Undefeated Saints in Quest of Conference Championship

September 27, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb Saints ran the table finishing the regular season 6-0 and atop the western division of the Middle Tennessee Football Conference.

The Saints are now on a quest for their conference championship and will be taking on the second place team of the league’s eastern division tonight in a play-off game (Thursday) at 6 p.m. in Smithville at the DCHS football field. Their opponent will either be Avery Trace or Overton County. Those two teams were scheduled to have played Wednesday night for second place in the east.

The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the conference championship game on Saturday, October 6 to be played in Baxter.

Fans are encouraged to fill the stadium tonight in support of the Saints. Get there early at 4:30 p.m. to cheer them on as they emerge from the spirit tunnel onto the field at around 5 p.m.

WJLE will broadcast tonight’s game LIVE on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com

September 26, 2018
By:

The TSSAA held their large school state golf tournament this week at Willowbrook Golf Course in Manchester and Isaac Walker and Anna Chew represented the DCHS Tigers after qualifying at the regional tournament in Cleveland last week.

The state tournament was scheduled for a two-day, 36 hole event, but was shortened to a one-day 18 hole competition due to the weather.

Walker, a senior and Cumberland signee, shot a 6 over par round of 78 to finish in a tie for 26th place out of 63 golfers. This was Isaac’s 3rd trip representing DCHS in the state tournament.

Anna Chew, a junior, was making her first appearance in the state tournament. She shot an 82 to finish in a tie for 18th out of 48 golfers.

DCHS Golf Coach John Pryor said “I am so proud of Isaac and Anna. They are great golfers, great students, and most importantly, great young people. They have been excellent representatives for our school and our community. Isaac is headed to Cumberland where I expect him to do great things. Anna still has one more year in high school, and I know she wants another shot at state,” said Coach Pryor.

Johnson City Science Hill won the boys team competition with a four man score of 291. Lance Simpson of Farragut and Jackson Skeen of Science Hill tied for 1st with 71.

In the girls competition, Station Camp won with a two girl score of 146 and Isabella Van der Biest of Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett, won the individual honors with a 67.

September 26, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb West School has been named a Reward School for 2018 by the Tennessee Department of Education.

The department released its 2018 School Accountability lists last week, which names schools that are excelling and those that need added support.

The DeKalb County School System received an overall “Advancing” status, the second best of the three designations the state gives for improvement. The best is “Exemplary” and “Satisfactory” comes in below “Advancing”

Reward schools are typically improving in terms of achievement and growth for all students and student groups, according to the department. There’s no cap on the number of reward schools.

A school cannot receive a reward designation if:

• Any student group performs in the bottom five percent in the state for that group
• The school is also designated priority or in need of comprehensive support and improvement, or additional targeted support and improvement.

This is the first year that the DOE has used a new framework to determine the school accountability lists. In past years, reward schools included the top 10 percent of schools based on the highest rates of performance and progress.

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said Reward and Priority schools are two key designations under Tennessee’s school accountability system..

Reward status is the top distinction a school can earn in Tennessee. Reward schools are those that are improving overall student academic achievement and student growth for all students and for student groups, and they are identified annually. In 2018, 318 schools in 85 school districts – about 20 percent of schools in the state – earned Reward status.

Priority schools are identified at least every three years, and they are the schools most in need of support and improvement. Priority schools fall into the bottom 5 percent of schools in the state test scores over the past three years and have low graduation rates. Following legislation passed this spring, 2017-18 TNReady data was not used to identify Priority schools. The 2018 Priority list includes 82 schools across eight districts, and these schools are now eligible for additional funding and will be supported by the department, in coordination with their districts, in developing a plan to improve.

“In this first year with our new system, it is incredibly encouraging to see more than 300 of our schools are earning Reward status for how they are supporting our students’ academic achievement and growth,” Commissioner McQueen said. “At the same time, we see a number of places where we need to improve. Our new school improvement model takes a student-focused, evidence-based approach to tailor interventions for our Priority schools, and we will be working closely with these schools and their districts over the coming year to improve academic outcomes and strengthen whole-child services that support student success.”

Tennessee’s new school accountability system was developed through a 16-month process of gathering feedback and hearing input from students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. Tennessee has designated Reward and Priority schools since 2012, but this was the first year with an updated methodology as required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. As part of federal requirements, the plan was submitted to and approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

The new accountability framework is based on principles that all schools can be successful and all Tennessee students must be served well. It includes a variety of measures, including chronic absenteeism and discipline, ACT performance, and TNReady scores, to make a determination. All schools are rated both on how they serve the full student population and how they are specifically serving student groups that have historically been underserved: students with disabilities, English learners, economically disadvantaged students, and black, Hispanic, and Native American students. This fall, the department will publish more information about how all schools perform on these measures as part of a new school dashboard that will be posted online to offer additional information to parents, educators, elected officials, and community leaders.

As part of Tennessee’s new accountability plan, all Priority schools will move into an evidence-based school improvement model, ranging from district-led plans to intervention by the state’s Achievement School District. To better support Tennessee’s lowest performing schools, the state has invested $20 million into school improvement over the last two years. This funding is specifically devoted for Priority schools.

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