this year. These grades will be released in late September, early October.

He said that on June 14, the state released state-wide achievement data.  On July 6, district achievement results will be released.

Jimmy Richardson asked how Dr. Duke will proceed when he gets the results.  Dr. Duke said that these scores will be shared with the Instructional team and principals, and they will develop an instructional plan for next year. 

Amanda Moore asked if the "chronically out of school" section was relative to all other districts.  Dr. Duke said that there are multiple ways to receive a grade for absenteeism, and the state will give us the better of the two.  He also explained that we are still recovering as a district from  COVID last year, which was worse than even the year before.

Rationale:  Mr. Joe Marlin provided the annual bullying report as required by board policy 6.304.  He explained that the numbers that they see on the report were reported by principals/designees and was also reported to the Tennessee Department of Education prior to August 1.

David Settles asked what happens once the information is collected for the bullying report.  Mr. Marlin explained that he follows up with administrators to make sure that bullying is trending downward.  The report also helps to know where to fine tune their approach.

Rationale:  Ralph Ringstaff presented the Sick Leave Bank report to the board. He explained how the sick leave bank works. 

Rationale:  Ralph Ringstaff explained the reasons for teachers leaving. He shared that the exit interviews show that some are getting out of education all together, some have decided to stay at home with their children, some are moving, and some have taken leadership roles in other districts.  He also told the board that 88% of teachers completing exit interviews said that they would return to Murfreesboro City Schools. 

Dr. Duke told the board that he would provide a more detailed report and categorize this information and would present it to the board at the August workshop.  

Rationale:  Dr. Duke updated the board on summer projects that are happening around the district.  He told the board that thanks to Mr. Willeford, school parking lots are being resurfaced, and four schools are having roofs replaced. These four schools are Bradley, Hobgood, Reeves Rogers, and Mitchell Neilson. 

He added that although summer school is ending, we will continue several programs throughout the summer.  ESP and summer feeding will continue through July. He added that we are moving from direct instruction for students to direct instruction for teachers with several PD opportunities that are about to be underway.  He shared the list of PD with the board. Dr. Duke also gave a shout out to Mrs. Arnette and her team for organizing all of these projects.

Rationale:  Chair Campbell reminded the board that the Summer Law Conference was coming up July 21-22 in Gatlinburg.

He also told the board that the next board meeting will be July 26.

Rationale:  The meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m.