Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County Board of Education met in regular session on Tuesday, November 8, at Butler County Middle School.  Board members Ryan Daugherty, Debbie Hammers, and Delbert Johnson were in attendance. Amy Hood was absent.
District Finance Officer Eric Elms presented the financial report to the board.  The beginning balance for October was $1,188,177.92.  The end of the month balance was $1,045,706.07.
Superintendent Scott Howard praised Morgantown Elementary School (MES) for receiving recognition from The Kentucky Center for Instructional Discipline (KYCID) for implementation of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).  MES Principal Chad Flener said the school’s PBIS team meets about once a month to discuss areas for improvement and new strategies the school can implement.  Mr. Flener credited the program for the school seeing a 20% decrease in discipline referrals from this time last year.
Mr. Howard reported that he has attended several events recently including the Kentucky School Boards Association regional meeting in Russellville, the Western Kentucky University Top Scholar luncheon with eight Butler County High School students, and the Chamber of Commerce annual dinner.  Howard said he attended Historical Halloween at Morgantown Elementary School, and said Mr. Marcus Harrison’s 5th grade students did an excellent job.

Jimmy Arnold, Facilities Director and Chief Information Officer, had great news to report to the board.  All four schools were energy star certified again for 2016. Morgantown Elementary scored a 92, North Butler Elementary scored a 93, Butler County Middle School scored a 90, and Butler County High School scored an 89. Arnold works closely with Harshaw Trane, an energy management services company, in order to make the schools as energy efficient as possible. In energy cost savings, the district has saved $444,812 since 2010.  In operational savings, the district has saved $94,640 since 2010.  The total amount saved to date is $539,542. Mr. Arnold said, “This is our twelfth year actively managing energy, and we are still driving down energy usage from the adjustments we make in the operation of our buildings.”

Butler County High School’s principal Michael Gruber gave a report on his school’s test scores from last school year and the school’s plan to close the achievement gap.  With an overall score of 72.7, the school was classified as Proficient. Mr. Gruber said the school “made great strides in meeting benchmark” regarding the students being college and career ready.  Gruber said, “A lot of credit goes to Vonda Jennings.  She worked with a lot of kids.”  Gruber shared that the high school provides alternative learning experiences such as the Sunset Academy, Alternative Learning Center, and Virtual School for students who aren’t being successful in the regular classroom setting.  Assistant Principal Adam Gish said the school is looking to close gaps.  He said teachers are pulling students during Bear time to work on writing, and special education teachers are collaborating with regular education teachers to find ways to meet the needs of all the students.  Mr. Gruber said, “I am pleased with the progress our students have made, but we still have work to do.  BCHS strives to help our students succeed.  We want all our students to be career or college ready by the time they graduate.”

Morgantown Elementary School Principal Chad Flener also shared his school’s test score results with the board.  Mr. Flener told the board his school is much more than the test scores and said wonderful things are happening every day at MES. The school was classified as “Needs Improvement” with an overall score of 53. Mr. Flener shared the school’s plan of action which included the following:

Reading:
•District-wide Curriculum Guides
•Thinking Strategies Integration
•Learning Targets with Success Criteria
•Hattie’s Visible Learning
•The Academy
•RTI
•Plan, Do, Study, Act in PLC’s
•Goal setting as a part of Leader in Me
•Parent Universities
•ESS

Math:
•Standards-based instruction
•Thinking Strategies Integration
•Learning Targets with Success Criteria
•Hattie’s Visible Learning
•Parent Universities

Social Studies & Science:
•Social Studies Alive for 3-5
•Social Studies and Science taught at all grade levels
•Thinking Strategies Integration
•Hattie’s Visible Learning
•Parent Universities

Mr. Flener said, “Morgantown Elementary teachers, staff, and administration are committed to preparing ALL students academically for the next level. We know that language arts, math, social studies, and science are of the utmost importance and academics is always our focus.  But, the needs of our student body are consistently changing, and we are determined to meet those challenges head on.  Sometimes the challenges are not always in the area of academics but may be in an area of basic needs that so many of us take for granted: What will I have for supper? Who is going to help me at home with my homework?  Will Mom be there when I get home from school? Where will I get the money to pay for the field trip? I don't have anything clean to wear, will my friends at school notice if I wear the same outfit tomorrow?  That is why our vision at MES is to empower ALL students, within a safe and loving environment, with the tools to become effective leaders today and forever.”

The following items were approved by the board:
•    FY 17 School Facilities Construction Commission KETS First Offer of Assistance in the amount of $17,533
•    BCMS Band Request to Attend the MSU Quad State Middle School Band Festival at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, November 20th – 21st, 2016
•    BCMS Band Request to Attend the EKU Honors Band Clinic on December 2nd – 3rd, 2016, at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, on December 3, 2016
•    FY 18 Out-of-District Contracts with Surrounding School Systems
•    Approve BCHS SBDM Approved Early Graduation Requests for Four (4) Students