From the Director of Schools
I sure hope your fall break gave you and your family an opportunity to relax and rewind. This bi-weekly update is a little off schedule because of the break, but my hope is that it finds you well.
STUDENT PROGRESS: As you may have read, the Governor's Office issued projections recently that painted a dim picture of academic growth for students across the state. These projections were based on teaching and learning time lost due to the pandemic, both last spring and at the beginning of the current school year. We are thrilled to report that our recent nationally normed benchmark tests do not support the predicted outcomes of a 50% drop in 3rd-grade reading proficiency and a 65% drop in 3rd-grade math. In fact, our most recent CASE* assessment data shows a 1% gain in 3rd-grade ELA and only a 2% dip in 3rd-grade math. Our testing also revealed a double-digit increase in 3rd-grade ELA at Sam Houston and 5th-grade ELA at Coulter Grove. Both MRIS and CGIS are seeing significant growth in math scores as well. While these results are a continuation of the excellence our teachers expect and our students deliver, YOUR SUPPORT AS PARENTS is a critical factor in our continued success and your student's progress. Thank you and keep up the great work.
* CASE Benchmark Assessments mirror state assessments and provide actionable data to guide instruction.
STATE ASSESSMENTS: We support recent action by the Governor to administer TNReady Assessment this school year, but we feel strongly the legislature should hold teachers, schools, and district harmless for those results. In combination with many other assessment tools we use (such as CASE), our plan would be to use those scores for future growth calculations.
PANDEMIC UPDATE: COVID continues to impact our students and this community. In Blount County overall, 23 school-age students have tested positive in the last seven days. Five of those were Maryville students. Health department isolation requirements continue to challenge affected families, especially where students are identified as close contacts. To date, 352 MCS students have been isolated as close contacts - keeping them from normal school activities as well as significant events such as family weddings, championship games, and milestone performances. At this time, a positive person can return to school after getting two subsequent negative tests, but close contact insolation may not be canceled. Our hearts go out to the many families impacted by the pandemic. Please continue to employ all safety precautions that might allow us to contain the spread of COVID.
