Board seeks greater parent involvement, will consider mowing bids
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, 7 p.m. — As the new school year begins, the Nelson County Board of Education is concerned with raising parents’ participation in their children’s education.
Board member Larry Pate listens during a discussion of parental involvement and parent use of Infinite Campus.
The discussion evolved from a presentation by Tim Beck about the classroom environment aspects of the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES).
Creating an environment that is conducive to learning is the responsibility of each teacher, Beck explained. The guidelines cover how a teacher treats students, and how students treat one another. The classroom environment should encourage students to be engaged and actively learning, he told the board.
Board member Diane Berry noted that parent involvement is one of the most important factors related to student success. The board agreed that one of the important tools parents don’t always use is Infinite Campus.
“We’ve talked about it for eight years,” board member Nicky Rapier said. “How about a drawing for a prize for parents who use Infinite Campus? We have begged and pleaded, maybe we need to offer an incentive.”
The board reviewed the statistics for Infinite Campus use by high school parents using information courtesy of David Coffing, district chief information officer. Fifty-three percent of parents aren’t regularly using Infinite Campus.
The board discussed the benefits of keeping track of their students’ success and challenges using Infinite Campus, which can be accessed by a smart phone app as well as desktop or laptop computer.
District COO Tim Hockensmith discusses the possible benefits of outsourcing some of the larger mowing jobs that are done now by district employees.
Rapier and board member Damon Jackey both related to how useful Infinite Campus was to them in helping their own school-aged children.
“Parents make more difference to the kids’ success than we do,” Rapier added.
DISTRICT MOWING. The board also heard a presentation from Tim Hockensmith, the district’s chief operating officer, about the possibility of outsourcing some of the district’s mowing.
The two high schools have significant acreage to mow, Hockensmith said, and right now district employees do the mowing. Hockensmith said the district may be able to save money by hiring someone to do some of the larger mowing jobs. Right now the district pays $10 an hour for mowing.
Right now the district pays employees to do the mowing and also pays for the mowing equipment and its maintenance. The request for bids also seeks a separate bid for mowing athletic fields, which Hockensmith said might be an option.
Hockensmith said he would bring the estimates to the board’s next meeting 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014, at the district’s Central Office on Wildcat Lane.
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