Joseph Pratt
Greenup County School District has been working on its new vision they are calling the “Greenup County School Gold Standard,” which pertains to education and the foundation of the community surrounding the schools within the district.
The district has honored standout faculty members and has begun implementing other programming to create more offerings for students and the community.
“We are working as a team to meet the objectives and goals in our strategic plan, which place an intentional focus on excellence for our students, workforce, community support, finances, infrastructure, and internal processes,” Superintendent Sherry Horsley said. “Successful results on these goals will provide a quality education for our students and better prepare them for success in our community as adults.”
The school is pushing this new initiative to show community and school pride. They’ve preached it to students and staff, and even have it posted in their website.
“Our ultimate goal is a gold standard, which is to provide every child with a quality education that will allow them to compete in the world of the workforce or post-secondary school that they go into,” Horsley said. “We want to work as a team to help all our students meet the gold standards.”
The district has also extended its reach through its preschool program, offering instruction to more students to create better learners and increase opportunities for the young Musketeers. The school now serves over 130 four-year-old students.
“Research says that children from all socioeconomic backgrounds reap long-term benefits from preschool. Well-designed preschool programs produce long-term improvements in school success, including higher achievement test scores and lower rates of grade repetition,” Horsley explained. “We are excited about the future potential for continuing to improve student achievement by providing our students with an early start for success.”
To begin the year, the school honored a host of staff members for standout involvement in the district. They also have other programs they are starting to honor students.
The other three areas of recognition for students include the Superintendent’s Scholars Program, Presidential Volunteer Service Award, and the Work Ethic Seal.
The Superintendent’s Scholars Program will be for students in grades 4-12. The program will highlight students who are considered to be the “best of the best.” They will honor students based on five areas, including attendance, test scores, grade point average, citizenship, and extracurricular participation.
The Presidential Volunteer Service Award is a program that allows students ages five and older to gain recognition for community service and volunteer efforts.
The Work Ethic Seal is an opportunity for seniors to complete criteria focused on work ethic standards. Some of the standards include soft skills, attendance, citizenship, community service, grade point average, and Work Keys or extracurricular activities.
The staff honored for going above and beyond included Jeff Wireman, principal; Lee Ann Stout, teacher; Debbie Harbour, teacher; Cindy Collier, teacher; Josh Brewer, bus mechanic; Carol Gillum, custodian; Tammy Riffe, secretary; Naomi Morman, cook; and Janet Baldridge, instructional assistant.
In addition, several employees received recognition for attaining more the fifty hours of professional learning. These staff members included Paul Sites, Dennis Rice, Delinda Stapleton, Michele Workman, Jenifer Johnson, Pamela Evans, Kristen Arthur and Robin Virgin.
The school also welcomed 60 news staff members to the district.
The district and community has also rallied together to create more opportunities for the many students who attend one of the schools.
The school announced that most high school juniors will be taking the October ACT free of charge. The district is paying for all interested juniors to take the test prior to the state-wide testing date. The extra testing will allow students to gauge areas of strength and weakness and target strategies to bring up their scores. The school administered English practice tests at the start of the first week of class, in order to gauge where the students are in their studies. \
The school claimed it is programming like this that has made district ACT scores rise each year. In one year, the scores in English went from 17.2 to 18.3, math went from 17.7 to 18.3, reading went from 18.6 to 19.5, science went from 18.7 to 19, and the composite went from 18.2 to 18.9. All of these scores are the highest they have been in five years.
Also, the school gladly accepted donations from the community, such as dictionaries for every third grade student, thanks to the Ashland Elks Lodge 350; backpacks for students in need, thanks to the Ashland Alliance Young Professionals; and more.
The school is looking forward to cultivating bright students who will be engaged in the community and say that the start of the year has been a hint of good things coming.
“Throughout the first semester, our team will focus on high quality instruction, embedded professional learning, and positive culture for all,” Horsley said. “We look forward to working with students, parents, and the community to move all students toward proficiency. We also look forward to seeing students and families involved in community.”
Further information in the Greenup County School District strategic plan, the Greenup Gold Standard, or other new programming, visit the schools website at www.greenup.k12.ky.us.
Reach Joseph Pratt at 740-353-3101, ext. 1932, or by Twitter @JosephPratt03.
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