NEWTON COUNTY – Three months into fiscal year (FY) 25, superintendent Dr. Duke Bradley III and Newton County Schools (NCS) have officially released the district’s Q1 report.

The report, which was discussed at the Nov. 19 Board of Education meeting, touched on a number of subjects including an update on the school’s literacy strategy, its plan to increase compensation scales and an evaluation of the district’s mental health resources.

When looking at academics, a common goal stated by the district is to unify the literacy strategy. With literacy proficiencies listed lower than the state’s average, work to increase the literacy scores are on the academic frontlines.

According to the report, all K-5 teachers are currently receiving professional learning and instructional materials in the science of reading. 

NCS is also developing a comprehensive literacy strategy, with data currently being collected. Special assistant to the superintendent Dr. Benjamin Roundtree stressed the importance of the preparations behind this strategy.

“Clearly this board has identified literacy, perhaps above all, as the area requiring the most focus,” Roundtree said. “And our team has responded.”

Bradley told the media that the strategy may be unveiled at the inaugural state of the district in February, though this is not 100 percent set in stone.

The school system is also looking to add instructional frameworks for each area in K-12. 

“This framework is designed to bring consistency, clarity and structure to teaching practices across all content areas,” Roundtree said.

In the area of operations, the main takeaway suggests that NCS is looking to elevate its compensation scale.When explaining the reasoning to the media, Bradley simply stated the district wants to remain competitive in its offerings to its employees, citing it as the top motivation behind retention.

According to the report, the findings of the classification and compensation study will propose pay scales for all employees. Those adjustments are slated to be submitted to the Board of Education for the FY26 budget.

Board notes was another topic addressed under the operations portion of the report. The district has revealed a new process behind the board notes to make them more comprehensive to increase transparency.

Also referred to under the operations strategy updates were previous board actions taken over the last few months. These include the addition of a weapons detection system at Sharp Stadium, the addition of one school resource officer; which now means each elementary school has one school resource officer stationed and the refinement of internal policies.

Under the culture and engagement portion of the report, much of what was listed was a recap of what the board had done in prior months. This included the addition of a new logo, the enhanced teacher of the year ceremony and the superintendent’s art gallery.

However, there are also plans in place to expand some of the ceremonial awards, with additions such as the NCS HERO of the year (for all classified employees) and the NCS Support Person of the Year (SPORTY).

“Again, I would remind the board that the need to recognize our staff members was not only one of your wishes but one that was very clearly communicated during Dr. Bradley’s previously held employee engagement sessions,” Roundtree said.

But arguably the most significant update listed under culture and engagement was the addition of tiers of mental health support. The district has created a tier system in hopes of better communicating what the district has to offer in this regard. 

The tiers are as follows:

Tier I: Universal support for all students via assistance from school counselors

Tier II: Additional support for those who may need it with planned guidance from one-on-one sessions with social workers and/or telehealth therapy.

Tier III: Intensive support for those who are identified. This includes  NCS’ partner View Point Health as well as an outline for the various crisis and suicide hotlines.

Vice-chair Shakila Henderson-Baker, who also works as a mental health clinician, said that while the work done is important, that the district needs to make these support systems more visible. Henderson-Baker suggested that the district create a video to spotlight the district’s mental health resources.

“The literature is great, the reports are great,” Henderson-Baker said. “But the reality is people want something they can see and look at and get the jist of things without having to sit down and read.”

Going forward, the district outlined a number of what they call “aspirational goals,” in which they look to develop in the future. Much of what was listed dealt with eliminating barriers for those wishing to take higher-ed classes such as advanced placement (AP) or dual-enrollment.

This, too, was tiered into two tiers. Tier I was listed as goals that are “difficult to generate strategy around,” but that are of importance to identify. Those points include:

The need to increase underrepresented participation (Black and Hispanic students) in AP courses.

Increase Black and/or Hispanic male participation in dual enrollment and AP/honors courses.

Increase the number of students district-wide who identify as gifted.

Tier II goals outline items that the district is “not currently organized to achieve,” but that the district plans to develop in the near future. Those points include:

The increase in offerings of AP classes, district-wide

The increase in dual-enrollment participation; which is below average.

The increase of overall CTAE pathway completers

To focus on both tiers, NCS reported that plans to credential teachers to become adjunct instructors at Georgia Piedmont Technical College are underway. There is also work in place to add dual enrollment courses in English and as technical certificate of credit programs at each high school.

Plans to review CTAE enrollment and AP course enrollment are also in the works, according to the report.

Following the presentation, Bradley offered his thoughts on the first quarterly report.

“All of the work that Mr. Roundtree just summarized is really the work of this team. They’re often nameless and faceless but the work that they’re driving within their respective divisions is significant and expansive…,” Bradley said. “...We’re really just getting started. So I just wanted to commend the team for the work that they’ve been doing.