By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
PINSON, Ala.–The Pinson City Council met at city hall on May 2, where it heard a report from Pinson Valley High School Principal Michael Turner on the school’s state report card score and recognized the Rudd Middle School girls track team.
The latest score for PVHS was a 69, with academic achievements at 20%, graduation rate at 30%, academic growth at 25%, chronic absenteeism at 10%, college and career readiness at 10%, and progress in English language proficiency at 5%.
Turner said that PVHS was once a failing school based on tests given to tenth graders in 2016 and 2017 but managed to pull the score up to 69 in 2018 and then to 77 in 2019 and 79 in 2020.
However, the COVID pandemic caused the score to drop back down to 69, though he noted that there was a year in which the school was at 82 but that was waived by the state.
Turner spoke at length about college readiness, namely how students fare with ACT scores and said that in the past, going to college was expected of high school graduates. But in recent years it has been found that students often do just as well when going to trade schools instead of universities.
“So college right out of high school may not be for everyone,” he said. “And we’re seeing that now more than ever.”
He went on to speak about how the staff at PVHS is addressing the current score, namely by reaching out for assistance. They have since partnered with GearUp for tutoring students after school and a problem-solving therapy team that meets with parents to discuss whatever issues a student is having.
They have also hired case managers to work with exceptional education and ESL students for individualized instructions. The school has gone from one ESL teacher to three. He also noted that while the graduation rate is at 92, they are striving to make the rate even higher.
“Really, what it goes back to is personalization, creating relationships with teachers and students,” Turner said. “When students know that teacher, that coach, that admin cares about them and ‘I don’t want to disappoint them and I want to go to school and I’m going to finish what I started.’”
Speaking on chronic absenteeism, Turner said that they are using incentives to motivate students to attend more, rewarding those with perfect attendance with pizza parties and similar events. Increasing the attendance rate alone can benefit future report card scores, Turner noted.
Despite some of the setbacks Turner pointed out that that there has been continued progress. PVHS was ranked by U.S. News & World Report at number four in a list of 13 of the best high schools in Jefferson County.
“So that shows me that we’re at an uptick,” he said and spoke directly to the young members of the track team. “And the group this year that will get across that stage is this junior group and you guys, incoming ninth graders, are going to be the ones that help us to move the needle, to get back to where we know we should be: and that is at the top.”
The council then recognized the Rudd Middle School girls track team, lead by Coach Vanessa Farley and assistant coaches Ashlee Gaston and Brianna Page. The team won the 2024 Jefferson County Middle School Championship that took place on April 16.
The team was honored with a proclamation saying, “this team represented Rudd Middle School, the City of Pinson, and all of Jefferson County with superior skills and in a sportsmanlike manner.”
The next meeting of the Pinson City Council will be held on Monday, May 13 instead of the original date of May 16 due to members attending the Alabama League of Municipalities.
In other business the council:
- Approved a request from a property owner on Highway 75 to be reclassified from Residential Low Density to Agriculture,
- Annexed a property on Briarwood Circle,
- Approved payments to the Clay-Pinson Chamber of Commerce and the Alabama Butter Bean Festival in the amount of $15,000 and $10,000 respectively,
- Approved using CivicPlus for social media archival for $9,000 in the first year, and
- Agreed to resolve a litigation case involving public nuisance at a property on Highway 75.
Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city’s Facebook page.
Nathan Prewet can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.