Photo by Lexi Coon.
Amanda Hood spoke to the Board of Education on Nov. 19 and presented the annual student incident report. Hood said Mountain Brook Schools has "very few [incidents requiring discipline] across our district, and those are handled very seriously."
During the Board of Education meeting on Nov. 19, Director of Student Services Amanda Hood reviewed the annual seclusion and restraint report, as well as the student incident report.
Hood first stated what is permitted in Mountain Brook Schools.
Seclusion, defined as any situation that isolates and confines a student in a separate locked area, is not permitted, but time-outs are. According to a presentation by Hood, a time-out is OK when approved by school authorities; takes places in an unlocked setting; is a reasonable duration; is monitored by a close-by adult; and is in a safe area without objects that could cause harm.
Three types of restraint were also reviewed: mechanical, chemical and physical. Only physical is permissible, and only if outlined procedures are carefully followed. Hood said physical restraint is used on a “very, very rare basis,” and only when “absolutely necessary.”
Staff who administer restraining techniques are trained, Hood said, and restraint is only used if the student is a danger to themselves or others.
“If a child is restrained it means we have tried everything else we could possibly try,” she said.
The restraint is then terminated as soon as possible, and the district provides documentation of the incident, written notification to the parent/guardian, and holds a debriefing session with the parent/guardian within five days.
“The goal typically of that conversation is ‘What can we do to prevent those situations from happening again,’” she said.
Hood said in the 2017-18 school year, there were 12 total incidents that involved restraints, although not all 12 incidents were different students.
Hood also briefly reviewed the annual student incident report (SIR), which is reported annually to the Alabama State Department of Education. Infractions that can warrant discipline from the district include threats or intimidation, alcohol, fighting, possession of drugs or weapons and sexual harassment
She said MBS has had to carry out very little discipline in the past, and the 2017-18 school year was not different.
“We have very few [incidents requiring discipline] across our district, and those are handled very seriously,” Hood said. Both the seclusion and restraint report and the SIR are published on MBS’ website.
The board also took the time to recognize the accomplishments of many students:
- Tracy Cole, for being named an Outstanding Literacy Teacher by the Alabama Literacy Association. Cole is a sixth grade teacher at Brookwood Forest Elementary and was one of the five state-recognized Outstanding Literacy Teachers.
- Jane Mosakowski, for her efforts in Mountain Brook Schools, and for coordinating Special Olympics for MBS, and Mountain Brook High School junior Drew Lewis, who Mosakowski coaches in track and field. Lewis represented Mountain Brook and the state of Alabama at the Special Olympics National USA Games in July in Seattle in track and field. He was one of 4,000 athletes competing, one of 120 representing Alabama and one of 14 competing in track and field.
- Mountain Brook Elementary students Olivia Murrell and Callie Bearden, for winning the art and poetry divisions in McWane’s Earth Science Week Poetry and Art Contest. Murrell won the art division for her painting of the earth, surrounded by “Fragile, handle with care,” and Bearden won the poetry division for her poem titled “The Ocean.” The students were chosen out of a pool of more than 200 entries from third through eighth grade across Birmingham.
- The Mountain Brook Junior High volleyball team, for going undefeated in the 2018 Metro Championships and winning the championship title.
- The MBHS volleyball team, for their back-to-back final four appearance in the 2018 Metro Championships, winning a total of three tournaments this past season and finishing out the season with a record of 46-11.
Board members then later:
- Approved minutes from the previous meeting.
- Heard the most recent financial statements to the board and the financial statements for the end of fiscal year 2018. Chief Financial Officer Kari Austin said the year-end reserve fund balance was equivalent to 3.4 months of operating.
- Approved recommendations to personnel.
- Marked items as surplus and approved of their disposal.
- Reviewed the proposed academic calendars for 2019-20 and 2020-21. Superintendent Dicky Barlow recommended the calendars be tabled for one month to allow for community input.
- Approved the purchase and installation of new LED field lights for the softball field, field seven, at MBHS.
- Awarded a big to Wright Equipment for new weight room equipment at MBHS.
- Appointed board member Nicky Barnes as the delegate for the Alabama Association of School Boards 2018 Delegate Assembly on Dec. 6.
The next board meeting will be Dec. 10 at 3:30 p.m. at Crestline Elementary.
