The Fulton County Board of Education met for their monthly work session at 3 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2022.

• Chief Information Officer Dr. Emily Bell and Dr. Ryan Moore present the Balanced Scorecard. View the presentation below for more information.

Graphics courtesy of Fulton County Schools

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean expresses her excitement about future updates and encourages Bell and Moore to keep up the good work.

• District 5 Board Member Linda McCain asks if the Balanced Scorecard will be transitioned to the district dashboard.

• District 4 Board Member Franchesca Warren asks if there will be a plan to help parents understand the Scorecard data.

• Moore says the goal is to make the data available and transparent to the community.

• Bell says it will take about a year to work through the scoping. The public cannot see the entire dashboard until the district has scoped it out.

• District 1 Board Member Katha Stuart praises the work that has gone into the Balanced Scorecard and the dashboard. She looks forward to introducing it to the community.

• Moore assures District 1 Board Member Katha Stuart that he will use the superintendent’s parent advisory board to get input and feedback on the dashboard.

• Board Vice President and District 6 Board Member Kimberly Dove says she looks forward to a timeline on when the community can see the scoreboard.

• Board President and District 7 Board Member Julia Bernath suggests making a video to help community members navigate the dashboard.

• Supt. Dr. Looney calls on Moore to give a presentation on the annual State of Independent Charter Schools Report.

• Moore says it is important to ensure charter schools are fulfilling their purposes and goes over specific data on the enrollment and student performance at charter schools. View the presentation for more information.

Graphics Courtesy of Fulton County Schools

• He notes that some charter schools have adopted iReady, allowing the district to gauge the percentage of students performing at or above grade level.

• Moore points out that all charter schools received the state facility grant, which helped them develop capital projects.

• He emphasizes the importance of holding charter schools for their funds and their sustainability.

• Moore presents specific schools with concern and their charter terms, future plans, and compliance.

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean asks Moore to obtain enrollment data over time for charter schools outside of Fulton County to see if students are leaving FCS for schools outside the district.

• District 1 Board Member Katha Stuart shoutouts Amana Academy and asks for more information on the school’s plans to make changes.

• The Board does the Pledge of Allegiance.

• The Board transitions to Board Matters.

• District 2 Board Member Katie Reeves mentions her constituents’ concerns about the mask mandate. Some of her constituents would like a mask optional policy. She also notes that ATLAS has not been working like the district intended it to.

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean conveys her constituents’ gratitude towards The Board and Supt. Looney for keeping students in face to face learning and for instituting a mask mandate.

• District 5 Board Member Linda McCain congratulates two music students at Chattahoochee High School who were selected for the All National Honor Ensemble.

• The Board unanimously moves to approve the agenda.

• Board President and District 7 Board Member Julia Bernath asks for nominations for Board vice president.

• District 1 Board Member Katha Stuart nominates current Board Vice President and

• District 6 Board Member Kimberly Dove to keep serving as vice president.

• District 2 Board Member Katie Reeves nominates District 5 Board Member Linda McCain 

• Board Vice President and District 6 Board Member Kimberly Dove wins the vote and will continue to serve as Board vice president. Five Board members vote for Dove, while two vote for McCain.

• Supt. Looney thanks FCS employees for exceeding his expectations, being flexible, and providing the best possible services for students, given the circumstances.

• Supt. Looney reads an excerpt from the Fulton County Board of Health (BOH) to explain his decision to enforce a temporary mask mandate and have four days of remote learning after winter break. The excerpt says COVID-19 is at the crisis stage. If we want to keep FCS function, we will have to take strict measures. 

• Supt. Looney assures the public that he intends to make masks optional again after Jan. 21, 2022. He notes that Fulton County is a week away from the peak of the recent COVID-19 surge.

• He urges students and parents to be honest and report cases to the COVID-19 portal if they test positive, so FCS can continue providing a safe, face-to-face learning experience for students.

• Supt. Looney congratulates several high schools for having a high graduation rate for CTAE completers, including Northview High School. Northview has a 100% graduation rate for its CTAE completers.

• Chief Talent Officer Ron Wade presents the COVID-19 Update. He explains the district’s decision to stop using the Closing Matrix and Mitigation Matrix and assess specific situations instead. View the presentation below for more information.

Graphics courtesy of Fulton County Schools

• Supt. Looney emphasizes that the FCS quarantine/isolation policies are in accordance with the Georgia Department of Health and says not following the directive is a misdemeanor.

• Wade encourages community members to get vaccinated and receive the vaccine booster.

• District 5 Board Member Linda McCain expresses her concern that the current FCS isolation policies will encourage students and parents to not report at-home exposures to COVID-19.

• District 4 Board Member Franchesca Warren asks if the district has provided any additional guidance to pre-K teachers, since pre-K students are still unapproved for the vaccine and remain in remote learning.

• Board Vice President and District 6 Board Member Kimberly Dove asks if the FCS BOH has a plan to provide the community with more COVID-19 testing opportunities, given the current test shortage.

• Supt. Looney clarifies to District 2 Board Member Katie Reeves that the isolation period for testing positive to COVID-19 and exposure is 5 days, not 10 days.

• District 1 Board Member Katha Stuart asks everybody to be respectful of others’ opinions.

• Supt. Looney asks to discontinue formal COVID-19 reports during Board meetings to save the public’s time.

• The Board discusses whether Supt. Looney should retain the emergency powers they granted him to more effectively deal with COVID-19.

• Most Board members agree that Supt. Looney should be the one to decide when to close schools due to COVID-19. They cite today’s political environment, the need for quick decision-making, and diverse needs across the school district as reasons.

• Supt. Looney says he will defer to the Board’s preferences.

• District 5 Board Member Linda McCain says she would like Looney to consider the Board’s input when deciding whether to close an entire school or all FCS schools.

• Chief Academic Officer Cliff Jones presents several course proposals, all of which are moved to consent:

  • IB math

  • American Sign Language textbook adoption

  • Curriculum updates for health, PE, first aid, and safety

  • Applied Design

  • High school scientific research at Innovation Academy

• District 2 Board Member Katie Reeves asks to put the new curriculum under review.

• Jones clarifies that the district will provide information to schools for newsletters regarding the new curriculum.

• Moore presents a four-year charter renewal for Chattahoochee Hills Charter School and a three-year charter renewal for Hapeville Charter School, both of which go to consent.

• Supt. calls Jones to the stand to present seven proposals for school allotment guidelines.

• District 2 Board Member Katie Reeves says The Board will go ahead and adopt the proposals, but any additions will go through the normal process for community input. Reeves wants more CSAs in the high school level before the middle school level and says the elementary level, which has a significant amount of space, needs to be rebalanced.

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean wants to go through the specifics of CSAs and TAG teachers.

• District 4 Board Member Franchesca Warren asks about discipline principles in middle schools and how to get information about TAG officers for parents.

• Supt. Looney says the district will give out the information.

• District 5 Board Member McCain asks how the addition of 3DE to Roswell High school is being presented to The Board.

• Jones says the addition has been brought to The Board through the budget process.

• District 5 Board Member McCain asks about Roswell’s needs.

• Jones says the principal is interested in 3DE.

• McCain asks whether adding CSAs at the middle school level will decrease the instructional reserve.

• Jones replies that it will.

• District 1 Board Member Katha Stuart addresses the suggestions to employ assistant principals and more TAG teachers at elementary schools, but her constituents do not need CSAs at middle school level. Stuart also supports the addition of social workers and says there needs to be more conversation about 3DE.

• Looney responds to the budget items and other allotment guidelines.

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean addresses concerns that schools are paying CSAs with their own money and asks for more information about TAG teachers and social workers.

• Jones clarifies the new social worker allocation will include one for each high school instead of two per learning zone.

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean asks for more information about career exploration.

• Jones provides more information about what options are available for career tech in elementary schools.

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean asks for why Sandy Springs Middle School does not have 3DE program.

• Jones says 3DE is not able to expand everywhere due to its popularity.

• District 2 Board Member Katie Reeves says the process for 3DE program placement is flawed and asks about redistricting. Reeves pushes for new redistricting in January.

  Supt. Looney says a local rezone can happen after residency verification.

• District 2 Board Member Katie Reeves says redistricting needs to be clarified to the public.

• District 4 Board Member Franchesca Warren asks for a conversation about extra allotments in southern parts of the county.

• Board President and District 7 Board Member Julia Bernath asks for a process for 3DE program requests and placement.

• Board Vice President and District 6 Board Member Kimberly Dove requests for Creekside Elementary School to have necessary allotment.

• FCS is collaborating with two community-based organizations to provide high quality after school programming.

• The meeting is adjourned.