SCHOOL BOARD REPORT
This month’s meeting of the Morgan County School District Board of Education focused on goals and grants. Here are your highlights.
The bulk of the meeting featured administrators from each school giving updates on their Student Success Plans and how they plan to use Trust lands and TSSA funds to support the goals outlined in those plans. These funds are designated to support core learning in literacy, numeracy, and science and must include clear means of measuring student achievement.
In the order of their presentations:
Morgan Middle School’s goals include increasing math and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency by focusing on personnel to emphasize skills across curriculums and through academic extensions as well as providing additional teacher training and instructional supplies. Mountain Green Middle School’s goals are similar and include teacher training that focuses on interventions and helping students develop study skills. Both schools will use the end-of-level RISE test scores to track benchmark and growth scores over multiple years.
Morgan Elementary School is focused on implementing more targeted interventions, updating ELA curriculum, and providing more curriculum support overall. Principal Wilkinson also took a moment to thank the “cadre of aids [who] have been trained to understand the why and the what to support learning targets.” Mountain Green Elementary School is also focused on interventions for specific academic needs to help students achieve a full grade of progress each year. Specifically, MGES is adding an early learning coach for grade 2, funding software for support programs, and instructional materials.
The RISE test is designed to measure proficiency levels for students in grades 3 through 8 core subjects. While this is only one assessment our schools use, test results do help us identify students who have a strong grasp of essential skills and knowledge and who may need additional support in specific areas as well as track student growth over multiple years.
Morgan High School’s goals tie students’ core skills and knowledge to college and career readiness. Their funds provide additional teachers, training, and support materials. They are also allocating funds for a certified study hall teacher, before- and after-school tutoring, a college and career advisor, and an expansion of in-person concurrent enrollment options. At the high school, student proficiency and growth are measured, in part, by the ACT Aspire for 9th and 10th grades and the ACT for 11th grade.
If you have questions about any of these goals, funding programs, or tests, please contact your school (administrator, counselor, or teacher) or your school’s community council.
In other news, the board approved the bell schedules for the 2024-25 school year (see your school’s website), selected Megan Phillips as the parent-at-large member of the Sex Ed Committee (from a random drawing of volunteers), and applauded STEAM Night at MGES and the work of the Morgan Education Foundation.
The mood of the meeting was best summed up by Student Member Chloee Clark: “We’re ready to finish the year strong.”
The board will have a work meeting in May to address board policies, followed by the next public meeting on May 14 at 5 p.m.
Gwen Romero,
Public Information Officer
