The Vinemont Middle School Archery Team won the county tournament, was the state runner up and placed in the top 30 out of 171 teams in national competition. (W.C. Mann for The Tribune)
FAIRVIEW – For its last meeting of the school year, the Cullman County Board of Education (CCBOE) assembled at Fairview High School, taking plenty of time out of its schedule to recognize the achievements of numerous students.
- Vinemont Elementary School finished fourth in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state tournament. The team shot an all-time school best score of 3,101 and finished 21st out of 171 teams in the national tournament. Team member Hayden Robinson placed second in the state 3D archery competition, and Lily Hastings placed fourth in the state tournament.
- Vinemont Middle School enjoyed two first-place finishes and eight second-place finishes in 10 season tournaments and won the county archery tournament. They also finished as runner-up in the NASP state tournament and in the International Bowhunting Organization state tournament. At nationals, they finished 24th in IBO and 28th in bullseye. Team member Savannah Mann was recognized as the overall 1A-7A state champion, shooting 293 out of 300 in her championship match.
- Principal Billy Troutman of the Cullman Area Technology Academy (CATA) was on hand to help Superintendent Shane Barnette recognize several student achievements:
- Russell McDonald, a Drafting Technology student, was named Career Tech Student of the Year. Ethan Burson and Hunter Kaser were also nominated.
- At the recent SkillsUSA state competition, Jacob Ryder, Carter Robertson and Payton Oden won first place in the community service category. Dustin Burney, Jason Peck and Jordan King took second place in the chapter display category. CATA won the ACTA Public Relations Award for the second consecutive year, and 10 CTE programs earned business/industry certifications.
- CATA cosmetology students won all awards at the Bevill State Cosmetology Competition. Maria Cortes won first for the third year in a row, while Madison Smith took second and Grace DiBenedetto took third.
- Sixteen Health Science students passed their Certified Nursing Assistant exams and qualified to become CNAs: Breanna Allen, Adam Barnett, Skyler Bowers, Allison Crawford, Lisabet Diaz, Madison Jacobs, Serena Knedlik, Jennifer Maldonado, Ariel Mann, Avery McClure, Maggie Miasek, Jessica Mosley, Erika Nava, Mercedes Needham, Katelyn Neely and Melissa Rodriguez.
- Hanceville High School’s math team won the state math competition.
- Hanceville Middle School’s YEA STEaM team won first place in a smart phone/device app competition, working on an app that will allow faculty and staff members at all three of Hanceville’s schools to alert all others to an emergency with the push of a single button.
Dealing with employee absenteeism
The board approved a policy change concerning employee leave that would make the rules for leave stricter and cut down on employees missing work beyond the amount of their available leave.
While the board did not share specific details, Barnette said, “One of the issues we struggle with in Cullman County–and we have for years–is at any given time, we have five to six of our employees that may be staying out, that don’t have sick leave, personal leave. They’ve used up all of that type of leave. And this kind of gets them in line, that if they need to request board leave if they’re going to be absent and they don’t have any other leave.
“Whereas in y’all’s jobs, if somebody didn’t come to work and they didn’t have those days, they probably would no longer have a job; we’ve been deducting and cutting people’s checks, and we just want to put a little more meat into that, saying ‘Hey, we need you at work. If you don’t have the leave to take, we need you here. Otherwise, you can be let go.’”
Summer academic offerings
The board approved several requests for schools to offer summer educational programs:
- Two schools will offer driver’s education at a cost of $150 per system student or $200 for out of district students. West Point High, starting June 4, and Holly Pond High with two sessions starting June 4 and June 9.
- Cold Springs High and Hanceville High will offer Summer School/Credit Recovery classes June 4-15 at a cost of $150 per credit for system students and $200 for out of district students.
- Fairview Elementary will offer a summer reading and math enrichment program June 6-8, 13-15, 20-22 and 27-29 (Tuesdays through Thursdays), 8 a.m. to noon. Attendance will be free, and snacks will be provided.
- Hanceville Elementary will hold a kindergarten camp for incoming 2018-19 kindergarten students. Dates and other details to be announced.
Personnel considerations
The board approved a number of personnel items, including a set of contract and supplement non-renewals that were approved after a 37-minute executive session that was closed to the public. Affected personnel will not be named until the board has had time to notify all affected. The list is expected to be released Thursday.
The CCBOE’s next meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on June 12 at the central office board room, with work session at 5:30. The public is invited to attend.
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