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Board of Education Meets
Bethany Stephens At the Board of
Education’s January session, three students were
recognized from Clarkton School of Discovery for
winning first, second, and third place in the Poetry
Council of North Carolina Poetry Contest. Students
competed in nine categories in the contest including
poetry, free verse, traditional form, humorous
verse, and performance poetry. There was
competition in the elementary, middle school, and
high school levels. For the first time ever, all
three winners in the middle school division came
from the same school. Allaysha Smith won first
place; Devan Stocks won second place, and third
place went to Kenneth Mote. Additionally, Robert
Heavenridge, Assistant Principal at Bladenboro
Primary School, was recognized for earning his
doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Nova
Southeastern University. Attendance awards were
also presented and Elizabethtown Primary won in the
elementary school division with 96.5% attendance;
East Arcadia School won in the middle school
division with 95.75% attendance, and West Bladen won
in the high school division with 93.25% attendance.
After coming back from a closed session,
the board received the financial summary form Sharon
Penny, finance director, and heard an update on A.P.
(Advanced Placement) grants from Danny Price,
Director of the Advanced Placement Program. Jose
Rodriguez spoke regarding the duties of counselors,
test coordinators, and media specialists.
Counselors meet monthly to compare notes on what is
working and what needs improving. Ophelia
Munn-Goins expressed concerns that she had heard
regarding missed scholarship application deadlines,
and Rodriguez explained that counselor
accountability is largely left to each principal and
that he hadn’t heard anything about it at their
monthly meeting.
Doug Evans, Technology
Director, addressed the board regarding a Technology
Use Contract. A pilot program for the 1:1 Laptop
Program (a program that would eventually provide
computers for every student to use at home and at
school) is set to start soon, and the computers
chosen are Lenovo Android tablets. Though the pilot
program will not require a usage fee, a fee for
students when the program is implemented school-wide
is being considered, and students will have to sign
a contract stating their responsibilities for their
individual computers. Additionally, there was talk
of the state’s progress in developing the cloud for
the school’s to access internet, but the county has
to wait on state level developments before it can be
accessed properly. The yearly audit contract with
Anderson, Smith, and Wike was approved along with
two overnight field trips to the State Beta Club
Convention and an annual fundraiser at Bladen Middle
School to fund their traveling to the State Beta
Club Convention.
The board approved of
giving formal support for a revised election
district which annexed the Happy Valley Community
into another district and tabled a credit card usage
policy until they could further review it. It was
agreed that Dr. Robert Taylor, Superintendent, send
a letter of support for the Golden Leaf Grant, and a
policy regarding the use of service animals in the
schools was approved. A policy outlining employee
use of social media as recommended by the School
Board Association was tabled. Taylor informed the
board that EOC testing is set to start January 10
and asked board members interested in attending the
National School Board Conference in Boston to
contact him. Lastly prior to adjourning, board
members were invited to participate in the annual
Martin Luther King Jr. Parade as well as to a
reading of Gail Thompson’s works at Bladen Community
College.
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