School Board Update 27 October 2004

My first two months as your School Board representative have been challenging and exciting.  I'll post an update, like the one here, on activities and issues quarterly.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions, questions or concerns. 

If you received this email and would prefer NOT to be on this list, just reply to this email and write "Please remove me from your email list".

Thanks,

Indya Kincannon

The Learning Curve
I’ve been meeting with school officials to orient myself to the various departments and issues, including Maintenance, Facilities, School Zones, Transportation, Security, Budget, Curriculum, Zero Tolerance, Food Service, Transfers, Magnet Schools, No Child Left Behind, and Contract negotiations with KCEA.  Still to come are overviews of Title I issues, Human Resources, Payroll, Info Technology, Special Education and Legal issues. I've been impressed with many of the staff members and also have a greater appreciation for the complexities of running a school system with 87 schools, 53,000 students, 6200 employees and another 1500 substitutes.   

School Board Retreat
During the September School Board retreat we worked for a day and a half to develop vision and mission statements and set goals for the coming year. It was a great opportunity build a foundation of cooperation and shared objectives.  Read our vision, mission statement and goals on the school board website at http://www.kcs.k12tn.net/schoolboard/board.html.

New high school
I visited  Farragut High school to see for myself how crowded it is.   The sheer size of the school - almost 2500 students - struck me much more than its somewhat crowded conditions.   Research indicates that students in smaller schools and smaller classes have better educational outcomes.   Building large schools saves dollars, but may not always be in the best interests of the students.

The west Knox County  student population is growing faster than predicted when Farragut was built.  Re-zoning is only a stop-gap measure to deal with crowding while new facilities are planned and budgeted.

While we have to address these immediate needs, I will continue to encourage and support more balanced growth across the county, not just in outlying areas. This balanced growth requires improved schools, increased economic opportunities and a changed mindset so employers, realtors and families are reminded of the many advantages of our more urban neighborhoods.

Inskip School
Inskip is the only 2nd District elementary school that failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress under "No Child Left Behind”.  One of my goals as a school board member is to help assure Inskip students achieve better outcomes.  I'm not working alone.  Knoxville 's Promise has adopted Inskip and provides many classroom volunteers.  Ms. Luna, the new principal, has won several grants to bolster their reading programs.  Inskip now has an active PTA and some parents even spoke about their school's needs at our September School Board meeting.

I invited our County Commissioners , the Superintendent and other school staff members to visit Inskip to see firsthand some of the school’s needs.  Already parents have seen improvements as a result of their activism, such as a fence, more parking, and upgrades to the roof and HVAC systems. 

Many of Inskip's challenges stem from a rapid increase in student enrollment. "Portable units" (temporary modular structures) have been installed to accommodate the recent increase in student population.  Today, 11 of Inskip's 31 classrooms are in these portable units.  These are costly to install and maintain and are not ideal settings for teaching or learning.  A permanent addition will soon be needed. However, Inskip is not scheduled for any capital improvements until 2009.  

As the School Board reconsiders the Capital Budget I will do my best to build support for Inskip's capital needs - while working to help improve student achievement, as well.

Part-Time Teaching and Job-Sharing
It's critical that we attract and retain our best teachers.  I'm introducing the concept of a policy for part-time teachers and job sharing as one step in that direction.   Many corporate, legal and health care professions successfully offer this flexibility.  It can appeal to all kinds of people, but perhaps especially to teachers with young children or teachers approaching retirement. These policies have been effectively implemented in many other school districts throughout the country and could be a good tool for Knox County as well.  We'll be discussing the pros and cons of this idea at our next mid-month workshop on November 22^nd.   

Milwaukee Trip
The Cornerstone Foundation is paying for several School Board members and County Commissioners  to visit Milwaukee in mid-November.   Some of the educational initiatives I will learn more about are a community-wide partnership to improve public schools, system-wide school choice, and a fully-developed magnet school system with elements such as language immersion elementary schools. I'll also be gathering details about the benefits and gains of Milwaukee 's initiatives.

Residential Development and Schools
Every new residential development impacts public schools; planners and decision-makers need up-to-date and accurate school capacity and enrollment data.  This information has been supplied in the past, but needs updating.  I've asked the school system to survey all  Knox County  schools and provide functional capacity and current enrollment figures to MPC, County Commission and City Council.  This information will facilitate informed decisions and clarify whether or not a school is overcrowded. 

 Other Activities

·         Each week I'm reading to Inskip first graders as part of the Read with Me program.  It's a great way to stay in touch with teachers, students and the classroom, and the kids are a lot of fun.

·         I observed a 2^nd grade class at Sterchi School and was very impressed with the students and teacher, Elaine Womack. 

 ·         The school system and UT are exploring the idea of a University High School .  While many of the academic concepts are exciting, details about funding and student selection criteria remain undefined.

  ·         Promoting parental involvement in schools is one of my highest priorities.  With this in mind, I donated the balance of my campaign funds to the PTAs and PTSOs of 2^nd District Schools.

Thanks for your continued interest and support. Please contact me whenever you have questions, concerns or ways I can be of help to you and our students and schools.

Sincerely,

Indya Kincannon

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