The Enterprise City Schools will use a new method of keeping parents informed and a new director of elementary instruction has been named.
Both were approved at a special called Enterprise Board of Education meeting Thursday, June 11.
At the recommendation of Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Dr. Camille Wright, the board approved changing to School Messenger Notification Service as a means of notifying parents.
School Messenger delivers messages through multiple channels, Wright said. Parents can set preferences for phone, email, text or social media as a preference for how they want to be contacted by the school.
The service provided is similar to what is being used now, Wright said, but will have increased technology and will be about $3,000 less expensive than the current notification method.
Wright’s recommendation to name Katrina Bowling as director of elementary instructor for the school system did not meet with the same immediate approval by the board.
EBOE member Dr. Danny Whitaker asked Wright if any other applications had been received prior to deciding on Bowling. About 70 applications, Wright replied.
No one other than Bowling had been interviewed, she said in response to Whitaker’s next question.
“There were some great candidates,” Wright said. “One of the reason’s that we did not interview is that we are not required to interview, we are required to post (the position).”
“One of our strongest needs, I feel like, is to not start down a different direction and do anything new,” Wright said. “We wanted to continue on doing what we’ve been doing for the past year and have some consistency.”
Wright said that Bowling’s qualifications are “appropriate and acceptable, in my opinion.”
Bowling’s appointment was approved by majority vote, with Whitaker casting the only dissenting vote. He was not questioning Bowling’s selection, he said, just the selection method.
Bowling has served as Enterprise City School’s Coordinator of Instructional Support since July 2014. She served previously as technology coordinator with Madison City Schools in Madison, from December 2010 until July 2014.
Madison City Schools in Madison is where Wright served as curriculum and instructional program director prior to being named EBOE superintendent in January 2014.
In other business, the board approved contracts between the Enterprise High School football team and Southern Coaches for a June 25 trip to football camp, the EHS band and Southern Coaches for the 2015 football season and the EHS football team and Capital Trailways for the 2015 football season.
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4 comments:
teach99 posted at 10:47 am on Mon, Jun 22, 2015.
Thank you Dr. Whitaker. At least there is one person on the school board that is not a puppet. In thirty one years of teaching in the Enterprise system, I never saw a superintendent drive any kind of Cadillac nor did any superintendent have a personal driver! Our school system has some serious issues! Let's get the ball rolling for election of school board members! Of course that means a new mayor and city council as well.
William Church posted at 3:27 pm on Wed, Jun 17, 2015.
Is anyone surprised that Dr. Wright "hand picked" one-out-of-seventy from her former home district in Madison? Not much point in taking applications if that is the process, is there? Also, judging from her quotes in the paper, Dr. Wright could use some remedial instruction in proper English usage and grammar. Not sure we are going in the right direction with this superintendent. When Common Core goes down in Alabama (and it is headed that way), will she adapt or fight it?
Stan Stinson posted at 10:00 am on Sat, Jun 13, 2015.
A Tale of Two Doctors
One a medical doctor and one an “educational leadership” doctor. However, in this tale the medical doctor provided the education and leadership. Dr. Whitaker's questions made it clear he understands the process any employer interested in hiring the best candidate for a job must follow. Dr. Wright's answers indicated she is either ignorant of this process or oblivious to it and will use the power entrusted to her by the Citizens of Enterprise to do what she wants to do. Shouldn’t Enterprise reasonably expect more than this from the Superintendent?
This meeting brings into question every hiring and firing decision made by the superintendent over the past year and a half. Have they all been handled this way? All have been done with the unanimous approval of the school board. While the board does not directly hire and fire, their unanimous approval of all of these decisions brings their oversight responsibility into question. Why have the basic questions Dr. Whitaker asked in this meeting not been asked in a year and a half of personnel approvals? Shouldn’t Enterprise reasonably expect more than this from the School Board?
Zig Ziglar often quoted studies that prove, in large part, we do get what we expect. Have we lowered our expectations so much this kind of behavior by our “leaders” has become normal? If so, that is sad. However, it can be changed. Those who want this to change can Take Back Enterprise!
Dr. Wright’s response to this on social media was a post that said, “Sometimes it’s better to just remain silent and smile.” That is good advice “sometimes” but I am not sure if now is one of those times. It obviously isn’t one of those times for me. I hope it isn’t for you either.
Wake Up Enterprise!
Republican posted at 4:37 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
It seems to be that our superintendent continues to get what she wants! Will anyone ever stand up and stop her?