From Superintendent Buddy L. Brown:

Congratulations to the Ponce de Leon High School Girls Basketball Team for advancing to the  FHSAA Final Four Basketball Championships on the dates of February 22-24, 2023.  We could not be more proud of their accomplishment and the support from the community.  The girls have a semi-final game scheduled on Wednesday, February 22, at 6:00 PM EST, and with a win they will play in the finals on Friday, February 24 at 7:00 PM EST.

Since the games are being played on a weekday and school operations will be disrupted due to the number of students and school staff that have indicated their intent to travel, we feel it is in the best interest of the district to follow the schedule below: 

PDLE and PDLHS will be closed on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and Thursday, February 23, 2023. 

OPTION 1:  PDLHS Lady Pirates win their semi-final game:

PDLE AND PDLHS will be closed on Friday, February 24, 2023.

OPTION 2:  PDLHS Lady Pirates do not win their semi-final game:

PDLE and PDLHS will conduct school on Friday, February 24, 2023.

These options have been developed based on the survey of employees and student body membership, and local community support as to their intent for attending the FHSAA Final Four.  Plans are being made for makeup days on remaining early release days or at the end of the school year if needed. 

We wish the Lady Pirates and their coaches the best of luck, and safe travels to all attending the games.

FAMILY EMPOWERMENT SCHOLARSHIP—EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS

The Family Empowerment Scholarship—Educational Options (FES EO) Program was established to enhance Florida's menu of education options. It will provide children whose families have limited financial resources with the opportunity to attend the school that best meets their needs and enables them to reach their academic goals.

The FES EO program provides eligible students a scholarship to attend a private school selected by the parent. A student is eligible for FES EO if the student meets the following criteria:

*     The student's household income does not exceed 400% of the federal poverty level ($111,000 for a family of four) or the student is on the direct certification list (list of children who qualify for the food assistance program, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program, or the Food Distribution on Indian Reservations program); or

*     The student is currently placed, or during the previous state fiscal year was placed, in foster care or in out-of-home care as defined in section 39.01, Florida Statutes; or

*     The student is a dependent child of a member of the United States Armed Forces or a law enforcement officer.

*     Prior to scholarship funds being awarded, the student must be accepted and enrolled in a participating private school. For a list of eligible schools, please view the Department's Private School Directory. A private school that is currently eligible to participate in any of the scholarship programs is eligible to participate in FES EO; however, parents should contact the school to inquire as to whether the private school will participate in the program.

 

Parents who meet the eligibility requirements above and are interested in applying for FES EO should first contact one of Florida's two approved scholarship funding organizations (contact information below) to complete the income verification process.

For  more   information,  please  visit the Department of  Education  website  at www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/ or contact Matt Tate at 547-9341 x1262 or [email protected]

Out of an abundance of caution due to potential severe weather,  Holmes District Schools will operate on a two-hour delay on Wednesday morning, January 25.  Bus routes will begin 2 hours later than usual, and employees will report to work 2 hours later than their usual start time.  VPK will run until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday instead of the usual 11:00 a.m. dismissal.  All other classes will dismiss at the normal time.   Please monitor local news media for weather watches and warnings and stay safe!

In 2015, the Holmes County School District was approved to implement the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Lunch Program.  CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  Holmes County currently has 58.66 percent of enrolled students that are categorically eligible, based on data collected by Carmen Bush, Food Service Director.

Your students are eligible to receive a P-EBT card because Holmes County is a CEP district.  Currently P-EBT cards are being issued to all school-aged children that were enrolled in our schools for the 2021-2022 school year.  Each eligible student/child will receive a one-time Summer 2022 P-EBT benefit of $391. 

Summer 2022 P-EBT benefit issuance is expected to begin in October 2022 and will run through November 2022. Eligible recipients should expect to receive their payment by November 30, 2022.  Households already receiving SNAP benefits will receive Summer 2022 P-EBT benefits on their existing EBT cards. Households that received P-EBT benefits during the prior school year will receive benefits on their existing P-EBT card, and households that do not have an EBT or P-EBT card will receive a P-EBT card in the mail with benefits automatically loaded. If you need a replacement P-EBT card, you should call 1-833-311-0321 for a replacement.

If you lost your P-EBT card, or your think your student/child qualifies, but you have not received funds on your card by November 30, 2022, you should call 1-833-311-0321.   

Superintendent Buddy Brown announced today that Holmes County School District has earned system accreditation by Cognia™, a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, school districts, and education service providers.

 

Cognia, formerly AdvancED, nationally recognizes districts that meet rigorous standards that focus on productive learning environments, equitable resource allocation that meet the needs of learners, and effective leadership. Earning accreditation from the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission means that the system and all of its schools are accredited, and that Holmes County School District is recognized across the nation as a school system that meets Cognia Standards of Quality and maintains a commitment to continuous improvement.


“Systems accreditation as conferred by the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission provides Holmes County School District a nationally recognized mark of quality for our school system and each school within our system,” shared Mr. Brown. “It demonstrates to our community our commitment to excellence, our openness to external review and feedback, and our desire to be the best we can be on behalf of the students we serve.”



Parents and interested community members can learn more about the Cognia Accreditation at cognia.org.

NOTICE


The Holmes County School Board will meet on Friday, October 7, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. at the Jackson County Ag Center, 3631 Highway 90, Marianna, FL for the purpose of ethics training.

NOTICE

The Holmes County School Board will meet at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at the Holmes District School Board Office and travel to the following locations for the purpose of school walk-throughs:

GAP (Graduation Assistance Program)

Bethlehem

Ponce de Leon High (lunch at 11:30)

Ponce de Leon Elementary    

FortifyFL

August 31, 2022

FortifyFL is an anonymous reporting app for suspicious activity at school that links the user directly to the school district and law enforcement. By accessing FortifyFL, students can provide a description of the threat, share pics and videos, and optionally submit their contact information.  We encourage students to “see something, say something” to help keep our schools safe.

 

However, please be aware that according to Florida Statute 943.082,  following an investigation if it is determined that a person KNOWINGLY submitted a false tip through FortifyFL, the Internet protocol (IP) address of the device on which the tip was submitted will be provided to law enforcement agencies for further investigation. The reporting party may be subject to criminal penalties under s. 837.05. In all other circumstances, the report will remain anonymous. unless the reporting party has chosen to disclose his or her identity.

Holmes County School Board will be adopting and revising school board policies at the regular school board meeting on September 27th, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. A hearing for the public for input on proposed changes will be held at 5:05 p.m. on Monday, September 26th, 2022 at the Holmes County School Board Office. A copy of the policies to be adopted or revised may be reviewed at the Holmes County School Board Office Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., except advertised holidays.