AT&T contributes $10,000 to Demopolis dual enrollment
Demopolis City Schools’ dual enrollment program received a $10,000 shot in the arm when AT&T contributed a check to the system at its Board of Education meeting Monday.
The dual enrollment program allows Demopolis High School sophomores, juniors and seniors to earn post-secondary credits while in high school. This is the fourth year of the dual enrollment partnership between DHS and the University of West Alabama, and the eighth year the program has been offered.
The $10,000 will be used to provide scholarships for dual enrollment students.
Terri Williams of AT&T’s External Affairs office made the presentation, with the assistance of Demopolis City Schools Foundation executive director Amanda Barnes.
“Helping our kids succeed in school and after graduation benefits not only those students, but our communities as a whole,” said AT&T Alabama President Fred McCallum in a press release prepared for the event. “We are proud to support this impressive program and to help these students take the next steps toward college or career.”
In the last two years, approximately 60 students have earned an average of 32 credit hours across a broad spectrum of course offerings, including math, psychology, history, English, speech and computer science. Currently, the program has 61 dual enrollment students taking 83 courses for a total of 249 credit hours this fall.
Staying on the subject of finances, the BOE noted as part of its discussion of the system’s Continuous Improvement Plans that 73 cents of every dollar in the Demopolis system is spent on instruction. That is nine cents above the state average, Superintendent Dr. Al Griffin noted.
The board approved a sub grant agreement with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to install energy efficient lighting in three of the school gyms. Demopolis City Schools’ share of the project will be $13,637.
In other matters, the board approved an out-of-state trip for three DHS Future Farmers of America students to the national convention in Louisville, Ky., approved a contract with Dana Eddins for speech services, and approved a Medicaid Administrative Claim (MAC) grant that will reimburse the system for referring children to Medicaid.
Griffin reported that the system has received a $15,600 grant from Preparing Alabama Students for Success (PASS) to address drop out rates, graduation rates and disciplinary problems.
In regard to personnel matters, the BOE accepted the resignation of technology technician Paul Robertson, approved FMLA leave for Kristi Stokes, approved Royce McKinney as special education bus aide, and also approved Bryan Bradley as DMS baseball coach, William Gulley as DCH truancy officer and Angela Sanders as assistant DMS girls’ basketball coach.
At the meeting’s conclusion, Griffin expressed sympathy for Demopolis City Schools CFO Evelyn James in the loss of her husband, and to the Hill family in the loss of former Superintendent Dr. Wesley Hill.