What has changed?
The 2022/2023 school year marks Superintendent Melody Shepherd’s second year in charge of Shenandoah County Public Schools.
When asked how she felt things were progressing, Ms. Sheppard said "I think we are headed in the right direction and are addressing many needs simultaneously".
Those needs and issues are numerous obviously, but it does seem like SCPS is on the right track to becoming a more advantageous learning environment for the county’s students. Test scores are rising in most areas, which is a good sign of academic improvement. The issues surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic make continuous data difficult to compare, however there is an upswing. The areas that fall short according to the recent data are already being addressed according to Sheppard’s educational plan released during the June school board work session. English writing being the greatest shortfall collectively in SCPS schools. The entire division falls far below Accreditation standards. Sheppard’s plan has teachers and staff working towards improvement there.
Another major issue SCPS has been facing is bullying amongst students within the schools. The lack of discipline, support staff, and parental involment has certainly become an epidemic not only here in Shenandoah County, but nationwide in public schools. Ms. Sheppard said "We are taking this problem very seriously". It definitely seems so, as she is addressing this particular problem head on. She has met with teachers, parents, and administration, formed parent committees, planned open forums, and sought to hire full time social workers to fulfill needs for students. The hiring of social workers will free up administrators normally in charge of discipline from dealing with other issues surrounding students in need. "We have great staff and administrators, but they can be overwhelmed with so many students. The hiring of support staff and social workers will help us ensure the safety of our students", said Sheppard. The building of relationships between staff and students prior to difficult issues is a major part of the strategy. With schools being asked to do more and more social work to help students in and out of school, one can understand how overwhelmed some of the staff actually is. With the team building efforts and support, if fully developed, it is likely things will improve.
The overall morale of the teachers seems to have improved greatly since a year ago. The Freedom Press has run previous articles about the lack of support the teachers have felt during the previous administration. Yet again, it seems that Superintendent Shepherd has made it a direct priority to help our teachers out; through support that was evidently lacking prior to her being hired. She has formed teacher advocacy groups that she meets with regularly. "Our teachers are our most valuable assets and should have a say in what we do"; said Sheppard. A few teachers we asked said they felt "more support" and that morale has "definitely improved" for them and their peers. The return to normal after the pandemic likely plays into this, however there has been clear and positive change.
Staffing and Teacher shortages are also a large problem here and across the nation. When asked how can that be overcome, Ms. Sheppard said she is confident it can be done "with improved morale and salaries competitive with surrounding Rockingham and Frederick Counties." The district has filled almost all of it's staffing shortages since our interview. As fewer teachers are available nationwide, this unfortunately will be an ongoing hurdle to overcome, but with the marked improvements here in Shenandoah County Public Schools, it hopefully won’t be such a difficult one.
Our schools have seen many changes over the past few years and our educational institutions are watched ever more closely. The name changes of Ashby-Lee Elementary and Stonewall Jackson High School have proven to be the catalyst in this increased public involment and scrutiny regarding county schools and politics. This has good and bad connotations. The previous Superintendent and half of the school board who decided to change the names, either retired or did not run for reelection. This has a huge impact on the current Superintendent and her administration as they are forced to spend time and energy dealing with the name changes that would otherwise be spent on improvement in quality of education. That is making Ms. Sheppard’s job harder, but we are still seeing movement in a positive direction. As time goes on our schools should definitely continue to become a better place for the students and teachers alike under Superintendent Sheppard.
By: Lewis Michael
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