January 2024
January’s Board meeting was rescheduled for this past Thursday. The agenda was approved as well as the minutes from the last meeting. A special recognition was given for School Board Appreciation Month. Mr. Willis spoke about the commitment and dedication our board members display on a daily basis. Each school presented a gift to members in addition to U.S. Jones providing a video to honor them. (Click here to access the video.) Sherron Brown was also recognized as the CLAS District 5 Secretary of the Year. She was presented with the award previously in Huntsville.
Action items for the meeting included approval of the financial and personnel report. An updated policy was presented to the board regarding Dual Enrollment. They also approved a change order for McKee and Associates regarding the vestibules at DMS and USJ. The board also approved the use of the DMS gym on Feb. 24 for WestAL Upward Basketball.
In Mr. Willis’s Superintendent’s Report the following items were noted:
Maintenance and Operations: Special thanks was given to our maintenance workers who helped ready our buildings for school by keeping the heat running to avoid pipes bursting and spreading salt to keep steps and driveways cleared.
Curriculum and Instruction: ACCESS training will begin next week - this is our testing for students learning English. iReady testing concluded and faculty went through the data on our last Data Day (1.2.24). It was found that most grades showed improvement over last year in terms of growth. The ACAP practice test was completed last week and will be used for additional support and disaggregated in our February Data Day. An accolade was given for our District State Report Card grade of an 85. It was also noted that DMS and DHS each saw significant gains and moved from a C to a B.
Extracurricular Activities: The Jr. High Basketball teams completed their seasons with eighth grade boys and middle school girls finishing at 15-3 and 14-3 respectively. Varsity Basketball season is well underway, playing an area game last night. Playoffs will be just around the corner. DHS’s Cinderella cast is preparing for their production. Performances will be Feb 29-March 3. DHS Football had three members named to the ASWA All State Team: Dalyon Jackson (1st Team), Keishawn Rowser (2nd Team) and Tony Zinnerman (Honorable Mention). Multiple student athletes were named to Tuscaloosa News volleyball and football regional teams including Coach Tucker as Coach of the Year. Finally, DMS students returned from Disney and it was noted by Mrs. Stephens that the students represented DCS as “top-notch.”.
Community and PR: Thanks was given to those that helped with communication through the different issues this past week and to the city employees that helped get us back running. Mr. Willis also expressed a thank you to the former New York City mayor, Micheal Bloomberg and his philanthropic efforts to help land the Alabama School of Health Sciences in Demopolis with his 26.4 million dollar donation. In conclusion, Mr. Willis announced that DCS 101’s inaugural classes are set to start Jan 29, 2024. A group of 12 community members applied for the class (there were many applications) and will have three 2-hour sessions over a three month period to learn more about the inner workings of our school system.
The meeting was adjourned and the next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, Feb 24, 2024.
