On Tuesday, July 18, Richmond County School System’s Board of Education started their monthly committee meeting by announcing to parents a new bell schedule that will add 5 to 10 minutes to the day, depending on the school.
Schools were separated into three tiers along with magnet and alternative institutions, and families were suggested to view the online parent portal for more information about their school’s schedule shift. For more information CLICK HERE. Bus schedule updates will be announced no later than July 31.
Next, Superintendent Kenneth Bradshaw announced future open house dates starting Tuesday, Aug. 1, for elementary schools from noon to 6 p.m., and Wednesday, Aug. 2, for middle and high schools also from 12 to 6 p.m. The first day of school will immediately follow on Thursday, Aug. 3, for elementary schools, and on Monday, Aug. 7, for all other grades, including eschool.
Bradshaw brought to the board’s attention to mandatory updates due to some slight changes in the Georgia state laws. Some amendments seek to improve educational safety with the state now requiring all schools to undergo an intruder alert drill which must occur by Oct. 1.
Along with a $250,000 Safer Georgia Schools grant, Richmond County has also recently been awarded a $2.6 million grant from the Governor’s School Safety program, which will allocate about $50,000 per school. These grants will be utilized to provide security updates to school after more assessment has been finished.
Other changes were in regards to AJ’s Law, also known as Seizure Action Plans, teachers’ planning periods, and the Edna Mae McGovern Act, or better recognized as the Water Safety Act.
The AJ Law now states that parents of a student being treated for epilepsy or another seizure disorder may seek certain support and services while their student is at school or a school related function in the form of an action plan, which will be readily available to appropriate school personnel and those persons will also receive training on seizure disorders.
“If any of our parents have a child who suffers from this, there is a plan and we need to make sure we collaborate for the safety of those students,” said Bradshaw.
Teachers will now be provided a Duty-Free Planning Period to include instructional lesson design, grading and assessment, data analysis of student achievement and growing skills, and knowledge in the teaching profession. However, exceptions may be made in times of extreme economic conditions or unforeseen and unavoidable personnel shortages.
“The planning period is not a part of daily lunch, so we’re committed to that because we know that teachers need individual time for planning,” said Bradshaw.
The Water Safety Act will now require schools, at the beginning of each school year, to provide parents with information on the important role of water safety education courses, and the available options within the CSRA.
Additionally, state law is also now ensuring teachers get ample voting time as well by allowing employees to take one to two hours to vote in any primary or election in which the employee is qualified and registered to vote; this change will also include advanced voting and voting on the day that primary election is held. However, employers may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent from work.
Bradshaw also discussed building updates for the Junior Achievement Discovery Center, where middle school students will be able to interact within a simulated economy by running a business or managing a household budget with a random “life situation;” this center is being created in partnership with Columbia County and many other local businesses.
With 14 out of 18 storefronts and local businesses pitching in to support the project, the JA center will focus on “financial literacy, career readiness and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit,” according to Bradshaw’s presentation.
Dr. Cecil Clark, Richmond County School System’s Chief Human Resource Officer, then discussed the upcoming school year’s staffing plan, especially when it comes to rotating bus drivers.
With over 200 new teachers hired and being trained in preparation for August, Clark reported a steady 94% retainment of staff from last year, which he believes will top out at 96% by the end of the upcoming school year.
“We’re really excited about where we are. We still have some work to do, of course, but we’re really excited about where we are right now,” said Clark. “This doesn’t happen by chance, … and these numbers that you see here are outstanding. We’re usually between the 10th and 15th largest district in the state. We’re not where we need to be, we want to have 100%, but this is absolutely outstanding.”
Clark said this increase in hires was a result of multiple efforts, such as billboards across Augusta, new partnerships, hiring initiatives, employment walk-in fairs, and even
However, Clark found the biggest success in finding interested employees has been the school system’s increased digital footprint, where they have received most of their applicants.
“We’ve really amped up that section of our plan and have strengthened the partnership that we have with Augusta University; these are things that we’re really concentrating on and trying to get better at,” said Clark. “But that has been super and we plan on continuing that in the future, but that has been a real game changer for us.”
However, with 106 out of 144 positions being filled, the school system is still looking to fill several bus driver vacancies before the start of August to keep up with student demand.
In the meantime, Horace Dunson, who was promoted to Deputy Superintendent of Operations and Administrative Services during the session, said the staffing plan will recruit multiple substitute drivers to temporarily fill positions, and will expand the driver hiring agreement to multiple staffing agencies. Buses will also undergo a double bus route as necessary.
After facing a last minute increase of 900 students at the beginning of August 2022, board member Venus Cain expressed concern about shortening the processing time for newly enrolled students being assigned to a bus route.
“Have we found a way to reduce that? And are we making it clear to parents about the fact that they might have to take their kids to school until their kid does have a bus route?” asked Cain.
To try and be proactive about the possibility of an enormous influx of students enrolling on the first day back to school, Dunson and other staff members agreed to discuss the situation further to seek solutions for expediting the paperwork process and updating family addresses for those that have moved.
Board member Wayne Frazier added onto the list of concerns by emphasizing those that are needing transportation to certain bus hubs.
“We have made some progress as it relates to the alternative school transportation, however, it seems to be stagnant as it relates to the students that are at hubs that are farther away than the school they have to attend,” he said. “So they still need transportation. Is there any way or have we investigated more about that? Because these are the students who are in danger of failing, and it greatly affects our graduation rate, and a lot of them – believe or not – really want to go to school. Is there any way that we can treat these students with transportation at the same level we treat the magnet schools? As it relates to getting their transportation system replicated?”
Before the meeting adjourned, Dunson agreed that all students deserve equal opportunity for transportation services, and he would work with the staff at the transportation department to investigate Frazier’s concern and provide an answer at the next board meeting on Aug. 15.
