MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION  MID YEAR REVIEW MINUTES February 22, 2024  The Montgomery County Board of Education convened ini its Mid-Year Review Session on' Thursday, February 22, 2024, at 6:00 pm at the Montgomery County Schools Central Office. Board members present were Steven W. DeBerry - Chair, Anne Evans Vice Chair, Tommy Blake, and Angela Smith. Lynn Epps, Cindy Taylor, and Bryan Dozier were not present. Staff members present included Dr. Dale Ellis, Wade. Auman, Dr. Emily Shaw, Dr. Jack Cagle,  Susanna Kornegay and Cindy Davis.  Chairman Steve DeBerry called the meeting to order and moved to adopt the agenda. Tommy Blake made the motion with Anne Evans seconding. The agenda was accepted with unanimous approval from the board. Chairman DeBerry turned the meeting over to  Superintendent Dr. Dale Ellis.  Superintendent Dr. Dale Ellis welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. We have kept the same format we do for the end ofy year review, and we want to continue to use that format. So much of our data is the same and after discussing it with the staff we are going to try tos streamline this process. You each have the complete list of strengths and weaknesses. We will highlight several ofthem, but our focus will be on the data that has changed since the end of year review. Our goal is to focus on what has happened during the first semester and where we see  things heading.  Wade Auman, Deputy Superintendent for Learning, gave a review of Globally Competitive Students which encompasses the graduation rate, College and Career Ready Proficiency, and Ready Expected Growth. Mr. Auman stated that the graduation rate is the first component of our goal and although our rate dropped slightly, we are still very strong and above the state and regional average. The second component of our goal is the Cohort Graduates and the number of CCP college credits that students earn. At mid-year our 2023-2024 numbers have almost met the 2022-2023 end ofyear total and we are anticipating they will exceed those totals. Our focus is for 95% of our graduates to each have at least one college credit sO that they will have the confidence needed to be successful ini the college environment. Our Biology, English II, and Math scores at mid-year show that we are on track to exceed the 2022-2023 school year due in part to the implementation of the innovative calendar. All our schools will meet or exceed growth for the 2023-2024 school year, and wel have met with each school regarding the implementation of the TSL grant which focuses on individual teacher growth as well as whole school growth. Wel have reached our 2025 Achievement Gap goal, but we continue to work on reducing that number. Opportunities for improvement include continued focus on student options, more diverse guest speakers, expanded offerings for student needs, and restorative  services/social circles.  Dr. Emily Shaw, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, gave an update on 215t Century Professionals, Healthy, and Responsible Students. This section includes goals for teacher satisfaction and attendance, beginning teacher retention, and Out of School (OSS) suspension rate. The teacher attendance at mid-year is 94%. As aj positive incentive we. have implemented quarterly recognitions for perfect attendance. Beginning teacher retention will not reach its goal by the end of the 2023-2024 school year. We are continuing to provide lots ofs staff    development for those teachers as well as providing help in understanding what iti is like to run: a classroom. Our data does show our retention numbers improve once a teacher reaches their third year. Our strengths include a full time BT coordinator, Homegrown Teacher program, support from administration, one on one mentors, and retention/sign on bonus. The number ofosS incidents at mid-year is 295: resulting in 841.64 days lost and 238 days saved. Dr. Jack Cagle, Associate Superintendent of Administrative Services updated the Board on grants. We have met and exceeded our goal to increase grant submissions by 2025. We have received the TSL grant worth $21M + $14M with extension, the CTE Perkins grant worth $4.4M +$ $2.8M with health science extension, and GearUP worth $3.5M. The Sandhills Mental Health grant may be a concern due to the merger of Sandhills with Eastpoint as we could possibly lose the $300,000 that we. have been receiving. We have drafted a letter to be sent to Trillium to address our concerns regarding thei importance oft this funding regarding our students' mental health. Opportunities fori improvement, clarification for TSL grant, continue sharing school level  grants/grant writing, and grants for SEL/mental health counselors.  Susanna Kornegay, Director of Marketing and Strategic Communication gave an update on digital instruction. We are moving away from Go Guardian and moving towards Gaggle to better monitor students while on their computers. Phishing emails have been aj problem and have been directed towards artists indicating that we are: requesting samples of their art and offering payment. As part of our insurance policy, we must periodically send out emails to test if individuals are clicking on the links provided in the scammers email. Some of our opportunities fori improvement include training in the use of Gaggle, Canva training/support, Phishing/security  training for all, and increase bandwidth.  Dr. Dale Ellis provided an update of21St Century Systems, which includes audit findings, goals, maintaining adequate fund balance, adequate technology, and adequate facilities. We continue tol have a strong fund balance due to strong money management leadership and culture in the district, grants and COVID: money, strong community support, and a strong budgeting process. With our current fund balance and grants that wel have received, we are better prepared for the "funding cliff" that will happen on September 30 due to the end oft the COVID funds. Concerning facilities, some oft the current projects are the East Middle and West Middle gyms HVAC system installation, HVAC system update for the bus garage, and we will begin accepting bids on the security vestibules for Page Street Elementary, Candor Elementary, and East Middle on March 12. We will present those bids, for approval, to the Board at the April board meeting. Also, due to E-Rates funds all our network and Wi-Fi equipment will be fully replaced next year. Dr. Ellis stated that Director of Community and Outreach for the USDOE, Jill Cunningham, toured our CTE Center. He stated that she was very impressed with our facility. She has also invited Mr. Auman and I to speak at a webinar, to a group from around the country, regarding  the great things we are doing here in Montgomery County.  After a question and answer session, Chairman DeBerry asked for ai motion to adjourn the meeting. Tommy Blake made the motion with Anne Evans seconding. The meeting was duly  adjourned.  Thenexy regular meeting will be held Monday, March 4, 2024, at 6:30 pm at the  Montgopery Cjunty Central Qffice. LA  Dehls Dale Ellis, Ed. D., Secretary