Board hears updates on underperforming schools, early college success and staffing progress

District leaders told trustees the schools identified as underperforming under the 2023–24 report card ' Chester Park School of the Arts, Chester Park Colt, Chester Middle School and Chester High School ' have submitted continuous improvement plans to be reviewed and reported to the State per the South Carolina code.

Miss Khalid, representing Curriculum & Instruction, walked trustees through the rubric teams used to diagnose needs, select improvement strategies and plan for monitoring and evaluation. Board members asked why Chester Park Arts listed $0 as the total cost of strategies for its plan; Miss Khalid said some costs may be covered by district funding and staff will review and correct entries as needed prior to state submission.

Assistant principal and Early College director Hubert Jacobar introduced senior Dakota Sanders, who said the Early College Program helped her transition to college-level expectations and saved students tuition costs. Jacobar reported the cohort earned a cumulative average of 83.37% in semester 1, estimated semester-1 tuition savings of about $29,000 and projected about $31,000 in credits scheduled for the next semester.

Human Resources director Wendell Sumpter presented a staffing snapshot: 13.5 FTE vacancies reported in September 2024 were reduced to 7 as of Jan. 23; the district reported 66 departures in 2023' 24 and 88 new hires for 2024' 25, including 45 international teachers and transfers and alternative-certification hires. Sumpter cited retention incentives, bonuses and recruitment fairs as contributing to the improved vacancy picture.

Trustees asked for follow-up on plan cost entries and alignment of strategies across schools; staff said they would provide updates to the board.