Education

With the start of school coming up on Wednesday, teachers, students and parents are gearing up for the 2013-14 school year.

And, according to the National Retail Federation, that means about $26.7 billion will be pumped into the economy for school supplies, new clothes and electronics. Including those going to college that works out to about $634 per shopper on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics.

Shelby County Public Schools didn’t make progress among its juniors last year toward the goal of having all students college and career ready, a trend administrators say requires a new approach.

Juniors for 2012-13 didn’t perform as well the previous class had on the ACT, although the district’s composite score was flat from 2011-12.

That composite of 18.8 also left students performing well below the ACT- and state-set benchmarks that predict success in college, members of the Shelby County School Board heard Thursday.

The Shelby County School Board approved on Thursday a 2013-14 pay schedule for substitute teachers that included budget cuts that will save the district more than $143,000.
However, the decrease in pay is less than what had been proposed in February that would have saved the district $200,000. That initial change was part of a large proposal from the district’s budget committee that included eliminating nearly $2 million and about 26 jobs from the district's budget.

The Shelby County Board of Education approved and read its 2013 evaluation of Superintendent James Neihof during Thursday’s regular meeting at the board offices at 1155 Main Street.

Of the nine professional standards used in the review, Neihof’s average grade was “Excellent.” National and state associations developed the standards, and the rating range is Unacceptable, Needs Improvement, Good, Excellent and Outstanding.