Shaffer, FFA addresses Decatur School Board

DECATUR -- The Feb. 20 Decatur School Board meeting was a little different, thanks to a new program designed to bring faculty, staff, parents and the community closer together for one common goal, to better prepare Decatur students for the challenges that lie ahead.

Before the regularly scheduled board meeting in the Community Media Center at Decatur Middle School, Superintendent Jeff Gravette implemented the "Council's Model Superintendent Evaluation" program. This program was conceived by the New York State Council of Superintendents in 2014 as a way of developing constructive evaluations of the district's leadership team to advance its educational goals.

Twenty teachers, faculty, staff and students joined the school board in the Feb. 20 inaugural session of the CMSE program. This new program is part of a new evaluation system for superintendents which, when finalized by the Arkansas Department of Education, will help to foster more community involvement within school systems.

"We got together with a group of community stakeholders and were able to set a couple of preliminary goals for the 2017-18 school year," Gravette said. "We discussed goals in the spending areas for facilities and curriculum and ways to improve the ACT Aspire test scores in the future."

Randy Barrett, superintendent of the Gentry School District, has participated in pilot programs for the past two years in an effort to devise a new standard-based evaluation system for the state.

The Decatur School Board will hold the next CMSE forum during its May 15 meeting. This meeting will set the standards for future relationships between the board and the community. This will give the teachers, parents and community members a voice in the direction they would like to see the district go.

"It will be a good process and hopefully get a few people involved in attending school board meetings," said Gravette. "There was a big shift in the meeting now that we have the new room and more space. Get more teachers and kids groups involved in the process."

Part of this new process was implemented during the regular school board meeting later in the evening. The Decatur chapter of the Future Farmers of America, led by president Bracy Owens, gave a demonstration on its procedures and the duties of each of its officers. Then Paige Barrett and Alisun Watson each gave a three-minute presentation. Present for the program was FFA teacher-sponsor, Lisa Barrett.

Ryan Shaffer, senior class president, addressed the board concerning the upcoming senior trip, scheduled for mid-April. Shaffer presented two sets of plans the senior class discussed and sent to the board for final approval.

One plan calls for the senior class to travel for an overnight stay in St. Louis, Mo. The group plan included a tour of the St. Louis Zoo, attending a Cardinal baseball game and Six-Flags-Over-Mid-America. The second plan will take the seniors to Dallas for a senior lock-in at the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in Dallas.

After Shaffer's presentation, the school board members found that both plans met their approval and advised Shaffer to inform them of the plan they will implement. The senior class is still taking donations to help cover the transportation and other expenses for its trip. Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so through the high school office by calling 479-752-3983.

In other board action, the Decatur School Board:

Passed the 2017-18 academic calendar;

Approved a disaster recovery/business continuity plan;

Reviewed the ACT Aspire test results from April 19-May 12, 2016. (This will be one of the areas that CMSE program will discuss during the May forum.)

The Decatur School Board meets at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of each month in the new Community Media Center at Decatur Middle School. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the meetings.