CCS System Update
December 2023
Teacher of the Year Announcements
All five schools have announced their Teachers of the Year. These five dynamic educators were recognized at our December Board meeting where they were presented a gift from AmFirst Credit Union. In addition to support from AmFirst, the Cullman City Board of Education provides each teacher of the year with a $1,000.00 stipend. All five are in consideration for the Cullman City Teacher of the Year (one elementary and one secondary). From there, the two finalists will be in the running for the Alabama Teacher of the Year. To no surprise, Cullman City has been represented the last two years with sweet 16 finalist in the Alabama Teacher of the Year Program.
Cullman Middle School
First Team Construction and the various subcontractors are putting their finishing touches on Phase I of the CMS project. We are slated to cut the ribbon on the afternoon of January 2nd. When students return from the Christmas break on January 3rd, this phase will be open for teaching and learning. We are excited to welcome our students in this new space and for them to enjoy a modern functional learning environment. Just as advertised, the round building and FACS building demolition will be the next phase of construction. Once those buildings are removed, we will press forward with the new construction of the remaining ⅓ of the project. As always, thank you for your patience as our Board of Education provides a cutting edge facility for students we serve.
Parents of current CMS students should pay close attention to newsletters and announcements from Mr. Johnson for more information and details on the student transition to the new building.
Soccer and Multipurpose Complex
On December 5th we broke ground on a $2.3 million athletic facility project. Later this spring the girls and boys soccer programs will be competing on a modern state of the art synthetic turf surface. In addition to the competitive soccer surface, we are installing 4 practice diamonds for baseball and softball. This facility will be located at the current soccer field on the corner of Hoehn and Stadium drives.
Read The Cullman Tribune article here.
A 5 year study from Texas A&M University concluded with several factors on why modern synthetic turf is safer for high school athletes than natural grass. Some major points from the study included:
44% Fewer Concussion Injuries Combined
43 % Fewer ACL Injuries Combined
25% Less Time Lost to Long-Term Injuries (22+ Days)
16% Less Time Lost to Short-Term Injuries (1-2 Days)
Weather Station Unveiled at CHS
We recently announced a partnership with the Baron Critical Weather Institute, an Alabama-based weather non-profit, to host a cutting-edge weather monitoring station on campus at Cullman High. In addition to providing safety to the residents of Cullman, this weather station partnership also provides educational benefits for students, as data provided by the weather station can be utilized as a resource by science teachers and provide an innovative, local outlet to meet state standards in relation to weather studies. Students in our Career Tech Engineering Program were selected to complete the engineering design and 3D printing of the weather stations that are housed throughout Alabama. Because of this partnership, students in Mr. Mike Gay's Engineering Program get an in-depth, real-world learning experience and have an impact on the weather community to fulfill Baron Institute's mission to provide world-class instrumentation in support of Public Safety, Educational Outreach, and Economic Development.
This initiative ties in directly with our third commitment (see below) from our recently Board approved strategic plan/commitments.
Holiday Season
Holiday Season- The last day for students prior to the Christmas break is Friday, December 15th and students will dismiss at 11:30 on that day. Most employees and all students will be out of school for two weeks for Christmas break. Employees return on Tuesday, January 2nd and Students on Wednesday, January 3rd.
What is the NAEP?
Oftentimes we hear or read where Alabama ranks nationally in reading and math. Frequently it is much lower than what a native Alabamian would like to see. One may also ponder, how do they determine the academic rankings of each state in America in reading and math? Well, the answer is NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), which provides important information about student achievement and learning experiences in various subjects. Also known as The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP has provided meaningful results to improve education policy and practice since 1969. The National Assessment Governing Board develops the NAEP frameworks for assessments in each subject.
NAEP is a congressionally mandated program that is overseen and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. The National Assessment Governing Board, an independent body appointed by the Secretary of Education, sets NAEP policy.
Each state’s NAEP scores are derived from a random selection of students across the state in grades 4 and 8 based on NAEP reading and math assessments. Although the NAEP assessments are based on national standards, Alabama teachers and schools are required to teach Alabama standards.
If you rewind 10 years ago, you will remember Alabama was one of a handful of states that opposed national educational standards, often referred to as common core. Instead, Alabama implemented their own state standards which are somewhat, but not entirely, aligned to national standards.
Knowing this brief history, you may look at national scores in reading and math a little differently and have a better understanding of why Alabama struggles to move into the top half of academically performing states using an assessment aligned to national standards. However, as a veteran educator in Alabama, I would without a doubt put the top 15 school systems in Alabama, which includes Cullman City, against any state in America. Frequently, uninformed critics of public education cite NAEP results as a reason for comprehensive school reform, but in actuality, NAEP is in no way indicative of a local school system’s effectiveness.
Literacy Act
In May of 2019, the Alabama Literacy Act was enacted. The Alabama Literacy Act was established to improve the reading proficiency of public school kindergarten through 3rd grade students and ensure that those students are able to read at or above grade level by the end of the 3rd grade. This school year is the first year the requirements of the Act will be fully implemented. One requirement is for 3rd grade students who are not reading at grade-level, as indicated on the ACAP, to be retained in third grade.
Throughout the school year, teachers will provide parents feedback on how their children are progressing in reading using benchmark tools like DIBELS and iReady. Third grade students who do not meet the score on ACAP will be required to attend a mandatory summer reading camp in June. At the conclusion of the reading camp the identified students will have one more opportunity to take the ACAP and show that they are reading at a third grade level or above.
The third grade teachers at both East and West are very strong and receive tremendous support, however it is going to take a team (teacher, parent and student) to reach the 100% threshold.
Strategic Commitments
Recently, the Cullman City Board of Education approved the new Strategic Plan and Strategic Commitments. The entire plan is located on the school system website (https://www.cullmancats.net). Some of the highlights from the six broad areas include:
Student Support and Safety
Safe learning environments
Access to related services
Increase modes of communication
Technology
Enhancing devices and connectivity
Safe and secure networks
Professional development and support
Curriculum and Assessment
Rigor, critical thinking and creativity
Alignment of assessments and intended outcomes
More academic and extracurricular opportunities
Employees
Consistent expectations from campus to campus
Continuous training on 21st century transferable skills
Seek the best educators
Finance and Resources
Financial transparency
Increase community and industry partnerships
Budget for the Board’s vision
Facilities
Clean learning environments on all campuses
Plan for comprehensive Cullman Intermediate School (3-5)
Expand preschool programs
Please enjoy the Christmas break and Holiday Season. I look forward to 2024 and the amazing things our students will do in the upcoming year.
Go Bearcats!
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The Bottom Line
Full financial statements can be found on the Cullman City Schools website by clicking here.
The month of October is 1) 8.33% into the fiscal year. Revenues were at 2) 5.39% while
expenditures were at 3) 9.08%. Our total net operations were 4) $1.46 M. Total assets were
5) $10 M. We ended the month with a fund balance of 6) $9.75 M which brings us to
7) 3.06 months of reserves.
Payday will be on December 20, 2023. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Kyle Kallhoff, Superintendent
Email: kkallhoff@cullmancats.net
Website: https://www.cullmancats.net/
Location: 301 1st Street Northeast, Cullman, AL, USA
Phone: (256)734-2233
Twitter: @kkallhoff