The latest from ChalkTalk

July 27, 2008

By Jim Cook

Deadline approaching for Northview ads
The deadline for placing a business ad in the 2008 NHS Football Program is Friday, August 1st. Please contact Susan Henderson at 794-1410 ext 268 or for more information.

Local school board members honored
Twenty-one southeast Alabama school board members are among 254 board members statewide being honored this month for advancing to a new level in the Alabama Association of School Boards’ School Board Member Academy. They will be recognized during AASB’s annual Summer Conference in Orange Beach July 29-31.
The education leaders are being honored for their efforts to improve their boardmanship skills, increase their understanding of education issues and heighten their leadership skills by participating in the Academy. 
The Academy, an ongoing “school for school board members” founded in 1986, has four achievement levels based on the number of credit hours board members earn by attending conferences and workshops in eight key areas: roles and responsibilities; policy and planning; financial accountability; the optimal learning environment; academic achievement; staff development; board meetings and school law; and community engagement. Board members who complete the Academy’s four levels and continue their commitment to training can earn the distinction Master School Board Member. AASB’s academy year runs from July 1 to June 30.

The 21 board members are from AASB’s District 3, which comprises the Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Pike county school boards, and the Andalusia, Daleville, Dothan, Elba, Enterprise, Eufaula, Geneva, Opp, Ozark and Troy city school boards. 

Below are the local members and the levels they achieved:

Level I (Requires 25 training hours)
Terry Averett, Enterprise
Jean Bush, Henry County
Level II (Requires 50 training hours)
Braxton Bell, Dale County
Russell Quattlebaum, Enterprise
Levels I & II
Johnny Buchanan, Daleville
Martha Windham, Geneva County
Level III (Requires 75 training hours)
Samuel Revels, Geneva County
James L. Sparks, Enterprise
Gayla White, Dothan
Levels II & III
Cynthia Covington, Enterprise
Level IV (Requires 100 training hours, including all eight core curriculum courses)
Morris Armstrong, Ozark
Master Level (Requires 15 training hours, including one core curriculum course)
Larry Eddins, Coffee County, first year
Al Danner, Geneva City, second year
The year’s Academy training courses covered such topics as fiscal accountability, school climate, student achievement, wellness, communication, vision/planning, technology and decision-making. 
The Alabama Association of School Boards represents all of the state’s local school boards. Founded in 1949, AASB serves education leaders and the interests of local lay control of public education and provides members with a wide array of services, including boardmanship training seminars, insurance programs, information services and policy research.

Yes We Can! Dothan holds events
This week Yes We Can! Dothan held four community conversations with over 80 citizens participating in the meetings. The meetings were held at Selma Baptist Church, Covenant United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, and Ridgecrest Baptist Church. During our conversations, participants were asked to share their thoughts and feelings about the Dothan community and the Dothan City Schools. When asked to share their desires for the kind of community they want to have in Dothan, participants responded with ideas such as low crime rate, more industry, better jobs and a supportive community. Participants were then asked what the schools needed to have to get us to the kind of community we want. Some ideas included business partnerships with schools, more technology in the schools, respect among students and teachers and high quality teachers and administrators.
The community conversations lasted approximately one hour and the information provided during the meetings will be used to form the community agreement. Many more meetings are to come so please contact Virginia Christian at (334) 836-0217 ext 109 to find out more. We want to hear from everyone and collect the voice of Dothan citizens.

Dothan resident to attend Rochester Institute of Technology
Daniel Stone, son of Marie and John Stone of Dothan, has enrolled for fall 2008 admission at Rochester Insititute of Technology. Stone, a recipient of a RIT Presidential Scholarship, will major in game design and development in RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.

Houston County Board of Education Meeting
Thursday, July 31
5:30 p.m.
404 W. Washington Street

1. Approve agenda
2. Approve student transfers
3. Personnel
4. Other business
A. Presentation by Matt Parker regarding building program finance.
B. Presentation by Donnie Brashelle for construction management.