Four Graduate from Adult High School

June 15, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Susan Hinton, Adult High School Program Supervisor/Instructor, presented in written form her annual report to the Board of Education and the Director of Schools Thursday night. She was unable to attend the meeting.

In the report, Hinton said eleven students are currently enrolled in the program and there were four graduates during the 2018-19 school year . Sixteen classes have been completed by the students who are attending on a regular basis. These subjects count toward completion of a diploma.

“We have had a very good year with a total of three students graduating with a high school diploma and one student graduating who came for tutoring and entered the GED/Hi Set program upon leaving. These students may seem small in number, but with the ever increasing amount of classes it takes to complete a high school diploma, taking one-two classes at a time is very difficult,” said Hinton.

“One of these students is pursuing a career as an RN and is making A’s and B’s and so excited to come back and share her accomplishment in the academic world. I know this student will make a great nurse,” Hinton continued.

“One student who is graduating plans on coming back to be in our school system as a substitute teacher while she pursues an early childhood degree”.

“Another student plans on getting an education degree and wants to work in the Head Start Program in our county,” said Hinton.

“It is a pleasure to make some small contribution back to our county public school system. I want to thank each and every one of you for this opportunity”.

Hinton said she also asks the participants each year to write an essay about the program at the end of each school year to let them tell others about this opportunity to better themselves in a world that is changing so rapidly and needs an educated work force to handle the demands of society.

In one of the essays, a student, who is a wife and mother of two wrote that “the program has been a life saver for me as I dropped out of school to have a family several years ago. I realized too late that it might not have been the best decision I could have made so I decided to come back and get my diploma now-better late than never”.

“For many students, it may seem like nothing but a piece of paper, but to me getting my diploma means everything”.

“Going through life without a diploma has been very difficult. I have experienced low self esteem, depression, and a lack of confidence all because of the fact that I lacked an education and had no diploma. I am honored and blessed to be able to have this opportunity to finish my secondary education”.

“I plan on working for the local school system when I finish as a substitute or aide, and I may even go to college. I am forever grateful to the DeKalb County School System for providing me this opportunity”.

June 14, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Fourth and fifth grade summer school students at Northside Elementary School presented “Ayanna the Brave” Friday afternoon for the public.

M2U03003 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

The play was based on civil rights activist Ayanna Najuma. In 1958, seven-year-old Ayanna joined many other kids her age and older in the Oklahoma City sit-ins to protest segregation. Ayanna and her friends continued participating in sit-ins around Oklahoma City for six years, and finally in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, making segregation illegal.

The play was directed by Teacher Alisha Day and Kristy Lasser.

Meanwhile second and third graders at the school performed in a reader’s theater play based on the book “The Gruffalo”

M2U03002 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

“The book is about a creature that some of the animals in the story aren’t sure really exists but they find out as the story goes along that the Gruffalo does exist,” said Beth Pafford, Assistant Principal at Northside Elementary.

Pafford said the plays have become an annual summer school event that help students with their reading skills as well as their listening, speaking, vocabulary comprehension, and self confidence.

“As part of our summer school program each year our students work to put on a performance for their families and we do that because we believe and studies show that it promotes development of reading skills and speaks directly to the students’ social studies skills . It also gets the families involved in reading with their kids and sharing that experience which is very important,” said Pafford.

“We appreciate everyone who has helped make this possible and to make summer school such a rewarding and rich experience for our students every year,” Pafford concluded.

June 14, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Eleven teachers have been granted tenure by the Board of Education.

During Thursday night’s monthly meeting, Director of Schools Patrick Cripps presented the names of January Agee, Danny Fish, Teresa Sullivan, Suzette Barnes, Kelly Huling, Natasha Vaughn, Whitney Brelije, Kristen Malone, Sara Young, Brittney Dixon, Nadina Martel requesting they be granted tenure.

“These teachers have successfully completed the probationary period of five years and received evaluations demonstrating an overall performance effectiveness level of above or significantly above expectations as required for tenure. It is my recommendation that these teachers be granted tenure,” said Director Cripps.

Meanwhile the following personnel have resigned:

Thomas Blumette, resigned as Special Education Teacher at DCHS

Sara Halliburton, resigned as Teacher at DCHS

Mike Lewis, resigned as Afterschool Programs Director

Laura Martinez, resigned as an English as a Second Language Teacher (ESL) at Smithville Elementary School

Holly Mooney, resigned as Interpreter at DeKalb Middle School

Penny Smitty, resigned as Teacher at DeKalb Middle School

Chris Young, resigned as Teacher at DeKalb Middle School