Inside Schools
A quick news break for employees
Recent KCSD Honors
Doby's Mill Elementary teacher Helen Walker was chosen by the Symphony League of the South Carolina Philharmonic as the 2016 recipient of the Marjorie Stands Music Educator of the year award recognizing excellence in the field of music education.
Stover Middle art teacher Cassandra Mickle worked with her students to produce over 40 paintings on canvas that are part of a permanent display at the SC Department of Social Services' Child Support Division office in Columbia.
Pine Tree Hill Elementary Technology Coach Sarah Beltz has been named a member of the 2016-2017 ClassDojo Ambassador Team.
Wateree Elementary received a $500 award to promote respect, acceptance and inclusion of all students through the various programs and initiatives developed through Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools.
Camden Middle was featured in the Special Olympics of South Carolina's enewsletter.
Making Our Own Butter
5th graders in Emily Baccomo's Class at Baron DeKalb Elementary learned how pioneers had to be self-sufficient, relying only on their surroundings for the food and supplies that they needed. The class even made and enjoyed their own butter!
CMS STEM Mural
Muralist Russ Petty and Camden Middle students created a mural focusing on the STEM program and featured images from science, technology, engineering, and math. The title of the new mural is “Think Deep.”
Pennies For Change
In an effort to help Hurricane Matthew victims and to continue making our mark, the Kershaw County Teacher Forum is organizing a monetary donation drive for our local United Way and the Red Cross. Pine Tree Hill Elementary teacher Nicole Gardner and her students made this video to encourage participation at their school. Please talk with the Teacher Forum (teacher of the year) rep at your school to get involved.
Golden Apple Award honorees for August/September
The Kershaw County Teacher Forum’s Golden Apple program honors employees who are doing outstanding jobs.
Golden Apple Award honorees for August and September 2016:
ATEC: Larry Watkins and Brooke Bradshaw / Melissa Gainey and Walker Canada
Baron DeKalb Elementary: Kim Simon and Lucinda Howell
Bethune Elementary: Jennifer Oglesby and Roy Miller / Aaron Simon and Kathy Bradshaw
Blaney Elementary: Melissa Emmons and Whitney Robinson
Camden Elementary: Kennedy Spangler and Martha Salmond
Camden High: Holly Myers and Sandra Arledge
Camden Middle: Morgan Mays and Debbie Bowers / Keith Tolen and Officer Sharon Green
Continuous Learning Center: Alisha Walters-Clark / Shannon Byrd
Doby’s Mill Elementary: Angie Gillis and Patti Colvin
Jackson: Deborah James and Brittany Rogers / Debra Champion-Belle and
Kyleigh Shirley
Lugoff Elementary: Tonya Seay and Monica James
Lugoff-Elgin High: Entire Foreign Language Department
Lugoff-Elgin Middle: Sandy Hall and Lisa Matthews
Midway Elementary: Mildred Beebe and Michelle Luedke
Mt. Pisgah Elementary: Melinda Phillips and Marsha Hough
North Central High: Michael Grigsby and Chet Horton / George Morrow and Wanda Fowler
North Central Middle: Craig Smith and Merritt Pace / David Pollock and Donna Gaskins
Pine Tree Hill Elementary: Christine Morden and Carolyn Dority
Stover Middle: Koehler Beard and Wendy Blair / Kathleen Staffaroni and Cheryl Council
Wateree Elementary: Michelle Williams and Carol Bethea
Merritt Pace (North Central Middle) and Monica James (Lugoff Elementary) were the winners of the district drawing to receive $20 gift certificates from Moe’s.
Q and A with Dr. Morgan and Staff
Questions for this column are questions of general interest submitted each month in Superintendent's Cabinet meetings.
Is it true that the state allocated money for each district to hire a minimum of two career counselors or specialists for the next three years? The school district did not receive this allocation until the beginning of the school year and is now working to address how the money will be used.
At the start of the year, my classroom temperature was set at 70 degrees and at times, it would drop to 68 and 69 degrees. I really had to complain to get it up to 74. Why can't the teachers have more control over the temperature in our room? We are very sorry you are experiencing this problem. The Operations Department continues to put energy conservation as one of its top priorities, and this is stressed to building administrators every month. By using control management for our thermostats, we save thousands of dollars. Issues such as this one need to be addressed by putting in a work order with the maintenance staff. If you have additional concerns, please contact Billy Smith at billy.smith@kcsdschools.net or 803-420-9021.
Are we going to get the program that allows us to see the students’ screens on our computers? Yes, we are currently working on this.
Can we "cash in" a certain number of our earned days each year if we do not use them? Sick leave is a benefit that the district provides for its employees. When a person uses sick leave, the school district incurs the costs associated with paying the employee because he/she is unable to perform designated duties. We have the added expense of paying for a substitute who, in most cases should be certified and capable of providing adequate instruction for our students; however, that is not always the case, thereby costing our students to lose valuable instruction time. Overall, taking the daily rate of each employee and paying him/her for one or more sick leave days would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to compensate our 1,200 employees.
What is the district's plan to address the Read to Succeed legislation? Will we have reading interventionists for every school? Will we be able to meet the required 30 minutes of supplemental reading instruction? Our school district is well underway with its implementation of Read to Succeed. We’ve have hired reading coaches for all of our elementary schools, have a plan to hire additional reading support teachers at the middle and high school levels as funding becomes available, and have completed development of our district and school reading plans. In addition, the school district has tailored its professional development support in the direction of providing the required training teachers need for their add-on reading certification required by Read to Succeed. The district is in compliance with meeting the required 30 minutes of supplemental reading instruction. At the elementary level, the ELA instructional model provides more than the required number of minutes for reading through an integrated approach of combining reading, writing, and spelling during an extended block of time. At the middle and high school levels, reading is a core focus of our content area courses. All teachers now require students to not only read to locate information, but also to explain and connect ideas. This deep emphasis on reading, particularly the emphasis on non-fiction reading, is consistent with the mandate of the Read to Succeed law as we prepare all of our students for life after high school.
Given the number of school aged students with Autism as a primary disability, is there a plan in place to address placement needs versus placing them in existing LD programs? Dr. Morgan has asked special education staff to develop both short-term and long-term solutions, recognizing that these will impact several schools.
I have been told to only buy items for my classroom that are fire retardant but I see others who are not abiding by this recommendation. Who is responsible for checking these? This is a state law and checked by both our maintenance staff and the fire marshal. Teachers can buy items for the classroom and have them sprayed to be fire retardant. If that is the case, GCA can help with the process and a form must be completed and kept on file in the office to certify that the item has been sprayed. If you know of materials that are not meeting this state code, please let your principal know.
If elementary teachers are required to conference with every parent before the first report card is issued, then why is time not built into the calendar for this? It requires huge amounts of time before and after school as well as quite a few planning periods. Although making sure that teachers have a conference with every parent is recommended, this is not a district requirement. A districtwide committee of parents and teachers recommends the school calendar that is approved every year by the school board after gathering input from employees and the community. Some school calendars in the past have included a non-school day to allow for parent conferences while more recent ones have not. The committee working on the 2017-18 calendar has begun its work so please be on the lookout for your opportunity to provide feedback. For more information, please contact Mary Anne Byrd at maryanne.byrd@kcsdschools.net or ext. 1229.
Kershaw County School District
Nestled in the heart of the Palmetto State, KCSD is home to over 10,300 students and more than 1,200 employees.
Email: maryanne.byrd@kcsdschools.net
Website: www.kcsdschools.net
Location: 2029 W Dekalb St, Camden, SC
Phone: (803) 432-8416
Facebook: facebook.com/KershawCountySchoolDistrict
Twitter: @kcsdschools