Superintendent Delivers Comprehensive 2015-16 School Year Review for School Board

Benchmarks. Assessments. Reviews.

All of these are utilized for the purpose of evaluating performance.

And in the Aiken County Public School District, performance is everything. As the emerging premier school district in South Carolina, performance is what will continue to set our district apart from others.

ALL MEANS ALL has been a popular and prolific refrain from the earliest days of Superintendent Dr. Sean Alford’s tenure, and expectations for ALL District personnel remain consistent – nothing less than the best will do. During Tuesday evening’s regular meeting of the Aiken County Board of Education, Dr. Alford provided a comprehensive look at the many areas of accomplishment attained during the 2015-16 school year and brought alongside current initiatives.

The superintendent’s upcoming evaluation in November will be centered around his performance related to a number of goals and focus areas approved by board members in December of 2015. These initiatives included 28 recommendations made following the superintendent’s entry into the school district, and were designed for the District’s immediate path forward, along with five areas of focus as determined and approved by board members.

An update on the 28 recommendations, all of which have been completed prior to Tuesday’s meeting save one which is still being explored, was released in June.

“Additional expectations for me, as your superintendent, extend beyond those initial recommendations to encompass areas of concentration that will propel our District that much farther along the pathway to premier,” stated Dr. Alford. “I would like to thank my Leadership Team, all of whom are here with me tonight, for their dedicated support of these goals.”

Great strides have been made in each of these focus areas. Following is a more detailed look at individual performance marks achieved within each of the five areas of concentration.

FOCUS AREA ONE – ENHANCING THE INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

The June hiring of an exemplary Chief Officer of Instruction in Dr. DeeDee Washington, of Greenville, a distinguished educator with 14 years of experience, was key.
A restructuring of the ACPSD Gifted & Talented (GT) program to align with our philosophy that students with high academic potential should engage in challenging curriculum and have the opportunity for accelerated learning, regardless of state gifted and talented identification. The District also transitioned to a special class model to ensure greater depth and acceleration across the curriculum.
Students in Kindergarten through fifth grade had the opportunity in Summer 2016 to accelerate their individual learning to grade level and beyond by engaging in a web-based virtual enrichment opportunity using any device from anywhere with internet access through Aiken County’s Summer Enrichment Opportunity through Compass Pathblazer.
The development of our District’s guaranteed and viable curriculum, a curriculum that’s teacher driven and supported. More than 500 teachers have contributed to the curriculum writing process, earning a stipend and supporting a common understanding of South Carolina College and Career Readiness standards.
Curriculum support personnel have been re-organized to be grade-specific. With the increase in educators dedicated to this purpose, from 6 curriculum specialists to 17 content interventionists, we are able to have a more focused effort on coaching and intervention.
High-achieving 5th and 6th grade students were invited to accelerate their math coursework through virtual offerings of Pre-Algebra and Algebra I. We now have 261 students in Pre-Algebra as sixth graders and 176 seventh graders taking Algebra I.

In an effort to expand world language opportunities to all students, collaborative efforts to share Spanish, French and German teachers are in place at our middle schools. High school language teachers are also serving middle school students in many schools.
Through the implementation of DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAMS (Waterford, Read 180 & System 44), purposefully designed for individualized instruction, each student has interventions automatically targeted to his or her specific needs.
To insure better informed decisions when creating Individual Graduation Plans for all 8^th grade students, all 6^th and 7^th grade students in Aiken County Public Schools now work with parents/guardians and school guidance and/or career specialist personnel to develop an Individual Learning Plan. This process includes a career inventory and a virtual shadowing opportunity as well as information on academic and extra-curricular opportunities and how to access additional help, if needed. The team also discusses topics such as career exploration, middle school course offerings, and the impact of middle school performance on future college scholarships.
A REGISTRATION TIMELINE was developed for middle and high schools to streamline planning and provide the best possible support to students to facilitate their individual graduation plans. Our guidance counselors, teachers, principals and District administrators are ensuring the preparedness of each Aiken County Public Schools graduate with by accounting for each and every student. Staffing will now be determined by student course requests, rather than projected enrollments.

FOCUS AREA TWO – COMMUNICATING WITH CLARITY, CONSISTENCY AND A COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT

Parent, Student and Teacher Superintendent Advisory Councils were established, with representatives from each of Aiken County’s 42 schools. These meetings have been engaging for our leadership team as we’ve opened communication lines with these key stakeholder representatives.

IN JANUARY, the District recruited and hired a Communications Coordinator, a long-time journalist, to assist in the community-wide messaging and expand our reach through increased social media, where followers have increased alongside shares, page views on both our District’s platforms and the superintendent’s own Twitter Feed, @AlfordOnTheGo.
Alford has also penned a four-part editorial series titled “All Means All.” This quarterly column has appeared in both the Aiken Standard and Augusta Chronicle spanning a range of topics from educating struggling students, to meeting the needs of non-English speaking students and children of poverty. All with the underlying premise of our mission to serve the individual needs of all students and to challenge each to excel to their full academic potential.
The District expanded the Employee Recognition program with a celebration of classified staff for “Giving Even More,” through the establishment of our GEM award and recognition of non-teachers, including custodians, secretaries, aides, and many others who contribute positively to the education of our students.
The District also unveiled a new logo. The logo is a traditional, scholastic-themed design. It incorporates a book and the eternal flame of education signifying the District’s never-ending passion for learning and a continued dedication to our students. The use of a single image indicates a sense of unity and the utilization of the color green is a nod to our heritage.
The new logo was quickly followed by the District-wide roll out of a new website platform. The new site, net, went live in early July offering stakeholders a more user-friendly new domain address and updated platform in the District’s next move toward the implementation of a fresh, modern and more professional brand. This website is visually engaging and encourages community input and involvement through a “speak up” mechanism.
In collaboration with Public Education Partners, Aiken Regional Medical Centers and Aiken County Retired Educators, Cheer for Children Reading Library and Aiken County First Steps, we launched the Baby’s First Teacher Early Literacy Initiative. As of September, our retired teachers have visited 458 new mothers and presented them with tote bags containing books, toys and literature on the importance of reading to their newborns, as well as resources and advice on how best to hone early learning skills with their new babies.

Principals meetings now begin with a 1-hour meeting with just the Superintendent and our school-level administrators. This time alone with our building administrators has increased trust and allowed open conversation.
Regular emails to staff members have connected all employees to administrative and board decisions and invited them to share in moments to celebrate and support student success. Additionally, letters home to parents from the superintendent have provided an additional avenue to open lines of communication with Aiken County families.
In preparation to welcome, encourage, and challenge the 25,000 students that would join us for the upcoming school year, each and every employee of our school District, 3,350 in number, attended the ONETEAM event on August 11, 2016.
We hosted a T3 luncheon for the Top Ten Taxpayers of Aiken County this August, informing our top business contributors on how their financial support is stretched to better our schools.
In Collaboration with the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce, we organized a Manufacturing Day tour in June 2016 to assist School Counselors in understanding workforce needs. Later this summer, senior staff members supported local manufacturer ASCO with a relocation effort, meeting with ASCO families considering moving from Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, to Aiken.

FOCUS AREA THREE – COMPLIANCE WITH MISSION, BELIEFS & BOARD POLICIES

A strategic planning and visioning process brought together District administrators and staff, principals, teachers and community members together as we outlined and planned future initiatives and projects scheduled for completion now through 2021. With this plan, we revised our district mission, vision and beliefs and earned board support for these alterations in mid-July.

A Student Code of Conduct Steering Committee conducted a comprehensive community review of the District’s Code of Conduct during the 2015-16 academic year. Incorporating community members, parents, educational leaders and teachers from elementary, middle and high schools and District Office professionals, the committee developed a comprehensive student code of conduct by grade level that shares the values of the school district and community at large.
THE staffing allocation process was revised last year, now requiring all teacher allocation to be utilized for that specific purpose and returning all educators to our classrooms.
Clerical staff at our District office has been REDUCED BY 20 PERCENT. Impacted employees were repurposed to add five clerical positions at schools.
A committee of school leaders worked to establish consistent student fees across all schools.
The District has undergone a comprehensive review of board policies to ensure their alignment with current practices and that all policies allow us to create the best possible working environment for staff while maximizing taxpayer dollars for the benefit of all students. These revisions include but are not limited to the accrual of vacation for 12-month employees, holiday leave, and overtime pay. An aggressive revision timeline has been developed, allowing the immediate, urgent revision of time sensitive policies followed by those of a less timely nature.
In January, we hosted the first-ever Leaders in Literacy Conference, a full-day of professional learning for all teachers focused exclusively on literacy. Well-renowned education experts throughout the nation, including our own classroom teachers, shared with us their craft. The conference would not have been possible without the hard work of the planning committee, ACPSD educators’ willingness to lead sessions and partnership and financial support of area businesses, which enabled us to provide lunch to all teachers.
The District established a leadership DEVELOPMENT academy for Assistant Principals to train for future leadership roles. The 18-month experience will provide professional growth and leadership development with a focus on instructional leadership, education law and legal protocols, operational management, finance, communication, and student achievement.

An additional Leadership Institute commenced on September 29, 2016, with 24 Principals and district leaders who will meet monthly during the 2016-17 academic year with Chief Officer of Instruction Dr. DeeDee Washington. Topics will include Student-Centered Learning, Culture, Personality and Leadership Styles, Professional Learning Communities, Curriculum and Instruction, Assessment, Data-driven Decision Making, Distributed Leadership, Instructional Leadership and Managing Change.
Through a partnership with the National Math + Science Initiative and generous support of local supporters, we’ve established Advanced Placement Academies at North Augusta and South Aiken High Schools. As part of the Accelerated Learning Initiatives at these two schools, 45 educators received training over the summer from the nation’s most renowned educator experts in Math and Science advanced coursework.
We will challenge every employee of the district to enhance their “toolbox” through self-selected professional development.

FOCUS AREA FOUR – EFFICIENTLY MANAGE OPERATIONS AND DISTRICT FUNCTIONS

Clear and collaborative oversight of Capital Improvements Projects is an important aspect of maintaining stakeholder trust in their additional investment in Aiken’s public schools.
In partnership with the One-Cent Sales Tax Oversight Committee, our district, celebrated the anniversary of the November 2014 vote in favor of a One-Cent tax in support of Aiken County’s schools with a community update and celebration meeting. Live, virtual meetings were held in all areas of our large district on November 5, 2015. We look forward to hosting this annual event and updating our community on the projects, revenue received to date and answering their questions.
In partnership with the cities of Aiken and North Augusta, sales tax updates were included in water bills to 31,000 residents in April/May of 2015.

As a result of information presented to bond rating agencies including historical and prospective financial data, the District received an upgrade in its bond rating. Standard & Poor’s Rating Service raised the credit rating for Aiken County Public Schools’ General Obligation Debt one notch. The upgraded rating, FROM AA- to AA, reflects the rating service’s view of overall stable district finances and will decrease the interest rate for General Obligation bonds, the District’s borrowing mechanism for capital improvements, including those made possible by voter support of the Educational Capital Improvements Sales & Use Tax in November 2014.
To maximize the utilization of full-time employees, standardize service levels and ease the responsibilities for Principals in the areas of maintenance, custodial and landscaping, our staff has been repurposed and reallocated to enhance the delivery of those services. No longer are our schools responsible for their own curb appeal; our District is managing the delivery of landscape services FOR ALL SCHOOLS. Additionally, we established and executed a district-wide custodial training program and are proud to be the first K-12 school system in the state and only second nationally to be certified as master cleaners. Our custodial program is designed to reduce absenteeism, improve the look and cleanliness of facilities, enhance indoor air quality and create safer, cleaner learning environments for our students and staff.
The diligent and detailed planning work of our facilities construction department has resulted in increased productivity in operations. With consistent oversight of facility and landscaping improvements, projects are consistently being completed on-time and under-budget.
We’ve automated our flyer distribution system through a partnership with Peachjar, the industry leader in Electronic Flyer Distribution Systems. Now, our schools and teachers are no longer burdened with the extra duty of placing paper flyers in students’ backpacks. The new system offers free posting of visually engaging flyers to our District, schools, school support organizations and community groups offering a free event/service for students and families. students receive paper flyers.
In addition to upgrades to athletic facilities, the sale of an unused parcel of land located on school district property adjacent to Aiken Elementary School was sold, funding landscape packages and irrigation at 24 school sites.

An effective partnership among the City of Aiken, Aiken County and our school district in which mutually-beneficial sale of properties, including the sale of 5.5 acres of District property near Eustis Park to the City of Aiken, and the county’s sale to us of a 16-acre lot and the former Teledyne Building to the District granted our District some much-needed space for expansion, as the square footage of the building has allowed for the centralized relocation of several departments and approximately 100 employees.
In March, County Schools hosted its largest recruitment fair of the year at Midland Valley High School, more than 100 educators were welcomed to Aiken County and interviewed for our 2016-17 vacancies. With the promise of on-site interviews from school administrators, newly-redesigned marketing material and event promotions that included print, web, radio and television Public Service Announcements, Aiken County was the main attraction for new teachers on March 12. Recruitment Fairs were also held this year for Transportation, and School Food Service.
Aiken County Public Schools automated our Employment Application process. The move has made it easier for interested candidates to apply for positions and track their own progress throughout the hiring and onboarding process. AppliTrack, our completely electronic application system, was implemented June 1, 2016 and received more than 200 new applicants for teaching positions on its first day live.
We have established and utilized an executive leadership evaluation process that fosters self-reflection and professional growth in the areas of vision, leadership, planning, and community relations, among other leadership areas.
In order to meet the needs of our students and our community, and to provide the best education possible, the District must retain and recruit highly-qualified teachers and competent support staff. To support that desire, a Salary Study was conducted and a Subcommittee assembled.
The subcommittee worked to revise current salary schedules and create a new methodology for assigning service credit. The revised salary schedules are simple to use and offer competitive compensation that is desirable to current and prospective employees.

The District previously maintained and accounted for local (i.e. school level) funds by area. This structure changed for 2016-17 to better align with levels (elementary, middle, and high). In doing so, banking activities became centralized at the District Office (areas no longer had bank accounts). This RESTRUCTURING OF DISTRICT’s FINANACIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FROM AREA CONCEPTS TO GRADE-LEVEL SUPERVISION resulted in hard savings as the District was able to reduce the number of "area" bookkeepers from 4.6 to 2.0 "level" bookkeepers.

FOCUS AREA FIVE – ACHIEVE OR SURPASS AN 88.5 PERCENT GRADUATION RATE BY 2018

“Information related to our fifth focus area regarding our graduation rate,” Dr. Alford commented. “has been finalized by the State Department of Education, but remains under embargo until late November.”

“Dr. Alford, thank you on behalf of the board,” commented Board Chair Mrs. Rosemary English following the superintendent’s presentation. “We have made wonderful progress. We are so impressed by you and your cabinet and we remain impressed with the amount of work you and your staff were able to accomplish this past year. I have heard nothing but buzzing, people stop me everywhere and talk about all the great things that are happening.”

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