Students in the Cullman City School System will be returning to school a little later than originally planned to give the system time to prepare for new COVID-19 guidelines.

The Cullman City School Board approved a revised school calendar during Monday morning’s meeting that sets a new date of Aug. 19 for students to return to school.

State Superintendent Eric Mackey asked school systems last month to change their start date to as late as possible to make sure they can meet all of the guidelines that the state will set, and Cullman City Schools Superintendent Susan Patterson said this will allow for the system to make any necessary changes to meet those plans.

“What we’re doing is trying to prepare for what school might look like,” she said. 

She said the state’s guidelines were set to be announced this Friday, but she thinks it may be next week before they are released to the state’s school systems.

While the state’s plans aren’t yet known, the city system is preparing for three possibilities for school in the coming year: traditional classroom learning, virtual learning and a blend of the two, Patterson said.

For students who don’t feel comfortable returning to school in person, the system will be offering a virtual option and will be sending out a survey to parents to determine the number of students who may want to take that option, Patterson said.

She said the early feedback she has received from people in the community shows that there will likely not be very many students who want to continue virtual learning, but there are students who may have an underlying health issue that could put them at a higher risk from the virus.

When the state does release its guidelines, Patterson said she thinks there will be some room for each school system to make their own local decisions, which means some areas that become a hotspot for the virus could move to virtual learning while other systems may use all three of those options throughout the school year. 

“We’re trying to prepare for that as best we can,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll have all those guidelines in place to cover whatever we may need to do.”

In other business, the board:

• Approved the agreement with Encore Rehabilitation, Inc. for consultant services in physical and occupational therapy beginning Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2021.
• Proposed approval of 2020-2021 Head Start Salary Schedules. This item will be sent out to the Policy Review Committee and brought back for consideration.
• Proposed approval of revised Head Start Assistant Director/Fiscal Manager Job Description. This item will be sent out to the Policy Review Committee and brought back for consideration.
• Approved the Cullman City Head Start 2020-2021 Grant Application/Budget (including Program Operations, Training/Technical Assistance, Non-Federal Share and other Funding, Cost Allocation Plan, and Selection Criteria).
• Approval of the following Cullman City Head Start Partnership Agreements:
• Tammy Cornelius, CRNP of Cullman Primary Care
• Cullman Regional Medical Center- Melanie Tubbs and/or CRMC Dietician representative Signature Smiles of Cullman
• Urgent Care Center of Cullman
• Gave permission for Cullman City Head Start to contract with Dr. Katie Stidham to provide dental services.
• Gave permission for Cullman City Head Start to contract with Wellstone Behavioral Health for psychological consultation services beginning Sept. 1 through May 31, 2021.
• Gave permission for Cullman City Head Start to enter into agreement with Voyager Sopris Learning, Inc. to provide a one-day training for Cullman City Head Start staff.
• Gave permission for Cullman City Head Start to enter into an agreement with Essential Elements, LLC to provide a one-day training for Cullman City Head Start staff.
• Gave permission to contract with Mentor teachers for the 2020-2021 school year.
• Gave permission to contract with Sharon Drake to assist the Technology Coordinator with various technology projects and assist the Technology Integration Specialist in training teachers from July 1 through June 30, 2021.
• Gave permission to contract with Sharon Tidmore to assist the Technology Coordinator with various technology projects and assist the Technology Integration Specialist from July 1 through June 30, 2021.
• Gave permission to contract with the following nurses on an as-needed basis from June 1 through Aug. 5: Shan Goodlett, Dori Potter, Kalysha Whittle, and Amanda Baker (General Fund).
• Gave permission to contract with the following teachers to facilitate the Cullman City Schools Bridging the Summer Gap Camp – An EL Tutoring Program: Tera Cabri and Susan NeSmith (Title III Funds).
• Gave permission to contract with three Cullman City Schools instructional assistants to provide services during the Cullman City Schools Summer Reading Camp.
• Gave permission to provide a stipend for teachers attending the CCS Summer Reading Camp 2020 training on June 25, 2020 to prepare instructionally for the camp ($150.00).
• Gave permission to contract with the following nurses to provide services during the CCS Summer Reading Camp (Cares Act/General Fund):
• Amanda Baker – proposed days July 6, 7, 8, and 9
• Dori Potter – proposed days July 13, 16, 22, and 23
• Kalysha Whittle – proposed days July 14, 15, 20, and 21
• Shan Goodlett – proposed days July 27, 28, 29 and 30
• Gave permission to contract with Karla Rodriguez to provide Spanish translation for the Cullman City Schools Bridging the Summer Gap Camp (Title III Funds)
• Gave permission to contract with the following teachers to prepare and teach a kindergarten readiness summer program: Fran Brown, Brittney Calvert and Marcia Stringer (Head Start Funds).
• Gave permission to contract with the following instructional assistants to prepare and assist with a kindergarten readiness summer program: Kayla Aaron and Lucero Michaus-Lejarazo (Head Start Funds).
• Gave permission to contract with Karla Rodriguez to prepare and assist with a kindergarten readiness summer program (Head Start funds).
• Gave permission to contract with Donna Avery to prepare meals/snacks for a kindergarten readiness summer program (Head Start funds).
• Gave permission for the following Head Start support staff to prepare and assist with a kindergarten readiness summer program: Holly Abbott, Lois Bice, Heather Battles, and Kalysha Whittle (Head Start Funds).
• Gave permission to provide stipends for the following teachers to attend PD trainings during the summer of 2020: Jessica Brooks, Fran Brown, Brittney Calvert, Jade Fitzgerald, and Marcia Stringer (Head Start/OSR Funds).
• Gave permission to provide stipends for the following instructional assistants to attend PD trainings during the summer of 2020: Kayla Aaron, Lucero Michaus-Lejarazo, Kayla Rogers, and Ginger Wood (Head Start/OSR Funds).
• Gave permission to provide stipends for the following Head Start support staff to attend PD trainings to prepare for upcoming school year: Heather Battles and Kalysha Whittle (Head Start Funds).
• Gave permission to contract with Kalysha Whittle to work up to five days during the 2020- 2021 school year to complete the duties and requirements associated with the Head Start Health, Nutrition and Safety (Head Start Funds).
• Approved the following personnel considerations:

Resignations:

• Ashley Helms, part-time Special Education teacher at West Elementary School, effective June 1.
• Debra Blackwood, Science teacher at Cullman High School, effective June 10.
• Caroline McKellar, 3rd grade teacher at West Elementary School, effective June 16.

Leaves of Absence:

• Jessica Brooks, Head Start Pre-K teacher, requesting FMLA Sept. 21 through Jan. 4, 2021 (tentative dates).
• James Bell, custodian at Cullman Middle School, requests FMLA June 3 through July 24 (tentative dates).

Transfers:

• Daniel Moore, transfer from Secondary Alternative School teacher at Central Office to Computer teacher at Cullman Middle School, effective June 16.
• Bama Turner, transfer from seventh grade science teacher at Cullman Middle School to secondary alternative school teacher at Central Office, effective June 16.

Employments:

• Sharon Norman, custodian at Cullman City Primary School, beginning June 17.
• Susan Watts, temporary first grade teacher at Cullman City Primary School (to fill a leave of absence) beginning 2020-2021 school year through Oct. 9 (tentative dates).
• Daniel Guinn, science teacher at Cullman High School, beginning 2020-2021 school year.

Modification of Employment:

• Dreama Young, Child Nutrition Program Director, modification of employment from 11 months to 12 months, effective Aug. 1.

Principal Contracts:

• Tricia Culpepper, Cullman City Primary School, July 1 through June 30, 2023.
• Dr. Jay Page, West Elementary School, July 1 through June 30, 2023.
• David Wiggins, East Elementary School, July 1 through June 30, 2023.
• James Johnson, Cullman Middle School, July 1 through June 30, 2023.
• Kim Hall, Cullman High School, July 1 through June 30, 2023.
• The Cullman City School Board will next meet on July 21 at 8 a.m.