Florence School District 3 continues SACS accreditation pursuit

LAKE CITY — Florence School District 3 is continuing its pursuit of district-wide accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and its board of trustees learned Thursday where the district stands in the process.

Barbara Woodbury, the district’s senior director of curriculum and instruction, is administering the district-wide accredidation process. She said she is completing the Standards Assessment Report, an 80-page document that is due Oct. 1 and is a “quite detailed report.”

The district will have a SACS meeting from from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 30, she said.

The Quality Assurance Team will be in the district Dec. 5-8 and will begin its visit by interviewing Superintendent Beth M. Wright, district office staff members and board members.

Next, Woodbury said, the team will visit schools in the district and interview teachers, staff members and parents.

At the end of the visit, Woodbury said, a special called meeting of the district’s board will be held Dec. 8 to receive results determining whether the district has met requirements for the accreditation.

In March, Woodbury told the board that the district had completed a third of the steps in the accreditation process. The accreditation process includes nine steps, and the first three steps are applicant steps, which the district had completed. She said the district had formed a district accreditation team, which designated strengths, weaknesses and challenges.

Last year, Woodbury told the board that Florence County school districts 1 and 5, the Williamsburg County School District, and some Marion County districts already have achieved the internationally recognized accreditation.

Two of Florence School District 3’s eight schools, J.C. Lynch Elementary School and Lake City High School, already have the accreditation. The high school needs the distinction so that students will be eligible for certain college scholarships.

The board voted in February 2009 to seek district-wide SACS accreditation.

Also during Thursday’s meeting, board members learned of grants received in the district. Lake City Elementary School Principal Renee Kirby said her school received a $5,000 ABC grant, which enables the school to fund a artist-in-residence programs for students. Kirby said her school also received the Save The Children grant, which funds a literacy coach, five-week summer program and after school program. The grant is worth $93,000, and Kirby said she hopes her school will receive the grant for the next five years.

Don Navorska, the district’s food-service supervisor, said four schools in the district have received the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Grant. The $87,000 grant it allows Olanta Elementary School, J.C. Lynch Elementary School and Main Street Elementary School to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to students at times other than lunch.

Angelia Scott, principal of Main Street Elementary School, said her school has received an IMG Run for Something Better Grant worth $2,000.

In other business at Thursday’s meeting, principals gave summaries of their schools’ Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP. AYP is the key measure in determining whether a public school or school district is making “annual progress” toward the academic goals established by each state, according to No Child Left Behind Act.

Olanta Elementary School Principal Becky Hobbs said her school met all 13 objectives and that fourth-grade students had 93.9 percent and above of objectives met in math, while third-grade students were 58.5 percent exemplary in English/language arts.

Scranton Elementary School Principal Darlene Matthews said her school met all 17 objectives, but is continuing to reduce the existing gap between scores for white students and African-American students in English/language arts and math.

A link to each school’s AYP results can be found on Florence 3’s website, www.florence3.k12.sc.us. Click on the “Board of Trustees” link, then “Board Meeting Agenda.” Next, click on the Aug. 19 board agenda and then scroll down to “AYP Summary.”

Board members also discussed school fees on Thursday. At the end of the discussion, they decided to “break down” how school fees are used at a later date and then decide whether they want to vote on charging more or less in the coming years.

Senior Director of Student Services Yvonne Scott read a report on the recent back-to-school parent conference in the absence of Senior Director of Accountability Laura Hickson.

Scott said 190 parents signed in at the parent conference and that 13 vendors were present. Paula Morris, a district board member, was one of the speakers at the conference.

The fall Parent Academy will begin Oct. 11, Scott said.