Sydney Cromwell
MBHS Volleyball Team
The Spartans are recognized for their state tournament win in the Nov. 9 board of education meeting.
With the Spartan volleyball team fresh off its back-to-back state tournament victory, the Board of Education took time to recognize the eighth grade and high school teams at its Nov. 9 meeting. Coach Haven O'Quinn was there to talk about the tournament and the individual players' contributions to earning the title.
The BOE also voted to table discussion of three new classes in the junior high and one in the high school for community input. The junior high courses were Intro to Computer Science I and II, which would introduce seventh through ninth graders to app creation, crowdsourced data and game creation, and Medical Detectives, an eighth grade elective to show practical applications of the life science class. The high school course is an engineering elective class to introduce students to the engineering field and design.
The other major topic of the night was the annual report on seclusion and restraint use in Mountain Brook schools, which the school system is required to give to the board, state department of education and the U.S. Office of Civil Rights.
Director of Student Services Dale Wisely gave the report, which included 47 incidents of physical restraint in the past year for students who were at risk of harming themselves or others. Wisely said Mountain Brook schools do not practice seclusion or use any mechanical or chemical restraints such as pepper spray, and teachers are trained to use physical restraint only in certain circumstances.
These 47 instances were divided among eight students in the school system, and Wisely said all of them were part of the special education program.
Wisely also gave a report of serious school incidents, some resulting in suspension or alternative schooling. These included one case of alcohol possession and 15 of alcohol use, as well as five cases of criminal mischief that Wisely said were due to a vandalism incident. There were two drug possession cases, three incidents of a knife being brought on campus and two sexual offenses, which Wisely said would not be classified as sexual assault but did not give further detail. Other incidents included defiance, harassment and profanity.
Other board business included:
- Recognizing Dr. Lisa Beckham as the recipient of the inaugural Learning for Life award from Samford University's school of education.
- Discussing the upcoming All In parenting conference on Nov. 12, which Superintendent Dicky Barlow said will have more than 200 attendees.
- Accepting a bid from Southern Trophy to provide the school system with trophies and awards.
- Discussing the 2016-17 academic calendar, which will be finalized and approved at another meeting.
- Setting the next BOE meeting for Dec. 14 at Crestline Elementary.
