Council hears from LCS superintendent, approves ordinance for new housing development
On February 28, 2022, Lexington City Council held their second meeting of the month. It opened with three proclamations. The first was a recognition of March as Kidney Disease Awareness Month. The council and the Miss Lexington Outstanding Teen both spoke about the importance of kidney disease awareness, and Miss Lexington presented her awareness campaign she started after her family had been affected by kidney disease. The second proclamation was for Development Disability Month, which members of the disabled community came to receive. This proclamation emphasized the importance of the inclusion of developmentally disabled people in the workplace and everywhere in life. The final proclamation was for Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month. To help with the work of awareness and treatment of bleeding disorders, the council recommended researching Hemophilia NC.
Dr. Antira Wells, superintendent of Lexington City Schools (LCS), presented an overview of how LCS is performing. She first described the District Instructional Initiative, where teachers are given more options than just being in the classroom all day, such as assisting other teachers. With this, some teachers are choosing to have more students in their classrooms, raising their numbers. The system has taken on the Apple Initiative in which Macbooks and iPads are provided to all teachers along with Apple TVs for teaching. Each student has access to an iPad at school allowing them to participate in many activities, including virtual reality.
Wells also emphasized the importance of the summer school program offered and how its helped students. She then transitioned to an overview of each schooling level. The elementary schools currently have Pre-K and Kindergarten programs and a Development Program for those with special needs aged from 5-21 years old. The various elementary schools are developing their own themes. For example, Southwest Elementary school has a global theme, in which students learn about a different continent for each grade level. Charles England Elementary has a “Leader in Me'' theme where students are given opportunities to develop their character as a leader.
Lexington Senior High School (LSHS) is offering three programs that allow students to receive high school credits along with a robotics programs. These programs allow for students to leave high school as a junior and enroll full time at the community college. The high school has an AP Capstone program that allows for recognition by the college board if certain AP credits are met. With this, the high school is offering programs in cybersecurity while promoting ROTC, STEM and other programs. The Davidson-Davie Community College class enrollment from LSHS is increasing along with the graduation rate, partly due to provided transportation to the college.
Kindergarteners came back to school at a low reading level during COVID-19 but the school system is rapidly increasing the percentage of students at a benchmark reading level and is on track to reach 100% by the end of the year. At Lexington Middle School, students are improving in reading, although some are struggling in math, which the system is addressing. At LSHS, students are testing higher in Biology, Math 1, and Math 2, but not in reading. However, this issue has been addressed Wells believes the most recent round of testing will show improvement.
Wells also announced various facility upgrades. The school system is currently working on energy saving systems, even promoting these attitudes to the elementary students through different campaigns. The LCS Board of Education will be collaborating with the Davidson County Commissioners to apply for a grant for future renovations of LSHS. They will find out if they receive the grant in April. There are also projects to renovate the football field and track.
LCS is also working on increasing interaction with parents. The Superintendent Parent Advisory Board and Jacket Parent Academy are both working to gather feedback from parents to improve the school system. They are also increasing the pay for substitutes and giving them different benefits such as free lunch and snacks. Wells was very optimistic about the direction the school system is going in, and is looking towards the future of this system.
Afterwards, the meeting shifted to a continued discussion of Linwood Estates. After changes were made to adapt to the original situation (read more here), there was a recommendation to approve this ordinance. There was a mix of support and disdain during the public hearing, but in the end the ordinance for Linwood Estates was approved with four voting for and three voting against.
The next approval was for a change to the traffic ordinance. This added stop signs around town and changed some speed limits in some areas to 20 miles per hour. There will be added stop signs at the intersection of Mageo Dr. and Country Club Dr., E. 6th Ave. and S. Salisbury St., E. Hempstead St. and Poplar St. and in the Glenoaks neighborhood. Along with these stop signs, there was a change in the speed limit in Glenoaks.
The waste and wastewater group is applying for a grant, but needed to change their transfer payments from the general fund into a loan. This was originally done in lieu of taxes in the wake of COVID-19. The city council approved this change so that they can apply for a grant.
The meeting ended with Dr. Patricia Smyre’s, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager for the City of Lexington, announcement of the 30 Days of Kindness Challenge. For the month of March, different challenges of kindness will be provided by Smyre, along with a challenge to correct people with kindness. Smyre also challenges people to journal their experiences along the way.
In the first week, participants are encouraged to give a card of appreciation to someone who has been influential to them. The second week’s challenge is to buy a drink or bake a treat for someone who you appreciate. On the third week, be kind to the earth by picking up litter or participating in another environmentally friendly action. The fourth week is devoted to being kind to someone who you observe being kind. The final week is the ultimate share of how being kind throughout the month has helped you. Smyre encourages all to participate in the hopes of creating a more kind world.
