LMSD Board Hears from LHS and Alternative School

The Louisville Municipal School District Board met on Tuesday evening in a regular scheduled meeting. In addition to normal business, the board was introduced to new P – 16 councilmembers and heard from Louisville High School principal Kyle Hammond and Ella Smith, the Director of the Louisville Alternative School about the state of their perspective schools and plans for improvements.

Monday night at Louisville High  School saw the formation of a community engagement Council also known as P – 16. P – 16 consists of community members from community organizations, parent teacher organization, students, school district personnel and community members at large who serve as a liaison between the Louisville Municipal School District and the community as a whole. Several committee members were in attendance at the school board meeting and were introduced to the board by Janice Hopkins. To find out more about P – 16, read our article here.

Kyle Hammond the principal at Louisville High School provided statistical data to the board concerning the school’s rating and the administration’s plans and efforts to improve the “ low performing”rating that the school received for 2011 – 2012. Hammond indicated that the school’s graduation rate dropped from 76.2% in the 2009 – 2010 school year to 60.5% in the 2011 – 2012 year. The school’s QDI rating also fell during this time. The principal also provided breakdowns of student performances on certain mandatory tests such as English II, Algebra 1, Biology and US History.

Hammond indicated that changes in the use of an On Line Academy used in the previous year to assist some students in meeting graduation requirements have since been implemented and should help to improve the school’s QDI score. He indicated several strategies were in place for remediation of students who are struggling. This included before and after school tutoring, alternate assessment tutoring, the use of an algebra one interventionist, MDE tutoring sessions and an English II boot camp for seniors. In a positive note, Hammond indicated that test scores for reading levels for those entering the ninth grade have improved significantly over the last five years. He indicated that he expected the school to be on target with recent testing indicating improved QDI scores.

The board also heard from Ella Smith who is the director of the Alternative School for the district. Smith noted that the Alternative School was an important tool in keeping kids in school. The legislature says that all districts must have some form of alternative school option. Children with problems in the classroom in keeping other kids from learning often find themselves in alternative schools. This includes in school suspensions as well. Smith indicated that most students were kept in alternative school for 30 to 45 days. She indicated that grades 6 through 12 followed an online curriculum and class work was provided for children from kindergarten to grade 5. In addition, Smith provided some additional information on the Fast Track Program that is being implemented to decrease the school dropout rate.

The board also heard from Penny Hill concerning Star Projections and provided some mid year data.

W. McCully