WEDNESDAY
December 20, 2023
SECTION B: Check out fun photos of the 2023 Christmas Capers and other events
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Jolly St. “Nichols”
INSIDE
Madison schools earn all As on state report card By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com
Last chance to vote
Individuals can vote for their favorite design on Holiday Card Lane through today. Tonight is the deadline. Page 2A
Spirit of giving
Showing admirable behavior, students, teachers and PTAs of Madison City Schools engage in Christmas giving -- to others who may need material assistance or a sincere gesture of appreciation. Page 3A
Christmas in Madison
Madison historian John Rankin takes an interesting look at the Christmas spending of Madison’s early residents. Page 5A
Jolly St. “Nichols” made the rounds in several Madison City schools last week, visiting classrooms and ringing in cheer for students and staff. Santa is pictured above dropping in classrooms at Columbia Elementary. Any resemblance to Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols is strictly coincidence.
The Chan sisters
Sisters Samantha and Abby Chan recently helped the Bob Jones girls swim team win its second consecutive Class 6-7A State Championship by taking four gold medals collectively. They have also competed nationally. Page 6A
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The American Legion Post 229 in Madison and Auxiliary Unit placed about 600 wreaths at veterans graves in Madison. Madison County and city youth organizations and local veterans showed up in force to volunteer. The Bob Jones and Sparkman JROTC units, the local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, RTX Vets and Post members worked together to complete the project on Saturday.
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MADISON - The Alabama State Department of Education released its school and district report cards last week for 2022-2023. Once again, Madison City Schools has plenty to be proud about. “I am pleased to report that Madison City Schools yet again earned an “A” with a grade of 94,” Madison City Schools Superintendent of Education Dr. Ed Nichols said. “Not only did we get an “A” for the District as a whole, every single one of our schools earned an A.” Madison City Schools has earned an A consistently - both as a district and by individual schools since ALSDE launched the A-F report cards for the 2016-2017 school year. Report cards were suspended in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years during COVID. MCS is also one of only nine school districts out of 140 statewide that has never earned less than an A over the ALSDE grading years. “Compared to our straight-A peers, MCS has nearly twice the enrollment and number of schools,” Nichols added. “This achievement speaks to the dedication and support of teachers, staff, administrators, school board members, students, parents, community members, and the way our team utilizes our resources.” The report cards are an evaluation of academic achievement and growth, chronic absenteeism and progress in EL proficiency for elementary and middle schools. At the high school level, the state report cards are also a measure of graduation rate and college and career readiness. Here are the school by school grades: Bob Jones HS, 91; James Clemens HS, 91; Discovery Middle, 91; Liberty Middle, 93; Columbia Elem, 97; Heritage Elem, 99; Horizon Elem, 97; Madison Elem, 94; Midtown Elem, 94; Mill Creek, 96 Elem; Rainbow Elem, 96. “While we are proud of our report cards, we recognize the need to strive to continually improve,” Nichols said. “One specific change will be with our middle school math program starting in January. We have been working on this change prior to the release of the state report card scores. We recognized the need for change in middle school math after receiving the 2023 ACAP math scores. Our middle schools have been implementing a Math Mastery Program, founded upon the 2016 Math Course of Study. Moving forward, our middle school mathematics assessments will include longer unit assessments supplemented by formative quizzes throughout each unit. In place of retakes, students can receive partial credit on an assessment through error analysis.”
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