Bill Jones, athletic director at Middlesboro High School, spoke with board members on Monday about the district’s JROTC Program, which currently has over 100 cadets enlisted. Jones introduced First Lt. Carrie Johnson, a senior and fourth-year JROTC participant, to the board (as pictured), and she stated that leadership and competition was, in her opinion, the best parts of the JROTC experience. Johnson plans to attend Southeast Community College after graduation, and desires to be a nurse.
Superintendent Rita Cook stated that this year, as a district-wide goal, board members intend to better promote and support local teachers by establishing a new teacher recognition program.
According to Cook, teachers will be nominated from the elementary school and from the secondary schools (sixth through 12th grade) each month. Educators will be nominated by peers, students, and/or by people of the community, and nominations will be submitted to the central office for review.
“We will form a committee of different people from within the district... and each month, we will select a teacher from the elementary and from the secondary level. Those folks will be recognized at our board meetings. We will read some of the nominations, to see why they were nominated for this honor,” she said.
Cook added that honored teachers will receive a $25 gift certificate each month — and at the June meeting, the committee will select one person from the year’s submissions, who will be named teacher of the year.
“We think this is something that is a good way to recognize and honor our teachers for the hard work they do,” expressed Cook, noting that the new program will begin in September.
Becky Powell, supervisor of instruction for Middlesboro Independent Schools, then outlined the purpose and workings of professional learning communities, which will have a place within the Middlesboro school district beginning this year.
Powell explained that a professional learning community (PLC) is based on the work of Richard DuFour, a recently retired Superintendent of Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and it reflects the concepts of increasing teacher professional knowledge and enhancing student learning.
According to Powell, a professional learning community is basically a comprehensive learning opportunity that promotes and advances cooperative learning among students and teachers within a particular educational environment.
In a May 2004 magazine article, Richard DuFour defined a professional learning community as “an ongoing process used to establish a school-wide culture that is based on a fundamental belief in building teacher leadership in school improvement efforts.”
Through participation in PLCs, DuFour believes that teachers can enhance their leadership capacity as they work as members of ongoing, high-performing, collaborative teams which focus on improving student learning.
Powell said that PLC notebooks have been assembled for each district building, adding that principals “have the liberty of dividing their schools up in whatever configuration they think will work the best” for their respected institutions.
“In the first meeting, we want them to talk about cultural shifts in a professional learning community, because this is a different focus for almost everyone involved. It is something new for all of us. It’s different than a faculty meeting; it’s different than our planning period meeting. It’s a very specific way of looking at student work... It is specifically geared to the student, and their goals and achievements,” she conveyed.
Powell stated that, tentatively, the first PLC meeting will take place in Sept., and will revolve around establishing group norms and meeting guidelines. In her opinion, the meetings will eventually lead to the furtherance of identifying student needs — which, in turn, will help educators pinpoint academic problems and help give students proper direction.
“This is just a start... It’s really a luxury to be given this amount of time to do this kind of concentrative work. We will make very good use of this time — to make certain that we get the results that we hope to. It’s a slow shift in thinking. Everything that we read about this warns us that you cannot make huge changes in schools in just a short amount of time. It takes a long time... We are not looking to rush through this,” Powell conveyed.
“One thing that I really like about this is that you have actually taken it and put it into something concrete — that our teachers can use. I appreciate the efforts,” Cook expressed.
In other official school business, the MBOE addressed and/or discussed the following items:
• Building reports were given by each district principal.
• Facilities and enrollment update
• Approved minutes of the July 19, 2010 regular meeting.
• Approved financial reports as presented from Middlesboro High School, Middlesboro Middle School, Middlesboro Intermediate School, and Middlesboro Primary School, as presented.
• Approved the cafeteria/food service revenue report, annual financial report (2010), and the payment of monthly bills and salaries.
• The board set the locations for the regular board meetings for 2010-2011.
The next school board meeting will take place on August 16th at 6 p.m. in the Central Office Board Room, downtown Middlesboro.
Adam Young is a Staff Writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. He can be contacted by e-mail at ayoung@heartlandpublications.com.
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