CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman County Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting at the Cullman County Schools main office Thursday afternoon and had several honors and awards to recognize at the start of the meeting. First up was Vinemont Elementary School, which recently earned a spot on a list of “Alabama High Flying Schools”. County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shane Barnette shared some more information on the honor while recognizing a group of VES teachers.
“If anybody has seen this online on Al.com, one of the things they’ve done is research into what helps schools be successful and the schools that met these criteria were considered “High Flyers”. Vinemont Elementary was on that list. They compiled a list of things they found in “High Flying” schools,” Barnette said. “Teachers have high expectations for students and are invested in their studetns’ academic success, teachers take control of the things they can control, plentiful support to help teachers get better at what they know and how to teach it, consistent assessment of where students stuff and what they need help with, and they have the leverage of strong community support.”
Following them was Welti Student Resource Officer Richard Suits. Suits was presented with a CCBOE E5 Exceptional Service Award and Barnette shared some words from those he worked with at Welti
“I’ve known Mr. Suits for a long time and much like many of our SROs he puts himself before others,” Barnette said. “Officer Suits takes time each morning to mentor the fifth-grade students. He works with a small group each morning as they put the flag up and take it down in the afternoon. He spends this time teaching the students about the flag, how to fold the flag and interesting historical facts. He takes extra time to make sure that each fifth-grade student feels special each week and knows that they are loved and supported at Welti.”
Up next was Stephanie Tankersley from the Cullman Child Development Center, representing herself and Trett Hardman. A few weeks ago, Tankersley and Hardman helped rescue a student that had gotten lost in the road and Barnette wanted to make sure she and those who helped her were recognized.
“We just wanted to recognize you and make sure you know that you’re appreciated,” Barnette said. “There’s no doubt that they go above and beyond every day working with kids with special needs. We just want to say that we appreciate you and Trett (Hardman) and everyone who helped.”
The final recognition of this month’s meeting was for Fairview’s Head Football Coach George Redding. Redding was named the 2021 Alabama Football Coaches Association’s 5A Coach of the Year after a record-setting season with the Aggies. Fairview reached the state semifinals for the first time in school history and posted a record 12 wins along the way.
Following this month’s awards and recognitions, the Board approved a handful of new agenda items. Out of state field trip dates for West Point High School (April 25), Good Hope High School (April 8) and Holly Pond High School (May 4, 2023) were approved as well as the financials from the month of November.
Approved a request from the Cullman Area Technology Academy to move banking accounts from Merchants Bank to Cullman Savings Bank.
Approved the addition of Human Resource Manager to the salary schedule.
Approved request to pay Rena’ Watson a supplement of $1,200 a month effective February through May 2022 for additional duties.
The Cullman County Board of Education’s next work session and meeting will be Thursday, March 10.
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