Taking steps to enhance communication

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  • (Jared Putnam • Clay County Progress) Hayesville Elementary School counselor Quincey PattersonRickett speaks while Hayesville Middle School counselor Emily Hedden looks on during the Clay County Board of Education meeting on Monday in Hayesville. PattersonRickett and Hedden spoke to the board about a school-based mental health policy.
    (Jared Putnam • Clay County Progress) Hayesville Elementary School counselor Quincey PattersonRickett speaks while Hayesville Middle School counselor Emily Hedden looks on during the Clay County Board of Education meeting on Monday in Hayesville. PattersonRickett and Hedden spoke to the board about a school-based mental health policy.
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In an unprecedented school year, teachers and staff at Clay County Schools have a variety of new tools at their disposal as they try to keep up with challenges in and out of the classroom.

A few of those tools were on display at the Clay County Board of Education meeting Monday night in Hayesville, as the agenda highlighted initiatives designed to address students’ mental health, digital communication and diagnostic data that gauges elementary school students’ progress in reading and math.

Adrian Jefferies, director of technology for Clay County Schools, updated the board on the progress of the school’s new website — which could be ready to go live in mid-January — and provided details about a new app that is set to replace the current apps which teachers use to communicate with parents and students. “This will really increase our ability to communicate with our teachers, with the parents and the students all from one platform,” Jefferies said of the Edlio Engage App. “That platform looks pretty much like Facebook, so this will be something they’re familiar with.”

While the app offers builtin conveniences such as a calendar and improved security, one of its most impressive functions is a live translation feature. “When someone creates an account, if they say their primary language is Spanish, when the teacher sends something in English, it’ll translate it to Spanish,” Jefferies said. “When the parent sends it in Spanish, it'll translate it to English. That will help with a lot of our kids in terms of communication.”

The focus of the meeting shifted to mental health, as Hayesville Elementary School counselor Quincey Patterson-Rickett and Middle School counselor Emily Hedden provided updates on the school system’s progress toward implementing required mental health protocols. The North Carolina State Board of Education recently approved a SchoolBased Mental Health Policy requiring all public schools in the state to adopt a mental health plan that includes a mental health training program for staff and a suicide risk referral protocol.

“Thanks to you guys, a lot of it has already been taken care of with the school counselors being hired in each school and having a social worker hired full-time in the county,” Hedden said. “This year has been very trying for every kid. Anxiety and depression are just skyrocketing. I’m thankful that we’ve been able to hire counselors and we can address those needs,” she said.

In addition to hiring school counselors for all four schools and hiring a social worker within the past two years, the school system has also implemented a District Student Support Team and invested in a variety of curriculum and training for staff. Moving forward, the school system intends to add a screening measure designed to identify children who may need extra support, do small group and individual intervention to address needs, provide social/emotional lessons to students regularly, and much more.

Hayesville Elementary School Principal Melissa Godfrey rounded out the slate of speakers, providing an update on the assessment of students’ reading and math abilities in grades 3-5 at the mid-point of the year. Godfrey pointed out that students’ on-grade reading level has risen to 51 percent after starting the school year at 34 percent. That improvement reduced the number of students who began the year approaching grade level by seven percent, and reduced the number of students a year or more behind in their reading level by nine percent.

“I think it’s really important in this day of COVID to celebrate the positives, and there are definitely a lot to celebrate,” Godfrey said. “Since I arrived here in June, I have watched teachers work so hard... I’ve watched our kids work hard and I wanted you to see the snapshot of that.” In math, students’ assessments improved from 17 percent on-grade level at the beginning of the school year to 37 percent at the midpoint.

The number of students a year or more behind in math decreased by 12 percent, while the number approaching grade level dropped by 10 percent. “We’re making good progress, but we still have a ways to go,” Godfrey said.

Other items from the board meeting:

• The board thanked the Clay County Historical and Arts Council for “programming which has brought cultural enlightenment to students in our schools.” Superintendent Dale Cole specifically thanked Mike Wiley for his virtual program, and board member Reba Beck for her support of the program. So far this year, the council has provided $9,000 worth of arts programming for students.

• Board members Danny Jones and Reba Beck were sworn in for the new term.

• The board approved $153,618 in budget amendments: $53,239 for Approved ABC Transfer for Textbooks/ Digital Resources; $18,941 in Additional Coronavirus Relief Funds; $76,730 in Transportation Allotment Adjustment; and $4,708 in Additional Coronavirus Relief Funds.