As 2017 sinks below the temporal horizon and 2018 dawns, the Brookhaven School Board took time at a recent meeting to reflect on the district’s closing semester.

“We’re basically just finishing up the year,” Brookhaven Superintendent Ray Carlock said.

He said the present academic term has bore witness to the implementation of new educational standards and witnessed the refreshed vigor of local educators. As a result, the district has seen a great deal of improvement from each of its schools over the past few months.

“We’ve had some challenges and a lot of change,” Carlock said. “But I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made so far.”

One of the recent changes Carlock referenced is the inclusion of extra training for Brookhaven students and teachers. As discussed at their monthly meeting Dec. 19, the district recently made an agreement with Bailey Education Group, facilitating an instruction period to help city third-graders prepare for the writing portion of their gateway literacy tests.

Bailey Education was contacted after Brookhaven principals suggested more “Google Doc” training would benefit their students’ long-term, test-taking success.

“It’s a two- or three-day agreement for some professional development training,” Carlock said. 

Meanwhile, the city’s principals are closing out their first semester by preparing progress reports to present to the board after the New Year begins. Carlock said Lipsey School has already delivered its year-end statement, and it shows an improvement from last year’s report.

He said accountability has really been the name of the game for the Brookhaven School District this semester. Each school has kept the board abreast of its monthly progress since August. Carlock said this helps ensure every student in the city is receiving a topnotch, quality education.

“I’m very pleased with how hard all of our teachers and staff are working,” he said. “They’ve really done an excellent job this first semester.”