Autry: Principals must get results

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
Jan. 21, 2004
Meridian School Superintendent Sylvia Autry said one of the most important goals of the district is to ensure that each campus has a principal able to get results from teachers and students.
Autry presented a mid-year assessment of the district's goals for the 2003-2004 school year Tuesday during the regular monthly meeting of the Meridian School Board at Witherspoon Elementary.
In her report, Autry outlined the district's progress since she took over as interim superintendent in July. In December, Autry was named superintendent for a term of at least one year.
In addition, her report contained information about the November 2003 assessment of second- through eighth-graders. The assessment was much like the Mississippi Curriculum Test and was designed to determine what students didn't know.
The most important development in the district, Autry said, are deadlines for employees to record such data as new student registration and student transfers. Last year, Autry said the district lost about $80,000 because some school reports were not accurate.
Principals, counselors, teachers, and the administrative staff at the district's central office are responsible for entering the data.
In other business, the school board approved the following actions:
Accepted a $1,000 grant from Dollar General to provide Saturday reading instruction for parents and students.
Approved the state testing security procedure for the Mississippi Curriculum Test.
Approved additional staff development training at West Hills Elementary School for Success for All early learning.
Purchased the AS400 software to upgrade the mainframe at the district's central office. The software cost $62,753