Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County Board of Education met in regular session on Tuesday, October 18, at North Butler Elementary School.  Board members Amy Hood, Delbert Johnson, Debbie Hammers, and Ryan Daugherty were in attendance.

Eric Elms, Finance Officer for Butler County Schools, shared the treasurer’s report for September.  The beginning balance was $1,501,190.31, and the balance at the end of the month was $1,188,177.56. 

Superintendent Scott Howard reported he attended several recent community events.  He informed the board that the Butler County Schools retiree luncheon went great.  According to Howard, “We lost 453 years of experience last year due to retirements.  You can’t replace that.” Mr. Howard said the 4^th grade Farm Safety Day was a huge success. “We had great presenters this year.  Our teachers and students really enjoyed it.  Chris Burden from WRECC did a phenomenal job talking to the kids.  We certainly appreciate Mrs. LeeAnn Daugherty and all the work she does with that.”  Mr. Howard also mentioned his attendance to the Morgantown Care and Rehab Annual Celebration and Butler County Boys and Girls Club Annual Dinner.

Mr. Howard discussed two programs being implemented to improve kindergarten readiness in our district.  The O.W.L. Academy (On the Way to Learning) is in place at North Butler Elementary.  This program was developed to provide an opportunity for students ages 2-4 years old to be able to come to school and participate in a variety of activities.  The parents attend with the students and have the opportunity to attend informative sessions that will benefit them in helping their children be ready for kindergarten.  With funding from the Early Childhood Council, Jeremy Hack created a video showcasing the O.W.L. Academy.  The audience and board members viewed the video at the meeting.  The second program that Mr. Howard and Dr. Amy Hood discussed was the Born-Learning Academy at Morgantown Elementary.  Mr. Howard stated that this program is up and running, and parents and children enjoyed the first meeting very much.  Dr. Hood and Mrs. Delia Burns were the instructors for the parents.  Howard said Melissa Glass and Brandie Smith did a great job with the children.  The Born-Learning Academy will meet five more times throughout the school year.  If you would like to attend or learn more about the academy, you can call the school at 270-526-3361.

North Butler Elementary School’s principal, Josh Belcher, gave a report on his school’s K-Prep scores from last year.  According to Belcher, “Scores show that we have too many kids currently in the novice area for both reading and math. We are very confident we have the staff, students and plan to change that.”  Belcher reported that his school has been classified as a “Needs Improvement” school with an overall score of 61.3.  Guidance Counselor Myra Swift also reported to the board about the school’s Response to Intervention (RTI) program.  This program targets individual students’ weaknesses and needs so teachers and para-educators can build students’ skills.  Mrs. Swift said, “RTI is meant to be a gap reduction tool.”   Swift and Belcher both said their staff is working hard to reduce the number of students who score novice. 

CLICK HERE FOR NBES SCORES: North Butler Elementary Test Results.pdf