PARSONS – Two of the three Tucker County School Principals updated Tucker County Board of Education members about their school’s academic progress during Tuesday BOE meeting. Tucker County High School Principal Jay Hamric said principals must look at qualitative and quantitative aspects to see how the school is performing.
“We meet nearly daily, and you can get the mood of the staff right there,” Hamric said. “Our staff morale is high. It is going as good as ever in any of the five years I have been at the school.”
Hamric said the school culture is high and discipline rates remain low.
“To get a better feel and a better picture of where we are is through unannounced observations,” Hamric said. “That is where the principal comes in and sits down and observes the classroom for 45 minutes and just watches what goes on.”
Hamric said he follows a student through their schedule unannounced to get a student’s perspective on the classroom. “It allows me and reminds me what it is like to be learning from 8:15 a.m. until 3:15. From those unannounced observations I can tell you, if I were a student who wanted to learn, I would learn an immense amount of knowledge every single day at Tucker County High School.”
Hamric said the instructors are well-prepared, well-organized with planned activities and they are engaging. “That makes me feel good.”
He said there is a great emphasis on using the information the students are reading and applying learning to life.
“The kids and parents complain the most about math,” Hamric said. “I think there is a gap between what the students know and what they are learning and they are being pushed to learn. I am worried because I think we will be losing two math instructors at the end of the year, but Dr. Campbell and I are working on that.”
Hamric said students in science classes need more lab and field experiences.
“There are a lot of reasons we don’t have that – it’s time and funding,” Hamric said. “I do see a lot of lecture and book work. We are trying to partner with the Mountain Institute in the spring and bring in more experience with them. We are looking for grants to work with CVI. The teachers are excited about this.”
Hamric said the CTE guys are amazing.
“Every day the guys are in the shops working and doing performance related activities,” Hamric said. “The programs are thriving. We get statewide awards nonstop.”
Hamric said he plans to meet with ninth-grade students to find out what classes they feel they are being challenged in and what they feel is going well and what is not going well.
Board President Janet Preston said she heard Tucker County High School had the strongest math scores in the state on something.
“I think our current seniors had the highest math test scores on the WESTEST this year.”
Superintendent Dr. Eddie Campbell said that information was shared at a Superintendents Conference. “Our junior class last year that took the test scored highest in the state. Our ninth-graders were number five in the state and our 10th graders were in the top half.”
Hamric said he thinks block scheduling would help with engagement levels.
“We need more time in each class period,” Hamric said. “We are seriously looking at a block schedule. I know everyone has different perspectives on this. It would enable us to have more time in each class period so students could get into the critical thinking tasks we will be assessed on. Teachers usually enjoy it. It is something we are looking at.”
Alicia Lambert, Principal at Davis Thomas Elementary/Middle School said the main focus at the school is focus on student learning and student engagement as recommended by OEPA, especially for the middle school.
“I have been working with my mentors, Scott and Melissa Lampinen, through RESA 7,” Lambert said. “They are going to come in and do an IPI visit, much like the walk-throughs Jay Hamric does with his classrooms. They will look at the engagement level and the depth of knowledge that the teachers are delivering to the students.”
Lambert said the middle school classes are still very paper-driven.
“It is mostly textbook, lecture, notes and do the vocabulary words,” Lambert said. “Teachers know that is not the best way for students to learn and we are trying to address that. We are looking for people to come in and model what an appropriate teacher led classroom in a middle school classroom would look like.”
Lambert said the two sections of reading and math every day is paying off.
“We are statistically in the past with 48 percent of the students below grade level, but now less than 15 students in grades one through four are below grade level,” Lambert said. “Students were tested prior on how many words they read rather than their reading comprehension.”
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, Paul Wamsley Jr. from the St. George Medical Clinic talked about progress with the proposed school clinic at Tucker Valley Elementary/Middle School. Wamsley said a needs assessment would need to be repeated since the original plan was for a clinic at each of the three Tucker County Schools.
Tucker County BOE President asked to see a copy of the old needs assessment and Board Member Tim Turner asked the matter be placed on the next BOE agenda. Superintendent Dr. Eddie Campbell said he would place the matter under new business for the first meeting in March.
The next meeting of the Tucker County Board of Education is slated for 4:30 p.m. March 2 at the Tucker County Board of Education.
