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Asheboro City Board of Education Meeting Recap

Asheboro City Board of Education January Meeting Highlights


ASHEBORO - The Asheboro City Board of Education met for their regularly-scheduled meeting on Thursday, January 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at North Asheboro Middle School. Chairman Michael B. Smith conducted a welcome which included a moment of silence, the Pledge of Allegiance led by students from Donna Lee Loflin Elementary School, and the approval of the meeting agenda.


After approving the agenda as presented, the meeting then moved into the Special Recognition and Presentations portion of the meeting. 

Special Recognition and Presentations
To kick off Special Recognitions, Mr. Jordan Seagraves, Assistant Principal of Donna Lee Loflin Elementary School, welcomed Mr. Brian Wysong who led the School Spotlight which focused on equity initiatives at the school. During his presentation, Mr. Wysong shared ways in which students are engaged in activities that promote self love and acceptance of all students. 

The next recognition was presented by Chandra Manning, Beginning Teacher Coordinator/Curriculum Specialist. She recognized Ms. Sharon Andrews, Instructional Facilitator at Donna Lee Loflin Elementary School, for earning recertification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). 

West Asheboro Church of God was then named the Community Partner for the month of January for their newly-established partnership Donna Lee Loflin Elementary School. This partnership has greatly benefitted many of the  students, staff, and families at Loflin. Most notably, West Asheboro Church of God was able to make a donation of $6,500 to the school thanks to their annual Christmas tree fundraiser.   

The Points of Pride report included:

  • Recognition of Keichelle Joyce, Guy B. Teachey Elementary School teacher, who is one of 27 finalists for the NCCAT 2022 Prudential Beginning Teacher of the Year award. 

  • Highlights from Asheboro High Schools’ Advanced Manufacturing Open House event that took place in December which drew 30 students, families, and industry professionals to learn more about the Advanced Manufacturing program. 

  • The final point shared highlighted the district’s new partnership with Youth Haven Services (YHS). YHS has established a facility on the campus of North Asheboro Middle School that will support students with significant needs relating to their social and emotional health. Youth Haven Services will begin working with referred students starting January 24, 2022. 

Superintendent’s Report
Following Special Recognitions and Presentations, Dr. Aaron Woody, Superintendent discussed the recent state-legislated  bonuses and raises that will be reflected on the January 31, 2022 payroll. He also shared information about various assessments taking place in our schools that the district will use to monitor student achievement this school year.  

Consent Agenda:
Since there were no requests to address the Board during Public Comment, the Board moved to unanimously approve the Consent Agenda which included minutes from the December meeting of the Asheboro City Board of Education, personnel transactions, policies that have been up for 30-day review since the December meeting, budget amendments, field trip requests, and an updated salary schedule for after school care providers, substitutes, bus drivers, and bus monitors. 

Information, Reports, and Recommendations:
The Board heard a presentation from Randolph County Public Health Director, Tara Aker, about recent COVID-19 numbers for Randolph County. She discussed percent positive rates and rates of transmission, as well as vaccination and booster information. Following her presentation, Executive Director of Human Resources, Carla Freemyer, shared COVID-19 numbers specific to the district. The district provides positive COVID-19 numbers and exposures on a weekly basis using the COVID-19 Dashboard which is updated on Fridays by 4 p.m.  

Dr. Drew Maerz, Director of Support Services, presented 15 policies that will be available for public comment for the next 30 days. These policies are located on the “Board Policies Under Public Review” page on the Asheboro City Schools website with action on the policies anticipated at the February 10, 2022 meeting. 

ACS Facilities and Maintenance Director, Chris Scott, then delivered an update about the Asheboro High School renovation project as well as updates to the district’s 10-year facilities plan. He reported renovations to the high school are on schedule according to the original timeline and he anticipates students and staff will begin utilizing the newly-renovated building starting early 2023.

Tracie Ross, Director of Exceptional Children, then shared a presentation about discipline disproportionality among our exceptional children’s population and students districtwide. Her team has developed a number of workgroups to address this disproportionality and will update the board with their progress in the coming months.

The next item on the agenda was presented by Deanna Wiles, Director of K-12 Education, who gave an overview of LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) which provides teachers with the skills they need to master the fundamentals of reading instruction. The state has mandated LETRS training for all teachers across North Carolina. Asheboro City Schools administration will begin LETRS training this spring, in order to prepare for the district-wide training for all elementary school teachers beginning next school year.

Action Items

Following Information, Reports, and Recommendations, the Board voted to approve the naming of the softball scoreboard at Asheboro High School after retired educator, Ms. Lisa Robertson. The Board then approved the 2020-2021 audit report, plus bonus and salary schedules for various staff categories. And the final order of business was a vote on local face coverings per SL 2021-130. The Board voted 6-3 to continue the mask mandate through the month of January. Those voting in favor of the mask mandate included Baxter Hammer, Michael Smith, Linda Cranford, Gus Agudelo, Gwen Williams, and Ryan Patton. Those voting masks optional included Adam Hurley, Gidget Kidd, and Hailey Lee. 

 

Board Operations:

In Board Operations, Chairman Smith discussed a number of calendar events including the Board’s winter retreat to be held on Friday and Saturday, January 28 and 29 at Randolph Community College’s Corporate Training Center. Chairman Smith also shared the date for the district spelling bee (February 8) and a reminder about the National School Board Association (NSBA) annual conference to be held in April.  

 

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 p.m. 

 

The Asheboro City Board of Education will meet for their February 2022 meeting on Thursday, February 10, 2022. An agenda for the meeting will be posted by Monday, February 7, 2022. Should you have any questions, please contact Clerk to the Board, Angel Etheridge at 336-625-5104.

 

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