Message from the Chairman

Message from the Chairman - November 2011

Dear Mathews,

We’ve nearly covered the first quarter of the school year. Our new employees have settled in and are finding Mathews to be a fine place to teach and work. We hope that our parents and guardians are pleased with the educational services and safety of their students at our schools. And, we hope our students find themselves on top of their studies as the end of the first grading period approaches, and that they are enjoying their school year (admittedly, “enjoying” may be too strong of a word for some of our older students).

Your Mathews County School Board would like to bring you up to speed on recent school business.

In September, we received reports from Assistant Superintendent Nancy Welch regarding the recent staff development training. The Technology Department held in-house training for our staff on use of the new Google Mail and Calendar systems, use of SmartBoards, and other technology applications used in the school division. Also heard was the Gifted Education Professional Development Plan for 2011-12 from Gifted Education Coordinator Lesley Hunley. The Special Education Department is collaborating with The College of William and Mary for professional development opportunities for its staff. Additional in-house training was held at all three schools for teachers and other employees. Here you see several examples of how professional development training is led by our employees for our employees and on-site to reduce the cost of training conferences, travel, and lodging.

In the area of Career and Technical Education, we heard reports from Mr. Whitcomb regarding Career Day for students, joint efforts to purchase additional SmartBoards, and several other accomplishments. Mr. Kincade reported that members of our community had donated over $12,000 of equipment to the Building Trades classes. We thank the community once again for their impressive philanthropy!

In the area of Career and Technical Education, we heard reports from Mr. Whitcomb regarding Career Day for students, joint efforts to purchase additional SmartBoards, and several other accomplishments. Mr. Kincade reported that members of our community had donated over $12,000 of equipment to the Building Trades classes. We thank the community once again for their impressive philanthropy! Superintendent David Holleran reported that current school enrollment is at 1,180 students. The State calls that Average Daily Membership, or ADM, and it is a figure used by the State to determine how much funding it will provide to Mathews County Public Schools. Our current budget was estimated using an ADM of 1,185 students.

In action taken at the regular October meeting, your School Board would like to thank the Mathews Board of Supervisors for recognizing the efforts of our employees to assist the community during the occurrence and recovery from Hurricane Irene back in August. Thomas Hunter Middle School serves as the County’s Emergency Shelter and many of our employees pitched in to make the shelter comfortable for our citizens seeking relief from the storm. We had members of the staffs from transportation, custodial, food service, building administrators, and others that turned the school into a shelter and back to a school again. Please join us in expressing thanks to those school employees who gave of their time and service to the well-being of our community.

Members of your Mathews County School Board were joined by members of your Board of Supervisors in presenting a united front very much in support of our schools to the Virginia Board of Education in Richmond on October 27th. We expressed to the State Board our current budget situation and asked that they assist us in seeking relief from requirements that are placed directly against our County by the State yet are not funded by the State. Again, we thank the Mathews County Board of Supervisors for supporting our school division.

Also at the October meeting, we heard from our very successful and effective MP RACE program (Middle Peninsula Regional Adult Continuing Education). MP RACE was one of a very few GED programs recognized by the State for meeting all of their targets, which include the number of students graduated, the number staying enrolled, as well as, other goals.

Your School Board 2012-13 Budget Calendar has been released. The schedule is as follows:

Your School Board and Superintendent will hold a mini retreat to review Focus Areas at the School Board Office in late November. This is an opportunity for us to learn how the implementations of our division goals are doing – what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be adjusted.

The Annual School Board Tour of Schools is scheduled for November 29th. We hope to have several of our Local and State representatives in attendance for that event to show them what positive things we do for our students and inform them of our needs and what they can do to help us.

Your School Board will attend its annual VSBA Convention in Williamsburg in November. This is three days of training and information exchange with other Boards, State Education representatives, and education vendors. Just like teachers and administrators, School Board members are also required to engage in professional development.

Please note that the very successful “Thrifty Spot” thrift store has relocated to a larger building. You will remember that the “Thrifty Spot” is operated by our Special Education Department and our students with the goal of getting the students real life skills and employment as they transition from school to “the real world”. The new location is at the corner of Buckley Hall Road and Cricket Hill Road at Hudgins. Please continue to support this worthwhile project.

Volunteering in our schools helps our students and can be a very rewarding experience for you. If you’d like to see our schools in action and help shape the future of our community, please stop by the School Board Office or submit the volunteer form found elsewhere on this website.

Unfortunately, we did experience a bus accident in October that was the fault of a commercial operator. Our driver and transportation department did a good job in accident recovery. We thank the County’s Emergency Services for their prompt and caring attention to our driver and students. Also, thanks to our middle school student heroes who helped get the young ones off of the bus and comforting them at the scene. We are so fortunate that no one was injured.

Above all else, stay safe. Halloween is on Monday (that is a school night). The clocks turn back an hour on the morning of November 6th. Buses will be running closer to dawn as the season progresses. We ask that all commuters remain vigilant for our students and buses.

Sincerely,

John Persinger, Chairman

Mathews County School Board

National School Board Association

Virginia School Board Association

Focus Areas

• Personnel - to attract & retain quality personnel

• Instruction - to provide high quality education in fully accredited schools.

• Communication - ensure all segments of community are informed of goals & achievements; and

• Facilities - provide stellar learning environment