Board reviews recognitions, policy updates
As the school year slowly starts coming to a close, the Mountain Brook Board of Education met on April 8 and first reviewed a set of recognitions for the school system.
The board, along with Superintendent Dicky Barlow, spoke about the Mountain Brook Schools Foundation. Barlow said it is an “integral part to what we do,” before recognizing and thanking Stephanie Maxwell, who is leaving her position as executive director of the foundation.
Rachel Weingartner will be taking her place. Barlow said Weingarten has already been “diving into” her role as the new executive director, and they are excited to have her.
Five students were recognized for their creative abilities: Cromwell Estes, a student at Mountain Brook Junior High, for earning the Gold Key Scholastic Writing Award among 340,000 pieces, the highest honor for her writing; and Mountain Brook High School students Alex Washington, Delaney Thomas, Camille Ford and Alice Adams-Nice for Visual Arts Achievement Awards from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
Washington, Thomas, Ford and Adams-Nice were four of 17 winners in their district to have their pieces in the Visual Arts Achievement student gallery in Montgomery through April 26.
“To have four winners out of 17 really is a testament to how awesome our students are,” MBHS art teacher Susie Davis said.
MBHS senior and basketball player Trendon Watford was then recognized for being named Mr. Basketball for the second year in a row, the “highest honor for basketball in the state,” MBHS principal Philip Holley said. He was also named to the McDonald’s All-American Team.
“The thing about Trendon that people always say is he’s a better person than he is a basketball player,” Barlow said, “and that’s really saying something.”
Director of Student Services Amanda Hood then reviewed two policy updates for the school system regarding student harassment and bullying (Policy J-49) and employee sexual harassment (Policy G-32).
With the passage of the Jarmari Terrell Williams Student Bullying Prevention Act in 2018, Hood said the school system took another look at the policies currently in place to make sure they are up to state standards.
The act specifically extended the reach of bullying to include cyber bullying, as well as to some off-campus events if they spill over into the school day, Hood said. She said the act also required each school system to have a reporting method and form available, which is already in place for Mountain Brook Schools.
In looking at Policy G-32, Dr. Susan Cole with MBS said the goal for updates was to make sure the language for both students and employees was the same and that the updates included definitions such as hostile environment, intimidation and sexual harassment. She also noted that the school currently has several reporting techniques available and everything is consistent with the Title IX process.
Overall, Hood said the revisions were made to update the language in the policies to ensure they are in line with the Alabama State Department of Education, the Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Justice.
Barlow suggested tabling the updated policies for one month to allow for community input, and the board agreed.
Also during the meeting, board members:
- Approved the minutes from the March meeting.
- Approved personnel recommendations.
- Approved the sale or disposal of surplus items.
- Heard the latest financial statements for the school system.
The annual Student Showcase will be held April 22 in Crestline. The next Board of Education meeting will be on May 20 in the Professional Learning Center of the Charles Mason Building.