School board hears about restructuring

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, November 6, 2013

During the superintendent’s report at the Pearl River County School District meeting Monday night, Dr. Sharon Guepet, principal of Pearl River Central Lower Elementary, spoke about the restructuring of the classes based on students’ MAP test scores.

Guepet, Jennifer Teal, Katie Johnson and Sandy McCardle with the Lower Elementary presented the school’s new class structure at the Northwest Evaluation Association conference recently. At the conference, the teachers explained how they have created flexible skilled group classes and how each of those classes function. They also showed a video produced by Diamond Productions explaining why the school decided to restructure and included interviews with teachers about how much of a difference a new structure has helped them meet the needs of their students.  

Superintendent Alan Lumpkin also recognized Lisa Beech, transportation director, and Austin Alexander, assistant principal at Pearl River Central Middle School, as Administrators of the Month for September and October.

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The school board approved a proposal from Infosnap, a company that provides online school registration. Entering a contract with the company would allow parents to register their students online instead of having to come to the school to fill out registration paperwork in person. Lumpkin said parents still will be required to provide proof of residency, but this “will really speed up the process and make it more efficient.”

    The board approved a donation of supplies valued at $748.88 from Jeffery Kauzlarich for the middle school girls’ basketball team. Board member Twila Crabtree requested Kauzlarich be recognized publicly for his “generous” donation.

The board approved a settlement payment of $1,837.22 from a lawsuit with a company that was illegally selling timber cut on the Pearl River County and Poplarville school districts’ 16th Section land. Lumpkin said 1.5 percent of the settlement went to Pearl River County School District and 98 percent of the settlement went to Poplarville School District.

Also at the meeting, the board approved:

— For a pre-Kindergarten student to receive services through Poplarville Early Head Start to help accommodate the schedule of the student’s mother, who is a student at Pearl River Community College.

— For the PRC high school show choir to make a trip to Universal and Busch Gardens in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 26- March 4; gifted students to attend the Louisiana Renaissance Festival on Nov. 12 in Hammond, La.; students to attend the Mississippi Theater Association Annual Drama Festival in Vicksburg on Jan. 16-19; fourth graders to travel to the Insecterium in New Orleans, La on Dec. 17 and 18, and advanced middle school students to attend a trip to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans on Nov. 8.

— Six Dak Tech computers and a Fleetwood ENT INC Cabinet be removed from the Career and Technical Inventory list because the items are broken beyond repair.

— An agreement for 2014-15 with LifeTouch for elementary and middle school portraits for the fall and spring pictures.

The board adjourned until Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m.