BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD HEARS GRADING GUIDELINE CHANGES; LEGISLATIVE, CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
The Brenham School Board received a series of updates at its meeting Monday evening.
One of those updates concerned slightly adjusted grading guidelines. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jamey Johnson said there were very minimal changes, saying more clarifications were made than alterations. These changes were made specifically for first graders, who will now receive letter grades instead of number grades.
Dr. Johnson said, after talking with administration, first grade shouldn’t be defined as a number grade but as a time to master skills. First graders will take on the same letter grades as kindergarten: E, for excellent; S, for satisfactory; N, for needs improvement; and U, for unsatisfactory.
Dr. Johnson said she believes the district is in a place where the guidelines don’t need to be readopted every year. She requested the board accept the guidelines through the 2022 school year. The board accepted the motion, with board president Natalie Lange calling it “a great idea”.
Superintendent Dr. Walter Jackson said he is continuing to keep an eye on the legislature, namely the status of House Bill 3 as the House and Senate continue to work out their separate versions of the bill. He said the district believes there is still hope for the bill, which would add $9 billion in state funding to school districts, although there have been talks of a special session.
Dr. Jackson added people from across the district are continuing to call authorities in Austin to let them know the additional testing provisions for young students are not wanted. He stressed the district does not want to see “all-or-nothing”, where legislature goes home without anything getting done. He said the district hopes to have something permanent by May 27th, the last day of the legislative session.
Dr. Jackson asked for legislators to continue with the promise of pay hikes for all staff, not just teachers. He also expressed hopes that full day Pre-Kindergarten become standard across the state. He noted that Brenham ISD already offers full day Pre-K, but if it were to become law the district could stand to gain some funding back.
Assistant Superintendent Paul Aschenbeck provided updates on construction across the district. He showed pictures of the newly completed security vestibule at the Pride Academy and Community Education Building, along with ongoing construction at the Early Childhood Learning Center Library.
Aschenbeck also showed a rendering of the completed exterior stairway at the high school. He added next week the district would begin demoing the exterior stairwells in the building, with materials coming in this weekend.
Several board members were also sworn in for another four-year term. Position One Mark Schneider, Position Two Michael Altman, Position Three Susan Jenkins, and Position Four Kelvin Raven were all sworn in. None of the trustees were challenged in May’s election.
Following the oaths of office, the board voted to keep its current officers. Lange will remain as board president, Melvin Ehlert as board vice president, and Susan Jenkins as secretary.
The board was also presented an update on staffing for the upcoming school year. Human Resources Director Christie Olivarez said hiring season is underway, and the school district will be represented at several summer job fairs.
The board also recognized Brenham High School’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian, the Project SEARCH graduates, the Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society, FFA state qualifying teams, and the Texas History Day State Fair participants.
The board then adjourned into executive session to discuss personnel matters. No action was taken.