Baldwin County Board of Education members gathered on Feb. 22 for their monthly board meeting of the new year, approving all agenda items including a dual enrollment credit program with Auburn University, several reroofing projects for Baldwin County high schools and a math coaching program for kindergarten through 6th grade students.

Auburn University dual enrollment program:
Board members approved an agreement with Auburn University, to expand the postsecondary education for current high school students and allow current high school students seeking enrollment in the school system's dual enrollment program to take online college-level courses from Auburn University while attending high school in Baldwin County.

Per the presented documents, the program is open to all Baldwin County high school students and will feature courses taught by current Auburn University faculty and instructors.

Additionally, students who successfully complete the course will earn credit towards both high school graduation and a post-secondary educational institution.

"Participating students shall be responsible for payment of dual enrollment course tuition, fees and costs of textbooks and materials," the document states. "The district uses data from where out students plan on attending after high school to determine prospective dual enrollment partners, the agreement will provide enhanced learning opportunities for qualified high school students."

For more information regarding the dual enrollment program, visit www.bcbe.org.

Reroofing projects:
Board members also approved a motion to reroof W.J. Carroll Intermediate School, Swift Elementary School and the Stapleton School.

Per the presented documents, construction on W.J. Carroll Intermediate School will cost approximately $1,090,000 and will include a 180 day design period.

Additionally, construction on Swift Elementary School will cost approximately $300,000 and will include a 180 day design period, and construction on the Stapleton School will cost approximately $150,000 and will include a 180 day design period.

"Kids First" math coaching program:
Lastly, board members approved a motion to implement "Kids First" coaching and support required by the state to create the creation of common math assessments for kindergarten-6th grade students district-wide.

Per the presented documents, the program is required under the Alabama Numeracy Act, and will include 15 days of consultant work to coach and support the creation of common formative and summative math assessments.

The school system previously used the contract services to supplement ELA (English and Language Arts) education, but is not shifting the focus to math education.

Per the presented documents, the program reviews the historical demographic and student data for each school and tailors an understanding of the scope of work needed to fulfill the needs of the district.

Through the program, the district will be provided with service reports that reflect the project's progress, outlining actions taken and recommendations for the district and school teams.

The program will cost approximately $22,125,broken down to $1,478 per day per consultant.

The next school board meeting will take place on March 19 at 4:30 p.m., and is open to the public.