Kingsport City Schools Recognizes School Board Appreciation Week

Published January 18, 2017 at 3:46 p.m.
 
KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has declared January 22–28, 2017 as School Board Appreciation Week in Tennessee. The week helps build awareness and understanding of the vital functions a locally elected board of education plays in a community.

Kingsport City Schools will be joining the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) and all public school districts across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week to honor local board members for their commitment to children.

“Public education is the backbone of our community, and we are blessed to have school board members who devote countless hours to ensure Kingsport City Schools is helping every child achieve at a high level,” said KCS Superintendent Dr. Lyle Ailshie. “There is no greater honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen than election to a local board of education. They make the tough decisions and spend countless hours educating themselves on impact issues and regulations, in order to provide the level of accountability and success that our school district and community expects.”

Ailshie said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:

  • Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
  • Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;
  • Ensuring progress is measured to be certain the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
  • Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;
  • Creating a safe, orderly climate where teachers can teach and student can learn;
  • Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
  • Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.

“School board members give the Kingsport community a voice in decision making regarding education,” said Ailshie. “Although we make a special effort to show our appreciation during this week, their contribution is a year-round commitment.” The elected Board members serving Kingsport City Schools are: Eric Hyche, BOE president, Susan Lodal, BOE vice president, Carrie Upshaw, BOE immediate past president, Todd Golden and Dr. Karen Reed-Wright.

Read more about KCS BOE members here. Group photo of KCS Board of Education - L to R first row: Dr. Karen Reed-Wright, Carrie Upshaw, Susan Lodal; L to R second row: Todd Golden, Eric Hyche.

The Board holds its regular monthly meeting generally on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. and a work session on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. All meetings and work sessions are open to the public.

The next scheduled BOE Meeting is Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017 at 6 p.m. located in the Tennessee Room at the KCS Administrative Support Center, 400 Clinchfield Street, third floor, downtown Kingsport. During the meeting, a special book presentation will be made on behalf of the board members in recognition of their work.

Kingsport City Schools (KCS) is a public school district located in Kingsport, Tenn., serving students in Sullivan and Hawkins county. The district is comprised of 13 schools, including a Pre-K, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and a non-traditional school; with total enrollment over 7,500 students. The vision of Kingsport City Schools is to be, Student Focused … World Class.

KCS has been named the top school district in Tennessee as winner of the 2014 SCORE Prize District Award by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and has earned the 2014 Achievement Award in the annual Excellence in Tennessee Recognition Program by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE).

For more information on KCS, visit k12k.com, listen live on WCSK 90.3 FM, The Voice of KCS, read our blog, We Are KCS, or call (423) 378.2100. We’re social too; follow us on Facebook (Kingsport City Schools), Twitter (@KCS_District) and check out our YouTube Channel (KPTSchools).

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