BOE recognizes students and faculty

As the last meeting during the school session, Mountain Brook Board of Education members took a portion of their meeting on May 15 to recognize the accomplishments of many Mountain Brook Schools’ students. 

Recognitions included: 

• Caitlin Speake, of Brookwood Forest Elementary, for winning the State Superintendent’s Essay Contest on the Revolutionary War.
• Mountain Brook Elementary students Baker Cullum, Eva Jane Worthen and McCray Faust who placed second, third and first honorable mention, respectively in the third- and fourth-grade categories for the Poetry Society of Virginia Contest Winners.
• The Crestline, MBJH and MBHS Destination Imagination teams, who all qualified for global finals after winning the “Top Secret” category.
• The MBS Robotics team for winning the school’s first world championship title.
• MBJH student Caroline Parker, who won the Best of 3-D crafts in the state-wide Visual Arts Achievement Competition.
• The MBHS yearbook staff for earning the National Program of Excellence title from Jostens. 
• The MBHS choir for earning the highest rating of “Overall Superior” in men’s choir, women’s choir, chamber choir, as well as the Distinguished Musicianship Award in chamber choir at the State Choral Performance Assessment.
• The MBHS girl’s outdoor track team for earning second in the state at the Outdoor Track and Field State Championships in May.
• The girl’s and boy’s MBHS tennis team for separately winning the Tennis State Championships in April. Rep. David Faulkner spoke to both teams on their wins and read from a resolution congratulating them and the coaches on their accomplishments.

The meeting continued with a presentation from facilities director Tommy Prewitt, who discussed a proposed outdoor dining area for MBJH. Funded by the school’s PTO, Prewitt said the dining area would be built outside adjacent to the current cafeteria and contain tables, a shade system and a sitting wall. The area would seat approximately 80 students. Board members approved the addition.

Also during the meeting, board members:

• Approved the minutes of the previous meeting.
• Recognized School Resource Officer Bryan Kelley for his work with the district and welcomed Officer Richard Knecht, who will be taking Kelley’s place.
• Recognized the Mountain Brook Schools PTO Council for the 2016-2017 year.
• Recognized Crestline teacher Amy Anderson for making it to the top 16 finalists for Alabama Teacher of the Year.
• Read the updated financial statements and bank reconciliations.
• Announced summer professional development opportunities. The 2017 Mountain Brook Learning Conference will take place from June 5-8 and cover a variety of topics. Day one is open to Mountain Brook employees only, but days 2, 3, and 4 (Edcamp) are open to all educators.
• Announced changes to the student survey. Dr. Dale Wisely said as of recently the PRIDE survey is no longer required, and after working with faculty and students, officials have developed a survey that is more relevant to Mountain Brook students. Because the new survey would not show state and national comparisons, every third year the district would still use the PRIDE survey. Eventually, he would like to make a survey that is suitable for MBHS, MBJH and elementary students as well. 
• Approved the Strategic Plan Revisions, as discussed at the previous meeting.
• Approved personnel recommendations.
• Approved the sale or removal of surplus items.
• Tabled the Board of Education proposed 2017-2018 meeting calendar for one month to allow for review.
• Approved the MBJH outdoor dining project.
• Tabled the recommendations for updated 6th grade math materials for one month for community review and input.
• Announced that graduation is on May 22 and the last day of school is on May 23.

The next Board of Education meeting will be on June 12, at the PLC in Crestline.