In the March meeting of the Board, we recognized a Cullman High School teacher of special education who is a huge advocate for her students, a front office worker who greets visitors with a smiling face, as well a student in 12th grade who shows kindness in the halls and classrooms but collects RBIs on the softball field. A huge thank you to our partners at AmFirst, who sponsor our certified employee and support staff recognitions. |
The first week of March was National School Social Work Week. School social workers act as a crucial link between home, school, and community by providing crisis intervention, mental health support, and advocacy. In certain situations, they are the vital connection between families and school resources to remove non-academic barriers preventing students from achieving and promoting equitable access to services as well as advocating for student well-being. In Cullman City, we are fortunate to have Chloe Barnette as our Social Worker. |
Congratulations to our Boys Basketball program for their exciting run to the AHSAA Championship game! The team had a great season and we are proud of them. Thank you to the coaches, players, parents, students and community who represented our school system so well during our two games in Birmingham earlier this month. |
On March 19th, we hosted our third annual Job Fair for the Cullman City School System. Four years ago, we decided instead of paying to go to regional job fairs with little results, we would start hosting our own job fairs.
Each year the number of applicants has increased. We have hosted this at CHS and CCPS, however, this year the job fair was located at the new Cullman Middle School.
Alabama State Department of Education reports indicate that there are over 800 vacant teaching positions statewide with just over 3,000 teachers working with an emergency certificate. The demand outweighs the supply, therefore it is important we host events like this to get the best educators possible for the 3,200 students we serve.
|
|
Thank you Cullman City Primary School and STEM Teacher, Anna Anderson, for taking initiative to secure grant funds from TVA. The Tennessee Valley Authority and Cullman Power Board have been great partners in fulfilling our STEM vision of Exposure, Exploration and Application with our students beginning as early as age 5 all the way up to Cullman High School graduates.
|
The low bid on this project came in very high over our budget. As a reminder, this project is in partnership with the Soccer Boosters, who are committed to funding a portion of the work. In recent Board actions, the bid was rejected and now we will work with the Soccer Boosters and the Architect to see how we can reduce the scope of the project and determine if we want to rebid in an effort to get within our budget. |
Earlier in March, CHS administered the state administration of the ACT. During this administration, we were monitored by the State Department of Education. The ACT administration was extremely smooth and the ALSDE representative was very complimentary. A big thank you to Sharon Windham, our System Testing Administrator, Principal Tuggle, Assistant Principal Aimee Bates, and the entire CHS Faculty and Staff. |
Congratulations to Mrs. Tuggle and Dr. Shaddix on their contracts that were approved in the March Board meeting. These leadership decisions position our school system well for the future. Both of these administrators bring valuable experience and leadership to our district, and their unique strengths will help us continue providing a high-quality education for our students.
|
After recently competing in the Alabama State Trumbauer Secondary Theatre Festival, Cullman Theatre once again is a state champion. Cullman was given the highest award in the state by being awarded a Best In Show and being selected to represent the state of Alabama at the Southeastern Theatre Festival.
The award was presented after Cullman’s performance of “Suite Surrender” in the State One Act Festival. Cullman theatre students also won numerous other awards including Best Ensemble. Our theater program has won this honor the last three out of four years.
Congratulations to the students who placed in individual events among the top three in the state in their category:
- Cadan Fales, 2nd in Musical Theatre Comedic Varsity
- Avery Lane Green, 1st in Musical Theatre Dramatic Varsity
- Anne Lunsford, 1st in Musical Theatre Dramatic Novice, and
- Emmaline Powell - 2nd in playwriting.
The following students were named to the All State All Star Cast:
Cadan Fales, Avery Lane Green, Lily Abbott, Dylan Tisdale, and Mary Atchison.
|
|
|
With the recent passing of the CHOOSE Act, it is important to remember why the Cullman City School System remains the best choice for the best education! Here are five quick reminders… |
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. 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.
|
Below are some of the highlights from the six broad areas of the Cullman City Board of Education's Strategic Plan and Strategic Commitments. The entire plan is located on the school system website ( https://www.cullmancats.net).
1.Student Support and Safety
- Safe learning environments
- Access to related services
- Increase modes of communication
2.Technology
- Enhancing devices and connectivity
- Safe and secure networks
- Professional development and support
3.Curriculum and Assessment
- Rigor, critical thinking, and creativity
- Alignment of assessments intended outcomes
- More academic and extracurricular opportunities
4.Employees
- Consistent expectations from campus to campus
- Continuous training on 21st century transferable skills
- Seek the best educators
5.Finance and Resources
- Financial transparency
- Increase community and industry partnerships
- Budget for the Board’s vision
6.Facilities
- Clean learning environments on all campuses
- Plan for comprehensive Cullman Intermediate School (3-5)
- Expand preschool programs
|
Elementary Winner: Henry Hackbarth, 4th grader from West Elementary
App Title: American History
Middle School Winner: John Harding, 6th grader from West Elementary
App Title: American Trivia
Several Bearcats worked hard this year on the Governor's App Challenge.
They developed their own app ideas and then created those apps for judging. Henry and John won at their school level and then won in their divisions for Cullman City Schools.
Their apps went on to the Alabama School District 6 competition. Both of these students won at the District 6 level as well. They will now compete on April 13th at the Alabama Computer Science Summit in Montgomery.
|
Full financial statements can be found on the Cullman City Schools website by clicking here.
|
The month of January is 1) 33.3% into the fiscal year. Revenues were at 2) 45.9% while
expenditures were at 3) 33.9%. Our total net operations were 4) $4.7 M. Total assets were 5) $16.4 M. We ended the month with a fund balance of 6) $16.4 M which brings us to 7) 4.72 months of reserves.
|
Spring break is March 30th through April 3rd. It is my hope that our students, employees and families enjoy their week off and my prayer that everyone returns safely the Monday after Easter. |
Kyle Kallhoff, Superintendent
|
|
|
|
