District reports jump in AP qualifying scores; district wins Pre-K and anti-bullying grants

Mr. Adams, a district staff member, presented district assessment and grant results, saying 373 students took Advanced Placement exams this administration and 58% earned at least one qualifying score. “We've never seen AP scores like this in Morgan County,” Mr. Adams said, summarizing gains tracked over five years and noting the percentage of students with qualifying AP scores rose from about 20% historically to roughly 58% in the most recent year. Mr. Adams provided school-level details he said were reflected in the district’s results. He said Brewer High School produced qualifying scores in AP language (22), AP literature (16) and AP precalculus (40 qualifying scores, which he described as 50% of that class). He said other schools also had qualifying scores in AP chemistry, AP calculus and other exams; for example, a second-largest AP cohort at “PriceWool” produced qualifying scores in AP literature (10), AP language (15) and AP chemistry (6). Mr. Adams added that ACT achievement at Brewer rose by 12% and overall ACT achievement for another group was about 11%. The board also heard about recent grant awards and state funding changes. A Pre-K grant of $152,000 will support adding a second Pre-K class at Foughtville (identified in the presentation with two variant spellings in the transcript). Mr. Adams said the district also received an anti-bullying prevention grant of about $50,000. He said a recently adopted hybrid state funding model produced an increase in the district’s allocation of approximately $850,000 compared with prior estimates. District staff said the district’s summer-recovery programs for grades K–5 and grades 6–12 are ongoing or recently completed, and they said lower enrollment in K–5 summer sessions may reflect rising achievement. Staff also reported maintenance operations closed about 2,554 work orders in the prior 12-month period and that maintenance staff have completed required training in several trades. Board members praised the results. There were no formal votes attached to the informational presentation.