Teachers Will Take Survey — School Staff to Again Be Given a Voice in Decisions Affecting the District, Supt. Says

By Jimmie Covington covington@desotoappealcom

Teachers in DeSoto County Schools will have an opportunity again this school year to fill out survey forms on various school-related issues, schools Supt. Milton Kuykendall said.

The forms will be available at the school district’s third annual Staff Appreciation Day Jan. 3 at Trinity Baptist Church in Southaven.

The program will run from 9 a.m. to noon.

Dr. Hank Bounds, state superintendent of education, will be the keynote speaker. Kuykendall will outline his plans for the spring semester and the next school year.

He said several changes which teachers have called for in previous surveys have been put in place, including direct deposit of paychecks, a switch to a nine-weeks grading period, addition of a fall break to the school calendar and a change in the district’s semester examination exemption policy for students.

“I want teachers in this district to feel like they have a voice in the superintendent’s office,” Kuykendall said. “I have a teachers advisory I meet with once a semester. I let them control the agenda.”

He said he takes the issues discussed in the meetings and converts them to survey questions. Once the survey forms are completed, he hires retired teachers to compile results.

“The teachers are the strength of DeSoto County Schools; the teachers are the backbone of this school district,” Kuykendall said.

In a recent interview, Kuykendall also praised students in the school district. He noted that several high schools and other schools are greatly overcrowded.

The situations include, he said, Olive Branch High School with 1,930 students in a school built for 1,200; Horn Lake High with more than 1,600 youngsters in a building built for 1,200 and Southaven High School with 1,500 students in a building built for 1,200.

– Jimmie Covington: (901) 333-2010