The Shadow
ASHWOOD – Attendance in Bath County schools has rebounded since illness plagued students in October.
Ninety-six percent of students were in class Tuesday, Director of Technology and Administrative Services Paul Lancaster reported to the Bath County School Board Tuesday night, a stark contrast to the nearly one-quarter of students who were absent from school in late October.
“That’s wonderful,” Lancaster commented.
The absence rate at Millboro Elementary School reached a high of approximately 45 percent, while at Valley Elementary, the absence rate soared to about 35 percent.
Twenty-four percent of the entire Bath County student population missed school on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
“Our staff absence rate never hit the extreme that the students’ rate did,” Lancaster explained.
Dr. David Smith, superintendent of Bath County Public Schools, thanked health officials for working with the schools to obtain vaccines and provide vaccinations for students and staff at all three schools.
“We don’t have exact counts of how many were vaccinated,” Dr. Smith said. “It does appear that over half of our students were vaccinated.”
Also Tuesday night, the Bath County School Board was updated on pupil-teacher ratios in all three schools.
At Millboro, the overall pupil-teacher ratio is 15.75:1, while the ratio at Valley is 16.14:1.
In grades 5-7, the ratio is 18.3:1 at Millboro, while at Valley, the ratio is 15.8:1.
A total of 674 students were enrolled in Bath County schools, based on data compiled on Sept. 30. That total includes 126 students at Millboro, 226 students at Valley and 322 at Bath County High School. Forty-nine non-resident students are enrolled in Bath County schools.
“Very favorable pupil-teacher ratio,” commented Sue Hirsh, director of instruction and personnel for Bath County Public Schools.
In other business Tuesday night, the school board approved participation in a Rockbridge Community Services Board program aimed at discouraging bullying in schools.
Rachel’s Challenge is a program that inspires, instructs and enables students to bring positive change to the school atmosphere.
Rachel Scott was a victim of the Columbine (Colo.) High School shootings in 1999.
The program named for her aims to stop bullying in schools through intervention and prevention.
“I think this is a wonderful thing,” school board member Dreama Burns said.
In other business Tuesday night during its regular November meeting held at Valley Elementary School, the Bath County School Board:
– approved a Virginia School Boards Association policy;
– authorized planning for the purchase and installation of emergency generators in Bath County schools;
– tabled an American Red Cross shelter agreement;
– discussed the Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2010-2015;
– discussed results of a recent health insurance survey among school employees;
– received an update regarding on-time graduation rates. The on-time graduation rate in Bath County was 83.1 percent, compared to a rate of 83.2 percent for the Class of 2009 statewide;
– resolved to write a letter to the Bath County Board of Supervisors requesting that money returned to the county from an insurance reimbursement and BARC funds be used to offset costs associated with locker room renovations at BCHS;
– approved locker room renovations contingent upon receiving these funds from the board of supervisors;
– resolved to seek VSBA assistance during the school board’s superintendent search;
– approved the appointment of Martha Carter as a teacher at Valley Elementary;
– accepted the resignation of Pamela Farmer, a teacher at Valley Elementary;
– appointed Jeanenne Campbell as a half-time school nurse;
– reassigned Jane Wright as a half-time school nurse and half-time aide;
– approved the addition of two hours per day total time to MES food staff.
