School Board Suspends Policy for Weighting TN Ready and EOC Test Scores for this year (View video here)

April 9, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

A policy for weighting TN Ready and End of Course test scores in determining final grades of DeKalb County students has been suspended this year due to the continued disruptive Covid-19 pandemic

DeKalb Board of Education Meeting Thursday Night April 8 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

The DeKalb County Board of Education made the move during its regular monthly meeting Thursday night.

Weighting is a mathematical calculation used to give more importance to certain assessments when determining an overall score.

In DeKalb County, the policy is to weight students’ TN Ready and End of Course test scores by 15% in grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 in calculating final grades. That portion of the testing policy is being suspended just for this year.

State lawmakers approved legislation this year designed to hold teachers, schools and districts harmless for standardized testing results from the 2020-21 school year and included a provision to allow districts to decide how much this year’s test scores should weigh in on a student’s final grade.

“Due to Covid we had discussed possibly changing the percentage of the weighted scores for TN Ready and End of Course testing. What they (Tennessee School Boards Association) recommended is if we did any changes to suspend lines 3-7 of our (Weighting policy). We did a survey among the staff in our system and the majority voted in that survey to suspend the testing value for this year for the TN Ready and End of Course,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps.

Meanwhile, in other business Chris Stites of the Tennessee Risk Management Trust presented a safety grant award of $5,200 to the DeKalb County School District to improve employee safety in the workplace.

“We are your workers comp and property, casualty insurance company but we are also a trust, a public entity and our board voted to include you among the 32 of our 200 public entities to receive a safety grant this year. We are awarding this grant of $5,200 to the DeKalb County School District to help reach some of your safety goals,” said Stites.

Due to DCHS Graduation on Friday, May 14, the Board of Education voted to have the next regular monthly meeting a week earlier on May 6 at 7 p.m. at the Ernest Ray Education Center instead of May 13.

At the beginning of the meeting Thursday night the Board of Education observed a moment of silence for 18 year old Cassie Maxwell, a DCHS senior who died in a car crash Monday; retired teacher Ann Puckett who passed away last week; and Freda Johnson, a school bus aide who died in March.

After the meeting Board Chairman Danny Parkerson told WJLE that one of the three Board of Education scholarships to be awarded to members of the DCHS Class of 2021 next month will be in memory of Cassie Maxwell and will go to a DCHS senior who had attended DeKalb West School.

April 8, 2021
By:

DeKalb County has secured a $500,000 HOME program grant from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) to help local families with home repairs.

County Mayor Tim Stribling says the $500,000 grant will be split among those residents who are currently living in substandard conditions. The Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD) will be monitoring the grant which will have an application process. Once applications are received, a priority list will be formed based on the level of rehabilitation work required and socioeconomic factors of each applicant. This will help determine how many homes can be repaired. “We are very pleased to have received this grant and appreciate THDA’s investment in DeKalb County,” said County Mayor Stribling.

HOME program funding is intended to help families of low income, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities who cannot afford to bring their homes up to code. Officials anticipate helping homeowners with issues such as leaking plumbing, unsafe flooring, faulty wiring, damaged roofs, and more.

Informational meetings will be held at the following locations to learn more about the application procedures and grant guidelines
April 12: Alexandria- Fairgrounds in the Kenneth Sandlin Building
April 19: Smithville- Community Complex in the Auditorium
April 26: Austin Bottom- Austin Bottom Fire Hall
May 3: Keltonburg- Community Center
All meetings will be held at 6:00 p.m. Please wear a mask and maintain social distancing during these events.

The HOME program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered in Tennessee by THDA. HOME grants must be used for the production, preservation, or rehabilitation of affordable housing for low and very low-income families and individuals.

April 8, 2021
By:

DeKalb West’s Kindergarten Registration for the 2021-22 school year will be Thursday, May 6 from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at DeKalb West School.

Please come at the assigned time according to child’s last name:

Please bring COPIES of the following documents to Registration:

– Certified copy of birth certificate

– Current, up-to-date, physical examination and immunization record (These must be on a
Tennessee Department of Health Certificate of Immunization, which can be obtained from
your doctor’s office or the Health Department)

– Proof of residency for DeKalb County (i.e. gas/electric bill)

– Your child (they will be tested on registration day)

*Children who register to attend kindergarten must turn five years old on or before August
15, 2021.*

Pre-K Registration forms for DeKalb West for the 2021-22 school year can be picked up on Thursday, May 6 from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at DeKalb West School. Completed registration paperwork will need to be returned to Michelle Burklow at the Board of Education office.

COPIES of the following documents must be submitted with your registration forms in order for it to be complete:

– Certified copy of birth certificate

– Current, up-to-date, physical examination and immunization record (These must be on a Tennessee Department of Health Certificate of Immunization, which can be obtained from your doctor’s office or the Health Department)

– Proof of residency for DeKalb County (i.e. gas/electric bill)

– Proof of income for all household members

*Children who register to attend Pre-K must turn four years old on or before August 15,
2021.*

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