Fayetteville Board of Education
Minutes of the November
20, 2003 Regular Meeting
The meeting convened at 5:00 PM in the Adams Leadership Center with President Steve Percival presiding. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by students from Holcomb Elementary School.
The roll was called and board members Laura Underwood, Howard Hamilton, Steve Percival, Susan Heil, Malcolm McNair and Christine Bell were present.
Jane Arnold, third grade teacher at Butterfield, and Linda Thomas, custodian at Root, received Above & Beyond Awards for their outstanding work. Fayetteville High School world language teacher Kathy Lemons received a Recognition of Outstanding Achievement award for being named as a regional winner in the NASDAQ Educational Foundation National Teaching Awards. Jean Gibson, third grade teacher at Jefferson, was recognized for receiving an honorable mention award in the Bessie B. Moore Economic Education Awards program.
Carlena Lambert, music teacher at Asbell, informed the Board of a generous gift by Yamaha Corporation. The electronic keyboards at Asbell were damaged in the recent fire, and Yamaha Corporation has donated sixteen new keyboards to replace the damaged ones.
Laura Underwood made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Susan Heil seconded the motion, which passed by a 6-0 vote.
Howard Hamilton made a motion that Susan Heil serve as the delegate to the Arkansas School Boards Association convention December 10th & 11th in Little Rock. Laura Underwood seconded the motion, which passed by a 6-0 vote.
Alan Wilbourn, director of school & community relations, presented the revised version of the district’s community relations policies for Board consideration. He noted that the revisions were primarily changes in numeration so that the policy numbers coincide with those recommended by the Arkansas School Boards Association. The board will vote on the proposed revisions at the December board meeting.
Michelle Boles, director of federal programs and assessment, reported on the No Child Left Behind Act, adequate yearly progress and federal funding. Under NCLB, all students are expected to meet or exceed state standards in reading and math within 12 years. Each state establishes a definition of adequate yearly progress to use each year to determine the achievement of each school district and school. Parents, students and teachers form a triangle of responsibility under NCLB and each district must meet the state’s definition of AYP. Also, schools must meet annual goals in literacy, math, and science until all children are deemed 100% proficient in those areas by 2013-2014. In addition, Ms. Boles reported on the Title I, Title II-A, Title II-D, Title III, Title IV-A and Title V funds that the district receives. All totaled, the district receives approximately $2 million in federal funds.
Ms. Boles also reported that the district is appealing the Arkansas Department of Education’s list of schools that had not shown “Adequate Yearly Progress” that included several Fayetteville schools. She noted that careful examination by district principals and administrators revealed calculation errors in the scores of Fayetteville schools. A revised list of schools will be released in early December, and Boles said that she doesn’t anticipate any Fayetteville school being listed in school improvement.
Barbara Prichard, director of gifted and talented education, reported on the latest data on student performance in the program. She noted that Fayetteville again leads the state in the number of AP scholars and that the number of AP scholars in the district continues to grow.
David Hartz, director of human resources, reported on the district’s plans to meet Strategic Planning Goal #1, which states that the district will “hire, place, develop and retain only high performing staff.” Mr. Hartz noted that the main goals of the district are a consistent standard of hiring for the district, correct teacher placement, and retention of employees.
Howard Hamilton made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Laura Underwood seconded the motion, which passed by a 5-0 vote. The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 PM.
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Stephen M. Percival, President Christine Bell, Secretary