The Tennessee Department of Education continues to review the accountability model for the 2022 - 2023 school year. Additional information will be released once the department finalizes school and district accountability.

The first annual Principal For A Day (PFAD) in Jefferson County Schools was held September 21. It was an opportunity to engage community partners with the important and impactful work that is being accomplished in schools across the district. Leaders and representatives from a variety of organizations accepted the invitation to take a deeper look at what is happening in our schools. They were able to observe the role of school principals in day-to-day operations, meet teachers and staff, observe classes, and discuss school initiatives as they walked alongside principals for the morning. Afterwards, all PFAD participants came together at Jefferson County High School, where they were greeted by Service Learning students and took a tour of the high school’s Career-Technical Education (CTE) department, led by CTE Student Ambassadors. Participants, principals, and district supervisors wrapped up the morning with lunch (provided by Owens Restaurant and sponsored by Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union), which was served by Culinary Arts students. Dr. Arnold challenged everyone to be ambassadors for our schools as they returned to their organizations and communities.

One of Jefferson County Schools' core values is high quality instruction in every classroom for every student on every day. Our teachers are working hard to be prepared for lessons that require students to be engaged in the learning. In the lower elementary grades in August and September, we have focused on small group reading instruction that gives students lots of practice opportunities to apply foundational skills to texts. In K-12 literacy classrooms, we continue to utilize our high quality curriculum to build knowledge through multiple texts. In addition to increasing student engagement, we are working towards greater utilization of text evidence and analyzing student writing to inform next steps. In K-12 math classrooms, we have worked on increasing student discourse and allowing students to productively struggle. In math, we want to ensure that students develop fluency, application, and conceptual understanding as they progress toward mastery of the grade level standards.

Enjoy this video of learning in action in JCS!

School districts have been charged with completing an annual bus evacuation drill. On August 25 Jefferson County Schools held a county-wide evacuation drill event. Students, drivers, and school personnel were able to practice the proper procedure to exit school buses in case of an emergency situation. Transportation Supervisor Phillip Batts sends a big "thank you" to all of the principals and school personnel who assisted in the drill.

With the help of Melissa Whitaker from Coordinated School Health, Jefferson County Schools held a CPR class for all Special Education drivers and monitors on September 20. Having our drivers trained in CPR helps ensure the safety of our students as they ride buses to and from school each day.

Jefferson County Schools is pleased to share the success of the driver training program that has been implemented. Last year, the shortage of drivers had some dropping off students at 6:50 in order to run a second route. After implementation of our CDL training course, which 8 drivers have completed, we are happy to report that currently none of our drivers have a double route. We have 8 substitute bus drivers that ride or drive daily. The transportation department has another CDL training scheduled for mid October in which 5 new drivers will obtain their CDL as well.

Batts extends his thanks and appreciation to all of the drivers who step up every day transporting our children to and from school.

Our annual Fruit Challenge Competition happened in September. We are proud to announce that Jefferson Elementary is the winner this year with second and third place going to JCHS and New Market Elementary, respectively. Each cafeteria staff member in every school is working to create and prepare wonderful meals every day. They also are going above and beyond to create these fun days to get the students excited about nutritious food. We hope special days like this will encourage the students to try something new.

Middle school students at White Pine School delve into the fascinating world of electricity flow during a comprehensive Computer Science and Mechanics lesson. Ms. Denton skillfully guides students in connecting the dots between microcontrollers and their everyday devices like cell phones and gaming consoles, fostering a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Jefferson County is excited to announce that CTE is now available in our middle schools. Students can explore career pathways and course options before entering high school. This will help them better understand their course selections when they enter Jefferson County High School.

Remarkable things are happening at White Pine School. Mr. Adams, who teaches the Mechanical Pathway, is introducing students to virtual welding through portable augmented reality welders. Mrs. Denton, who teaches the Computer Science Pathway, is incorporating Arduino Kits to help students better understand how electronic devices are designed, manufactured, and contribute to technological growth in an ever-changing environment. Both teachers are collaborating to create lesson plans that integrate materials and ideas from both pathways. Their students are also busy learning how to design on Tinkercad and how to 3-D print their designs.

CTE at Rush Strong is also achieving great results. Mrs. Burdine, who teaches the Biotics Pathway, has received support from a local church to clean out an outdoor garden area at the school. The garden features 15 raised beds, flower beds, a water feature, apple trees, and a compost barrel. Students have been researching fall weather vegetables and plants they can grow, as well as learning how to maintain a viable compost. Each week, one grade, including 6th-8th graders, will tend the garden. Mrs. Bible, who teaches the Computer Science Pathway, is working on starting an after-school robotics club and has ordered several Vex robots to get started. She is also very excited about using her new robot finches to make computer science come alive for her 6th-8th graders.

As you can see, Jefferson County's CTE program in middle schools is off to a great start. Next time, we will highlight all the exciting developments happening at Jefferson Middle and Maury Middle.

A highly successful Family Fun Fair event took place at the Field of Dreams Activity Center in Dandridge on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, thanks to a collaborative effort involving various key contributors. The success of this event can be attributed to the combined efforts of the Jefferson County Healthy School Teams, Coordinated School Health, students from the JCHS service learning and leadership class, Amanda Hansel, the leader of H.O.S.A, and Jeanne Beffrey from the Tennessee Department of Health.

During the event, Coordinated School Health engaged with Jefferson County families, discussing important topics such as Physical Education and the Family Life Curriculum.

We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Healthy School Teams for their gracious invitations to all school families and to the Tennessee Department of Health for their invaluable leadership in making this event such a resounding success!

Jefferson County offers a wide range of CTE programs for students. These videos were created to highlight the great work being done to ensure students are College and Career Ready!

WATE Channel 6 News recently shared the story of a New Market family that decided to honor their daughter by paying off the school lunch fees at New Market Elementary School. The WATE story is linked above.

When the Devoties delivered the check to New Market Elementary on October 2, they were informed that the tables in the cafeteria where parents eat with their children were dedicated as "Taylor's Tables."