Indya KINCANNON
2nd District School Board Representative

School Board Update – February 2009

March 2009 School Board Update

Hi Everyone,

Spring is here and the semester is already half over. Time flies! Below are a few school board issues that you might want to read about. I appreciate your feedback.

We want to hear from you! Public Forums this week

There are two public forums this week on the school budget and the Superintendent’s strategic plan.

6pm Tuesday 3/10, West High School

Topic: Strategic Plan.

In December the Superintendent unveiled an innovative vision for the school system and how to improve outcomes for our children. The strategic plan is the vehicle for turning this vision into reality. It will be presented to the Board in a few months. The forum Tuesday evening is an opportunity for the public to learn more about the strategic plan and also give input.

6pm Thursday 3/12, Central High School

Topic: School Budget

We have a very tight budget this year that will require significant cuts. We will have to cut positions in schools and in central office and take other cost-cutting measures to balance the budget. We currently anticipate a $2-3m shortfall in the current year and a $15m shortfall for 09-10. Our total budget is $370m.

How can we balance our budget and minimize the impact on student learning? What is the effect of the federal stimulus package? What are your priorities for education spending? Please come to this forum to discuss these issues.

Dine Out for Education

Need a break from cooking at home? I invite you to eat out Tuesday March 10th to treat yourself and to benefit Knox County Schools. Participating restaurants will donate 10% of their proceeds to our schools. Thanks to the following restaurants for their participation and support:

Aubrey's

Back Yard Burgers

Gondolier Italian Restaurant

Pizza Hut

Soup Kitchen Express

Krave Juice

Monterrey Mexican Restaurant

McAllister's Deli

Lunch Box

Sonny's BBQ

Steak 'n Shake

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Shrimp Dock of Farragut

Pelanchos Mexican Grill

Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza

Jason's Deli

China Pearl

Bradley's Chocolates

Famous Dave's

Bojangle's

Perkin's

LaCosta on Market Square

Ye Olde Steak House

Cafe 4

Litton's Restaurant

Puleo's Grille

Snappy Tomato Pizza

Gridiron Burgers

CiCi's Pizza

Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse

Shoney's Restaurants

Honey Baked Ham

All Juniors to take ACT on April 22nd

A few years ago the Board of Education adopted an ambitious goal we call 100 – 90 – 90 – 90. We want 100% of our students to finish school, 90% of those completers to earn a regular diploma, 90% of those who earn a regular diploma to take the ACT, and 90% of ACT takers to earn a score of 21 or higher. The maximum score on the ACT is 36. Research indicates that if a student scores at least a 21 she is prepared to succeed in college and career.

We recently got an update on the ACT results for Knox County students. System-wide 84% of our students complete school, 79% of those completers earn a regular diploma, 71% of those who earn a regular diploma take the ACT, and of those who take the ACT, 62% score a 21 or higher. So we’re aiming for 100-90-90-90 and our current status is 84-79-71-62. Clearly we have our work cut out for us, but we do have a baseline to measure our progress.

For the first time ever all Knox County high school juniors will be taking the ACT during the school day on Wednesday April 22nd. Ironically, as we increase the number of kids taking the ACT, the average scores will likely fall in the short term. But still we’re making progress and, just as important, have the ability to measure that progress.

Food for Thought

This article caught my attention. I am a firm believer that we’ll never close the achievement gap until we close the expectations gap. Schools need to ensure a safe, structured, disciplined environment as a means towards effective learning, not an end unto itself.

The genteel unteaching of America's poor

Not all schooling is equal. In too many schools, too many students suffer an education of drill and memorization but are deprived of high-level thinking activities, of intellectual discussions, of opportunities to synthesize information and respond creatively -- elements that form the basis of education for other students in other schools. Too many poor kids encounter expectations that deem them worthy of discipline and "the basics" rather than nurturing high-level thinking. According to Kylene Beers, president of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), it is critically important that all students experience a rich, intellectually rigorous curriculum filled with all sorts of writing. "While writing, more than any other intellectual endeavor, sharpens our thinking, in too many schools, especially schools overwhelmed by poverty, writing is not about thinking but about copying; not about creating but about editing; not about persuading or telling or sharing or clarifying but about completing fill-in-the-blank activities or circling verbs in blue and nouns in red or counting the number of sentences in a paragraph to make sure the prerequisite three (or four or five) are there." According to a new report from NCTE, unless we can reduce the number of schools that turn to scripted programs and highly structured class routines -- sometimes almost militaristic environments -- we will continue to be left with an education of America's poor that cannot be seen as anything more than a segregation by intellectual rigor, something every bit as shameful and harmful as segregation by color. Read more: http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Press/Beers.pdf