School Superintendent unveils new logo, strategic plan

By ANGELA FARR KING

The Alexander County Board of Education met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, September 15, at 6:00 p.m. During his Superintendent’s report, Dr. Bill Griffin shared about the recent “rebranding” of Alexander County Schools.

Dr. Griffin shares new logo and Strategic Plan

Griffin shared that a team of teachers, administrators, parents, students, and staff worked together to draft the Strategic Plan, which was launched at the beginning of this school year. The new mission statement for Alexander County Schools (ACS) is “Building a Legacy of Excellence,” and the new Vision Statement is “The Educational Choice for Every Child.” Griffin explained the newly designed logo for the system, which still has the capital A representing Alexander Schools. There is an arrow in the middle pointing up and Griffin explained that it is “pointing North” because ACS is always striving to reach higher and be better. The gold star at the bottom of the letter A represents the “gold standards” expected of staff and students in the Alexander County Schools System.
Within the Strategic Plan, there are three priorities: Instructional Excellence, Comprehensive Student Support, and Operational Excellence. Under Instructional Excellence in the plan is this excerpt from the opening paragraph:“Instructional Excellence is the cornerstone of student success. Our district is committed to fostering high-quality teaching and learning in every classroom by promoting effective instructional practices, using data to drive continuous improvement, and maintaining a strong focus on student outcomes.”

The following is a portion of the opening paragraph under Comprehensive Student Support: “Our district is committed to offering a broad range of services addressing the needs of
every student. By strengthening family and community engagement, expanding special services, and fostering a positive school culture, we aim to create an environment where all students are supported, challenged, and prepared to excel beyond graduation.”

This is a portion of the opening paragraph under Operational Excellence: “Our district is committed to maintaining a fiscally responsible budget, operating efficient transportation and maintenance services, and investing in technology infrastructure that enhances instruction.”

There are goals and action plan links under each portion of the Strategic Plan for ACS. To review the plan in full, visit alexander.k12.nc.us and click on the “Strategic Plan” link at the top of the screen.

Dr. Griffin added that he believes families deserve a choice in their children’s education. He respects their right to choose, but he expects Alexander County Schools to be the (best) choice.

State Test Scores have been released

Dr. Amy Bowles, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, shared a detailed report about the recently released state test scores and how Alexander County Schools compares to surrounding districts and the state based on those scores. Bowles shared that these scores are based on “analysis of all end of grade (EOG) and end of course (EOC) tests, which are aligned with the NC Standard Course of Study of reading, math, and essential standards in science.”

Bowles went on to explain that “EOG and EOC test results are provided in the following categories: Grade Level Proficiency-percentage of students scoring at level 3 or above, College and Career Readiness (CCR)-percentage of students scoring at level 4 or above.” Students scoring below level 3 are considered Not Proficient (NP).

There were also test scores released for the ACT indicating those students who scored at least a nineteen or higher (UNC admission minimum), the WorkKeys assessment, which indicates 12th graders in Career and Technical Education who have achieved at least one silver certificate or better, and English Learner Progress, which indicates a percentage of English Learners meeting the language proficiency standard on the English Language Proficiency Test.

Dr. Bowles celebrated the fact that the overall proficiency of Alexander County Schools is 55%, which is 3% higher than the state average and 3rd in the Northwest Region, behind Wilkes at 56% and Watauga at 67%. It’s important to note that Watauga’s test scores were waived last year due to Hurricane Helene.

It is crucial not just to examine the overall proficiency of a school or school system, but to closely look at their academic growth status. In her presentation, Bowles stated that the Academic Growth Status of a school “is an indication of the progress that students made in the previous year. It is roughly equivalent to a year’s worth of growth for a year of instruction. It is reported for each school in three ways: Exceeded Growth Expectations, Met Growth Expectations, or Did Not Meet Growth Expectations.”

Bowles shared that two schools in the county exceeded their growth expectations and they were the Alexander Early College and West Alexander Middle School. Six Schools met their growth expectations. They were: Bethlehem Elementary School, East Alexander Middle School, Ellendale Elementary School, Hiddenite Elementary School, Stony Point Elementary School, and Wittenburg Elementary School. Three schools did not meet their growth expectations and they were Alexander Central High School, Sugar Loaf Elementary School, and Taylorsville Elementary School.

Dr. Bowles also shared that “each school receives a school performance grade overall and for each of the following subgroups: Black, Hispanic, Two or More Races, White, Economically Disadvantaged, Students with Disabilities, and English Learners. To report a letter grade, there must be at least 30 students in a membership.” These letter grades are based on end of grade achievement scores with 80% of the weight of the grade coming from student proficiency and only 20% coming from student growth.

These are the overall performance grades for each school in Alexander County with their performance scores for the ’23-’24 and ’24-’25 school years for comparison: Alexander Central High School: C(65)/C(64), Alexander Early College: A(87)/A(85). This is the third year in a row that AEC has exceeded growth.

Only 7.6% of schools in NC have earned a letter grade of A. Bethlehem Elementary School: B(71)/C(69). Bethlehem is one point from a B grade. East Alexander Middle School: D(52)/C(58), Ellendale Elementary School: C(56)/C(57), Hiddenite Elementary School: D(54)/C(56), Stony Point Elemtary School: C(61)/C(60), Sugar Loaf Elementary School: D(53)/D(54). Sugar Loaf is one point away from a C grade. Taylorsville Elementary School: C(62)/C(56), West Alexander Middle School: B(71)/B(73), and Wittenburg Elementary School: D(48)/C(58).

One of the final statistics that Dr. Bowles shared was the 24-25 graduation rate for Alexander Central High School, which is 83.5%. This was compared to the state average, which is 87.7%. She also shared a list of strategies for moving forward and making improvements, which included implementing the new Strategic Plan and Instructional Framework, developing support plans for low performing schools, and focusing on core instruction, individual supports, attendance, and behavior.

Honors and Recognitions

During the Honors and Recognition Portion of the meeting, Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis, Director of Communications, recognized the Alexander County Junior Rescue Competition Team who recently competed in the NC EMS Junior Rescue Competition in Fayetteville. They placed second in the state performing rescue techniques and won the Chad Smith Spirit Award. The team consisted of Wyatt Johnson, Kade Church, Coley Whitener, and Hunter Dancy.

Alexander Early College and West Alexander Middle School were also recognized for exceeding growth on their annual test score results.

Monthly Financial Report

Sharon Mehaffey, Chief Financial Officer, gave a monthly financial report. She said that her team is currently working on the ’25-’26 budget and should be ready to share it at the October meeting. She shared the following facts about the budget. It is based on the following criteria: an increase in retirement to 24.67% from 24.04% and an increase in health insurance to 24.67% from 24.04%. She added that the average daily membership (amount of students accounted for in the system) used for state funds is currently 4,201 and is down 83 students from last year. Mehaffey added, “Preliminary initial allotments are a floor to start the school year. If the General Assembly passes a budget or appropriates additional funds, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will increase the allotments, but the increase will not happen without approval of additional funds from the legislature.”

Mehaffey also reported that “ The county increased their appropriation to the school system this year to $8,078,040, which is an increase of $585,000.”

Board Policies Reviewed

Dr. Alisha Cloer, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, shared the following Board Policies for approval upon second reading: Policy No. 3620 – Extracurricular Activities and Student Organizations, Policy No. 4023/7233 – Pregnant and Parenting Students and Employees, Policy 4040/7310 – Staff-Student Relations, Policy 4240/7312 – Child Abuse and Related Threats to Child Safety. These were approved unanimously. She also shared the following Board Policies for first readings: Policy 6220 – Operation of School Nutrition Services, Policy 6330 – Insurance for Student Transportation, Policy 7130 – Licensure, Policy 7820 – Personnel Files, and Policy 9210 – Care and Maintenance of Grounds and Outdoor Equipment.

The open session of the meeting was adjourned and the Board met in closed session with no action taken afterward. The next School Board meeting will be Monday, October 13, at 6:00 p.m.