The Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce held a special “Lunch and Learn” event for its members Thursday. Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff was the special guest for the luncheon and presented on adolescent learning and development as well as updates on the future of the DCS system.
Kallhoff opened his lessons on learning discussing adolescent problem solving. Research that dates back to 2002 indicates that the human brain is not fully developed until the late teens and things such as emotional processing and critical thinking skills are apart of that development.
This means that actions that by adolescents and teenagers that “mystify” adults can simply be explained that no matter how smart the child may be, that young person has not fully developed all of the critical thinking skills required to make all the proper choices.
Kallhoff then turned his focus to the current state of DCS and noted that while Demopolis schools are not at the top of the state in test scores, students here have the capability to reach that height.
One thing the DCS system has going for it and something that all good systems need to survive is a great school board, community support, great employees and great students according to Kallhoff.
The superintendent then went on to note that the current attendance rate is high for all of the schools and that 2,272 students were currently enrolled throughout the DCS system, which is up from the previous two years. Due to a high daily attendance figure, the school system expects to receive funding for 66 more students for next year’s budget.
One way to hold the school system accountable, Kallhoff mentioned, was through ACT Aspire scores. The ACT Aspire test is a newer, more rigorous standardized test that is designed to show what students are learning in preparation for college. Students in third through eight grades are required to take the exam and then they take it again in the tenth grade to study advancement in math, science, English, reading, and writing.
Using the scores from this test, supports or detractors of the school system can have something to show the progress or decline of students in the DCS system.
Finally, Kallhoff mentioned how he was trying to change the rolls of principals in the system, wanting them to be more than “building managers,” Kallhoff is looking for them to be instructional leaders and be more hands on in the educational process.
Each school as a Facebook page and a Twitter handle which Kallhoff showed the Chamber members on hand for the luncheon.
The twitter handles are: DCS, @DCSTigers; the high school, @DemopolisHigh; the middle school, @DMS_Tigers; U.S. Jones Elementary School, @USJtigers; and Westside Elementary School, @WES_Tigers.