CISD approves changes to grading, class rank for school year

The Cameron Independent School District Board of Trustees approved changes to grading and class ranks for the 2019-20 school year during a teleconference meeting on April 13.

The board approved a resolution that will change how grades and class ranks are calculated this year. 

Cameron ISD Superintendent Kevin Sprinkles recommended amending Board Policy Local EIC that will change the date that grades and ranks are calculated to the end of the first semester. 

Under the original policy, grades and class rank are calculated after the fifth six weeks for seniors. Under the amended policy for this school year only, and because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and distance learning practices, grades and class rank will be adopted as of the end of the first semester. 

Sprinkles said credits will still be required to finish out the year and assessment will likely be on a pass-fail scale. 

“This is important that we find a point in time because of COVID-19 because toward the end of the fourth six weeks we left school and didn’t come back,” Sprinkles said. “We need to use a point in time to determine the time as the end of the first semester or third six weeks. At that time all seniors were aware of their grade point average and class rank.”

He said that is also the last time students got their numerical grade from Temple College.

“This is also for juniors,” he said. “They knew then what it was for scholarships and college entrance. That was a full semester at that time. If we look at anything beyond that we just have a third of the semester. We will determine that on actual numeric grades where the students were able to have their teachers available and had time for remediation.”

He said at this time some students just don’t have the same opportunities right now and that is unfair and no fault of their own.

“This would be on an accurate grade and I feel comfortable with that being the time we take that grade for final GPA and class rank,” he said.

He said that for grades nine through 11 this semester will not be figured in at all in their final grades as the district moves forward.

“We will have to develop a holistic grading platform for the rest of this year as far as credit is concerned,” he said. “We will have to take the first semester and the fourth six weeks and during the at home instruction to determine if they earn credit.”

In grades four through eight administrators will decide whether students pass or fail through a team approach. 

COVID-19 update

Sprinkles also updated the board on who things are going concerning continuity of instruction during this time.

“Back in the very first week of this our instructional staff – Dr. Dakroub and our teachers and administrators - got together to develop an online platform and paper packets,” he said. “We have developed an excellent digital learning platform that can be accessed through our website. But, there are some students that may not have access to the internet. Though we passed out a number of hot spots to use. They may not have a hot spot or device to use. So we have been passing those packets out during the lunch pass out.”

Sprinkles said he thinks the district is doing an outstanding job of providing continual learning activities and he is very proud of his staff.

The district is also providing grab-and-go meals to students during the week.

“This has had a tremendous response from our community,” he said. “The parents and students are thankful. Between 500 and 700 kids are being fed. We know that is a needed service.”

He said staff is working remotely from home and updating daily and interacting with students. 

“Whether we come back this school year or not it will take every available person to establish if the students have mastered content or not,” he said. “Teachers are conducting Zoom conferences with their classes. The state will reevaluate their current order at the end of the month as to what order will continue to be in place for not only schools but for the state.”

Board member James Burks asked if there is a chance that instruction time would be pushed into the summer to make up for the time missed this semester.

Sprinkles said this question has been asked by several superintendents and the information he has from the state is that classes would not go into the summer. If classes resume in May they would just complete the school year calendar and have all the things we have planned.

Board member Greg Hoelscher asked if there is a plan for commencement ceremonies should the COVID-19 closures go on until the end of May.

“We are looking at trying to come up with an alternate date for commencement on June 27 to give us enough time to have Shelter in Place orders expire,” Sprinkles said. “At some point if those orders go beyond that we may have to consider some other type of ceremony – virtual or something like that.”

There is no in place plan for that as of yet.

In other business, the board hired two teachers on probationary contracts and approved delegating authority during this ongoing crisis.