Justin Potter Library Receives Foundation for Rural Service Grant

January 5, 2024
By:

Justin Potter Library has received a $5,000 grant from the Foundation for Rural Service. The FRS is the philanthropic arm of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association which includes DTC Communications. They have been advancing rural communities through programs that support young people and encourage community development.

The DeKalb County Library System’s mission is to provide quality materials and services that fulfill educational, informational, cultural and recreational needs for the entire community in an atmosphere that is welcoming and respectful. The library provides programs and services for all ages that encourage reading, learning and cultural enrichment.

This grant has given the library the opportunity to help fulfill our mission by replacing the 10-year-old AWE Stations with two new AWE Platinum 3 Early Literacy Stations. These all-in-one touchscreen computers are self-contained with a child-safe browser not connected to the internet. They provide access to approximately 85 award-winning educational programs in English and Spanish to help children develop early literacy skills. They have won The National Parenting Center Award, Learning Magazine’s Teacher Choice Award for the classroom and many others.

Because of this partnership with The Foundation for Rural Service and DTC Communications children and their parents can enjoy and utilize these early literacy stations and parents can feel confident that their child is using a safe, fun and educational resource to help improve their learning skills. The library staff wants to thank FRS and DTC for the learning opportunity it has provided the children in the community.

Please come by and visit the library and check out these new learning stations. For further information contact Justin Potter Library at 615-597-4359 visit us on Facebook, Instagram or our website at www.dekalblibraries.net.

January 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Longtime local CPA Tom Janney has announced his retirement from the tax and accounting side of Janney & Associates, CPAs, PC, a business he started in 1992 but sold to another firm fourteen months ago.

A farewell reception in honor of Tom will be held at the office of Janney & Associates at 297 Broad Street on Thursday, January 11th from 2pm-6pm. Everyone is invited.

Janney and his family have been part of the Smithville community since moving here in 1974. Tom graduated from DeKalb County High in 1980 and was Co-Valedictorian of his class. He furthered his education at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and was a member of the UT Pride of the Southland Marching Band. Janney graduated with high honors from UT Knoxville in 1985 and began his career working with Arthur Anderson in Nashville. He obtained his CPA certification in 1987 and then returned to Smithville to work with Ed Fuqua at his local CPA firm.

A prepared media release documents Janney’s personal and professional journey over the years.

“In October 1989, Janney decided to venture out on his own and started his own firm, eventually forming a corporation, Janney & Associates, CPAs, PC in 1992. For thirty years, the firm proudly served DeKalb County and surrounding areas, celebrating its anniversary in November 2019. Janney’s firm was later sold to Gammon & Drueck, CPAs, PLLC in November 2022, expanding its reach from Wilson County to DeKalb County and nearby regions”.

“Over the years, Tom has been involved in numerous local charitable, business, and professional organizations as follows:

*Member, Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce
*Chairman, Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce, 1998 and 1999
*Member Board of Directors and Chairman of the Board of WCTE, public television station headquartered in Cookeville.
*Active Member, Upper Cumberland Chapter of CPAs, serving many terms as a board member and at least two terms as president
*Member, Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants, Serving as a Council Member and Board Member
*Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
*Formation Committee, Board Member, and president of Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County
*Obtained non-profit status for several local organizations, including the Smithville Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival and the DeKalb County Foundation for Education.
*Consulted with DeKalb Utility District to achieve a second water plant serving DeKalb County.
*Board Member, Smithville Industrial Board
*Audit Committee Member, DeKalb County Commission
*Support for many local organizations and non-profits

In announcing his retirement, Tom expressed gratitude to all his employees, clients, and friends in DeKalb County. “From the moment my family arrived here, I have felt welcomed and supported. I’m so grateful that the community took me in from the beginning and all the way through to today. It’s very hard to express my thanks, and I hope that over the years I’ve given back in some way to our local community. As an accountant might say – the bottom line: I’m just plain grateful”.

January 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Department of Education has released the DeKalb County School District’s 2022-23 School Letter Grades which provides a snapshot of how each school is doing in meeting the state’s expectations for learning. In addition to DeKalb County, the state has released letter grades from A-F for every public K-12 school in Tennessee.

Both Northside and DeKalb West Elementary Schools each received a “B” letter grade. DCHS got a “C” and DeKalb Middle School a “D”. Smithville Elementary did not receive a grade because that school is not subject to the state testing which determines the letter grades for this system.

Several factors determine school letter grades for each school, including student achievement, academic growth, growth of the highest need students, and a measure of college and career readiness just for high schools.

The state’s grading scale is as follows:

A- 4.5- 5.0

B- 3.5- 4.4

C-2.5-3.4

D-1.5-2.4

F-1.0-1.4

In DeKalb County, both Northside Elementary and DeKalb West School each scored a 3.5 (B), DCHS 3.1 (C), and DeKalb Middle School 1.7 (D).

“School letter grades provide Tennessee families with a clear rating system that gives them a snapshot of how their child’s school is performing,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education.

“No matter what your school’s letter grade is, everyone can play a role in supporting the success of our students and the success of our schools by engaging with your local school communities and joining the conversation.”

While he would prefer that all the schools in the district earn an “A” letter grade, Director of Schools Patrick Cripps said he is happy no school got an “F”.

“We’re happy but not tickled. Its not where we want to be,” said Director Cripps. “There is room for improvement at every level. We’re tickled we didn’t have an “F” but we don’t like to have a “D” or “C”. We would like to be straight “A”s across the board,” said Director Cripps.

“These letter grades are based on end of course and Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test results,” Director Cripps continued. “ The high school also had other things listed in their report card such as ACT and Career Readiness, which takes in ACT but also Early Post Secondary Opportunities, such as dual enrollment classes, Advanced Placement (AP) classes and industry certification classes”.

Director Cripps said this new grading system can be a bit misleading in that it unfairly favors proficiency on standardized tests, instead of overall academic growth from year to year, making it harder for schools to earn As or Bs.

“The way the grades are attained can be misleading because the state places an emphasis on achievement and that is students passing the tests, the TCAP or End of Course tests and ACT,” Director Cripps explained.

“They place more emphasis on them (students) passing it than the growth they are making throughout the year. I think growth plays an important part in where a kid starts their school year and how much knowledge and information they gain going forward and that is not being weighted as much as their achievement level,” he said.

“At the high school our ACT scores have improved each year and its hard to increase your ACT score when you are testing everybody. All 11th graders have to take that ACT test even though we have kids taking that test that don’t necessarily have plans of going to college. The goal is to get an overall composite score as an average of 21 for your school and we have increased ours each year. We are at 19.1. For us to have a 19.1 is encouraging because it does continue to grow and when you look at school districts around us we are running right there with them.” Director Cripps continued. “

Cripps added that he is also proud of the DCHS dual enrollment program in which students can earn credit in both high school and college or even a career and technical education path which also helps improve scores.

“For a school district our size to have the number of students we have taking dual enrollment classes is exceptional and the students who participate are getting credit at high school and college or at a tech school and that helps to increase those scores. It gives kids an opportunity to get those credits to get a leg up in their career when they leave the high school”.

Director Cripps said the school district has already put targeted support measures in place to help improve future results at DeKalb Middle School.

“The big things tested are math, English, and science and they (DMS administration) has doubled up their math and English blocks to help support those curriculums in hopes of making those gains. We also have math and reading coaches at other schools to help support teachers”.

“As for the entire school district, we always strive for all our schools to be the best. That’s what we want them to be,” said Director Cripps.

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