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School
Board Update – October 2008
Greetings
from Your New Chairman of the Board!
On September 3rd I was elected by my colleagues to Chair of the
Board. I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to the
challenge. My over-riding goal will continue to be improving
academic achievement for all students. For this one year term as
Board Chair my objectives include:
·
Facilitating
Dr. McIntyre’s transition as our new Superintendent;
·
Developing
an effective evaluation instrument to measure his performance;
·
Leading
open, efficient meetings that effectively communicate the Board’s goals
and direction for the Superintendent;
·
Focusing
on academic achievement, which entails supporting teachers, building
leadership capacity, promoting meaningful parent and family involvement
and ensuring safe schools.
I’ve
also gotten a copy of Robert’s
Rules for Dummies, which will help me navigate the tangible
tasks of running a meeting!
Proposed
Policies Now Available On-Line
Hallelujah!
Now all new policies and proposed changes to existing policies can be read
on the KCS
website. Policy changes have to be approved two times at two
separate meetings before they can go into effect. Below I’ve
briefly described each policy on this week’s agenda. The last three are
being considered on First Reading, all the others are on Second reading.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Code
of Ethics
This
replaces our existing ethics policy and is much clearer and more succinct.
All school employees, including School Board members, are required to
disclose any personal interest in any matter. We cannot accept gifts
or favors intended to influence our votes or decisions. We may set
up a committee to review alleged ethics complaints or violations for
school employees.
Employee
Whistleblower Protection
A
new state law requires us to adopt this policy. This protects staff
members from retaliation if they report a wrong-doing.
Long-Term
Leaves of Absences
This
modifies existing policy to accommodate those who may need leave to visit
a family member currently serving in the military.
Remediation
and Intervention Services
Pursuant to state law and No Child Left Behind, this new policy requires
KCS to provide remediation to any student who fails an exam that is
required for graduation.
Authorization
for a Grade Change
This new policy underscores that only the teacher is authorized to
initiate a grade change. An administrative change in a teacher’s
grade shall not be made without consulting the teacher of record.
Accidents
and Illnesses
This is a revision to our existing policy. Now anytime a student has
a suspected serious illness or injury, school officials are to call 911
first, and then the parents.
Release
During School Hours
This change, required by new state law, allows Department of Children’s
Services to interview a student during school if they show proper
credentials.
Adjudicated
Delinquent Students
Thanks to a new state law, schools must now be notified when a student is
adjudicated delinquent for a violent crime.
Criminal
Gang Awareness
This policy explicitly prohibits criminal gang activities on school
property. This is also required by a new state law.
Parent
and Family Involvement/Engagement
This revision bolsters are existing policy and adds language to comply
with No Child Left Behind.
Random
Searches
This is probably the most controversial policy on this agenda. Our
current policy allows searches if there is reasonable suspicion that
someone has a weapon or other contraband. This policy would allow
random searches for weapons. Of course I want our schools to be as
safe as possible. I do have some concerns about whether these
searches would, in fact, be random, and if they would actually make our
schools safer.
Internet
Safety
This new policy sets forth acceptable uses of the internet for students
and staff and outlines penalties for violations.
Going
Digital
Our
meetings can already be viewed live on cable TV and on the web. You
can also watch past meetings via on-line archives. As noted above,
you can now view proposed policy changes on our website. KCS
recently unveiled a new and much improved website. We are also
considering the best way to make all agenda materials available digitally.
I favor going to paperless meetings as I recycle 95% of all the papers I
receive right after each meeting. These changes enhance our ability to
communicate and interact internally and externally and may even save money
by reducing copying and printing costs.
Dr.
MacIntyre Wants to Hear From You!
The
Superintendent is convening several public meetings to hear from the
community about our schools. I attended the first one at
Holston
Middle School
last week. There were about 70 people there - teachers, parents and
students. For me it was a great way to hear people’s concerns and
see what issues they care most about. Improving academic
opportunities and achievement was a common refrain, as well as discipline
issues. There
are two more meetings coming up soon:
6pm
Monday 10/6 – Public Forum on the School Calendar,
Powell
High School
6pm
Tuesday 10/14 – Public Forum on General Topics at
Bearden
Middle School
I
hope you can attend!
The
Annenberg Institute Assesses Knox County Schools
The
Annenberg Institute for School Reform recently completed a report on our
school system. The report notes many strengths, but also some
significant weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses they cited include:
program sprawl, achievement and expectations gaps, lack of transparency,
and difficulty collaborating effectively with community partners.
The report also mentions complacency as an issue to overcome – KCS
students consistently out-perform their peers in other urban school
systems across the state, but rate poorly when compared nationally.
You can read the full
report on-line.
I
want to make good use of this report. There are no startling
revelations, but it does put all the issues out there and helps us focus.
The Annenberg team will partner with the Dr. McIntyre and his staff to
come up with an action plan in the next 6-12 months.
Thanks
to all the teachers, parents, students, administrators and community
members who collected data and made this assessment possible. It
will be a valuable tool as we work harder and smarter to strengthen our
schools.
Fulton
Progress Report
As
many of you know,
Fulton
High School
is in the midst of a comprehensive re-design effort to improve outcomes
for its students. Full implementation began in August and the early
results are very positive. Just walking around the school and
visiting classrooms you can feel the intensity - students and teachers are
very focused on learning. More 9th graders are thriving,
and suspensions have declined. Dr.
Jon Rysewyk, the principal,
has conducted 50 formal
walk in visits to classrooms and accountability for teaching the entire
hour and a half class is happening like never before.
There are 4 Small Learning Communities within the school – Freshman
Experience, Health Sciences, Communications and Skilled Professions.
Students within each school wear a different colored collared shirt to
identify their association with that learning community. The
transition to professional attire has gone very smoothly and I think the
students look great.
The
school and parents can better track academic progress since report cards
are now every 3 weeks instead of every 4.5 weeks. The faculty of
each learning community meets weekly to discuss and form an action plan
for any student with an F on his her report card. The entire faculty
shares the ACT word of the day.
All in all things are going well at Fulton. A big thanks to the entire Fulton staff for their hard work – it is paying off!
Fulton
Golfers
Make
State
Tourney
Congratulations
to Jillian Corum and Brittany Valentine who qualified for the State golf
tournament in
Murfreesboro
. They won the District Tournament and are 2 of only 4 girls in the region
to qualify for the State Tournament. Congratulations and best wishes to
these young women who are representing
Fulton
High School
in such a positive way.
One
of 100
Do
you believe
that strong schools are vital to a healthy community? Would you like
to be part of a grassroots effort to share this belief with colleagues,
friends and neighbors? I’ve volunteered to be One of 100 people
who will give 10 presentations on the importance of raising expectations
and standards for our children. The presentation is being created
using the following content:
·
Changes in our global Economy and how that applies to education;
·
Education Crossroads information provided by Dr. Matt Murray, UT;
·
Dr. McIntyre’s vision for Knox County Schools;
·
New
Tennessee
State
Education Standards and Requirements.
We
can reach nearly half of
Knox
County
through this grass roots approach. Here are the numbers: 100 volunteers
who offer to give 10 presentations with 20 people each. That’s 20,000
people. At each of those presentations, 1 volunteer commits to give 10
presentations; That makes 200,000 people - Half of Knox County.
The
DEADLINE to sign up is Friday, October 3rd, 2008.
If you are interested in being part of this effort, please contact
Jennifer Evans, Director, Workforce Development and Education
Knoxville
Chamber, 246-2641 or jevans@knoxvillechamber.com.
On
a personal note, it’s been thrilling for me to watch our younger
daughter learn the joy of reading as a kindergartner. Literacy
is empowering! Thanks for reading this update.
Very
Truly Yours,
Indya
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Volunteer