Captain's Log
PASS CHRISTIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
AHOY, PIRATES!
Today, I found myself in worship service with several members of the Pirate family when I visited St. Thomas Catholic Church in Long Beach to see Mrs. Mandy Lacy and daughter, Mackenzie Lacy sing. To my surprise, I would see many current and past Pirates. It brought such joy to my heart to share the experience with students, parents, and school leaders as we centered our hearts and minds on the same thing. What harmony!
As I think about the work that we do each day, it brings about a joyous feeling to know that we are all in this together...all focused on the same thing - our children's success. I encourage you to harmonize with your peers every day. Find ways to work together to accomplish our goals. Let's make this week as amazing as the last. With that, I submit the Captain’s Log! #committedtoeXcellence #eXcellencemarksthespot #finishstrong cje
Instructional Strategy Spotlight: Think-Pair-Share
ANNOUNCEMENTS
From the Desk of Kelly Riley:
2019 Graduate Scholarship Applications are Due February 22
MPE's 2019 Graduate Scholarship application is available via the "MPE Grants and Scholarships" section of our website (www.mpe.org). MPE will award up to twenty scholarships in the amount of $1,000 to MPE members who wish to pursue graduate level studies at a college or university in the state of Mississippi. The scholarship is available to any educator who:
- Has been a member of MPE for a minimum of one year immediately prior to the February 22, 2019, application deadline;
- Will be under contract as a full-time educator in Mississippi during the 2019-2020 school year; and,
- Is accepted and enrolled in graduate course work at a Mississippi college or university OR who intends to enroll in such coursework if awarded a scholarship
The scholarship will be paid directly to the college or university at which the graduate student is enrolled or plans on attending. Tuesday, February 5, was the deadline for committees to report general bills originating in their own chamber. General bills not passed by committees by Tuesday's deadline died on the calendar. Click here to review our first bill tracking spreadsheet which includes those education bills which survived Tuesday's deadline and are under consideration by the full House or full Senate. Here is a quick update on several critical issues we are monitoring:
Legislation that is on the table:
- Teacher Pay Raise: Senate Education met Tuesday afternoon and passed SB 2770 which provides for a $500 teacher pay raise in 2019-2020 and another $500 raise in 2020-2021 for a total of $1,000 over the course of two years. The bill also increases the minimum salary for assistant teachers by $1,000 over the course of these same two years, with assistants receiving an additional $500 each year. MPE appreciates Senators Billy Hudson, Sollie Norwood and Brice Wiggins for asking Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison why the raise was only $1,000, as well as how the amount could be increased. Chairman Tollison responded that the state has limited resources and that he preferred to move the bill forward with the $1,000 raise. SB 2770 is a companion bill to HB 1349 which also provides a $1,000 teacher pay raise over the course of two years, as well as a raise for assistant teachers. Both bills must now be considered by their respective chamber.
- Vouchers: As originally introduced, SB 2675 basically expanded eligibility for Educational Scholarship Accounts (i.e., vouchers) to all students. Senate Education adopted a committee substitute for the bill Tuesday afternoon which only extends the repealer on the bill from 2020 to 2024. All other sections of the bill were stripped out of the committee substitute. We will monitor the bill to make sure it is not amended at some point in the process to once again expand vouchers. On the House side, I would like to thank Rep. Richard Bennett, Chairman of House Education, for not bringing any voucher expansion bills up for consideration in committee. (Thank you for your feedback!)
- PERS Retirees Serving in the Legislature: All bills that allowed PERS retirees to serve in the legislature and draw retirement died. HB 1349 allows teachers with at least 25 years of service credit who have been retired for 1 year to be reemployed and continue to receive retirement benefits.
- Testing: All bills regarding state testing and/or the use of the ACT died on the calendar with Tuesday's deadline.
Each chamber must pass its own general bills by next Thursday, February 14, or the bills will die on the calendar. As always, I encourage you to contact your senator and/or representative with your thoughts and opinions on legislation. Click here for legislative contact information. When contacting a legislator or other elected official, please do so in a professional and courteous manner, especially regarding any social media posts. You may not agree with a legislator's position, their vote, or their response, but it is critical that you maintain your professionalism and do not use inappropriate language, as doing so does not benefit your position or the education community as a whole.
Accountability:
- Science and Accountability: Two hours of the ATF's discussion centered around how to proceed with science scores and the accountability model not only for this school year but for 2019-2020 also. Where banked Biology I scores fit into the overall picture received the most discussion. More research will be given pertaining to ESSA requirements and the banking of Biology I scores, which will play heavily into numerous options that were discussed and will be discussed at future meetings. However, one general consensus from the group was that using science scores from SY 2017-2018 seemed to be a viable option for the upcoming accountability season.
- Acceleration Component: Discussion was held concerning how IB and CTE. courses are calculated within both the participation and performance sides of the acceleration component. Discussion was also held on whether AP, IB, and industry certified CTE courses should receive additional weighting over Dual Credit courses within the model. The rationale was that AP, IB, and CTE all require a minimum score on an end of course assessment, whereas dual credit courses only require the student to obtain a grade of C in the course. No consensus was achieved by the ATF on either topic of discussion.
School Year Calendar_Draft as Presented to Board
ATTENDANCE (GOAL: >=95%)
It is official; we are sick! As evidenced by our attendance last week and the weeks before, we have had approximately 10% of our students and a comparable number of faculstaff reported to have strep, flu, or flu-like symptoms.
The MS Health Department Recommends the following key points to prevent the spread of Flu in schools:
- Encourage students, parents, and staff to get a yearly flu vaccine—Teach students, parents, and staff that the single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each flu season.
- Stay home when sick—Students and staff with flu-like illness should stay home until fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs.
- Separate ill students and staff—Students and staff who appear to have flu-like illness should be sent to a room separate from others until they can be sent home. CDC recommends that...those who care for ill students and staff wear protective gear such as a mask.
- Hand hygiene—CDC recommends that students and staff be encouraged to wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.
- Respiratory etiquette—CDC recommends covering the nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available) and throwing the tissue in the trash after use.
- Routine cleaning—School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often with the cleaners they typically use. Special cleaning and disinfecting processes, including wiping down walls and ceilings, are not necessary or recommended. For guidance to slow the spread of flu in schools with cleaning and disinfecting, see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/freeresources/updated/cleaning_disinfecting_schools.pdf
EXCELLENCE MARKS THE SPOT
Congratulations, Dr. Robyn Killebrew!
Dr. Killebrew, thank you for your service to our children, the PCHS faculstaff and our community over the last decade. #onceapiratealwaysapirate
PCHS Earns Value Added Awards
STAR Student Picks STAR Teacher
Robotics Fab 5 Headed to State Championship!!
Demonta May to Play at the Next Level!
THE WEEK IN PHOTOS
Earn a Classroom Makeover!!
CAR TAG INCENTIVES: For every 10 tags sold, your name will go into a drawing to receive funds to help with a classroom makeover or purchase supplies/materials for your program. (Amount: $1500) We will end this promo at the end of December. (Be sure to have your name written on the back of your sales.) Employees who purchase a tag or tags may wear work-appropriate jeans on Fridays with your Pirate Gear. The school with the largest number sold will receive a pizza party donated by board members Lizana and O'Dwyer.
Proceeds from the PIRATE PRIDE TAG will go toward classroom innovation grants to help us with our STREAM initiative or support athletics and the arts depending on who receives the grants.
Where's the Superintendent?
Contact Info
Email: cevers@pc.k12.ms.us
Website: www.pc.k12.ms.us
Location: 6457 Kiln Delisle Road, Pass Christian, MS, USA
Phone: 228-216-9184
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/passpiratepride
Twitter: @pcppridealerts