Boone Newspapers

Dr. Daniel Boyd, Lowndes County Schools’ new superintendent, reported that not only had the 2006- 2007 school year begun smoothly on Aug. 10, but that five out of seven of Lowndes County’s schools have met AYP, or Adequate Yearly Progress, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act.

“Right now, Calhoun High School is in year two of School Improvement,” Boyd said. “And, Hayneville Middle School is in School Improvement, Year One Delay.”

Boyd explained that HMS had met all 13 out of 13 of their goals for meeting AYP standards according to the 2005-2006 data, but that it took two years to be removed from the “School Improvement” status. That is why they are now in “Year One Delay” status.

Calhoun High School met 12 out of its 13 goals.

“I’ve already met with special education teachers and the Title One coordinator to work on the improvements needed for all of our schools,” Boyd said.

“We’re very proud of having the majority of our schools to meet the AYP standards as set by the federal government,” he added. “It shows the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff members as well as our students.”

When it comes to the first days of the new school year, Boyd said that there was no overcrowding on the buses, but that a few of the high school classes were large.

“Right now, our largest class in a high school has 31 students,” he said. “We are still trying to get the kinks worked out and get those numbers lowered.”

Boyd said that he has been working to balance the numbers in the classroom, and that he was trying to coordinate the use of the distance learning lab to help lower the bigger class sizes.

Another issue that the school system has been dealing with is the renovation projects at Calhoun High School. Boyd said that a new irrigation system had been installed on the football field, but that the recent drought had really hindered the field’s progress.

“The first few games will possibly be played away,” Boyd said. “Hopefully, we will be able to know more about that within the next two weeks.”

Also, when it comes to the renovation projects at the schools in the system, Boyd stressed the fact that it was important for the students to take pride in their surroundings.

“We’ve spent a considerable amount of time, energy and money in refurbishing our schools,” he said. “We need to keep them well maintained. It’s very disheartening to have students vandalize school property.”

As for beginning his first year as the system’s new superintendent, Boyd said that he was “looking forward to working with everyone to increase student achievement so that we can develop productive members of our society.”

“Our schools are so important,” he added. “Regardless of how tough the job might be, we have to accomplish the tasks set before us.”