Demopolis BOE hires five in Thursday meeting

The Demopolis City Schools Board of Education made five hires Thursday morning during a brief called meeting. The personnel moves are as follows:

• Hired Rachel White as English/Language Arts Teacher at Demopolis High School
• Hired Brandi Dannelly as girls Physical Education Teacher at Demopolis High School
• Hired Aubrey McElroy as Science Teacher at Demopolis Middle School
• Hired Ieasha Morris as Lunchroom Worker at Westside Elementary School
• Hired Norvie Womack as Career Prep Teacher at Demopolis Middle School.

Womack will assume varsity boys basketball head coaching duties. Additionally, the board voted to move Virginia Goodlett to a 12-month assistant principals position at Demopolis High School. Goodlett spent the previous academic year as an assistant principal at both Westside and U.S. Jones.

“She can hit the ground running. She has been in the high school. She knows the high school,” Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said of the logical fit that places Goodlett under the direction of DHS Principal Blaine Hathcock. “That’s what Mr. Hathcock needs. He needs someone to come in and hit the ground running. She is going to work with instruction. She’s going to work with the upperclassmen and do more with instruction. She knows the teachers there. She knows the staff. She is just going to compliment Mr. Hathcock and Mr. Pittman well.”

Goodlett’s return to DHS also puts the school back near its full administrative strength after it carried only one assistant principals for the 2016-2017 school year.

“Traditionally (the second assistant principal position at DHS) has been there. We did not have it there last year, but we are putting it back this year. Our numbers are going to be up a little bit,” Kallhoff said. “You know, 750 is that magic number where you want to have that second administrator. I don’t know that we’ll get to 750, but we’re going to be very close to 750 at the high school. We lost a small senior class and I think there’s a 50 student difference in our freshman class that’s coming up.”

In a corresponding move, the board will post the split assistant principal spot that Goodlett is vacating in her return to the high school. The elementary assistant principal position will be posted for 14 days and should be filled at the July 17 board meeting.

“I feel very good. The principals know what their needs are at their schools. We’re still lucky to have quite a few applicants, especially at our elementary level. It’s difficult to fill some of the math and science openings or special ed, but we haven’t had many of those this summer,” Kallhoff said of where the system stands with only six weeks until teachers report for Institute. “I feel good. We’re bringing our staffs together. There’s just a few small little openings that are left, but we’ve got another month where I think we can get those gaps filled.”

The board also approved the school system’s Foster Care Plan, a protocol that satisfies the state mandate of accommodating students in foster homes.

“It is due during the summer. They want to know what your plan is and how you’re going to accommodate foster care students within your system. Last year we had seven. This year we anticipate nine. You want to make sure you remove any barriers,” Kallhoff explained. “Of course you want to remove barriers for any student, but you certainly want to remove barriers for foster care students who have had challenges they’ve had to go through already in their young lives. You want to make sure their school life is as smooth as it can be.”

As part of that plan, Demopolis High will partner with the Marengo County office of the Department of Human Resources to afford students in foster care every possible resource.

“It talks about the partnership with DHR, removing any barriers as far as lunch status, and just make sure they’re comfortable and things are going well in school,” Kallhoff said. “Dawn Hewitt is our go-to person. It’s communication. It’s her knowing that she has a direct line to Gina Johnston, our principals, our counselors, me. When they have a student they’re having to deal with for whatever reason, they’re not having to go through red tape and we’re making sure we can identify that child that particular school day and just make things as smooth as possible for that child.”