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Matt Dowdell named West Florence High School principal
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<time datetime="2018-04-12T21:59:00-04:00" class="gmail-asset-date gmail-text-muted"></time><br></li>
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<div class="gmail-subscriber-preview"><p>FLORENCE,
S.C. – Matt Dowdell will be the new West Florence High School
principal. Dowdell was the assistant principal at West Florence before
the promotion.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-preview"><p>“I feel like
Mr. Dowdell is going to bring a lot of energy to this,” said Barry
Townsend, chairman of the District One school board. “He has been at
West Florence, so he understands the school, but he also brings
experience from outside of the district as well. I think it’s a really
good balance that will hopefully re-energize the school, the staff, the
students and the community.”</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>According
to the Florence School District One website, Dowdell earned a
bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from Seton Hall
University. He earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from
the University of South Carolina.</p></div><div id="gmail-tncms-region-article_instory_top" class="gmail-tncms-region gmail-hidden-print"></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>The decision came during a Florence School District One board meeting on Thursday evening.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>Pam
Quick, former West Florence principal, was placed on paid
administrative leave on Feb. 14. Quick resigned from her position on
Feb. 23, citing “personal reasons” as the cause.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>After
Quick resigned, Kelvin Wymbs was appointed acting superintendent of the
high school. Wymbs was the director of secondary education for the
district.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>In other news, District One may be penalized for not having the proper student-to-teacher ratio for English language learners.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>Currently, there is a 95:1 ratio, but U.S. Department of Education standards specify a 60:1 ratio.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>“We
will be cited for our numbers because we are out of compliance,” said
Lorna McBride, director of elementary education for District One.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>McBride
said a possible consequence for not being in compliance with standards
is a removal of $35,000 of funding. This funding is currently provided
for professional development and a part-time employee who serves as an
English language coach in the district.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>The
district needs two or three more teachers to be in compliance. Money
for teacher salaries comes out of the general fund, not from the federal
government.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>There are
currently 535 English language students, but she said that number is
climbing. Will McLeod, board member, said a growth projection would be
helpful as the district makes plans related to the English Language
Learner Program.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>McBride
invited the board and community to attend the district’s Culture
Diversity Fair from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on April 19 at Poynor Adult
Education.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>Dr. Dan Strickland,
interim superintendent for District One, said that he has had a busy
month. He listed responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
requests and interviewing finalists for positions at the district level
and school level as part of his activities.</p></div><div id="gmail-tncms-region-article_instory_middle" class="gmail-tncms-region gmail-hidden-print"></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>The board approved 27 policies before going into executive session.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>Porter
Stewart, a member of the policy committee, said the purpose of
reviewing policies is to “remove redundancies and update the language on
policies.”</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>One of the updated
policies is KDB which deals with Freedom of Information Act requests.
The district will now charge 10 cents per page, and a fee schedule will
be posted online.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>A
representative from Halligan, Mahoney and Williams – the board’s legal
counsel – said there is a significant loss in staff time when they
review FOIA documents. However, the representative said it is important
to fulfill requests.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>Strickland said he has also worked on a district-wide facilities plan and teacher recruitment and retention.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>“There’s few employees out there as far as certified teachers,” Strickland said.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-only"><p>The
board voted to remove Memorial Day as a makeup day on the 2018-19
school calendar. Some parents said they did not support students going
to school on Memorial Day after the day was used as a makeup day this
school year. President’s Day will be the third makeup day instead of
Memorial Day.</p></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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