2010-2011 Strategic Work Mid-Year Review

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2010-2011Strategic WorkMid-Year Review
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Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
2010-2011
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Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
Profile The Clarksville-Montgomery County School
District is comprised of twenty-one elementary
schools, seven middle schools, and seven high
schools, as well as the Middle College at Austin
Peay State University, all of which are
accredited by the Southern Association of Schools
and Colleges (SACS).  The system is a unified
city and county school system which serves a
student population of approximately 29,917
students. This years increase in enrollment
exceeded 700 students making CMCSS one of the
fastest growing districts in the state. In an
effort to address growth, the Board of Education
has approved three major building projects
Carmel Elementary School, an additional north
Clarksville elementary school, and the renovation
of Northwest High School. Carmel Elementary is
ready for bid in February and will be presented
for full funding to the Board that month. Land
has been purchased for a north Clarksville
elementary school near the corner of Needmore
Road and Hazelwood Road. Fees for architectural
work are being requested in February at the
County Commission as well as fees for
architectural design of Northwest High School
renovation. We currently have six elementary
schools over 100 capacity. It is expected that
all north Clarksville elementary schools will be
overcrowded by 2012. Carmel is planned for
opening in 2012 and the north Clarksville
elementary school is planned for opening in 2013.
A 20 million dollar renovation of Montgomery
Central High School is underway, which will
transform this older facility.  The ethnic
make-up of the student population is 60.8white,
27.7 African-American, 8.0 Hispanic, 2.9
Asian/Pacific Islander, .6 Native
American/Alaskan. The Limited English Proficient
(LEP) students comprise approximately 2.8 of the
student population. Students with disabilities
account for 12.5 of the student population, and
48.5 of all students come from economically
disadvantaged homes.  The average per pupil
expenditure was 8,152, which is below the state
average of 8,773.  As reported on the State
Report Card, local contributions to the district
budget comprise 31.9 of the funding while the
state average for local contributions is 39.0.
This percentage of local funding has dropped
every year for the past ten years. One of the
districts major accomplishments has been a
strong implementation of higher standards. Over
the last two years, comprehensive training of
teachers on the new standards has been
accomplished and will continue. An emphasis on
using assessment data to inform instruction has
also been a hallmark of professional development.
The district has trained school leaders in
Balanced Leadership from McREL. This has become
our model for leadership development in the
district and serves as our way of establishing a
common culture and language around district
leadership. Continued emphasis has been placed
on site-based professional learning communities
focusing on standard based instruction and
assessment, instruction on use of manipulatives
for hands-on learning, and strong intervention
strategies in literacy in K-12. Virtual High
School and Credit Recovery have been continuously
strengthened to provide support for increasing
our graduation rate, which has improved
significantly over the last four years. A new
STEM Academy at Kenwood High School and three
STEM model schools (Moore Magnet, Kenwood
Middle, and Kenwood High) are leading the way in
the movement to have STEM initiatives in all
schools next year.
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Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
Profile(continued)

• In the Fall of 2006, the district became the
  second school district in the state to earn
  district accreditation from Southern Association
  of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This honor
  distinguishes the district in the State and
  Southeast as an outstanding district. District
  leaders and teachers are accustomed to presenting
  at local, state, and national conferences on
  topics such as leadership, effective teaching and
  learning strategies, and strategic planning.  The
  selection of students, teachers, and
  administrators into leadership and honorary roles
  at both the state and national levels continues
  to be a point of pride for the district.
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• The strategic accountability process of reporting
  to the community on the progress of the school
  district is one means of gathering input from
  department heads and principals.  Using the
  existing monitoring and feedback structures
  embedded in the strategic planning cycle such as
  School Improvement Plans, Accountability Plans,
  Strategic Summit, Principal Academic Conferences,
  Focus Group Meetings, and monthly walkthroughs,
  the school district is able to determine progress
  toward the districts strategic goals.  This data
  will be added to the Level I data, school level
  data, Level II data, and department level data.

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Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
Direction

• Mission To educate and empower our students to
  reach their potential
• Vision All students achieving at their highest
  potential
• Beliefs
• 1. Education is a continuing, life-long process
  that must fulfill the needs of this rapidly
  changing society.
• 2. The aim of formal education is to be
  concerned with all children in developing sound
  minds and personalities within
• sound bodies, and to inspire and
  encourage understanding of the essential
  principles of socially acceptable behavior and
• moral integrity, of health, and of
  economics and civic responsibility.
• 3. It is the responsibility of the schools to
  instruct effectively so the students will acquire
  knowledge, understanding and
• appreciation of the fine and practical
  arts, the humanities, and the natural, physical,
  and social studies.
• 4. The educational program should be adjusted
  to the needs of the student. It should be
  conducted in a democratic manner
• with ample opportunity for students to
  practice democratic procedures, to embrace
  responsibilities, and to learn the basic
• skills, along with positive values so
  important for securing insights into the world of
  work.
• 5. The home and the community aid in providing
  an environment keyed to good mental health that
  will assist the schools in

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Summary of Student Achievement The district
receives an array of standardized criterion
achievement and non-academic data from the
Tennessee State Department of Education. This
years data is particularly different in that it
reflects a major transition at the state level.
New assessment standards based on more rigorous
curriculum are now in place for the first time.
Additionally, the state has redefined
proficiency, moving from previous minimal
competency expectation to mastery level
expectation. This sets a significantly higher
bar to achieve proficiency. For example, the
average NCE score for proficiency in math 3-8 had
previously been set below 30. Now proficiency
is obtained with an NCE score approaching 60.
(See Chart Transition of Achievement Levels from
0809 to 0910). Despite higher standards and more
rigorous assessments, Clarksville-Montgomery
County exceeded state level achievement
expectations in math, reading, social studies,
and science. The 2009-10 TCAP data was released
to the public in January 2011. Since the
inception of the No Child Left Behind Act, the
method for reporting school data received from
the State Department of Education has been
altered to meet the mandated guidelines. AYP
data (Adequately Yearly Progress) included
assessment data from students who have met
specific enrollment criteria and were reported on
the State Report Card in that format for grades 3
through 8. AYP data for high schools were
reported on the State Report Card in terms of End
of Course assessments and graduation data. Value
added data were supplied to the system by the
state, providing an overview of academic growth
experienced by students. The summative reports
received from the state were supplemented with
benchmark data from the Edusoft Data Management
System.  These reports, along with student
classroom work, provide teachers with formative
data that can be utilized to develop appropriate
interventions and enrichment opportunities for
all students. A snapshot of Clarksville-Montgomer
y County achievement data indicates that the
district is performing (as a district) above
average or exemplary in all assessed subjects
3-8. The district scored A in social studies and
science and scored B in math and reading. The
state of Tennessee as a whole scored B in social
studies, C in science, math and reading. Our
outstanding initial results on the new
assessments is a tribute to the planning of our
instructional team, strong staff development for
teachers, and a historic focus on moving students
from proficient to advanced over settling only
for proficiency. Teachers in CMCSS continue to be
leaders in implementation of the states new
standards as evidenced by this high level of
achievement the first year. (See CMCSS Report
Card Achievement Snapshot 2009-10)
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Summary of Student Achievement (continued) The
number schools meeting or exceeding the
achievement standards across content areas
remains high despite more rigorous standards and
assessments. 96 of schools met or exceeded
achievement standards in reading, 93 in math,
100 in science, and 96 in social studies. The
tougher assessments do give us room for
improvement when looking at the percent of
schools exceeding achievement standards (75 in
reading, 75 in math, 93 in science and 96 in
social studies). It should also be noted that the
standards and assessments have not changed from
the previous year in social studies, accounting
for some higher scores. (See Chart 2009-10
Achievement Chart). TVAAS data across the state
and locally reflect much lower results, as
expected. As we move forward with additional
years of data, it is expected that the TVAAS
results will show marked improvement. The state
scores in value added are D in math, reading,
and science with C in social studies. Our scores
mirror the state and most districts our size
except we scored B in social studies. TVAAS
results serve as a baseline for this year for
both our district and the state. Writing scores
remained somewhat static, but with a slight two
year trend upward after a slight two year decline
previously. 2010 showed the highest wirting
system average to date. Writing in middle and
high school shows some improvement this year with
elementary slightly below the previous year.
Several factors effect writing scores. If
students are absent, they are scored a zero and
their score is calculated into the schools
results. Discussions with the state about the
fairness of this approach have not been fruitful
to date.  Writing assessments administered in
grades 5, 8, and 11, indicated that 87 of the
students achieved competency. This was an
improvement of 2 from 2009 and 7 from 2008.
Middle and high school scores were up 4 and 5
respectively from the previous year. Elementary
scores were down 2 from the previous year. (See
Chart CMCSS TCAP Writing Performance 2006-2010)
The CMCSS high school graduation rate for 2010
has not been reported accurately by the state at
this writing (reported at 90.5). An error in
Montgomery Central High Schools rate on the
state report card (acknowledged by the state)
will likely, when corrected, leave us with a
graduation rate of 91. The graduation rate has
improved significantly from 2003-04 (76) to
2009-10 (91). The graduation rate not only has
remained a concern for the district, but also for
the state as a whole. Thanks to many success
interventions including credit recovery, Virtual
High School, and a community-wide initiative,
100 Graduation Is Clarksvilles Business, we
continue to remain hopeful that our rate will
increase. Next year, however, a statewide change
in the calculation of graduation rate will make
it more difficult to gage progress. (See Chart
CMCSS AYP Graduation Targets and Actual
Graduation Rates)
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Summary of Student Achievement (continued) ACT
is now a mandated test for all juniors. Our
composite score of 18.7 in 2010 mirrors the state
composite. Three-year averages indicate that in
math, reading, and science/reasoning observed
scores are above predicted scores for the
population taking ACT here. There is no
detectable difference (NDD) in our predicted and
observed scores in English. In regards to college
readiness based on ACT standards, CMCSS mirrors
the state results as a whole for the most part in
all subjects and composite results. (See Chart
State Mandates ACT 11th Grade Profile Report
2009-10 and ACT 200910 for Graduating
Seniors). AYP results indicate that the district
as a whole is in good standing. All individual
schools in the district are in good standing but
two, the best showing since AYP has been reported
for CMCSS. One of these schools Kenwood Middle,
did make AYP this year and is classified as
School Improvement I Improving. When they make
AYP one more year in a row, they will return to
good standing. Northeast Middle School has moved
to School Improvement I, having not made AYP in
the same area for two years in a row. They made
targets in all subgroups but special education.
This is despite the special education subgroup at
Northeast making exceptional growth this
year. In summary, we can be proud of overall
student achievement, but face several critical
challenges going forth. We want our students to
be better prepared for ACT. We continue to
devise ways to maintain AYP in special education
subgroups. We want to make certain that TVAAS
growth improves in future years while maintaining
the new higher, more rigorous standards.
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Mid-Year Review Strategic
Work and Goals II. Review of
Strategic Goals A. Improving Student
Achievement B. Improving Efficiency and
Effectiveness C. Developing Leadership
Capacity D. Engaging the Public
Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
2010-2011
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• Improve Inclusion Services For Special Education
  Students
• A CMCSS goal for improving student achievement
  for the 2010-2011 school year was to improve
  inclusion services for special education
  students. After a review of CMCSS current
  practices and staffing in special education, it
  was determined that the current staffing level
  should be continued.
• When examining the high school Social Studies
  curriculum, it was found that there is a need for
  inclusion Social Studies classes to support the
  new diploma requirements for graduation.
  Additional staffing is necessary to support these
  inclusion classes.
• The increased level of staffing for the 2010-2011
  school year has enabled the district to provide a
  more effective level of services to students.
  This increased level of staffing was a direct
  response to AYP data that indicated students with
  disabilities were not reaching the expected
  proficiency targets.
• By hiring additional system gifted education
  teachers, building level Special Education
  teachers have had more time to meet student IEP
  goals. It has been noted that during the
  worthwhile PASS program learning, benchmark
  scores of PASS students have decreased.
• Collaborative trainings between special education
  and regular education teachers have been
  beneficial.
• Next Steps
• Additional high school Social Studies teachers
  are needed in order to provide support for
  graduation.
• On-going, continued training and follow-up
  support for regular education and Special
  Education inclusion teachers is needed to
• continue collaborative improvement.
• Align the PASS curriculum with state standards
  for the appropriate grade levels to increase
  student achievement on assessments.

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• Continue Implementation of New Curriculum
  Standards
• Feedback from principals, consulting teachers,
  and academic coaches indicates that many teachers
  are gaining content understanding in order to
  effectively continue implementing the new
  standards. However, it is evident that there is
  a gap in content knowledge and delivery of
  instruction for some teachers. Challenges
  include deconstructing the standards and
  identifying clear learning targets of
  instruction.
• It is evident that alignment of standards and
  assessments is necessary. Classroom
  comprehensive assessments should assess the
  complete state standard. Mastery of the
  assessments will verify that students fully
  understand the curricular standards that have
  been taught.
• Student ownership of learning has increased
  through the use of the benchmark assessments as
  tools for learning. By reviewing benchmark
  results, teachers identify student learning areas
  of need. When teachers review the assessments
  with students, students can self-assess their
  areas of strength as well as their areas to
  strengthen.
• Next Steps
• Continue to analyze formative and summative
  data to track student achievement and guide
  instruction and support.
• Connect instruction of clear learning targets
  with aligned assessments.
• Continue to utilize benchmark results as a tool
  for learning.
• Provide additional professional development for
  deconstructing standards and identifying clear
  learning targets for improved
• instruction.
• Provide additional content academies to support
  teacher mastery of the content areas.

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Increase Career Technical Certification
Programs and Dual Enrollment Options The
district has continued to increase
Career/Technical Education (CTE) opportunities in
a variety of CTE program areas. Fort Campbell
Credit Union has partnered with CMCSS to open
student banks at Northeast High School and
Rossview High School. In the Business Technology
program, Clarksville High School implemented a
Virtual Enterprise program which is an
entrepreneurial business experience. A new
Health Science program was created at Montgomery
Central High School. The Health Science programs
at Northeast High School, Northwest High School
and West Creek High School have a new focus.
Northeast High School now houses a Biotechnology
Research and Development Program of Study. The
Northwest High School and West Creek High School
programs have changed to Therapeutic Services
which allow students to work toward obtaining
their CNA license. The Automotive Program at
Northwest High School has completed Phase I of
the upgrade to obtain NATEF certification and
Phase II is near completion. The Engineering
Program imbedded within the STEM Academy at
Kenwood High School has a full-time Engineering
teacher who utilizes the Project Lead the Way
curriculum. This program has received a great
deal of positive attention and will continue to
be upgraded for the next three years. The number
of Work Based Learning trained teachers has
greatly increased which allows students the
opportunity for real-world work experience in
direct relationship to their designated program
of study. In November, the first annual Eighth
Grade Career Exploration Day was held on the
Austin Peay State University campus. Students met
with high school counselors and teachers as well
as community organizations/businesses that could
offer future employment possibilities and career
information. Students gained awareness of
educational requirements for their personal
career interests based on the Kuder Navigator
program. Career awareness in elementary, middle,
and high schools has been emphasized in order to
facilitate decision-making by students for the
new high school policy graduation requirements.

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• Increase Career Technical Certification Program
  and Dual Enrollment Options
• (continued)
• Next Steps
• Continue to identify student career interests
  to better align student course selections.
• Utilize survey results to determine program
  viability for each high school.
• Continue to support and increase community
  partnerships to enhance on-the-job training
  through all CTE programs.
• Increase industry certifications and dual
  enrollment opportunities to cover all CTE
  programs.
• Increase school-level knowledge of CTE programs
  of study and requirements.
• Provide additional professional development for
  CTE teachers to maintain industry-current
  standards.
• Identify alternative funding sources available
  to students to cover the cost of enrolling in the
  dual enrollment program. This is
• needed to support increased student
  enrollment in these programs.
• Increase availability of teachers for students
  enrolled in online CTE courses.

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• Begin Science, Technology, Engineering, and
  Mathematics Integration in K-12
• The district has established three pilot STEM
  programs Moore Magnet Elementary, Kenwood Middle
  School, and Kenwood High School. The STEM
  Academy at the high school level enrolls selected
  students from across the district. Students
  completed the screening process and were selected
  based on interest, test results, grades, and
  teacher recommendations.
• The high school STEM Academy is currently fully
  enrolled and serves fifty ninth grade students.
  The 2011-2012 school year will bring the addition
  of a new ninth grade year group.
• Initial training as well as administrator and
  teacher visits to pilot schools will be conducted
  throughout the second semester of the current
  school year. Visits will focus on collaboration,
  curriculum integration, materials, and student
  activities specific to STEM implementation across
  the district.
• Next Steps
• Evaluate specific data at the pilot school
  sites to determine level of STEM integration
  success.
• Provide professional development and training
  of faculties at the non-pilot schools.
• Identify needs at non-pilot schools to
  determine personnel and materials required for
  implementation of the STEM program at
• individual schools.
• Begin recruitment process for STEM Academy

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• Implement New Teacher Selection Model
• Staffing is the collective process of recruiting,
  selecting, and retaining employees. The District
  staffing model is built upon the concept of
  Retention First Staffing. The strategy is to
  identify those employees who are successful in
  their respective roles and to not only retain
  these employees but also use them as a model for
  future staffing. Recruiting and selection
  processes follow this leading strategy by using
  tools that identify potential employees and
  leaders who demonstrate the characteristics that
  are predictive of excellence.
• After review of baseline data collected during
  the 2009-2010 School Year, CMCSS found a strong
  correlation between quality performance and
  selection criteria centered upon the
  identification of student centered teachers.
  Teachers who exhibited the following indicators
  of excellence during the interview process were
  most successful in the classroom student
  centered purpose, effective relationship building
  strategies, teaching strategies that involve a
  high degree of personalization and student
  involvement and who are able to work effectively
  with parents, other teachers, administration and
  district staff. The new teacher selection model
  was built upon this foundation and with the focus
  of selecting teachers who demonstrate these
  characteristics during the interview process.
• Philosophy and Interview Cadre Training
• Each one of the CMCSS principals attended a
  selection model philosophy training in November
  2010. This training was designed to help
  principals fully understand the success patterns
  of teachers who exhibit the above mention traits.
  The principals were also exposed to the new
  interview tool that would be used in the
  selection process for teacher applicants.
• In a two phase training process that took place
  in November and December 2010, a fourteen member
  interview cadre was trained to conduct a new
  selection interview. This intense training
  enabled members of the interview cadre group to
  be certified to utilize a structured interview
  process to identify teacher candidates who were
  predictive of excellence in student centered
  teaching ideology.
• Upon conclusion of both the Philosophy and
  Interview Cadre Training, each member of the
  selection process was prepared to implement the
  new teacher selection model scheduled to go live
  in Spring of 2011.
• Next Steps
• Finalize process logistics for implementation
  of the new selection model
• Conduct Process training with principals in
  January 2011
• Fully implement new selection model Spring 2011

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• Replace Current Benchmark Assessment Software to
  Address Specific
• District and State Needs
• Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools utilize an
  online application to allow teachers and
  administrators to manage assessment data,
  including scoring and reporting tools. Since
  2004, CMCSS has used a third-party application.
  Recurring problems with the current software
  include data transfer speed, duplicate scanning,
  and manual data corrections required by members
  of Instruction on a regular basis. These issues,
  coupled with a significant annual cost for the
  current application and lack of viable
  third-party alternatives, indicate that an
  in-house solution developed by the CMCSS
  Technology Department would be the most
  beneficial solution.
• A project team was formed in June 2010 and
  development is underway. The project team
  consists of members from the Instruction and
  Curriculum Department and Technology Department.
  The team has met frequently to discuss features
  to be implemented with the new software, called
  Testdrive, and two product demo sessions have
  been held to measure progress and solicit
  feedback.
• The target date for the pilot implementation of
  Testdrive is March 25, 2011. The pilot group
  will test and validate the software prior to the
  full implementation date of April 29, 2011.
• Next Steps
• Complete the development of the new application
• Provide training and documentation for new
  software to all district users

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Complete Efficiency Study of Current School
System Zone Lines
The Director of Schools has championed a project
team to conduct a comprehensive study of existing
school zone lines, school capacity, and
population growth trends in Montgomery County.
The team will develop an appropriate staff
recommendation for future school zones to ensure
that CMCSS is properly positioned for projected
population growth over the next eight to ten
years. The project team is made up of members
from our academic, communications, technology
and, operations departments as well as
representatives from the Montgomery County
Planning Commission, Austin Peay State
University, and several parent volunteers.
The teams goal is to improve building
utilization, balance enrollment, and clean
existing zone lines. The team will attempt to
ensure that all schools have room for the level
of growth (both regular and special education
students) that is expected within its zone.
Finally, the team will attempt to maximize
student transportation efficiency and where
possible create a more direct elementary, to
middle, to high school feeder system, To date,
the team has identified and gathered necessary
data to begin discussing future middle high
school zone lines. This data includes, free and
reduced lunch data, special education data,
building permits and available lots data,
property/housing values, and building capacities
and enrollment numbers at all of our schools.
The project team has also researched and briefed
team members on proper zoning strategies in an
attempt to ensure that any recommended action
falls within acceptable legal parameters. The
project will focus on establishing middle and
high school zones first. As those
recommendations are finalized the team will
conduct a similar review of the Districts
elementary zone lines. 

• Next Steps
• Operations will present the project team with
  multiple proposed Middle/High zoning options
  showing
• The number of students that will be impacted by
  adoption of a proposed rezoning
• How the capacities of our buildings would change
  as a result of the rezoning
• Any shift in percentages of socioeconomics within
  a school zone as a result of the rezoning
• The potential impact of future schools and
  campuses.
• The project team will choose to either adopt a
  proposed zoning plan or make recommendations to
  realign zone
• boundaries to reach the teams desired outcomes
  and new models will be generated and brought back
  to the team for further
• review and discussion. Ultimately the teams
  recommendation will be presented to the Board of
  Education and to the public to solicit their
  feedback. If changes to current zone lines are
  approved by the Board of Education, an
  implementation plan will be developed.

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• Implement Automated Inventory System for Child
  Nutrition
• Much of the back-office ordering process for
  the Cafeteria Managers and Child Nutrition
  Department staff is currently done manually.
  Automating this process will give Cafeteria
  Managers more time to direct staff and
  concentrate on quality and service provided to
  the customers. It will also improve the
  efficiency of the centralized staff.
  Unfortunately, the implementation of this system
  has been delayed until next school year. The
  former Assistant Director of Child Nutrition, who
  had the training needed for implementation,
  resigned early in the current school year. A new
  Assistant Director has been hired but will need
  the opportunity to receive the necessary
  training.
• Next Steps
• Training for newly hired Assistant Director
• Implementation during the 2011-12 school year

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Continue Implementation of Energy Conservation
Strategies
Annually, CMCSS consumes approximately 50,255,000
KWH of electricity 450,000 gallons of low sulfur
diesel fuel 79,450,000 gallons of water sewer
685,000 CCF of natural gas and 16,000 gallons of
propane gas.  The annual cost of these energy and
utility purchases exceeds 8,000,000 in the
general funds budget. Strategic initiatives of
2009-2010 led to the implementation of a
District-wide Energy Management Policy
(SLT-A003) a Temperature Set Point Policy
(OPS-A003) Custodial Responsibilities for
Start-up and Shut-down Work Instruction
(OPS-W001) and Kitchen Start-up, Operation, and
Shut-down Work instructions (CHN-W006). The
main goal of the Smart Energy Campaign for Going
Green for the 2010-11 school year is to implement
energy conservation strategies at the school
level. Thus far this year, each school has
selected its Energy Champion and a training
session was held in November to help educate our
champions on how to set up a committee and
facilitate meetings. By the end of the year we
hope that each school will form an energy
committee and develop a plan for each location to
reduce its energy consumption. Support in the
form of energy data, tips, and a variety of other
resources has been made available through the
Going Green resources link on the CMCSS website
in order to assist in building-level conservation
efforts and decision making. The CMCSS
Facilities Department will continue making
improvements in the Energy Management Program by
involving stakeholders and will continue to
update the CMCSS Energy Management Team. 

• Next Steps
• Expansion of the program by the following
• Establishing a Energy Committee at each location
• Having each school or building energy committee
  generate an Energy Plan unique to that location.
• Continue monitoring progress against established
  benchmarks and distribute that data through the
  website.
• Continue with the Smart Energy Competition.

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• Assess and Complete Model Classroom Project
  Rollout
• The model classroom design refers to the
  primary technology resources provided to a
  teacher in a Regular Education classroom.
  Specific items include a teaching station
  consisting of a document camera, DVD player, etc.
  The model was designed by a steering committee
  to implement a standard for technology resource
  distribution.
• Due to the budget constraints for the 2010-2011
  school year, the rollout of the model classrooms
  to remaining areas of each school was postponed.
  Currently, approximately 87 of regular education
  classrooms follow the model classroom design.
• Next Steps
• Technology will meet with administrators from
  each school to assess classroom needs and
  determine how to most efficiently
• distribute existing resources

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• Improve Textbook Order Delivery Response Time
• Textbooks continue to be a vital tool for
  learning and it is essential that requests from
  schools for new or additional books be completed
  as quickly as possible. Some past practices used
  in the delivery process were found to be
  inefficient, unnecessary and/or to inadvertently
  delay the response time. Warehouse staff would
  attempt to make unscheduled deliveries or pickups
  to all 36 locations county wide on a daily basis.
  School Textbook Coordinators (typically assistant
  principals) are usually unable to simply stop
  other activities in order to receive incoming
  orders without prior knowledge of a pending
  delivery. As a result, deliveries were delayed
  or rescheduled. Additionally, orders were
  unpacked upon delivery to enable school staff to
  verify the accuracy of contents. Further
  complicating deliveries was the turnover of
  Textbook Coordinators communication problems,
  especially concerning backorders and the
  stockpiling of student textbooks and teacher
  materials. The later resulted in inventory
  shortages which also delayed filling orders.
• After a successful pilot with three schools
  during the 2009-10 school year, the following
  changes have been implemented district-wide
• Deliveries were changed from daily to weekly
  with each school given a designated delivery day
  of the week to improve utilization of
• staff time at the school level and in Textbook
  Operations.
• Orders are now delivered to schools in case
  units with the contents to be unpacked and
  verified at the convenience of the Textbook
• Coordinators within a 48 hour timeframe.
• Training is now offered twice annually for
  newly designated Textbook Coordinators and for
  existing Coordinators desiring a refresher.
• An annual meeting of Textbook Coordinators has
  been reintroduced to improve communications,
  identify what is working, and discuss
• opportunities for improvement.
• A 41 improvement has been realized in delivery
  response time. During the 2009-10 school year the
  average response time for textbook order
  deliveries was 8.75 days. Year to date for the
  current school year the average response time is
  5.16 days. The changes made and improved
  communications have resulted in a record number
  of unused textbooks and teacher materials being
  returned to the Textbook Processing Operations.
  Feedback from the Textbook Coordinators has been
  positive mirroring that of the Textbook
  Processing staff. Positive feedback was also
  received from principals during the Mid-Year
  Review activity.

37

• Improve Textbook Order Delivery Response Time
• (continued)
• Next Steps
• Working with the Technology Department,
  purchase and implement new software
• Place new barcodes on all textbooks in the
  district to facilitate use of the new software
• Provide training to all users
• Continue Textbook Coordinator training and
  annual feedback meeting

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44
Increase Exposure of Focus TV The CMCSS
online video website, Focus, was established to
share relevant news and information with
stakeholders throughout the community. These
videos communicate broad messages from CMCSS
leadership about strategic work and on-going
initiatives, but more importantly, these videos
show the faces of CMCSS. Individual stories from
classrooms, messages straight from the hearts of
students, show stakeholders what is going on in
this school district every day and what is making
a difference in the lives of students. While the
videos themselves have been a great success and
feedback about Focus has been positive, there are
still people out there who do not know about this
great source for information. To get the most
out of this service, it is important that Focus
is now marketed effectively to increase exposure.
Communication Strategies EMAIL One simple
way to reach stakeholders is to let the people
who are directly related to a video story know
when the product is finished and available
online. This has already proven to be very
effective. When a video becomes available online,
key individuals are notified via e-mail/phone so
that message can, in turn, be shared with
others. Social Networking Social network
websites have become central tools in online
information sharing. The communication team has
created a Facebook page for Focus, and plans to
utilize this service to reach out to stakeholders
and advertise videos as they are produced.
Small Marketing Campaign The communication team
has started a marketing campaign with an initial
advertisement in the Clarksville City Saver, and
will continue with the development of brochures
and posters to circulate throughout schools and
the community. Student work Students
naturally like to share their own work with
friends and family. Showcasing this work on
Focus not only provides a place for this work to
be displayed, but it also increases traffic to
the Focus website. Current State Baseline
data in June 2010 showed that Focus received an
average of 1087 unique visits per month. As of
January 2011, the number of unique visits has
increased approximately 15 to 1245 unique visits
per month.
45

• Increase Exposure of Focus TV
• (continued)
• Next Steps
• Continue direct advertising via e-mail/phone by
  producing more videos and letting target
  individuals know when the finished
• project is available online.
• Develop social network marketing strategies to
  connect with more people and share ideas/receive
  feedback.
• Produce the small marketing campaign. Design
  brochures and posters and have them placed
  strategically in schools and
• throughout the community.
• Encourage teachers/students to submit more
  student-produced videos for the Focus website.
  Work with principals and media
• teachers to let them know that Focus is a
  district-wide tool that can be used to showcase
  student work.

46

• Increase Parent Participation in Use of Student
  Information System
• In an effort to go paperless with grade reporting
  and increase greater parent connection to their
  students educational experience, an awareness
  campaign was designed and implemented by the
  Parent Communications group using a number of
  communications strategies. At the beginning of
  the 2009-10 school year, 23 percent of the parent
  population had accessed PowerSchool with parent
  passwords. Anecdotally, a larger percentage
  accessed PowerSchool with their childrens
  passwords. A goal was set to increase parent
  password access by an additional 20 percent in
  the 2010-11 school year.
• Various communication means have been utilized to
  promote parental use of PowerSchool, including
  telephone notification system, newsletters,
  brochures in front offices of schools, open
  houses, Parent-Teacher conferences, local media,
  and CMCSS Focus webTV. One of the most
  successful strategies was the CMCSS Technology
  staffs willingness to attend all school open
  houses to support guidance counselors and
  clerical staff in providing parents with their
  password access.
• Because of federally protected private student
  information, parent passwords could not be given
  over the telephone. It was therefore required
  that the parent physically come to the school.
  Many working or military deployed parents were
  unable to retrieve the parent password. Upon
  legal review this fall, it was determined that
  letters could go to all students whose parents
  had not yet accessed their password. The letter
  gave parents the option to receive their password
  through the U.S. mail if they returned a signed
  request to the school. As a result, significant
  gains have been made.

47

• Increase Community Contributions
• Initiatives/programs began in 2009-10 school year
  to increase the number of business partnerships
  in three areas Partners in Education (PIE),
  Education Foundation, and Community
  Relations/outreach.
• To better assess and identify quality
  partnerships, a new expectation required school
  PIE liaisons to return goal agreement forms have
  at least a minimum contact with partners and
  have an end of year report which includes the
  total number of partner contacts, monetary
  contributions, in-kind donations, and volunteer
  hours. Mid-year reports to the district PIE
  coordinator were initiated this school year to
  assess progress.
• Strategies Host partner workshop/breakfast in
  August 2010 as a kick off for the new school
  year. Initiate a community-supported teacher
  supply store. Increase the number of volunteer
  opportunities through collaboration with Hands-On
  Clarksville. Introduce a system-wide fundraising
  initiative.
• Current state Mid-year (August-November) data
  suggests that in spite of a national flat or
  downward trend in charitable giving, CMCSS is
  actually experiencing an increase in community
  contributions. Specifically, the following
  accomplishments have occurred since July 1, 2010
•  
• Brought in over 46,000 items from the community
  to stock the newly established Teacher Warehouse
• New In-Kind Donors include Dollar Tree Stores,
  Austin Peay State University, CDM of Nashville,
  5-Star Radio,
• Wal-Mart Stores, FCFCU, Uffelman Estates,
  World Color, and individual contributors.
• Store completely staffed by community with more
  than 440 volunteer hours contributed from
  individuals, church
• organizations, and businesses
• Served 482 CMCSS teachers needing classroom and
  office supplies
• One individual contributed the largest single
  donation to the foundation of 6,000 to benefit
  the Teacher Warehouse
• More than 33,000 items of in-kind donations of
  supplies from many local businesses were
  received, equating to about

48

• Increase Community Contributions
• (continued)
• Received 8,000 worth of printing from Jostens
  for the benefit of kindergarten kinder-kit cards
  to be distributed during Spring 2011
  kindergarten orientations.
• Received 50,000 grant from Dow Corning
  Foundation to benefit CMCSS STEM initiatives.
• Increased new PIE partnerships by nine new
  businesses
• Partnership giving up by 12,000 this year from
  34,000 in 2009 to 46,000 in 2010.
• Partnership volunteer hours are up by 560
  hours (not counting parent organizations and
  booster clubs
• 6. Increased Vision to Reality Participation
• Banquet attendance up by 26 new guests.
• New table sponsorships up by six businesses
• Banquet brought in nearly 31,000 for 2010,
  up slightly from 2009.
• 7. City Saver Book Fundraiser
• Providing district-wide fundraiser for all
  CMCSS schools