Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
Aiyania Staley and Ra’Jiyah James smile on behalf of the WEMS Beta Club for receiving the GOLD Key Award– an nationwide award presented by the National Beta Club.
BHHS Future Business Leaders of America Competition Winners Breanna Carrigg and Mahyla Nickens stand with Lisa Nelson. BHHS students Jakori Williams, Isha Patel, Sterling Newton, and Brianna Robinson were also recognized for their wins in the competition.
WEMS Principal Dr. Austrai Bradley smiles alongside sixth grader Aiyania Staley, who was recognized at the BCCSD regular meeting on Feb. 27.
WEMS girls basketball coach Yama Washington is recognized for leading the team through an undefeated season by WEMS Principal Dr. Austrai Bradley.
Kaitlyn Gibson, Mahyla Nickens, and Isha Patel were recognized as BHHS Students of the Month in January.
WEMS Principal Dr. Austrai Bradley places a gold medal on students Ra’Jiyah James and Teaonia Thomas who represented the DIG Future City team which won third place at the regional competition held at USC Aiken earlier this year.
15 BHHS students were recognized for being optimistic in the month of January. Pictured here are recipients Rosemary Blankenship (left) and Allasia Walker (right).
15 BHHS students were recognized for being optimistic in the month of January. Pictured here are recipients Rosemary Blankenship (left) and Allasia Walker (right).
KEES Students of the Month are recognized for being optimistic in the month of January with Principal Monique Smalls and Literacy Coach Lauren Smalls. From left to right: Christy Blume, Mallerie Davis, Nevah Elam, Allen Staley, and Rylee Glass.
MEMS named ‘priority school’
Macedonia Elementary-Middle School (MEMS) was designated as a ‘priority school’ within the district by the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE).
“Priority schools are any schools performing in the bottom 10% of their grade span (elementary, middle, or high),” according to a press release by the SCDE.
Priority status is a three-year, federal identification, and there are 78 schools in the state with this status recorded on the 2022 SC Report Card.
The criteria for determining these designations are set in the state’s plan to be in compliance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Other federal designations include Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) Schools, Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) Schools, and TSI Consistently Underperforming Subgroups (TSI_CUS) Schools. Also in the county, Barnwell Elementary School received a CSI designation.
To view a full list of schools with a priority designation, visit: https://screportcards.com/overview/academics/school-improvement/?q=eT0yMDIyJnQ9UyZzaWQ9MDAwMA.
MEMS leadership plans to attend a training to better understand what this designation means and what they can implement to change it.
New hires
Many new faces will be joining the BCCSD team in the upcoming school year while three educators are retiring or resigning.
Coordinator of Teacher Quality and Early Childhood Stephanie Terry, Williston-Elko Middle School (WEMS) eighth grade ELA teacher Andrea Yon, and Williston-Elko High School (WEHS) English Dr. Donna Bryan will all be leaving the district.
There are six certified new hires for the 2023-24 school year: Junbert Requisto will teach math at WEHS, Shanna Mae Bae will teach math at Blackville-Hilda High School (BHHS), Dawn Vickery will serve as the band teacher at BHHS, Vanessa Robinson will teach business education at WEMS, Ana Omison will teach ELA at WEMS, and Kaitlin Mundy will teach third grade at Kelly Edwards Elementary School (KEES).
Additional new hires are former BPD Detective Shawn Howze who will be teaching Pre-ETS College & Career Coach at BHHS. Tammie Simmons will teach the virtual computer lab at WEMS, Carrie Mae Staley will serve as the Cafeteria Manager at MEMS, and Frank Roundtree will serve as the custodian at MEMS.
Home schooling
82 students who reside in the district were homeschooled during the 2022-23 school year, according to Superintendent Dr. Marcella Shaw’s report.
This number is sent to the district by the Dept. of Education which tracks homeschooled learning. Only the number of homeschooled students in each grade are given to the district by the state, not the names or locations of these students.
There are three homeschooling options: homeschooled scholars aided through the district, scholars enrolled in a homeschool association, or a homeschool created by a large group of parents.
Homeschooling impacts state funding to the district when students leave the district to be homeschooled, but according to Dr. Shaw, most homeschooled students never started at the district in the first place, so it evens out.
According to Dr. Shaw, around 30 students have returned to the district from home schooling in the past couple years.
Girls Basketball
The WEMS girls basketball team had an undefeated season under the leadership of Coach Yama Washington, who is in her second year of coaching the team. Although none of the players were in attendance at the meeting, Coach Washington was recognized for leading the team to victory countless times.
Policy changes
Over 30 district policies were approved for the second and final reading at the Feb. 27 meeting. The list was presented in groups of policies identified using a lettered code.
The ‘K’ policies deal with policies like community relations, visitors, handling public concerns/complaints, school resource officers, and citizens requests for instructional material.
The ‘G’ policies detail staff related issues like compensation, code of ethics, criminal records check, drug and alcohol use, social media, and discrimination and harassment.
The ‘I’ policies detail the flag displays and patriotic exercises allowed to and/or state mandated take place on school grounds.
All of the above policies were approved on the second and final reading.
Presented for the first reading was a policy regarding unencumbered time for elementary teachers K-5 and special education teachers at any grade level. State law now requires these teachers get 30 minutes of unencumbered time per day.
This time is self directed and free from assigned duties or responsibilities, including direct instruction or supervision of students.
This time without students cannot be used for parent/teacher conferences, bus duty, IEP and 504 meetings, team meetings, professional development activities (that are not self directed), and managing or supervising students in any way.
The principal of each school must develop this time into their respective schedules with guidance from the superintendent, according to the policy. If this time is not allocated for K-5 and special needs teachers, the state can take disciplinary action against the district or principals.
BHHS Principal Christina Snider presented revisions to the high school’s 2023 code of conduct for a first reading. She explained these revisions reflect the language used in Power School, a teaching software program and break down the codes so they are more specific.
A few of the revisions detailed were adding hand gestures to the category of profanity and profane language, including repercussions for using social media to share or discuss fights, and removed the smell of marijuana as a violation.
Principal Snider explained it is difficult for educators to determine if a student actually smoked marijuana, or was subject to an environment where marijuana is being used such as their home or ride to school solely based on smell. She said some students, to no fault of their own, live in an environment where this smell is prominent and potentially unavoidable.
• Scholars recognized for exemplifying the character trait optimism in the month of January at BHHS: Stephanie Teapole, Jamari Parker, Omarion Kinard, Cedric Walker, Breanna Carrigg, Liyah Scott, Messah McFadden, Emerson Moors, John Profit, Rosemary Blankenship, Kaitlyn Gibson, Allasia Walker, Mahyla Nickens, Isha Patel, Zijana Johnson
• Scholars recognized for exemplifying the character trait optimism in the month of January at WEHS: A’nyla Chavous, Reese Collins, Tatum Miller, Joc’Quise Washington, Omarion Williams
• Scholars recognized for exemplifying the character trait optimism in the month of January at MEMS: Ian Hughes, Zariah James, Rainey Priester, Zoey Burnette, Jaicion Williams, Trenton Moors, Cordasia Brown, Faith Washington, Na’Ava Floyd
• Scholars recognized for exemplifying the character trait optimism in the month of January at WEMS: Dahlia Najera , Shanya Mays, Grace Dorn.
• Scholars recognized for exemplifying the character trait optimism in the month of January at KEES: Jaila Dunbar, Jairus Housey, Mallerie Davis, Allen Staley, Neveah Elam, Christy Blume, Angel Creech, Mattison Reagan, Ollianna Morton, Wynter Padgett, Rylee Glass, Kaleigh Kneece, Carson Wright, Kendron Eubanks, Kennieth Moore, Jade Saturday, Kaylee Trimble
