The Putnam County Board of Education met for their public meeting on Monday to listen to presentations from faculty and students.
Starting off the meeting, Putnam County High School seniors Trenton Lewis and Tori Sheppard reported to their board about their experience in the Student Advisory Council.
The State School Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council is a group of students in grades 10-12 across the state who deliberate how decisions made at the state level affect students. Out of 65 representatives, two were from Putnam County.
Students apply for the council through an application process that includes submitting a high school resume and two essays. Once selected, representatives will attend meetings throughout the year and will host discussions with the state superintendent, becoming a bridge between the Department of Education and the students of Georgia.
According to Lewis and Sheppard, they have already attended two of these meetings and felt it has greatly impacted them. The pair highly recommend that other high schoolers apply when given the opportunity.
After their presentation, instructional coaches from Putnam Primary School, Putnam Elementary School, and Putnam Middle School presented to the board about interventions.
Each coach showed the board an example of their school’s data and how the students are tracked throughout each school so an intervention can occur when needed. Interventions are teacher- led and can occur throughout the year, whenever a student shows a need for assistance.
Throughout each school, the coaches use one software to track learning, record interventions, and judge the progress of a student. The software is color coded for better understanding since both coaches, teachers, and under some circumstances parents also see the data. According to the coaches, some data is put in by individuals and other data is systematically calculated. Based on what the software shows, teachers and coaches can identify which students may be at risk, average, or excelling.
After presentations, the board moved into the action agenda to approve two items.
The board unanimously approved the resolution supporting National School Breakfast Week and the Head Start 20232024 budget.
The next board meeting will be on March 20 at 6 p.m.