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Director of CMCSS promised the commissioners and school board present he would try to make the night’s session as brief as possible.
The session began with a re-visiting of the recent school year’s inclement weather days. Alicia Moss, mother of three students in the Clarksville-Montgomery County system, spoke to the board and offered her concerns about the lost education time.
Moss explained many times the system knew prior to the school closures and that provided the system with a missed opportunity. The concerned mother said that teachers could provide some process of linking to school assignments online so that children did not fall behind in studies.
Speaking to the board while her 15 month old quietly sat on her hip, Ms. Moss said, “I don’t want the children to be further and further behind.”
Moss ended her address promising she will remain engaged in the school board’s process. She hoped that the lost time in class would not be repeated this coming year, but said she wanted to work with the board to find better solutions to her complaint if inclement weather should threaten to close school once again.
Director Harris and Dr. Sean Impeartrice, director of middle schools, presented an overview of an upcoming district-wide accreditation through Advanced ED following Moss’s statements. Montgomery County currently holds the distinction of being the second district in the state of Tennessee to accomplish this accreditation and now, at the five year mark, will have the same distinction again.“Back in the old days, accreditation was more of a ‘jump through the hoops’ process,” said Harris.
The director continued with, “Accreditation now is about standards based on data.”
In the presentation the director related the importance of accreditation to possible business interest in Montgomery County. Harris said that businesses pay attention to accreditations for entire school districts. In speaking about the initial research Hemlock Semiconductor conducted in the area, Harris said that they were more than a little impressed by the schools accreditation in ISO certification.
Many of the board asked how the district accreditation differed from standards such as the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP). The director explained that TCAPS were not the whole picture of a district’s abilities.
“We’re more than that,” said Harris.
Harris went on to say that TCAPS were only a “sliver” of the picture of education in Montgomery County.
School board member George Giles worried that the district accreditation was adding even more to an already over-burdened staff. Impeartrice assured Giles the district accreditation required almost no more extra work from the system. The middle school director explained that the schools as well as CMCSS already performed all the requirements of the accreditation.
The newest school board member, Josh Baggett brought up to director Harris some of his constituent’s concern that the county school buses should look into selling advertising space. Harris said that districts that did engage in that found at best they made $3-400 dollars a year from it. However, the CMCSS director did promise to look into the possibility.
Ending the session on high note, school board chairman Jimmie Garland said to all present, “Education of our kids is paramount.”
The chairman explained that o matter if the board is addressing budgets, zoning, or accreditation, what should be foremost on the minds of the board was the education provided by the system.
To see the calendar of scheduled meetings and events, or to learn more about CMCSS, visit them on the web at www.cmcss.net.
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