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Great Schools Partnership |
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The mission of the Great Schools Partnership is to serve as a catalyst, think tank,
incubator and start-up funder for making Knox County Schools globally competitive. |
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Stay Informed about the
Knox County Schools Budget Proposal
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Over the next 2 months, the budget for Knox County -- which includes the budget for the school system -- will be presented, discussed and voted on. The Great Schools Partnership is asking the community to pay close attention to this discussion, get informed about the facts of the school system's budget proposal and get involved in the process as our elected officials make decisions about our school system's future.
On March 12, Dr. Jim McIntyre presented his budget to the school board. Last night, a community forum was held at Fulton High School to further inform the public about the proposal that will go before the Board at next week's School Board Meeting (April 4th, 5:00 p.m. in the Main Assembly Room of the City/County Building). Once the Board of Education adopts the budget, it will be sent to Mayor Tim Burchett's office to become integrated into the overall Knox County Budget. The formal Knox County budget will go before the County Commission sometime in May for approval.
This year, KCS is proposing a base budget that includes a revenue increase of 2.98%. In addition, the school system is asking County Commission to approve a step-increase of $35 million. In addition to some high priority capital needs, the bulk of these funds would be used for more instructional time, technology upgrades throughout the school system, and teacher compensation. To view much greater detail on the proposed budget, CLICK HERE.
As community members that care about a strong Knox County Schools system, we hope that you will become engaged as the discussion over this budget continues over the next 2 months. There is quite a bit of data available about the proposed budget, but we hope you will also e-mail the Great Schools Partnership with any questions that you might have.
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Green Mountain Coffee and United Way
Support the GSP First Grade Reading Intervention Program
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Last month we reported about the success of our First Grade Reading Intervention program being piloted in five Knox County Schools. Norwood, Inskip, Greene, Christenberry and Beaumont have all implemented this intense reading intervention program and as of the end of February, they were each seeing promising results in first grade reading achievement. Due to this success, Great Schools Partnership and the Knox County Schools will be expanding the program into a dozen elementary schools for the next school year.
The Great Schools Partnership is thrilled that Green Mountain Coffee and United Way have both recognized the merits of this successful program, which intervenes at the beginning of a child's education. Green Mountain Coffee has awarded a $50,000 grant and the United Way has extended a three year educational grant of $232,000 per year to expand program.
 
THANK YOU TO OUR EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS!
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2012 PRINCIPALS RECOGNITION RECEPTION
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On Thursday, March 15 the Great Schools Partnership hosted a reception at the Square Room to honor 5 top middle and high school principals from the Knox County School System. Over 200 people were in attendance including both mayors and other elected officials. This year's honorees are Cindy White, Karns Middle School; Jack Nealy, West Valley Middle School; Jill Hobby, Whittle Springs Middle School; Cheryl Hickman, Carter High School; and Sallee Reynolds, Hardin Valley Academy.
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Buzz Thomas, Jamie Woodson, Cindy White, Jack Nealy, Jill Hobby, Cheryl Hickman, Sallee Reynolds and Dr. Jim McIntyre
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This is the second year that the Great Schools Partnership has hosted a principals' award ceremony, last year the event honored elementary school principals. These five principals were recognized for having the top academic growth during the last school year. Value-added data from TCAPs, which measures student academic growth within a grade and subject, was used to select the 3 middle school winners, and ACT growth was used at the high school level.
Jamie Woodson, former state senator and current president of the State Collaborative for Reforming Education (SCORE) spoke at the awards ceremony. The awards were made possible by a grant from the Elgin Foundation - founded by the late B. Ray Thompson, Sr., to focus on the dental, medical and educational needs of rural Appalachian children in eastern Tennessee, Kentucky and western Virginia.
"Alex Haley taught us that we need to find the good and praise it, and that is what we have done here tonight," said GSP President Buzz Thomas. "These are the kinds of schools and teachers and principals that can transform a community. We want to be among the first to sing their praises. Certainly, the Great Schools Partnership realizes there are many outstanding principals in Knoxville, but we want to recognize these five because their schools have achieved such remarkable academic growth."
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Have You Read 20 Minutes Today? | |
Read with your child,
it's the most important 20 minutes of your day! | |
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If you are receiving this update, you are a member of the Great Schools Partnership and its efforts to take the Knox County School System from good to great! Help us by forwarding this email to your friends and colleagues and ask them to also join our organization. At the bottom of this email, there is the ability to forward this update -- we hope you will do so! |
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Great Schools Partnership
912 S. Gay Street, L210
Knoxville, TN 37902
(865) 215-4501
www.GreatSchoolsPartnership.com
Virginia Babb
VP of Membership Development
vbabb@greatschoolspartnership.com | |
Click HERE to join the Great Schools Partnership
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