Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Board gets report on symposium

Five instructors from McRae Middle School attended a nuts and bolts symposium for mid-level education.

The symposium was held in Destin, Fla., with MMS Principal Jamye Barnes, Nikki Byers, Tami Honea, Agnes Morrow and Kristi ONeal attending. Each went to different workshops.

Honea informed the Prescott School Board of the results and what they learned at the Boards June meeting.

First and foremost, she said, they were advised not to try to do too many things at once, but, instead, to select a few ideas and try them out first  adding more as they prove successful. Those who went agreed to focus on scheduling options to help get students scheduled for achievement and to develop a teaming program.

Under the teaming program, each grade at MMS would be a team. Instruction would be on the four main content areas, and three times a week teachers would meet and discuss problem areas students have. They would also work with the students having the problems and also try and find out the root cause of the problem itself.

The teachers would have conferences with the students and develop an action plan on how to help the students get past the problem area and move ahead. If this didnt work as the first intervention, the teachers would schedule a conference with the parents. Should this also fail, the students would be referred to the counselor.

Teaming, though, wouldnt be all work. Every quarter there would be a celebration among the teams for the successes they have achieved together. Respect, responsibility and following directions, Honea said, is the them for the teaming program.

While in Florida the team attended conferences on strategies for motivating students; practices that work in the classrooms; be a teacher  be a hero; what every adolescent needs; hiring qualified, stable teachers; instructional leadership; raising standardized test scores with the master schedule; math mania; differentiated grading; teaching strategies for mathematics in middle school; multiple intelligences in the classroom; homework success; what a team; classroom management strategies that work; developing and teaching rules and procedures for middle school; student-led conferences; and positive, proactive parental involvement, among others.

ONeal thanked the Board for allowing her to attend the conference, saying it was a wonderful and rewarding experience.

Morrow gave the Prescott District Education Association (PDEA) report, saying the PDEA Board will be meeting to plan events for the coming school year.

Two members, she said, went to Little Rock and attended a workshop on bullying. The seminar included adult bullying as well. Those attending were Patricia Roberts and Earnestene Johnson.

The Board approved out-of-state travel for James Cannon to Thibideaux, La., for the Region II Ag Teachers conference. Travel to Long Beach, Miss., was approved for Greg Smith and Karen Ward for a cheerleader camp. It was pointed out the parents are paying for the cheerleader trip.

Hyacinth Deon, superintendent, said the Destination ImagiNation team sent a thank you note for allowing it to attend the Global competition recently. The team finished 28th in the world.

There was also a thank you note from Johnson for helping her take a trip to Los Angeles.