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Rumor Mill-5244

Published October 11, 2012

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 issue.

Has WCS given any thought to having a week long fall break rather than just two days? It is very difficult to plan a real vacation in that short time frame and I would love to see a week long fall break.

The school calendar is decided annually by the School Board. Each year, a calendar committee made up of teachers and administrators considers all options when making a recommendation to the Board. Once recommendations are made, Board members gather input from their constituents before making a final decision.

Parents are encouraged to contact their School Board representative if they have specific requests regarding the school calendar. Contact information for the School Board can be found online at http://www.wcs.edu/school_board/homepage.htm.

I am excited to hear WCS will build a new high school in the northeastern part of the county; however I heard the new school will not have advanced placement classes to the level of an established school. Is this true?

The new high school will open with ninth and tenth graders and grow a grade each year. The school will begin by offering Advanced Placement classes to ninth and tenth graders in the same manner as all of our high schools.

Where should Level III school volunteer applicants go to complete the criminal background fingerprinting process? Someone told us it can be done at our local high school.

There are a number of locations in Middle Tennessee where applicants can undergo the fingerprinting process, including one in Franklin. High schools are NOT among the locations where this can be completed. Select this LINK for a list of the most current locations.

Once a school volunteer has completed the fingerprinting process, he/she can obtain a WCS volunteer photo ID. Parent teacher organizations at each high school are in charge of these photo ID's. Level III volunteers should contact the high school for which they are zoned to see what days and times the PTO will be making volunteer ID badges.

For additional information regarding school volunteer policies and procedures, go to our WEBSITE.

Why did WCS make the switch from Interstate Studios to LifeTouch for our children's school pictures? Interstate Studios had a much better online system for ordering, where I could actually see my child with the background before I ordered. I also found myself ordering more pictures from Interstate Studios than with LifeTouch. Do parents get to weigh-in on this decision?

WCS recently placed photography services out for bid with the goal of improving competition, quality and consistent standards for the entire district.

Prior to this project there were six separate photo companies providing limited and inconsistent services at various price points. This bid project consisted of a WCS committee that evaluated five competitive proposals. The committee determined Lifetouch to be the best overall company to provide photography for all Williamson County Schools based upon several factors: quality of product, price and availability along with many value added features.

One of the great benefits of partnering with Lifetouch on a district scale is streamlined – more efficient photo shoots. Lifetouch’s use of state of the art technology actually enables us to save valuable instructional time; combining all of the efficiencies – we actually gained instructional days.

Lifetouch is also committed to photo programs in our schools to help our district highlight student achievement and activities. Lifetouch offers the convenience of on-line ordering that allows parents to choose from numerous backgrounds and poses as well as three methods of payments. As in the past, a percentage of sales is refunded to the school.

Williamson County parent comments are always welcomed by the district and are considered in the overall decision process. The WCS committee included staff members that are also WCS parents. Concerns regarding quality and price of photography services we’re all strong components of the evaluation and award process. The result of the project has been a rewarding partnership that continues to grow.