Board Business Briefs: School Board Review Accountability Report

The Cherokee County School Board at its meeting on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, reviewed the school district’s Georgia Milestones Assessment Performance Review report, a new level in accountability reporting introduced this school year by the Superintendent of Schools.

OPENING OF SCHOOL

Superintendent of Schools Mary Elizabeth Davis opened the meeting by celebrating the start of the new school year and thanking teachers and support staff.

“Our theme this school year is ‘Elevating the Excellence,’ and over the past month, our preparations and start of classes paralleled the timing of the Summer Olympics.  Just as our Olympic athletes and coaches in Paris inspired the world, our students, teachers, staff, leaders and volunteers in our schools are inspiring all of us,” Superintendent Davis said.  “We’ve seen such dedication and determination, superior skill and refined talent, team pride and celebration of successes.  Thank you to everyone for the role you have played in our success so far, and I can’t wait to see all that we will accomplish together over this school year.”

As part of her remarks, Superintendent Davis shared a slideshow of photos from the first three weeks of school, which is at the start of the work session video online here.

The meeting followed the new structure, adopted this summer, of a work session at 5:15 p.m. and a regular business meeting at 7 p.m.  The new structure promotes more meaningful discussion, greater transparency, and public awareness around the business of the board.  In addition to the regular business meetings, all work sessions now are livestreamed via YouTube, and the videos are archived on the CCSD website in the Board of Education area online here.

During the work session, the School Board reviewed a report on the successful opening of the new school year.  The report, which is online here, updated the School Board on areas including student enrollment, as it rises toward the 20-day peak of an anticipated 42,000 students; staffing, which has reached 99% overall for all positions, with single-digit vacancies for positions including School Nutrition workers, paraprofessionals, and bus attendants; and operations, including the successful roll-out of clarified, consistent expectations for student cell phone use, student dress and timely submission of student work.

GEORGIA MILESTONES

In a new level of accountability and transparency to the School Board and community, Superintendent Davis during the work session introduced a Georgia Milestones Assessment Performance Review report.

This report, which is online here, will be created annually to provide greater analysis and comparative data than previously presented to help the School Board and community better understand CCSD student performance on the annual state tests of standards knowledge mastery.

“Our objective today is to ensure there is public awareness and transparency in the performance of our district and our schools, but even more importantly, school board members at this desk have made it clear to me that they believe CCSD should constantly and consistently be delivering on a high quality education as evidenced by results,” Superintendent Davis said. 

Dr. Josh Heath, the school district’s executive director of accountability, provided the Superintendent’s report.  It followed a series of one-on-one meetings between Superintendent Davis and individual School Board members to review district and school level performance on Milestones.  To view the comprehensive results, visit our district’s newly launched accountability webpage online here where all pertinent data will be housed.

The annual state exams administered each spring test students’ mastery of Georgia Performance Standards, which set expectations for what lessons students will learn in each grade.  Results measure students’ knowledge as Beginning, Developing, Proficient or Distinguished Learners. 

Students in grades 3-8 take Milestones End-of-Grade exams in English language arts and math; students in grades 5 and 8 additionally are tested in science, and eighth-graders also take a social studies exam.  High school students in specific courses – Algebra, American Literature, Biology and U.S. History (as well as the eighth-graders taking Physical Science and Algebra for high school credit) -- take Milestones End-of-Course exams.  Parents recently received their child’s individual scores, except for math scores.  The state has not yet finished calculating math scores, with an anticipated release to parents this fall.

As shared upon the state’s release of Milestones results last month, CCSD students for the ninth consecutive year exceeded State averages.  When comparing CCSD student performance to last year, nine tested areas improved or remained stable, while four dipped.

The report dug deeper into the data to highlight CCSD schools’ success in increasing performance by grade level and subject area, including numerous areas of double-digit growth in top scores.  He also reviewed CCSD student performance over the past three years and compared CCSD performance, not only to the state averages, but to nine other school districts.  These nine districts were selected based on an evaluation of five characteristics that could be in common with CCSD: a tradition of high performance, geographic proximity, student population size, student demographics, and percentage of students identified as Economically Disadvantaged.

The report introduced CCSD’s new definition of student performance as: “Students are learning more, growing more, and achieving more in CCSD than they could anywhere else, as evidenced by ... (in the short term) the metrics designed by the State of Georgia and (in the long term) the indicators of success designed by our local community.”  CCSD’s new definition of accountability also was defined in the report as: “Accountability in CCSD is about having clear goals and when we achieve those goals, we celebrate!  If we fall short of our goals, we adjust the practices, processes, systems, or techniques that we either inherited or developed ourselves in order to improve our outcomes.”

The report also included “next steps” for how assessment results will be used to improve student performance, including the refocus this school year to center lessons on CCSD Teaching and Learning Standards, which are state aligned standards repackaged for CCSD teachers; developing, over the course of this school year, a toolbox of instructional resources for teachers tightly aligned to those standards; and then beginning regular mini check-ins throughout the school year to ensure student mastery of standards. 

School Board member Rick Steiner asked questions to better understand the district’s next steps toward improvement, and School Board member Erin Ragsdale shared her appreciation for the report and its increased detail and transparency.

“You have to see where you’re succeeding and you also have to see where you’re not succeeding, so you know where you need to go … the goals you need to create to move forward with the child,” she said, explaining she doesn’t believe standardized tests and associated accountability should be viewed negatively.  “I know how great our teachers are, my children are in this district.  I know the talent; I know how hard everybody works.  We are a great school district, but I absolutely, unequivocally, believe we could be the best in the state.”

In related news, the School Board as part of its approval Thursday of human resources employment recommendations, appointed an interim chief academic officer to fill the post vacated by retirement.

Dr. Jami Frost began her 30-year career in education as an elementary school teacher, advancing to assistant principal, principal and district leader.  She most recently served as deputy superintendent for Marietta City Schools after serving as an assistant superintendent for the Cobb County School District. Superintendent Davis said Dr. Frost will be an outstanding leader for the Academics & Accountability division, and her interim service will bridge this time as the process to name a permanent chief continues.

CCSD Student Delegates, from left, front: Lavanya Shankar, Samantha “Sam” Stahler, Sophia Foisy; back: Andrew Hammond, Alex Johnson, Will Rusbridge, Zahira Ambriz-Villela.

During the regular meeting, the School Board recognized its new class of Student Delegates.  These outstanding high school seniors serve for one year to give input and feedback to the School Board and to Mary Elizabeth and her senior staff.  New this school year is the inclusion of a delegate from i-Grad Virtual Academy. 

The advisor role is rotated among our high schools, and this year’s Student Advisor is Samantha “Sam” Stahler of Etowah HS.  The Student Delegates are: Will Rusbridge of Cherokee HS, Andrew Hammond of Creekview HS, Alex Johnson of i-Grad, Lavanya Shankar of River Ridge HS, Zahira Ambriz-Villela of Sequoyah HS, and Sophia Foisy of Woodstock HS.  Learn more about them here.

The School Board also:

• Heard an Inspiration presentation from School Board Chair Kyla Cromer focused on the first day of school and thanking teachers and staff;
• Heard School Board member announcements from School Board member Kelly Poole about the topping out ceremony recently held for the new replacement Cherokee HS campus and School Board member visits with Superintendent Davis to schools during the first week of classes;
• Heard the monthly financial report, which is online here;
• Heard the monthly capital outlay report, which is online here.  All projects, including construction of the new replacement Cherokee HS campus and Free Home ES campus, are on schedule and within budget;
• Recognized CCSD students named Special Olympics Summer Games Gold medalists.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD’s U.S. Air Force JROTC Outstanding Instructor Award winners.  Learn more here;
• Recognized Georgia School Bell Award winners, Avery ES and Bascomb ES.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD School Nutrition for earning the national Turnip the Beet Award.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD School Nutrition Team of the Year Winners.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD Transportation Employee of the Year and Innovation Zone Winners.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD School Nurse of the Year and Innovation Zone Winners.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD Special Education Department Employees of the Year.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD Coach of the Year and Innovation Zone Winners.  Learn more here;
• Recognized CCSD’s Georgia High Schools Association’s region and state champions for golf, lacrosse and soccer.  Learn more here;
• Recognized Zone Principals of the Year.  Learn more here; and,
• Unanimously approved a Partnership Agreement renewal with LGE Community Credit Union and a new agreement with Thrive Coworking - Canton and The Mill on Etowah.  Learn more here.