Board approves school improvement plans but asks for apples-to-apples comparisons for two Brevard schools

Transylvania County Schools presented school improvement plans on Nov. 17 and the board voted to submit them to the state while directing staff to provide comparative reports for two schools flagged for deeper review.

Carrie Norris, who led the first read, said the district uses the IndyStar platform and a new "direction" report that the Department of Public Instruction recommended because it reduces confusion created by multi-year tables. "This is a formal plan that drives school improvement," Norris said, explaining the platform, stakeholder teams and the target dates.

Several board members pushed back on the new report layout, saying it removed granularity and made it difficult to see whether previously scheduled tasks were completed. "I can't look at this because I pulled them both up, and I can't tell... I don't know what this plan tells me anymore because this is the first time we've seen this report," said one board member (speaker 5), who had requested the two schools be represented in a comparable format.

After discussion, the board voted to approve the plans as submitted so the district could meet state deadlines, with an explicit motion to have Brevard Elementary School and Brevard Middle School re-reviewed and presented in an apples-to-apples comparison at the Dec. 15 board meeting. Staff confirmed the two schools are due to the state by Dec. 5 and said they will provide the requested comparative documents.

What's next: The district will submit approved plans to the state and return with comparative reports for the two Brevard schools at the Dec. 15 meeting; principals remain available for one-on-one conversations beforehand.