Parents and staff members of the year are recognized

Date: 05/07/2008 News Release Number: 08-048

The Knox County Schools Title I District Advisory Council and the school system’s 19 Title I schools are recognizing parents and staff members of the year for the 2007-2008 school year.

Title I is part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act first passed by Congress in 1965. It operates programs in high poverty areas, for children who need extra educational assistance to perform on grade level. The parent of the year program is designed to honor parents who have demonstrated a high level of engagement in their children’s education. Classroom teachers selected the top three Parents of the Year for each school. Parents were selected based on their level of at-home support to education as well as family-school communication. (Details)

Professional Learning Communities:

Placing the focus on student learning, not on content delivery

Dictated by the lack of easy travel and communication, the traditional teaching culture required teachers to be independent and self-sufficient, interacting only occasionally with other teachers. Today, the world is smaller. Travel is easy and communication is instantaneous, but much of our education culture remains driven by the same independent, self-sufficient practices. Teachers and principals across Knox County are engaging in a process to change this traditional culture into collaborative, results oriented professional learning communities that come together to share experiences and to focus on individual student achievement. (Continue Story).

Knox County Council PTA Student Awards Celebration

The Knox County Council PTA presented more than 100 student awards March 6 at its annual awards program. We want to congratulate the following students for their accomplishments. (Details of awards, winners)

Online Payment of school lunches proving popular, helpful service

Paying for your student's school meals online has become a popular service. More and more parents are taking advantage of the option to pay for their student's meals on-line. Parents who do not wish to use the online service may continue to send payment to their student's cafeteria for meals as usual. While there is a $1.95 fee per transaction, there is no charge for viewing a student's purchase history.
(Instructions | Create Account/Make Payment | Cafeteria Menus | Cafeteria prices) 

More about KCS's expanding use of technology . . .

Parent Portal: Check attendance, grades, and more online

Parent Portal for Middle and High School parents allows parents access to Student Schedules, Marking Period Grades and Report Cards, Class Assignments and Class Period, Attendance, Daily Attendance, and Discipline, as well as Transcript Information for High School students. A parent help line is available from  7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and parents may email questions to parentportal@k12tn.net as well.

Report Cards have a new look this year as well.

Stories of Interest

• School Supply Lists for 2007-08 School Year
• KCS textbook list for parents
• Reading guides for Advanced Placement, Honors, College Credit
• 2007-08 test dates
• Four years of high school math required for graduation
• Magnet School Evaluation
• Articles from Focal Points Newsletter
  • Professional Learning Community: Focus on student learning, not content delivery
  • Expanding Technology enhances family engagement
  • Knox County Schools operating budget and the budget process
  • Excellence through literacy: Reading is key to all other academic success
    by Elizabeth Alves, Director of Middle Schools
  • Knox County initiates more physical activity and coordinated health program
• Building communication between home and school
  by Fred Niddifer, Director of Elementary Education
• Looking beyond No Child Left Behind
  by Donna Wright, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
• High School GPA: An indicator of college readiness
  by Ed Hedgepeth, Director of Secondary Education

Curriculum, Planning guides for high school coursework

Do you need help planning your student's high school coursework? Want information about a particular course? Need a worksheet to help you plan? What is the proper sequence for math or science courses? What Career and Technical courses are available? Use the planning guide and course descriptions on this site to help you. Information regarding course titles, planning, graduation requirements, technical and university track options, and dual track options are available as well.

Is your student's school a 'Cleanest School' winner?

The clean school of the quarter award is designed to recognize those building level custodians that excel in providing a clean and safe working and learning environment for our students and staff throughout the year. Our operations foremen inspect our schools monthly. The award is given to the school in each of the five zones that has the highest score on these monthly inspections. The goal of this program is to promote a clean and safe working and learning environment throughout all Knox County Schools. This quarters winners are . . .

Corporate Scholarships

Guide for students and parents to scholarships offered by various corporations

Comprehensive high school rezoning plan

New High School Zones for 2008-2009
Presentation from Parent Meeting on Sept. 20,2007
Download PowerPoint Show

The high school rezoning plan does not take affect until August 2008.

Exceptions to the attendance zones: "Grandfather" clause effective for the 2008 school year

All rising juniors and seniors zoned to Hardin Valley Academy shall have the option to return to their previously zoned high school until they graduate. All rising sophomores, juniors and seniors zoned to high schools other than Hardin Valley shall have the option to return to their previously zoned high school until they graduate.

Additionally, siblings of qualified high school students who choose to use
the grandfather option may also grandfather to their previously zoned high school through the terminal grade. This option will extend to siblings who will be in the sixth grade or higher in August 2008.

Related links

• Find your current zone - enter your street address to find your current zone
• Current maps
• School profiles: Austin-East, Bearden, Carter, Central, Farragut, Fulton, Gibbs, Halls, Hardin Valley, Karns, Powell, South-Doyle, West