Calloway County Schools
Strong Teachers, Administrators, Staff and Parents Empower All Students
to Be Lifelong Learners and Meet the Challenges of Tomorrow.

Mr. Steve Hoskins and the Calloway County Board are committed to the students of the Calloway County School System. Mr. Hoskins states, "We have a strong group of teachers, administrators, staff and parents who show commitment to these students day in and day out."

The mission of the Calloway County School system is to empower all students academically, socially and personally to be lifelong learners capable of thinking, solving problems and serving as respon-sible citizens ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Calloway County Schools provide excellent opportunities for students to pursue a variety of academic and extracurricular activities designed to prepare them for the 21st century. Calloway County Schools offer more than 40 sports and extracurricular activities as well as a high-quality curriculum designed to challenge every student, from the gifted/talented to the special-needs learner. All schools in the Calloway system are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

The district has roughly 450 full-time employees and serves around 3,000 students in preschool through high school, spending more than $6,000 per student. The annual budget is approximately $23 million a year. "We have approximately 250 teachers and 225 classified staff who work throughout the system," Hoskins adds. "So our total staff is approaching 500." Hoskins explains that at the present time, most of the teachers are older and more experienced. "In the coming years, however, we anticipate a large turnover as many of these teachers retire and are replaced by younger ones," says Hoskins.

There are a total of eight different facilities associated with Calloway County Schools. The system consists of East, North and Southwest elementary schools; Calloway County Preschool; Calloway County Middle School; Calloway County High School; a Day Treatment facility; and the Alternative School.

"A good percentage of our graduates go on to attend some type of postsecondary institution," Hoskins notes. "We have a comprehensive program that combines academics with productivity and behavioral efforts." One effort the school system makes is balancing the educational experience for the students." "We try to educate the whole student," Hoskins says.

"Most of our new teachers receive their degrees from Murray State University," Hoskins continues. "We maintain a very close connection to the university. In some instances, the spouses of faculty and staff hired at Murray State come to work for us – provided they have the appropriate teaching credentials."

All the Calloway County Schools share a strong commitment to technology. "Our Middle School media center is among the best you'll find anywhere," Hoskins notes. "All of our students have access to the Internet, although we do closely monitor how they use this access."

One of the initiatives that Hoskins is particularly proud of is the Calloway County Special Testing Program. The program just completed its fourth year. "The testing program is unique to this area," Hoskins explains. "It is a long-term, longitudinal effort aimed at providing teachers with more useful and relevant information about student achievement. It allows us to track and identify how students are performing both individually and by class."

"The Special Testing Program gives teachers useful data about every child in every grade in the system," Hoskins continues. "They receive this information every fall, which allows them to make adjustments in a timely manner – during the current academic year. The program allows us to determine whether or not we are moving forward by verifying the degree of progress of every student. This is extremely valuable as we constantly strive to improve."

"The Board is very supportive of the testing program," Hoskins observes. "They are really the key to its success as well as the success of most of the programs we provide."

Hoskins also acknowledges the support of the community. "In addition to the Board, parents and the local community in general are very supportive of our efforts," Hoskins says. "We have strong parent-teacher associations, especially at the elementary level."

"All of our schools are overseen by site-based councils," Hoskins continues. "And they all do a great job. For example, in the last three to four years, due to retirements and a job move within the system, our site-based councils were responsible for replacing four principals. They did a wonderful job of selecting four great individuals."

In addition to enhancing the educational and administrative aspects of the school system, Hoskins states that updating its physical facilities is also a priority. "We are currently nearing completion of a major renovation at the high school," Hoskins explains. "The renovation was implemented in two phases at a cost of about $12 million. The renovation included an addition to the existing facility, a larger library media center, larger cafeteria and new administrative offices."

"Moreover, we have the day treatment facility that was completed in 2000," Hoskins adds. "This facility is actually a cooperative effort between Graves County Schools, Mayfield Independent Schools, Murray Independent Schools and Calloway County Schools. It is utilized by each of these systems."

The schools' extracurricular activities are consistently making news, with students excelling in numerous areas. For instance, both the boys' and girls' basketball teams were awarded regional championships and represented this region at the state tournaments earlier this year. Another example is the award-winning Laker band, which consistently ranks in the top of its division at competitions throughout the state.

"I am very proud of what we are accomplishing within the Calloway County Schools," Hoskins concludes. "It just goes to show what can be accomplished when you keep the focus on the students and all pull together."

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