RICHMOND COUNTY, GA (WRDW/WAGT) -- The Richmond County School Board voted unanimously on Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw to become superintendent.
One of the challenges Dr. Bradshaw could be facing is the Georgia Milestone scores. While some of them have improved, scores at the high school level are still low in some areas. Begging the question are these students prepared for college.
After high school comes college or a job for these students. Georgia milestones are one indicator of whether or not the students are ready for either, which some parents aren't in favor of.
“I don't really think that a test should be the end all and be all of somebody's academic performance level," said Jonathan Reed, a Richmond County parent.
Jonathan Reed's son is in 9th grade at Laney. He says tests aren't his son’s strong suit.
“I don't think he really had much of skill level for test-taking because you know some people freeze up, get anxiety when it comes to test-taking," said Reed.
And Reed's son isn't alone
“I do have a grandson that is struggling a little bit with the milestones," said Reed.
In high school, Richmond County students improved in four subjects on the milestones from 2018 to 2019. But the percentage of students 'college and career ready' is still low. In these four areas, less than 30 percent of students tested college-ready. In algebra 1 and geometry, only 10 percent, 9th literature had the highest percentage at 39 percent.
“I think they could do a little bit more, I really do," said Reed.
Finding a way to improve these test scores to make sure more students are ready for life after high school is one of the challenges the new Richmond County Superintendent will face.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
News 12 This Morning
RICHMOND COUNTY, GA (WRDW/WAGT) -- The Richmond County School System is preparing for new leadership in the wake of Superintendent Dr. Angela Pringle resigning.
The school board is voting on a contract for Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw to take the position.
Bradshaw is the chief operations officer for Hamilton County Schools in Tennessee, but he actually served as the deputy superintendent under Pringle up until last year.
Back on Aug. 8, the board held a meeting to discuss the superintendent position. They passed three motions: one to accept Pringle’s resignation, another to name an interim superintendent, and a third to extend an offer to Bradshaw.
Bradshaw applied for the position five years ago, but it went to Pringle.
The board is confident Bradshaw's familiarity with the school district will save a lot of growing pains.
“Any other superintendent, you know that's a huge learning curve for them. Dr. Bradshaw can hit the ground running day one,” Jimmy Atkins, Richmond County Board of Education president, said. “So hopefully he'll just take all that good stuff he's learned from everybody and roll it all into one and he'll have his own style of management."
If Bradshaw accepts the contract, it will have to sit for 10 days before becoming official. So best case scenario, he could start right after Labor Day.
