CCS strategic plan envisions new intermediate school

Patrick Camp, The Cullman Times, Ala.
Updated ·4 min read

Jul. 18—After months of preparation, Cullman City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff presented a long-range strategic plan to the public during last week's board meeting on Thursday, July 13.

CCS first began preparing to update its strategic plan in January when it announced a series of community meetings focused on gathering the public's thoughts which it would use to create a "roadmap" for future planning.

"When I've led the process of developing a strategic plan, I like to do things a little bit differently than it was done here before. I like community-driven strategic plans. That's the purpose of these three meetings, to share with you guys [those attending the meeting] the pillars of what we want of our strategic plan," Kallhoff said at the first community meeting in January.

Those attending each meeting were asked to complete a survey where they could rank the district's performance in six key areas and provide thoughts on how the system was doing well or how it could improve.

The six areas of focus are:

Facilities

Curriculum and Assessment

* Student Support and Safety

* Employees

* Technology

* Finance and Resources

More than 130 responses were collected from students, faculty, parents and community members and considered in the drafting of the new plan presented by Kallhoff on Thursday.

"We want to work in concert with the community as we map out the next phase of Cullman City Schools, which is why we've conducted numerous public meetings and surveys to develop a plan the people of Cullman can feel comfortable with, while also knowing these steps will greatly benefit our students," Kallhoff said in a press release sent to The Times.

The plan presented by Kallhoff, titled the 2023 Pillars of Commitment and Strategic Plan for the Future, addressed each of the intended focus areas by maintaining and expanding upon the district's previous success strategies.

One major change was a proposed intermediate school which would consolidate the district's third through fifth grade students.

Currently, students within these grades are split between East Elementary School and West Elementary School despite the district having a unified student body at all other grade levels. Officials say that by establishing a single intermediate school, the system will be able to better serve the students and families within the city of Cullman and create a more cohesive primary educational pathway.

Kallhoff said there is no specific timeline in place for this facility in an emailed response to The Times and considered it a "commitment rather than a goal."

The district plans to begin the work needed to secure funding sources upon the completion of an ongoing facility study. Kallhoff said the study should determine the best use of the district's current facilities to create the combined intermediate school while expanding the existing pre-K programs, which have frequently seen higher demand than capacity has allowed.

Kallhoff said he is expecting the results of this study to be presented to the board at its next meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at West Elementary.

In other business the board:

Recognized soon-to-be second grade student Arleigh Pearson for her 3rd place finish in the two dimensional art category at the State Superintendent's Visual Art Contest.

* Approved summer stipends for the following teacher who attended Neuhaus Training:

Tracie Kirkwood, Hannah Hunt, Kassey Cox, Amanda Tanner, Tera Thomas, Kristi Jackson, Kristina Kallhoff.

* Approved a stipend for professional development training for Jenna Bates, Stephanie Childers and Leslie Dawson.

* Approved a contract with Danielle Shelton to provide coaching duties through Aug. 1.

* Approved the joint purchasing agreement with Sand Mountain CNP Cooperative.

* Approved a Head Start contract with Erika Lee, PFCE Manager, for a work day to prepare for the 2023-2024 school year.

* Approved for the Cullman High School Football team to travel to Ducktown, TN on July 28.

* Accepted the following resignations:

Morgan Smith — Physical education instructional assistant; Sabrina Yarbrough — CNP manager at West Elementary School.

* Approved the following transfers:

Abigail Bennet — from special education teacher at Cullman City Primary School to special education teacher at East Elementary School; Diane Phillips — from special education teacher at East Elementary School and Cullman City Primary School to special education teacher at West Elementary School; Katie Jackson — from receptionist at Cullman High School to executive secretary at CCS central office; Jill Wright — from head start pre-K auxiliary teacher to head start pre-K teacher; Reassigned Amanda Hughes from kindergarten teacher at Cullman City Primary School to OSR pre-K teacher at Cullman City Primary School.

* Approved the conditional employment for the following personnel:

Kasmira Hand — secretary/receptionist at East Elementary School; Kailey Billiot — part-time special education instructional assistant at Cullman City Primary School; Emily Speegle — head start instructional assistant at Cullman City Primary School.

Patrick Camp can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 238