1. Hereford & U. S. v. Huntsville City Bd. Of Ed.
Public Status Conference
September 6, 2017

2. Outline for the Day
Introductory remarks from HCS Superintendent and Deputy Superintendents
Consent Order implementation update given by counsel for the Parties
Opportunity for Private Plaintiffs and Desegregation Advisory Committee members to address the Court
Opportunity for members of the public to address the Court

3. Introductory Remarks
Dr. Matthew Akin Superintendent of Huntsville City Schools
Christie Finley Deputy Superintendent of Strategy and Innovation
Dr. Tammy Summerville Deputy Superintendent of Instruction

4. General Topics General monitoring, reporting, and oversight updates
School Climate Issues
Rolling Hills Elementary School
Blossomwood and Jones Valley Elementary Schools
Huntsville High School

5. General Monitoring, Reporting, & Oversight
Requests for information from the United States
Many teleconferences between the Parties
DOJ visits to Huntsville City Schools facilities
_______________________________________________________________
DOJ Comments

6. School-Specific Climate Issues
Rolling Hills Elementary School
New Leadership
Blossomwood and Jones Valley Elementary Schools
Withdrawals
Disciplinary challenges
Huntsville High School
Tensions

7. DOJ Comments: School Climate Issues
Rolling Hills Elementary School
Blossomwood and Jones Valley Elementary Schools
Huntsville High School

8. Student Assignment M-to-M program Attendance Zones
Magnet School Updates

9. M-to-M Program 2016-17 Transfer Summary Refining the Capacity Process
Total M-to-M Transfers: 271 New | 724 Total
Blossomwood Elementary School: 57 New | 88 Total
Jones Valley Elementary School: 25 New | 58 Total
Huntsville High School: New | 122 Total
Refining the Capacity Process
High Response Rate from Student Surveys

10. Attendance Zones No changes to the school attendance zones
Growth in Huntsville
East Huntsville
West Huntsville into Limestone County

11. Magnet Program Update New Magnet Programs College Academy Update
Third Cohort
First completed year of college courses
New Century High School
Magnet School of America Certification

12. DOJ Comments: Student Assignment
M-to-M program
Attendance Zones
Magnet School Updates

13. Equitable Access to Course Offerings
Gifted
Math Acceleration and student support services
Honors/AP/IB courses available
Disparities in academic performance on state standardized tests and AP exams

14. Gifted Education Update
Continued efforts to reach out to parents
Compromise with the Alabama State Department of Education
Increase in the disparity between Black and White student identification

15. Math Acceleration The District is not at 100% Algebra I participation.
There is great variability in 8th grade Algebra I participation
Some schools as low as 19%
Some schools as high as 71%
Changes to departmentalization

16. AP, IB, and Honors Courses
Work to ensure that all elementary schools have the 6th grade Honors
All high schools have met the AP and Honors requirements
Participation in all three categories has improved
Percentage of students taking at least one Honors or AP
Course
Black
White
Other
Total
Honors*
26%
53%
39%
40%
AP**
14%
31%
19%
23%
Black
White
Other
Total
39%
61%
48%
50%
18%
41%
28%
30%

17. Disparities in Academic Performance
Benchmarking on Aspire Math (14-15 & 16-17) for the District 51%  43%
Black 29%  23%
White 71%  64%
Benchmarking on Aspire English (14-15 & 16-17) for the District 73%  67%
Black 59%  52%
White 88%  85%
Benchmarking on ACT Math (14-15 & 16-17) for the District 33%  31%
Black 6%  9%
White 54%  52%
Benchmarking on ACT English (14-15 & 16-17) for the District 57%  53%
Black 25%  29%
White 80%  78%

18. Disparities in Academic Performance
AP test scores (14-15 & 16-17) for the District 48%  46%
Black 10%  16%
White 61%  56%
New Challenges:
Changes to state exam
Changes to local benchmarking

19. DOJ Comments: Equitable Access to Course Offerings
Gifted
Math Acceleration and student support services
Honors/AP/IB courses available
Disparities in academic performance on state standardized tests and AP exams

20. Extracurricular Activities
New staff
New plans and goals
Improvements to the student outreach department

21. Extracurricular Activities
Review of the:
National Junior Honor Society
National Honor Society
Plans for improving communication about these two clubs

22. DOJ Comments: Extracurricular Activities

23. Faculty Compliance with Singleton ratios
Teacher on Special Assignment (“TOSA”) program composition
Equitable distribution of teachers and administrators
Summary overview of non-renewals, demotions, etc.

24. Compliance with Singleton Ratios
Small number of schools fall outside the Singleton Ratio:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School 2% for Black
Rolling Hills Elementary School 1% for Black
McNair Junior High School 5% for Black | 7% for White
Challenger Middle School | 3% for White
Mae Jemison High School 5% for Black | 6% for White
Efforts to remedy these issues

25. Teachers on Special Assignment
Description of the Program
Number of remaining TOSAs: 16
Total by Race:
Black 11
White 5
The TOSA Program is being phased out

26. Equitable Distribution of Teachers
This is more difficult to track than the Singleton Ratio
Factors (see page 42 of 92):
Professional Degrees
Certifications
Subject Matter Expertise
Years of Experience
Performance Reviews
Qualifications of AP Teachers
Training
Other Indicia of Quality and Effectiveness

27. Equitable Distribution of Teachers
Major Issues:
Long list of possible considerations
Hard to meaningfully track all of them
Some secondary departments are very small

28. Summary Overview of Adverse Employment Actions
The majority of entries in the Court Reports are non-tenured teachers
Summary of Data:
86 Total Teachers
26 Black
59 White
78 Non-Tenured Teachers
8 Tenured Teachers

29. DOJ Comments: Faculty Compliance with Singleton ratios
Teacher on Special Assignment (“TOSA”) program composition
Equitable distribution of teachers and administrators
Summary overview of non-renewals, demotions, etc.

30. Facilities Overview
The District completed the construction and renovation projects from the Order
Whitesburg P-8
Academy for Academics and Arts
Huntsville High School Freshman Academy
Sonnie Hereford Elementary School
McNair Junior High School
Jemison High School
Grissom High School
SMALL Lab Plan

31. Facilities Overview Completed ahead of schedule:
Morris P-8
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School
Continued to follow the Playground Plan

32. DOJ Comments: Facilities

33. Student Discipline Behavioral Learning Guide
Other major discipline initiatives
Discipline data
MOU with the Huntsville Police Department/role of school resource officers
LAUNCH/ACE alternative programs

34. Behavioral Learning Guide
BLG started in
Too dense
Not user friendly
Stakeholder feedback led to a rewrite of the BLG
Significant changes

35. Other Major Discipline Initiatives
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
Tier 2 training
Implementation Challenges
Restorative Practices
Restorative Panel Meetings
Improvements to In-House Learning Centers
New Curriculum
New Interventions

36. Student Discipline Data
Discipline Summary - Percent of Students Receiving At Least One Disciplinary Infraction
ODR
ISS
OSS
Black
White
Other
P5 & P6
14% 4% 8% 2% 1%
22% 6% 7%
11% 3% P8
25% 9%
13%
16% 5%
27%
12%
15%
Middle
37%
18%
40%
10%
17%
23%
High School
32%
38%

37. Student Discipline Data
Black
White
Other
Expulsions
1.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
Arrests
1.2%

38. Role of School Resource Officers
Collaboration with the HPD and SROs
Monthly meetings
Developing more opportunities for collaboration
Challenges
Ensuring that SROs are not used for school discipline

39. LAUNCH/ACE Programs The District has changed its alternative program
Focus is on “non-traditional” programming and not merely discipline
Length of expulsion
Focus on career tech opportunities
More focus on engaging instruction

40. DOJ Comments: Student Discipline
Behavioral Learning Guide
Other major discipline initiatives
Discipline data
MOU with the Huntsville Police Department/role of school resource officers
LAUNCH/ACE alternative programs

41. Transportation The Parties are working on a Motion for Unitary Status
Community concerns about transportation

42. DOJ Comments: Transportation

43. Desegregation Advisory Committee (DAC)
Update on Parties’ role in assisting DAC
Response to DAC report

44. Assisting the DAC New Communication Options for the DAC
Lock boxes
Website
Training the DAC
Periodic updates from the DAC
Information requests

45. DAC Report Received on September 1 District’s review and response
Attorneys have reviewed the document
Superintendent has not yet been able to review the document

46. DOJ Comments: DAC Update on Parties’ role in assisting DAC
Response to DAC report

47. Closing Comments from the Parties

48. Comments from the Community