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By Matt Cizek

matt.cizek@winchestersun.com

Superintendent Molly McComas delivered her capstone presentation to the Clark County Public Schools Board of Education Friday evening during a special-called meeting.

After the superintendent’s presentation the board went into an approximate two-hour closed session to perform her first annual job review.

Once the board came back into open session it voted to postpone the public portion of the review until a future meeting.

During her capstone presentation, McComas spoke to various facets of leadership – including the importance of emphasizing instructional and cultural leadership in CCPS.

“We’ve got great teaching and learning going on, but we want to make sure it’s happening with fidelity at all levels [and] that it’s connected,” McComas said. “You want to make sure that students are engaged, [and] they’re not just sitting behind a laptop.”

Several actions were taken towards meeting those ends during the school year, according to McComas’ presentation, including project-based learning and a focus on socio-emotional learning. Human resource leadership, managerial leadership, and other avenues of leadership were emphasized.

For students several steps were taken by the district in order for them to get more real-world experience, one of which is a dual credit learning program in conjunction with Bluegrass Community and Technical College’s Winchester campus.

PLCs – which stands for Professional Learning Communities – are a district-backed focus for its teachers. The superintendent explained why the communities are necessary during her presentation.

“Our teachers need more opportunities to work together,” she said. “[PLC] happens at a grade level.”

The end goal is to establish collaborative learning among colleagues that can then be used to enhance instruction for the benefit of students.

While George Rogers Clark High School and others within the school district have won renown recently for athletic accomplishments, the superintendent noted there is much else to celebrate.

“We have some incredible programs, plays that are top-notch from elementary to high school,” McComas said. “By the time they get to GRC, the amount of work and energy that [band and orchestra] teachers and instructors put into working together so that they know what each system is what produces amazing talent at GRC.”