The Chester County Board of Education met Tuesday night, Oct. 21, at East Chester Elementary School. All members of the board were present at this meeting.
A member of the community and mother to Chester County students, Kayla Patterson, came to the board with concerns about the current school dress code. She had specific problems with the pants policy for middle school and up. She expressed frustration with the lack of easily accessible pants for specifically female students. She expressed that she and many others have found it extremely difficult to find pants that fit properly and are not extremely expensive. She suggested that the board adopt the policy that the K-5 schools have for pants. She also presented a Change.org petition that has over 300 signatures, suggesting that the school board change this policy. The board graciously heard the request and said that it would be discussed at a later time.
Spotlight was given to East Chester Elementary School with a presentation by Amanda Brasfield, principal of East Chester. She thanked the Board for the funds that allowed the school to put in new bleachers in their gym over Fall Break. She also highlighted recent visits by first responders to the school and the thank-you signs that the students made for them. A video was also presented, highlighting the student life at the school, made by Robin Privett, a teaching assistant at East Chester. They promoted their upcoming Fall Festival, which will take place on Nov. 15 from 3-6 p.m.
There was also a celebration of Amy Wooley, principal at West Chester Elementary School, and Melanie Peel, a district staff math coach. Both have been named in the top ten principals and supervisors, respectively, of the year for the state of Tennessee.
Next on the agenda was a recommendation to revise Policy 4.605 of the Chester County Board of Education Policy Manual. This was a proposal to change the wording of the requirements for credits for high school graduates to recommend 25 credits for students instead of only the state-required 22. This was also discussed at last month’s meeting. The board decided that since the policy is not changing to require 25 credits, the policy handbook should only state that 22 credits are required for graduation. They still encourage students to take advantage of the opportunity given to them at Chester County schools for the furtherance of their education.
There was a discussion on a revision to the Chester County student discipline handbook. According to the current handbook, any altercation that involves a threat against another, physical or verbal, can result in suspension of the student. It was suggested that this rule be revised in order to address these incidents on a case-by-case basis. The school board approved this.
The school board approved the TISA Accountability Report at this meeting. This is a document that is provided to show the state and community how the schools are using funds to support academic goals. These goals include a 70% reading proficiency rate for grades three and up and a 40% proficiency rate for Algebra 1.
The board also approved the 2025-2026 LEA Compliance Report. This document details that the schools of Chester County are all adequately following state-enforced rules.
The next Chester County Board of Education meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at Chester County High School.
