Improved reading skills for middle, high school students among Rock Hill district’s goals

Middle school and high school students who don’t read on their grade level will get more help in the upcoming year, Rock Hill school district officials said Monday.

The initiative is part of the district’s overall effort to raise literacy. Getting third-graders to learn to read remains a cornerstone of the district’s plan, Superintendent Kelly Pew said Monday. Currently, 86 percent of students reach that goal, according to the district. The long-term goal is 95 percent by 2019.

Other academic goals for the school year include raising student achievement and supporting teachers, Pew told the school board at its retreat Monday at the Cotton Factory in downtown Rock Hill.

The focus of getting more middle school and high school students to read on grade level is essential because of the importance of comprehension in courses at that level, Pew said. Students who need help will be directed to several programs – likely outside of class, as reading is something not taught in those grades.

The district also plans to look at scores on the state assessment for science and social studies, Pew said. Rock Hill students’ performance mirrored a national trend where scores in grades 4, 5, and 6 and on other tests in high school are generally good, but there is a drop in the middle school grades.

Rock Hill middle school students’ performance on the science assessment dropped in grades 7 and 8 in 2015 compared to 2014, Pew said.

The district will continue its 1-to-1 computer initiative this year as third-graders receive iPads and high school students get laptops. Meanwhile, the district hopes to fully implement the Canvas learning management system that gives parents and students online access to test grades and other learning material.

The Rock Hill school board reviewed several ongoing issues with its consultant, Dempsey Warner, a retired dean of education at Virginia Tech.

The issue of equity for Rock Hill’s three high schools came up. A committee formed to study the issue has not even held its first meeting, but some school board members are concerned the committee’s task is too broad and might not result in any recommendations.

The school board established the 15-member committee after South Pointe High School parents asked questions about equity among the district’s three high schools – South Pointe, Rock Hill and Northwestern – last spring. Each school’s School Improvement Council will appoint five members to the committee. The principals at each school and a school district administrator also will participate.

“Nothing was off the table” for the committee, Pew said , meaning discussions could focus on academic as well as extracurricular activities.

At Monday’s retreat, the board discussed the challenge of keeping the equity committee’s effort focused. The board briefly considered giving the committee more specific direction but opted not to.

“It could be they don’t recommend anything,” Board Chairman Jim Vining said, because of the potential divisiveness of the issue and inability of the committee to reach a majority vote. The committee is scheduled to make its recommendations to the school board in January.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Improved reading skills for middle, high school students among Rock Hill district’s goals."