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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:29 PM CST
School board approves CHS restructuring plan

By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON — Freshmen entering Charleston High School who didn’t meet state testing standards in reading or math when they were middle school will have to take additional classes in those subjects.

The extra classes were part of the restructuring plan for CHS that the school board approved Wednesday. The plan will be incorporated in the school’s overall improvement plan and was needed because CHS didn’t meet state testing requirements this year.

CHS Principal Diane Hutchins said the additional classes and other changes will go along with other improvements the school has made and are already in place.

The board approved the restructuring plan in its draft form and later will have to vote on a more detailed version that will be part of the larger improvement plan.

CHS didn’t make the Annual Yearly Progress requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Law for the second time in three years. About 56 percent of the school’s students, last year’s junior class, met the state test’s requirements in math, while 70 percent had to reach that mark to make AYP.

In other votes Wednesday, the board:

n Hired Brad Oakley as principal for Charleston Middle School beginning July 1. Oakley is presently the school’s assistant principal.

CMS is in its second year without a permanent principal. Michael Schmitz has been in the position on an interim basis since 2008 when then-Principal Sandy Wilson and Assistant Principal Jerry Calandrilla left for jobs in other school districts. In January, the board hired Scott Williams, a school administrator in northern Illinois, as CMS principal but he later withdrew because of problems relocating.

Oakley has been in in education for 16 years, according to information from the school district, and earlier worked as a teacher, coach and athletic director at CHS.

- Authorized CMS to join a newly formed athletic conference that will be called the South Central Seven and will begin with the 2010-2011 school year.

The other schools that are planning to be in the conference are Effingham Junior High School, Teutopolis Junior High School, Mattoon Middle School, Nuttall Junior High School in Robinson, Effingham St. Anthony Junior High School and Jasper County Junior HIgh School in Newton.

n Adopted the school district’s annual property tax levy which district financial consultant David Kuetemeyer said will likely result in a $177,000 revenue increase next year.

- Approved Hutchins’ retirement following the 2013-2014 school year.

Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.

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