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  School Board Address Multiple Issues Tuesday night By Anne Waits web posted September 13, 2012 JOHNSTON – Following the usual call to order, invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the regularly scheduled meeting of the Edgefield County School Board began Tuesday night with an attempt to show a brief presentation entitled, "Remembering 9/11," that had to be delayed until later in the evening due to technical difficulties. The presentation had been shown Tuesday morning at Strom Thurmond High School at 8:46, the time of the terrorist attacks 11 years ago. The film gave a description of what happened on that day and showed actual scenes from the event. "On that day, Sept. 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked by the terrorist group Al Quida," said the narrator. He told how the terrorists had prepared themselves for the attack and each plane's target. After the first plane hit the twin tower, some family members were able to receive messages from loved ones on other planes, he said. "Americans all came together to help each other," he said. "It was a time when Americans stopped to think about and appreciate the freedom they have." The film asked for each person to take a minute to close their eyes and reflect on that day. Edgefield County Superintendent of Education Greg Anderson said the basis for the remembrance was that so many of today's school children are too young to remember that day and that this is the first time the anniversary has fallen on a Tuesday. Edgefield County Council Chairman Dean Campbell addressed the School Board with a couple of items. First, he mentioned that the County Council had been visited by a representative of the American Red Cross who conveyed some of the training currently available which includes CPR and other medical training, and babysitting. "Some high school students may be interested in this," he said. He then gave an update on the Edgefield County Strategic Plan."This plan was put together to include all county business and it was meant for us all to work together to accomplish these goals," he said. Another of our goals is in the area of internship and education," he said. "We encourage the communities to match skills with internships." On of the intentions is to establish tours for high school students in manufacturing, he said. "We intend to meet with local industries to determine the skills needed for jobs and to match accordingly," he said. Also, under future goals is the countywide summit in 2013 to discuss collective futures. Campbell said County Administrator Lynn Strom is to provide an update in four to six weeks. Following Campbell's address, the School Board approved a request by Eric Dawson for the Antioch Baptist Church and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to hold a Homecoming post-game concert on the football field of JET Middle School on Oct. 5 and granted permission for Stephen Hampton of JET Middle School to take students to Washington, D.C. Feb. 15-18, 2013. In other items on the agenda, Assistant Superintendent of Education Donna Strom asked Strom Thurmond High School Principal Jill Jet to introduce Alicia Butler Martin, director for the Alternate School Programs in Edgefield County. Martin gave a brief alternative/transitions report in Edgefield County Schools and said she is proud to be a part of the team and what they are doing. She said the first-year behavioral interventionist, Johnnie Williams, has begun a letter-writing campaign in which he asked students who had been through the process to write to her. She read some of the letters (not using names) to show the progress the students are making. The students said they are glad to have returned to regular school and even though they like her, they will do their best to stay away from PRIDE (the alternative school in Edgefield County). "Our focus is to show children what their choices are," she said. "It is a very structured program, small and consistent. We teach children the ABCs--attendance, behavior and classwork. It is a transition place and our goal is to return them to the regular classroom." Williams spoke and said that in the student transitions, there have been no major instances. He gave some examples of interactions between students that were successfully resolved. "We're slowly getting acclimated," he said. "The transition to Strom Thurmond is better than I had anticipated. I believe this has made a difference already." Martin said, "We have a plan in place. I want to commend Mr. Williams on his work here. There are other children who didn't come to Strom Thurmond from PRIDE who he works with." Williams said he is extremely proud there have been no major fights and that the conflicts were resolved and no one has had to be sent back to PRIDE. Under the Office of Superintendent items, Anderson shared a written report from AdvancedEd that conveyed that Edgefield County was credited last year with a few areas still to work on and added that those areas are being worked on. A time was set for the special called meeting on Sept. 18 for 7 p.m., when the School Board will meet with Bobby Bowers of the Columbia office and Sen. Shane Massey to begin the process of redistricting. In closing, School Board Chairman Brad Covar mentioned an item that had been brought up in the Economic Development meeting concerning transfer trucks that are traveling Sweetwater Road and the way they are driving. "I realize they are trying to conserve all the gas they can these days, but there are school buses out there and our students are at risk," he said. "We are looking at meeting with the highway department and ways to get something done about the situation." © Copyright 2012 All material is property of
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