Rumor Mill – February 19, 2016

Published February 19, 2016

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.

With all of the problems surrounding TNReady, may we opt out our children from taking the tests if there is no ramification concerning their grades?

This is to clarify what has been mandated to all school districts by the State of Tennessee. Tennessee Code provides no “opt out” provision. When a parent refuses to allow their child to take a state test, the district must code that student’s response as a “refusal.” The refusal code means that the student would receive a zero for 15 percent of the final grade in grades three through eight and a zero for 25 percent of the final grade in high school courses. However, last year the Tennessee Legislature passed a bill that stipulated that if the state fails to return scores to districts within five instructional days before the end of the school year, districts do not have to count the state test as part of the student’s grade. Because we have new tests this year, the State has indicated to us that they will not be able to get the scores back in time to be counted.

I heard a rumor that some parents are using the smartphone app Uber to have their students picked up from school. Does the district allow this?

No. Only adults who are listed as a “parent/guardian” or an “emergency contact” in Skyward may pick up that particular student from school. In order to check out a student from school, the adult must visit the school’s front office.

There is a rumor floating around that Nolensville’s mascot will be the “White Knights.” I find that hard to believe.

That is a rumor. Nolensville High School Principal announced August 2 that the school’s mascot will be the Knights. Students who will make up the first classes at Nolensville selected the Knights over two other finalists last summer. The school colors are black, silver and royal blue.

The ACT test date was already moved from original date on WCS calendar to a later date to adjust for new state testing when it was on computer. So what is the correct date for the ACT now?

The ACT date was moved up not for online testing but rather to avoid potential inclement weather issues that had been experienced the previous year. The date for statewide ACT testing of juniors is still scheduled for April 19, 2016.