September 16, 2024

The Statesboro High School School Council had its first meeting of the 24-25 school year on Wednesday September 16, 2024, at 5:30 pm in the Media Center at Statesboro High School. Council members present were as follows: Principal Keith Wright, Kathy Yawn, Cicely Sikes, Concella Holder, Dorsey Baldwin, Derek Kreisher, Talmeshia Parker, Erica Scripture and Ashley Thompson. Amy Jo Riggs was absent.

Principal Keith Wright called the meeting to order.

Each member introduced themselves and told about their connection to SHS.

Principal Wright went over the School Council Training. The purpose and mission of school councils were presented. Expectations for School Council members were outlined. The SHS School Council consists of 10 members (minimum of 7 required). The process for how school council members are selected, as well as, the term of office, and the process for removing someone and filling a vacancy were presented. Principal Wright went over the qualifications and expectations of officers. The parliamentary procedure and quorum were presented. Information about minutes and confidential records were also presented.

After reviewing the School Council Training, Principal Wright made a motion that the council elect officers. He said that teacher representatives could not serve as the Chairperson.

Talmeshia Parker nominated Dorsey Baldwin to serve as the Chairperson. All members present unanimously approved the nomination (9:0). No other person was nominated. Dorsey Baldwin accepted the nomination.

Amy Jo Riggs was nominated to serve as the Vice Chairperson by Kathy Yawn, but she was not present. Derek Kreischer nominated himself to serve as Vice Chairperson and Talmeshia Parker seconded his nomination. All members unanimously approved his nomination (9:0). Derek Kreisher accepted the nomination.

Ashley Thompson was nominated to serve as the Secretary by Talmeshia Parker and Kathy Yawn seconded the nomination. All members unanimously approved the nomination (9:0). No other person was nominated. Ashley Thompson accepted the nomination.

Cicely Sikes asked if there would be a virtual meeting option for her because she works out of town some, and the council agreed there would be.

Principal Wright and Ashley Thompson shared the School Improvement Plan (SIP) goals and action steps for the 24-25 school year. Ashley Thompson shared with the new members about what PLCs are, what SHS did with PLCs last year and where we are this year with PLCs.

Principal Wright shared data in regards to attendance, behavior and the graduation rate. An attendance report was pulled to show “Chronic Absenteeism”, which is when a student is missing more than 10% of the school year. Last year during this time, SHS had 6.51% of students that were labeled with “Chronic Absenteeism”. This year during the same time, SHS has 5.78% of students that are labeled with “Chronic Absenteeism”. Behavior referrals have continued to decline. During the 22-23 school year, SHS had 145 behavior referrals in August. For the 23-24 school year, there were 109 behavior referrals in August. For the 24-25 school year, there were 111 behavior referrals in August. Principal Wright also shared that the class of 2024 had an 87.1% Graduation rate. The projected Graduation rate for the class of 2025 is currently 76.3%. Principal Wright also shared information about having more on-site credit recovery labs and the Transitions class for students that are returning from TLC but are not ready to be in the mainstream of SHS. School council members asked for a breakdown of attendance by cohort. Kathy Yawn gave “kudos” to the admin team for having opportunities for kids to want to come to school and be a part of SHS! Dorsey Baldwin mentioned that her child knew her cohort’s current graduation rate from the Quarterly Assemblies that have been implemented. Kathy Yawn asked if the BOE is tracking students from grades 5 to 6 and grades 8 to 9 to make sure they show up at their new school, so they don’t count as dropouts. Concella Holder said one issue is that it is hard to track down and find foster students. Cicely Sikes asked if there was a current policy on students moving into and out of foster and group homes.

The next item on the agenda was HonorsAP Night. The event has been tentatively scheduled for November. Erica Scripture suggested inviting 8th grade parents.

Other items that were brought up for discussion was the Homecoming Parade/Carnival and the Homecoming Dance. The parade and carnival are new this year and the school wants the community to be involved. There was also discussion about creating a generic email for parents to send possible agenda items to.

The next meeting was decided to be on Monday, October 28, 2024 at 5:30 pm in the SHS Media Center.