Kershaw County board: designations drop, most remaining labels affect students with disabilities
Summary
District officials told the school board the number of state accountability designations fell from 28 to 17 this year but 12 of those 17 affect the disabled (IEP) subgroup; staff said targeted funds and a state transformation coach are expected for CSI schools and that the district will focus on tier‑1 instruction and teacher supports.
Kershaw County School Board members on Feb. 3 heard district leaders describe shifts in state accountability ratings and plans to support schools flagged for extra help.
District staff told the board the number of designated underperforming schools fell from 28 to 17 this year, and that 12 of those 17 designations are in the disabled (students with IEPs) subgroup. "We decreased our underperforming schools by half," a district presenter said, adding, "We had 4, and now we have 2." The presenter described state rules that compute an "all student score" and then compare each subgroup against those statewide thresholds.
Why this matters: those designations can trigger improvement plans, state review and, in some cases, targeted funding or technical assistance. Board members asked whether the labels still come with money. District staff said specific funding amounts were not yet known but that CSI schools will receive funds and that Midway Elementary will be allocated a state transformation coach to work with its leadership team.
District officials emphasized instruction-focused responses rather than special education isolation. "Students with disabilities are regular ed students first," a presenter said, calling for high-quality tier‑1 instruction in classrooms and professional development that reaches teachers. Staff described plans to visit higher-performing schools, use a state dashboard tool (formerly "navigator," now referred to as "GPS") to monitor student predictions, and bring improvement plans to the state for approval where required.
Board members pressed for concrete supports for general education teachers and for details on how students with IEPs will be held to grade‑level standards. A presenter said the budget process will be used to identify resources and that the district will begin school visits and peer reviews as soon as the state process allows.
Votes at a glance: the board approved the meeting agenda and the consent agenda at the start of the session; later, after an executive session on personnel, the board approved administration recommendations concerning employment matters.
The board signaled a next step of using budget planning and school visits to target supports for schools with designations; staff also committed to follow up with exact counts where board members requested historical subgroup numbers.
