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Derby Middle School reports attendance gains, new mental-health services and electronic hall-pass system
Summary
Principal Clint Shipley told the board the school has reduced tardies and suspensions, launched an on-site mental-health partnership with Comcare, expanded mixed-abilities programming and implemented Securly Hall Pass to limit out-of-class time.
Clint Shipley, principal at Derby Middle School, updated the USD 260 board on Jan. 27 about academic and behavioral goals and recent operational changes at DMS, including a district mental-health intervention partnership and a new electronic hall-pass system.
Shipley said the school set ambitious targets this year — a 6% increase in students scoring 3 or 4 on state assessments, a 7% reduction in chronic absenteeism and a 6% increase in students gaining an API level — and reported early-semester progress. He highlighted several implemented changes intended to boost instructional time and student supports.
Key points from Shipley’s report
- Mental-health intervention team: A grant-funded program partners DMS with Comcare to provide on-site therapeutic services. Shipley said six students were receiving services at the time of the report and the program has a wait list; services reduce class time missed because students can be seen in the building.
- Securly Hall Pass: An electronic hall-pass subscription now limits passes (the school set building-wide caps such as a maximum of 15 students out of class at a time and a two-student bathroom limit) and blocks passes during the first and last five minutes of class. Shipley said teacher-reported tardies fell from about 4,000 first-semester last year to about 1,450 this semester, and out-of-school suspensions decreased from 47 to 27 in comparable periods.
- Vaping and detectors: The school doubled the number of vape detectors; documented offenses held steady compared with the previous year despite greater surveillance.
- Mixed-abilities classroom and Bulldog Buddies: The school added a mixed-abilities classroom; staff recruited peer volunteers (Bulldog Buddies) and expanded a Panther Watch volunteer program to increase adult supervision and inclusion.
Shipley noted capacity limits in intervention classes and a need to balance space as programs such as Boys & Girls Club and the MHP program share building areas. Board members asked about substitute teachers and hall-pass codes; Shipley said teachers or substitutes can enter a pass code to activate a pass and staff will check sub packets to ensure substitutes have codes.
Ending
Shipley said the programs are early in implementation and the school will continue to monitor intervention enrollment, space needs and data on attendance and infractions. He told the board he expects to return with updates as programs mature.
