Agenda & Minutes

5:30 Dinner

6:00 Start Time

SMS Media Center

Welcome 

Introductions

Calendar (Mack)

Review Focus for Last Year

Fostering relationships with our ESL families in order to improve test scores and attendance, and supporting wraparound services for this community to reduce the achievement gap between ESL and non-ESL learners.

Focus for This Year

Review goals from School Improvement Plan

Decide whether to build on last year’s focus, or to add something new

Updates

• PTO
• Athletic Booster Club
• Title I
• Principal’s Report
• Current student (population) numbers
• Current absentee numbers

Future Meeting Dates

• September 18
• October 16
• November 20

Closing Questions

Adjourn

September 18, 2025 

5:30 Dinner 

6:00 Start Time 

SMS Media Center 

● Calendar (Mack) 

● Updates 

o PTO 

o Athletic Booster Club 

o Title I 

o Principal’s Report 

▪ Current student (population) numbers 

▪ Current absentee numbers 

▪ Present state testing results. 

▪ Present end of year survey completed by teachers, students and families. 

▪ Update on FRL forms for all Students from district office. 

● Planning for NAFO’s Twin Lakes Event on October 1 

● Future Meeting Dates 

o October 1 (Twin Lakes Event sponsored by NAFO) 

o October 16 

o November 20 

o December 18 (TBD) 

● Closing Questions 

● Adjourn

Springfield Middle School

School Improvement Council 

Agenda

February 26, 2026

5:30 Start Time

SMS Media Center

• Calendar (Mack)
• Updates
  • PTO
  • Athletic Booster Club
  • Title I
  • Principal’s Report
    • Current student (population) numbers
    • Current absentee numbers
• Twin Lakes
• Spotlight Night Review
• School Shake Up Night Updates
• Rising 6^th grade parent night
• NAMI Mindful Me Pilot Program
• Attendance at Flint Hill Elementary School’s SIC meeting to discuss Twin Lakes Event, 3/25 6:00 
• Future Meeting Dates
  • March 19
  • April 16
  • May 21 (Final meeting!) (new date)
• Closing Questions
• Adjourn

 

SIC meeting

February 26, 2026

5:30-6:30

Calendar (Mack)

• Feb 27 BHM assembly
• March 4-6 DC Trip
• March 6 early release
• March 12 Junior Scholars Program recognized + field trip
• March 19 Q3 ends
• Multiple games for baseball, girls and boys soccer, flag football, and track
• ESOL testing almost finished (only 2 students left)

PTO Update

• March 16 next meeting
• March 13 7th grade dance; tickets $15
• Online auction - ASG  to add to PTO funds; concessions once/month (an option? Based on )
• March 19 Spirit Night at VooDoo
• Sent interest letters to SES and going to visit SES meeting on 3/27

Athletic Booster Club

• Track has had a rule change; track normally doesn’t have cuts, but have changed it this year to align it to high school and to try to shorten track meets and to accommodate parking
• Parking shortage will probably mean more middle school athletic events at the high school
  • Usually the middle school will go to the high school they feed into
• Trying to partner schools based on numbers so that parking isn’t as big an issue
• Booster Club is getting banners for 8th grade athletes
• Baseball will have a full team; more than last year
• Track is big
• Boys soccer good turnout because of last year’s victory
• Champion banner from winter sports already received and hung
• Boosting numbers in all community groups (PTO, SIC, Booster); Joe Burke going to send out invite to families to come into the schools to see the facility and 

Title I

• Parent Night review: 2 parents in attendance
• After school update
• Data being compiled to let the school board know how interventionists are necessary

Principal’s Report

• 724 students currently enrolled
• 96.2% of students have been to school every day in Feb
• 8.13% chronically absent (22% last year)
  • 13 students in 6th
  • 25 in 7th
  • 23 in 8th

Twin Lakes Event

• Mr. Mack presented the flyer and shared it with Dr. McQuay and other schools
• Mack meeting w Daisy (Twin Lake manager) next week
• Grill, tent going to be there, and this event will be a staff meeting
• Last year, few students from TL missed
• High school will not be there because they’ll be at Paradise, but elementary school kids will be there
• Donations: food, high school shirts 
• Won’t need PTO this year, more than likely.  Mack will send SIC Fiesta update next week.
• Spanish-speaking people willing to translate are welcome!  (Ms. G and Ms. Rhodes will be there)
• There will be a speaker/microphone for announcements, etc.

Spotlight Night

• Chris: glows: good to meet teachers and get a sense of what students do in the classroom; grows: make it earlier in the year
• Courtney: liked going into classrooms, teachers were great; grows: 5:00 was difficult to make
• glows: cookies draw was good, but grow: didn’t get to talk to parents because they just grabbed cookies and went. Have a video playing to show what organizations do. No time to make an announcement and explain the organizations.
• Mack: teachers’ feedback that it was great not to have
• Move open house so that all grades are before school starts.Open times during the summer for students/families to see
  • Interaction with teachers is helpful to make personal connection and improve future communications.
• Mustang Training Camp: under discussion to open it up to all grades
  • Consider 2 days to open it up and see our new look for everyone
  • PTO can do concessions

School Shake Up Night Updates

• Pending -- only have a date at this point
• Mack will provide basics at next meeting and ask SIC for input on what parents would like to know

NAMI

• Joanne: NAMI has pilot program (Mindful Me) and they need feedback on it.  Looking to have middle schools try it out (1 small group or 1 classroom)
  • All materials provided
  • If SMS approves, Joanne will connect NAMI friend with SMS
  • Bianca presented the idea of focusing on 7^th grade with this program
  • Mack will put in Academic Team agenda and get back to Joanne

Flint Hill Elementary SIC Meeting

• Courtney Clanton: SIC at SES - Can an SMS person come to this meeting on 3/25 at 6:00 to present? Joanne will go, Mack is backup
• Courtney knows a church that has members who want to connect with ML population to support them
  • Mentors
  • DEAR
  • Mack will share names/numbers with McQuay

Future Meeting Dates

• March 19
• April 16
• May 21 (final meeting) (new date)

Springfield Middle School 
School Improvement Council Agenda 
March 19, 2026 
5:30 Start Time 
SMS Media Center 

Calendar (Beels) 

• March 
  • 27 - 6th grade Career Day 
  • 31 - Band/Chorus Trip 
• April 
  • 6-10 - Spring Break 
  • 14-15 - STAR reading and math tests 
  • 17 - Tournament Day 

Updates 

• PTO (Latisha Jackson) 
  • Spirit Night tonight at Voodoo Wings 
    • 10% of what’s collected is donated back to SMS. 
  • Selling Concessions on April 3 - possibly 
  • PTO meeting next Wednesday 
  • AP week before Spring Break 
  • Bus driver appreciation in April 
• May 
  • Principal’s Day 
  • 8th grade dance 

 

• Athletic Booster Club 
  • Flag football 6-0 
  • Track - lots of PRs, set 5 school records 
  • Baseball lost double header to FMMS 
  • Skill and character development has been great - coaching pouring into kids 
  • Plan when Corey leaves 

 

• April 23 - New to Springfield Night 
  • Recruit SIC, PTO and Booster that evening with QR codes 
• Latisha reports going to SES PTO meeting: a lot of interest about joining SMS, and she sent letters to SCES and PKES schools to invite parents to come to our PTO meeting 
• Thank you from Beels to PTO board members for helping SMS get financially stable, worked hard and have done so much to help 
  • $11,000 check to school to fund day to day programming (like launching rockets) 
• SC Ready days 
  • May 5 writing 
  • May 7 reading 
  • May 12 math 
  • May 14 science 
• Title I 
  • Halfway through our after-school tutoring days for 6th and 8th grades
  • Anecdotal report about 3 6th graders feeling confident and seeing their grades improve 

Principal’s Report 

• Current student (population) numbers 726 students 
• Current absentee numbers 6.92% - down a little from last month 
• Intentional focus on curbing absenteeism; scheduling has been challenging, so we’re looking at changes to morning schedule (7:40-8:10) so there are staff  available to talk to students, remediate 
• Teachers surveyed about 2 different options to that morning schedule -- due 3/31 
• Grade-level breakdown for absenteeism 
  • 6th - 10 students 
  • 7th - 22 students 
  • 8th - 20 students 

Why? More McKinney-Vento families in 7th and 8th grades and coming-of-age ceremonies in 7th and 8th 
“Streaks” to conference with students to let them know how many days in a row they’ve been in school - Ms. Platts leading the charge 

• Twin Lakes 
• April 29, 2026 at 3:30 
• Need translators and who can help 
  • Send names to Mr. Mack 
• Flyers have gone to elementary schools 
• Joanne Walker going to SIC meeting at Flint Hill and to drum up volunteers 

School Improvement Plan - Beels 

• Goal 1.1b - data integration numbers down a bit  because switch from Schoolzilla to EduClimber is making accessing data a little complicated as we move to the new platform 
• Using EduClimber to identify Title I, intervention students, Edmentum 

Strategy 1.2 

• Modified to EduClimber -- Admin going to EduClimber training then will roll out to teachers 
• Mike Coutts (parent) reports using the communication to ensure students are completing work has been very helpful 

Action Steps 

• Added Coffee and Conversation, but the weather has created scheduling issues
• Beels reported low turn out at the meeting, but did discuss PRIDE to CHARGE, and now moving to HERD with those parents present 
  • HERD: Honorable, Empathy, Resilient, Driven -- core values to launch to students next year 
  • We are many; we are mighty; we are one. 
• Bianca Wright (parent) noted liking HERD in particular. 

Strategy 1.3 - recruitment and retention of teachers 

• Beels requests that SIC helps get parents to submit feedback survey. We have 7% complete, and need 20%. 
• Ms. Jackson requests adding screenshots about how to get to the survey.
• Students have the paper for parents to sign and students return 
• Continuing partnership with Winthrop (Sinclair) 
• 3 Practicum students at SMS 
• Adding Behavior System to support teachers in the classroom 
• Coaching teachers on having conversations with students to put choices back on students to help students grow 
• Calendar of monthly meetings with induction and first year teachers (Shipley)
• Grade book 

Classroom management 

• New staff handbook 
• Teacher Incentive Program - Trailblazer certificates -- eventually tie it into incentives 
• Goal is fidelity with support (adding to the district’s mentor program) 
• Losing teachers to retirement and during years 1-3 
• Teacher positions: Teacher teams will be revealed next week 
  • Christner → math specialist at Flint Hill 
  • Stacey will take his place 
  • Art teacher yet to be signed 
  • Ramsey → Flint Hill 
  • Simpson will take her place + 1 more internal candidate in PE 

Strategy 2.1 - PLC 

• Strong at SMS 
• PLC 101, PLC 201, PLC 203 training being planned 
• Peer observations: 3 observations (outside of teachers’ content as well as in their content) then reflect and provide feedback 

Strategy 2.2 

• Spotlight Night added - will be moved to 1st semester, probably October ■ Likely add 2nd “open house” night during 2nd semester 

Strategy 2.3 -- assessment to support intervention 

• Added changing the structure of H3 this year, and H3 will likely change again next year ● Build in time for other teachers to get intervention time (morning, as discussed above) 
• 24 hours of professional development (PD) required by state: SMS provides far more ● Next year: back to basics to make PD impactful 

Strategy 3.1 -- environment 

• Bathroom beautification -- thank you, Ms. Walker! 
• Hallways painted 
• Lighting upgraded 

Strategy 3.2 -- Emotional Learning and Support Services 

• Added Behavior Academies -- Currently doing Behavior Academies with Guidance to address most pressing needs with approximately 20 students (Zimmerman) ○ Strategy 3.3 -- Classlink 

Strategy 4.1 -- Performance gap 

• Decrease to 26.5% 
• Ms. Rhodes has worked with Brian Spittle to provide students identified as “bubble student” who is also a pupil in poverty to provide a Chromebook at home so that they can complete Get More Math with more fidelity. 
• Lorick is monitoring data
• Hotspots with Comporium? No. Beels says we can look at this going forward.
  • Pushing to get more hands off with technology. Will address with staff next year.
  • Sinclair reported on internet safety committee. Students were excited to get the Chromebooks so that they could complete work on a device rather than on phone. 
• Terminated equity audit - funding ran out 
• Principals have all requested full-time math intervention teachers, especially since current every other week intervention schedule is difficult for students 
• 90.9% of students in intervention showed increase in STAR scores with intervention 

SILFAB question from parent: Emergency planning adjusted because of Silfab?

• Beels: We do have a plan in place for shelter in place and for evacuation. Nothing specifically tied to Silfab. It does seem misleading at times, but our district takes safety seriously. At all-district principals meeting, they reviewed decision to cancel school that day. Learning opportunities for the district. DO has been working through reunification procedures and decision-making process. 

 

• School Shake Up Night Updates - pushed to April meeting 
• Rising 6th grade parent night - pushed to April meeting 
• NAMI Mindful Me Pilot Program – Circling back 
• Beels’ meeting cancelled because of weather 
• Beels will talk to Brittany Kobak; he’s interested in pursuing it for RISE students 
• Future Meeting Dates -- expect dinner for the last 2 meetings 
  • April 16 
  • May 14 (Final meeting!) 
• Clarification of 3/20/26: Asynchronous learning -- most teachers are asking students to continue working on project so that they can be present at PD. No set time for students to be online.