By: Bethany Stephens
The Board of Education met this Monday for their monthly session where they heard from Sarah McCabe Smith and Amy Shumacher, both Exceptional Children Teachers at West Bladen, regarding The Canine Companions for Independence program and their dog, Jester, that works with many West Bladen students. In conjunction with the program and a grant, Smith takes care of Jester, a Labrador Retriever that has been trained to work with children with exceptional needs. Jester and other puppies in the program are raised as puppies until they are 8 weeks old, and, for the following 13-18 months, volunteers work with the puppies training them in basic obedience training and socialization skills. The dogs then train six to nine months with professional Canine Companions instructors learning over 40 specialized commands before completing team training where they are matched with a person. Among the many skills the dogs learn, they help assist people with disabilities with various daily tasks such as alerting the deaf and hard of hearing of important sounds (such as phones, timers, smoke alarms, and the like), retrieve items that the person may not be capable of reaching, open doors, and provide companionship. The dogs go on to become service dogs, hearing dogs, facility dogs (such as Jester that works with a professional such as Smith in an educational or healthcare setting), and skilled companions to children and adults with physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities. Additionally, as Shumacher explained, the dogs help the children and adults they work with have a connection with other people and help encourage and motivate them. Grayson White, a student that works with Jester, and Jester demonstrated how Jester writes (with a pen in his mouth) which encourages students that have problems with writing to be able to write themselves. Jester was very sweet and friendly and spends his nights with Smith and her family and is a welcome addition to West Bladen.
Following Shumacher’s and Smith’s presentation, the board proceeded to recognize the county’s Teacher Assistants of the Year for the 2014-15 school year. The following teachers were awarded this honor: Michelle Melvin of Bladen Lakes Primary, Rochelle Andrew of Bladenboro Primary, Alfreda Bryant of Booker T. Washington Primary, Kathi Ward of Dublin Primary, Kathleen McKoy of Elizabethtown Middle, Ruth Harrelson of Elizabethtown Primary, and Jennifer McMillan of Plain View Primary (who also is serving as the county-wide Teacher Assistant of the Year). Amy Clark, a teacher assistant from Dublin Primary, was recognized for becoming runner-up for the District 4 Teacher Assistant of the Year.
Additionally, William Johnston, an assistant at Booker T. Washington Primary, has been elected to serve as the 2015-2016 State President of the North Carolina Association of Teacher Assistants.
In the county’s recently held Elementary Schools Battle of the Books Competition, students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades competed in teams answering questions about eight books that they have been reading since the beginning of the year. Dublin Primary’s team won the competition this year, and the team’s members are as follows: Ian Hursey, Madilyn Brisson, Jose Cuc-Reyes, Angie Garrido, Sydney Gryczynski, Hunter Guyton, Sedarius Johnson, Isabel Musselwhite, Gabriel Inestroza Lara, and Trinity Hearn. The team is coached by Dublin Primary’s Media Coordinator, Whitney Kinlaw, and third grade teacher, Julie Sasser.
Tracy Miller, an Exceptional Children Teacher at Bladenboro Primary, was selected as the 2015 National SPIRE Teacher of Excellence – a honor given to a teacher that has helped students improve in their reading proficiency and that has used SPIRE as part of their teaching strategy. Dublin Primary’s 2nd grade and their teacher Penny Guyton are the number one team and math classroom in the state. Sam Smith, a student of Guyton’s, was also recognized as the number one placing 2nd grade math student in the state of North Carolina.
Lindsay Anderson, Mobile Recruitment Coordinator, and April Maroschak, Blood Services Director, presented West Bladen High School a check for $1000 for coming in first place in blood donations at their school’s blood drive, and East Bladen High School was presented a $500 check for coming in second at their own blood drive.
Several West Bladen High School students won top honors at the state HOSA Conference. Erin Davis, Tatianna Sturgis, Margarita Gaitan, Quinton Edwards, Rachel Bryan, Brianna Nance, and Jenna Floyd all won various competitions at the event. Quinton Edwards as served as the District 4 HOSA Secretary as well as West Bladen’s HOSA President, and Peyton Fisher served as West Bladen’s HOSA Secretary.
Gabriel White, a West Bladen student, earned third place in Metal Sculpture at the State SKILLS USA State Conference, and Diana Nino, another West Bladen student, earned fifth place in Customer Service at the conference.
NASA Astronaut Colonel Curtis Brown, Jr., a native of Bladen County, presented a $2500 scholarship to Abby Norris, an East Bladen student, via FaceTime at the meeting. Brown and his wife Mary award a Bladen County High School senior that is pursuing a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math Degree from a four-year university the Curtis L. Brown Scholarship annually.
Attendance awards were presented to three schools for attendance during the month of May. East Arcadia School won in both the Elementary School and Middle School Divisions, and West Bladen won in the High School Division.
Before going into a lengthy closed session, the board heard from Donell Goins, a counselor at East Bladen High School. Goins encouraged the board to support students at all levels and outlined several problems that he had seen within the schools due to different students being held to different standards and ways that he felt like the schools’ faculties could better serve the students via teamwork and better morale. Following Goins’ address, the board went into their closed session.
Upon reconvening, the board received a financial summary, information concerning a UNC-W Marine Quest Grant that the county has been granted, and information concerning a website that teachers can register to access that will send out flyers electronically to the parents. A new website vendor (for classroom pages and the like) was discussed as well as logistics surrounding Drivers Education classes across the county. The board was originally planning on discussing School Consolidation and Construction at the meeting but removed the discussion from the night’s agenda. Briefly, the board and Dr. Robert Taylor, Superintendent, discussed possible relinquishing ownership of the School of Extended Hope and its gymnasium to the Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy.
Personnel Action Items, five budget amendments, and a Continuation Budget (which will allow the county to operate until state and federal allocations come in) were all approved. Two Automobile-Inland Renewal Invoices were approved as a unit as well as several fundraiser requests and three overnight field trip requests. A lease agreement pertaining to the county’s 1:1 Laptop Initiative, a Vocational Rehabilitation Contract, and Child Nutrition Bids were all approved. The High School Course Directory, Bladen Lakes’ School Advisory Council, and 2015-16 Board Meeting dates were all approved as well. The board also approved the Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy’s request to use the School of Extended Hope’s Facility for the 2015-16 school year.
Dr. Taylor, Superintendent, discussed scheduling issues, a budget closeout meeting that will take place June 25th at 5 o’clock, and a board retreat that will take place July 7th at 3 o‘clock. Upcoming graduation dates at both of the high schools were announced, and signing bonuses (to be funded with Title 2 funding) and a $300,000 Golden Leaf Grant that the county will most likely be awarded were also mentioned. Lastly, Anthony Hinson, Testing Coordinator, gave an update on testing that is currently taking place, and Hinson spoke positively concerning student participation and the preliminary scores that have come in so far.
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