By Julie Johansen
Emery School District Superintendent Larry Davis sticks to the idea that schools need to be involved with area economic development, which he expanded on during a recent media briefing. In Davis’ opinion, this would lead to jobs for educated students as they graduate from high school or return to find jobs after college.
Because of this, the district is organizing an economic development committee that would involve industry, government and education, including STEM and CTE educators. Jed Jensen is working to put this committee together and scheduling a meeting in the near future. The outcome hoped for is a “marriage of education and economics.” The district is currently seeking interested individuals to serve on this committee.
Another item of action in the Emery School District is the development of the Professional Learning Community. The first early-out day at midterm was successful, according to Davis. This early-out day allowed teachers in grades K-5 to meet on grade levels for collaboration, sharing and instructional improvement procedures. The upper grades worked in discipline areas to also build their programs by reviewing state core requirements, challenges and accommodations together.
The end of the term, Oct. 27, will be a full day for educators’ PLC development and students will not attend school that day. For educators, one half of the day will be spent in these meetings and the other half will be spent working in classrooms on grades, data collection and implementation of ideas.
Educational researchers have found PLC is a great way to help students succeed and has been proven effective, Davis explained.
Davis also reported that 50% of the SAGE test scores were proficient, but this means that education needs to keep striving. An recent example of striving to improve is Book Cliff Elementary. The elementary had been designated as a “turn-around school” and by breaking down the data and setting goals and bench marks, the school has risen to a “B” grade. Enormous improvement was reported. Superintendent Davis reported that this is common in the district and is one of his goals. Some of the difficult areas are in CTE areas as teachers are usually solo and have no one for collaboration, ie.; music, welding, woodwork, etc.
ACT and SAGE test scores were both higher in 2016 than in 2015. Advanced placement scores were at 83% passed, which was the fifth highest in the state. Calculus scores were at 100% in the district.
When questioned about the school’s involvement in drug abuse, Superintendent Davis shared programs that have been practiced at Emery High School. These included random drug testing in extracurricular activity students and a drug awareness program known as Truth about Drugs. This is a site-based decision, which means it differs in each school.
Davis also shared information about the pending initiative “Our School Now.” He has asked principals for their dream list if this was to become a reality. Schools will involve their Community Councils in these decisions and the accountability will be strict. It would be very much like the trust lands funds used at each school and needs to be tied to student learning. Tests such as ACT, Dibels and SAGE will be determining factors of success used to prove this funding.