Rumor Mill-5606
Published February 14, 2014
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 InFocus. Below are some of the questions we have received since our last issue.
I've heard people talking that during the 2014-15 school year, honors classes will not be offered. Is this true and does it also apply to AP classes? If so, why is the change being made?
The honors program will not be eliminated from any Williamson County high school, but we are re-evaluating honors courses for rigor and will be consolidating/eliminating courses that do not meet honors criteria (national standards).
Student demand for courses drives the scheduling whether it is standard, honors or Advanced Placement; therefore some schools may eliminate honors classes due to a lack of demand. In fact, AP classes are growing in many of the high schools as a result of greater offerings.
I’ve heard there is a survey with the writing assessment taking place this month. As parents, we are concerned the questions will be personal in nature and are not comfortable allowing our child to answer these questions. Can you provide any information about this survey?
Students in grades 3-11 are participating in the TCAP Writing Assessment throughout the month of February. As has been the case for a number of years, this writing test has included a short survey about writing habits in school and home.
The survey is available through the Tennessee Department of Education’s website, and the questions are shown below. A student may skip any or all of the survey items should they choose to do so. Not responding will have no effect on the writing score.
- How often is the following statement true for you? I like to write.
- How often do you write in your language arts or English class?
- When you write assignments for your English class, how often do you write about something you have read?
- How often do you write in subjects other than language arts or English?
- How often do you work in pairs or small groups to discuss each other’s writing?
- How frequently do you make notes or an outline before you begin writing a paper?
- How often do you use a computer at school for writing assignments (homework, stories, reports)?
- Do you have a computer at home?
- Do you have internet access at home?
- How often do you use a computer at home for writing assignments (homework, stories, reports)?
Recently Dr. Looney turned down state money to prevent outside parties from accessing wcs individual student data. My two questions for the Rumor Mill are: 1) Will WCS parents be informed if their student's classroom is participating in The thereNow Classroom Observation and Performance Feedback System? 2) Will WCS parents be informed if their student's classroom is being recorded for National Board Certification of Teachers candidacy?
Williamson County Schools has no plans to participate in any camera-based system for classroom and teacher performance feedback. All teacher observations are conducted live by certified district personnel.
In order for a classroom to be filmed or recorded as a part of a teacher’s National Board Certification candidacy, parents of all students in the room at the time of the recording must have signed a permission slip.