CATS scores show big leap

CATS (Commonwealth Accountability Testing  System) results are in and we like what we see at Campbell County Schools. As a district we improved over 5.9 points, the single highest gain in our district since 1999 when the CATS started.  I think this is a fine example of how we are coming together as a professional learning community and doing Whatever It Takes to make our students successful.  All of our schools made gains and I am quite proud of the successes across the district. Our overall score of 84.4 ranks us 54th among the state’s 175 school districts. We are 30th among the county districts. We must always remember that it takes all our employees, parents and students to make us successful.  So thanks to everyone in every position for doing your part to make our district the success it is and will be for years to come. 

Already testing again

While we are just getting the results of last years CATS test, many of our students have already taken components of this year’s test.   Seniors spent part of the last two weeks working on the On-Demand writing portion of the test while underclassmen worked on their PLAN and EXPLORE tests which are all parts of the CATS test. The results of these tests can show us not only how our students are performing but show trends among various student groups. Studying that information in depth allows us to see where we are succeeding and where we need an increased focus. We will continue to study the results of these tests and do Whatever It Takes to reach all of our students.

Author, author

Two of our educators had books published this month. Roxanna Gross, a 5th grade teacher at Campbell Ridge Elementary, published her first book, The Pit Monster, is a children's mystery. It is available online.  Mark Manis, an alternative portfolio cluster leader, has published a book entitled Along Life's Path: Experiences Through Poetry. It can be purchased online. For more information about the book or author, you can visit his Web site. Their accomplishments speaks volumes about the caliber of staff we have at CCS. Both should be congratulated for their works.

Children’s Inc award

Students at Grant’s Lick Elementary spent part of last year collecting food and clothes for the less fortunate, books for children in Honduras, and school supplies for students in Haiti. They gathered support for a pet food drive and toys to deliver during the holidays. For their hard work and dedication to these projects, they and GLE as a whole were presented with the School of Contribution Service Learning award from Children’s Inc. which sponsors service learning projects across Northern Kentucky. Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. This year, the students are once again hard at work helping others while they learn lessons in everyday mathematics, social students, geography and more. The award comes with a $1,000 check for more service learning projects.

Give me a break

Fall break is just around the corner. If you are a parent of a young child, please be sure to make arrangements for your child’s day care. Children’s Inc. will be providing care over the week of fall break and still has some openings. You can reach them at 431-2075 if you would like to make a reservation.

Calendar

The upcoming weeks are filled with meetings, festivals and special events. Be sure to check the online calendar as well as the sports schedules for events you may want to attend.  If you know of other events that should be added to the calendar, please contact us.

Decision Makers

The next meeting of the Board of Education is Oct. 8 at Campbell County Middle School at 7 p.m. All Board of Education meetings are open to the public. A complete listing of the meetings is available online.