Rumor Mill-4620
Published September 2, 2010
The purpose of this section is to answer any questions parents, teachers or community members might have regarding the school district and to set the record straight in regards to any rumors that might be circulating. If you have a question or have heard a rumor that you would like for us to address, simply SEND US your questions and we will respond to them in upcoming issues of IN FOCUS. Below are some of the questions we received since our last newsletter.
I was told the new Summit High School in Spring Hill will start as a 9-12 school when it opens in 2011, forcing seniors to leave their current school. Is this true?
There has been no discussion of starting Summit High with 9-12 grade students. The last two high schools opened with 9-10 grades and we will open Summit with the same.
I have heard from multiple people that WCS was considering moving any student with a Nolensville address from Ravenwood to Page next year. Is there any truth to this rumor? That makes no sense to my neighborhood as we are 6.8 miles from RHS and 17.9 miles from Page. I know that a study is being done now. When will the results be made public?
The Board has contracted with a software company, Edulog, to look at rezoning across the district at all levels and create the optimum zoning proposal county-wide. Edulog will share its findings with the Williamson County School Board at its September 16 work session. The information will be posted online at www.wcs.edu September 17 at 9 a.m. and public meetings will be held September 21-23. You can find more information about those meetings and the rezoning process in general HERE.
There is a rumor the district's new scope and sequence program will require teachers in the same grade level to teach the same material on the same day. Is this true?
Scope and sequence is a chronological list of the units taught throughout the year with the WCS learning targets aligned to each unit. These are organized into nine week blocks. Williamson County teachers have the flexibility to teach the material at the time of their choosing as long as it happens during the nine week grading period. They do not have to teach the same material on the same day.
I understand that there is a new policy stating that field trips must occur within the nine week period that the subject is taught. As a result of the new Scope and Sequence program, schools are shifting their curriculum and field trips that have traditionally been offered may be cut because they cannot fit them into that nine week period. If the field trip is approved as a valuable teaching tool, doesn’t it make sense to give exceptions to schedule them outside the nine week period if it is warranted? Our teachers and children are losing some valuable teaching/learning opportunities as a result of losing these field trips.
The field trip policy has changed in order to make the outside learning experience more closely aligned to the district scope and sequence. It is important for the field trips to be relevant and extend the learning that takes place in the classroom. That is the main reason for field trips to be scheduled during the nine weeks a unit is taught. More flexibility may be given when the outside learning experiences are actually part of the curriculum, such as fifth grade Biz Town or dramatic productions. This change is giving us the opportunity to rethink and tweak what we have been doing to meet the new state standards and the county’s new scope and sequence.
Has it been decided that the Green Valley subdivision will be taken away from Oak View Elementary School?
Williamson County Schools' district-wide rezoning process is ongoing at this time. So far, no zone lines have been determined. The Board of Education contracted with a software company called Edulog to create an optimum zoning proposal. Edulog will share its findings with the Board at its September 16 work session. The information will be posted online at www.wcs.edu September 17 at 9 a.m. and public meetings will be held September 21-23. You can find more information about those meetings and the rezoning process in general HERE.