Schools board hears reports, approves improvement plans and calendar change

Published: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 08:12 AM.

At the meeting of the Cleveland County Schools Board Monday, Jan. 12, members heard a report from the Rev. Lamont Littlejohn, a member of the Diversity Committee.

Littlejohn, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Shelby, updated board members on the recent activities of the committee, which meets several times a year.

Littlejohn said that minority hiring has increased in Cleveland County Schools, along with an awareness of cultural diversity. He noted that it's not just service hires, but also more administrators, teachers and teacher assistants, who are the most hands on with students.

Littlejohn also said student achievement in the classroom is the main focus, and those goals are being achieved. He talked about current programs that encourage parental involvement with the education of their children and their home environments.

In other business:

- The board recognized students from West Elementary School who led the pledge of allegiance. They also recognized the senior representatives from Crest, Kings Mountain, Shelby, Cleveland Early College, Shelby and Burns high schools.

- Superintendent Dr. Stephen Fisher recognized North Elementary principal, Amy Moss and West Elementary principal Heather Pagan for recent awards to their schools.

North Elementary School has been named a National Title I Distinguished School by the North Carolina state department of education. North Elementary School is one of two schools in North Carolina out of nearly 100 schools throughout the country that is being nationally recognized for exceptional student achievement in 2014.

West Elementary received national recognition as a 2014 Exemplary High Performing School and earning National Blue Ribbon School recognition. West Elementary was one of only five schools in North Carolina achieving an academic level worthy of being named a National Blue Ribbon School.

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Schools board hears reports, approves improvement plans and calendar change