Director of Schools Jim McIntyre Releases Self -Evaluation
As part of his annual evaluation, Dr. McIntyre submitted an eight page self-evaluation for the last evaluation cycle before the new rubric evaluation process approved by the Board of Education kicks in next year.
McIntyre begins his self-evaluation with this statement, “After several years of increased academic standards and significant change, our school system, our educators, and our community appear to have settled in to a new equilibrium where expectations have been significantly raised, the district leadership is carefully listening to and supporting our teachers and staff, and students are learning and achieving at unprecedented levels.” (emphasis added).
The self-evaluation is organized around the five key “areas of focus:”
• Student achievement
• Strategic planning and execution
• Effective use of resources
• Relationships with staff, personnel, and Board members
• Family and community engagement
McIntyre touts student achievement as measured by standardized test scores and TVAAS, or value added academic growth formula. He points out that English language arts and reading continues to be “an area of focus” but students made gains in mathematics. He also cites the Level 5 composite TVAAS score, in spite of the fact KCS has six Level 1 high schools. And he talks about graduation rates and ACT scores. (See the related column in this issue).
Under effective use of resources, McIntyre cites the FY16 budget compromise (MOU) between KCS and the Mayor. This agreement gave teachers a 2% raise while allowing two new schools to be built.
Under relationships with staff, personnel, and Board members, McIntyre hits below the belt with the statement, “With one or two notable exceptions, my relationships with School Board members have been very positive, collaborative, and productive.”
He cites the year-long balanced calendar debate as an example of positive and community engagement. While many are pleased that the proposal was taken off the table, we question the time and resources devoted to this topic, which originated from the $1.2M Parthenon Group Study in 2013.
Tate’s School Continues to Break New Ground in Education
Last week Tate’s School hosted the official groundbreaking for construction of an 8,500 square foot Athletic & Dining Hall facility on a newly dedicated area of their 52 acre campus. Merit Construction has been selected as the general contractor. “We are enthusiastic to welcome Merit as our partner on this project due to their extensive experience and expertise in education-related construction,” said Lou L Tate, CEO & Founder of Tate’s.
The new facility will include an indoor gym for P.E. and team sports, a venue for speakers and exhibitions, a dining area, and a kitchen where homemade, nutritionally-sound meals will be prepared daily.
The new building will fit right in with the warm, inviting, non-institutional style unique to Tate’s School. Barry Byrd Architecture has designed the building to look nothing like a gym “With the look of an elegant Kentucky horse stable on the exterior and heavy timber beams and trusses on the interior, it will become a signature building in our community,” said Barry Byrd, Architect.
The building is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2016, and will be utilized not only by Tate’s School, but by Tate’s Day Camp which hosts thousands of students ranging in age from 3 – 15 each summer.
This fall Tate’s opened the new middle school campus for their first class of 6th Graders. Future construction plans include additional buildings to expand into the 7th and 8th grades in the next two years.
Hardin Valley Academy Signing Day
Eight student athletes from Hardin Valley Academy participated last Wednesday in Signing Day with colleges and universities. Congratulations to the following students:
Trevor Lloyd- Baseball- Tusculum
Dylan Harris- Baseball- Walters State
Tyler Thompson- Baseball- Austin Peay
Gabriel Powers- Soccer-Marshall
Dominique Rowe- Soccer- Univ. of Alabama Birmingham
Kaleigh Wynne- Softball- College of Central Florida
Leslie Beecham- Softball- Bryan College
Linden Perkins -Lacrosse- Tusculum
