Dr. Greg Ross signed his contract to be hired as the next superintendent of Danville Independent Schools at the Board of Education meeting on Monday after the board officially approved his hire, effective July 1.

The BOE made a small amendment to the 2021-22 district calendar and new start and end times to school days at a couple of the schools for the 2022-23 year.

The amendment to the 2021-22 district calendar is a change to the last school day for teachers, which will now be June 7. The last day for students has not changed and is still May 27.

Start and end times to school days for the 2022-23 school year at DHS and John W. Bate Middle School will be 8:25 a.m.-3:25 p.m.

Director of Pupil Personnel and Student Support Services Ron Ballard said, “The high school and middle school are always looking for ways to get out earlier because of extra curricular activities in the afternoon. Our transportation department is in a better position to accommodate the earlier start and end times for the 22-23 school year.”

The meeting took place at Danville High School, and many DHS students and a couple of staff members were recognized. Congratulations to these students and staff members:

• The Academic Team and its coaches, Rob Kremer and Laurie Pierce, were recognized for the team’s 11th place finish in the National Academic Quiz Tournaments Small School Nationals over the weekend. Students on the team: Captain Ramona Pierce, Kira Pusateri, Hank Helmers, Evan Sanders, Simon Drake, Elena Griffiths, Henry Hurley, Carsen Wastell and Sam Wilson.

• Students accepted into the Governor’s Scholars Program and the Governor’s School for the Arts were recognized. GSP students: Samantha Bottom, Tenghoit Kouch, Ramona Pierce and Kira Pusateri. GSA students: Ella McAllister for drama, Ramona Pierce for creative writing and Lila Ungs for film and photography.

Other highlights from the meeting include approval of the DISD Professional Learning Plan, and approval of the Non-Traditional Instruction Application.

Assistant Superintendent Sheri Satterly explained that the district’s 2022-23 Professional Learning Plan “places a focus on developing consistent and cohesive instructional practices across our schools.”

“We will be providing two days of in-depth professional learning for all of our certified educators with a focus on teacher clarity, learning intentions, and success criteria,” she said. “Our instructional leadership team is developing this learning opportunity with support from the Kentucky Department of Education.”

On the NTI Application, she said, the DISD has applied with the Kentucky Department of Education for the standard 10 days of non-traditional instruction in the event schools need to be closed due to weather, sickness or other valid reasons.

“Students in kindergarten through 5th grades will receive 10 days of paper instruction to complete in the event of an NTI day,” she said. “Students in grades six through 12 will access their work through their Google Classrooms. If a student does not have access to technology, paper packets will be available for those students. If an NTI day is used, teachers will be available during school hours via phone and email to assist students with their NTI assignments.”

In other business, the board:

• Approved the Norton Center for the Arts Memorandum of Agreement for the 2022 DHS graduation ceremony to take place there.

• Approved 10 student worker positions to help with technology and maintenance tasks over the summer.