Education

With the Northside Early Childhood Center now under way, the Shelby County School Board will continue to move forward with plans for the new Southside Elementary.

At its meeting on Oct. 25, the board approved the plans to be sent to the Kentucky Department of Education and, when accepted, for the bidding process to begin. The bids were originally scheduled to be opened on Nov. 29.

The Next-Generation Learners, the first component of the state’s new educational accountability system shows that the state, by its own measures, Needs Improvement.

Begun for the 2011-12 school year, the evaluation combines standardized and end-of-year test results in a complex formula for evaluating each school in the state, and eventually it will include accountability measures for teachers and administration, as well.

Results for Shelby County Public Schools show much the same as the state’s: improvement is still needed.

Shelby County Public Schools Superintendent James Neihof reported to the school board Thursday that the district is nearing completion of its Career Academy plan and hopes to present it by mid-winter to give students, parents and schools time to prepare for its implementation next year.

The academy will be similar to the accelerated academy, giving students focused on the workplace after graduation a path to excel and be more marketable.

Neihof highlighted several areas, which include:

The Shelby County Board of Education will hear a report on the district’s first round of MAP testing during its regular meeting on Thursday.

The session will be at 7 p.m. in the district’s offices at 1155 Main St. in Shelbyville.

The Measures of Academic Progress tests are given three times each year – once each in the fall, winter and spring ­­– to gauge progress. The fall tests can be used to judge a student’s progress from one year to the next and set the baseline for growth in the same school year.