Columbus Municipal School District officials report the 11-month “Success Academy” programs piloted at Sale International Studies Magnet School and Stokes-Beard Technology and Communication Magnet School, this year, are off to a good start, after intense preparation this summer.
The CMSD board of trustees in May approved the calendar — under which students will attend school 199 days, between Aug. 5 and June 17 — after CMSD officials conducted a two-month poll of teachers and parents at Hunt Intermediate and all elementary schools in the district.
At Sale, 100 percent of teachers and 98 percent of parents said they would be in favor of the 11-month Success calendar. Polls at Stokes-Beard showed a 98-percent approval rate among teachers and an 85 percent approval rate from parents.
To research, plan and prepare programs for the additional 18 Success Academy days — which evenly are split between the fall and spring semesters — meetings were held this summer.
And the faculty and staff of Sale and Stokes-Beard, along with district administrators, worked to provide research-based programs and activities to implement during the extra days of enrichment and remedial instruction, said CMSD Superintendent Dr. Del Phillips, noting students will be screened to determine their level of proficiency with current curriculum objectives.
Students testing at minimal or basic levels will be required to attend school during the Success Academy days, during which they will receive intensive small-group remediation in areas of need.
Students testing at proficient or advanced levels will be encouraged, but not required to attend the enrichment instruction, said Phillips.
Since the CMSD school-choice lottery was held before the Success calendar was approved, parents who wanted to give up reserved slots at either Sale or Stokes-Beard were allowed to apply for spaces in schools following traditional calendars.
“We are very pleased that only four families overall opted out of attending a Success Calendar school,” said CMSD Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Dr. Martha Liddell.
During the school year, Sale and Stokes-Beard officials continually will communicate with parents about the Success calendar days through parent conferences, newsletters and meetings of parent-teacher organizations, said CMSD officials.
“Columbus Municipal School District is committed to making only student-focused decisions and answering the challenge of more rigorous accountability standards,” said Phillips. “We are now being judged, not only with others across the state, but the country and even the world. Our response must be bold and focused. The Success calendar concept is uniquely suited to answer that challenge.”
Students at Joe Cook Fine Arts Magnet School, Fairview Aerospace and Science Magnet School, Franklin Medical Sciences and Wellness Magnet School, Hunt Intermediate School, Lee Middle School and Columbus High School will attend school 181 days, between Aug. 5 and May 21.
At Cook, Fairview, Franklin and Hunt, approval percentages for the Success Academy calendar concept ranged from 91 percent to 66 percent for teachers and from 89 percent to 59 percent for parents.
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