Jasper Board Hears from Foothills

By superadmin | February 20, 2020 |

The Jasper County Board of Education heard from Sherrie Gibney-Sherman at their business meeting Tuesday about a partnership with the Foothills Education Charter High School.

The Foothills program has campuses in communities near Jasper County, as well as throughout the state. Foothills is a public school which opened in 2015. It is a second chance high school, where there is no judgment and education is self-paced. It is a non-traditional approach, featuring a blended model using computers and teachers.

She said there is no failure, and Foothills is an accredited school, so when students finish there they can further their education if they desire. They can be eligible for Hope scholarships.

The school operates Monday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. Students set their own schedule with the help of counselors, who explain how long it will take them to get their diploma if they only attend limited time. It serves students ages 14-20. The school prefers students at least try traditional high school before enrolling in Foothills.

The school would partner with Jasper County Charter System, which would have to pay an initial fee for it to come here. The school system would also provide certain services, but most of the expense is born by Foothills, and Jasper County would get the benefit of programs it uses that Jasper currently does not access.

This was not the first time Foothills has met with Jasper, and it could open here as soon as next January. Ms. Gibney-Sherman was limited to about 10 minutes for her presentation, but then with the questions and discussion from the school board, she spent some 30 minutes explaining the concept.

In an update for the athletic complex, Supt. Kenny Garland said there is one word to describe the progress—rain. So there was no update.

The board reviewed the January financial report, and saw that all was in order.

Board member Towonder Dennis presented Supt. Garland and the board with a signed baseball from the Hurricanes first baseball game on the new field. Mrs. Dennis threw out the first pitch for that game.

Mr. Garland said he had talked with County Commission Chairman Bruce Henry about monies the county receives from Stanton Springs investments. The other counties in the Four County Development Authority split their proceeds with the school. However, Jasper has yet to share any monies with the school system. The state penalizes the school system, because it says the county owes the school about $50,000. Mr. Garland said talks would continue. He also said he is hoping to begin quarterly intergovernmental meetings where everyone can sit down together and educate one another. He mentioned the City Councils of both Monticello and Shady Dale, the County Commission, Sheriff and others.

The board made several personnel moves, including:

NEW HIRES

•Katherine McCowan, substitute teacher.

•Kirstie Harvey, substitute custodian, Washington Park Elementary School (WPES).

•Kimberly Sparrow, paraprofessional, Jasper County Preschool.

•Katlyn Hamlin, substitute custodian, WPES.

•Kelly Cichon, technology.

•Steven Durden, groundskeeper.

•Amreen Arshad, substitute teacher.

•Kylie Fuller, substitute teacher.

•Michael Fleming, substitute teacher.

RESIGNATIONS