Governor Bill Lee invited Tennesseans to “Rate the Plates” and help choose the state’s next standard license plate by selecting their favorite design at tn.gov/ratetheplates. Per Tennessee statute, the plate is redesigned every eight years if funds are approved in the General Assembly’s annual budget.
“As Tennessee celebrates 225 years of statehood, it’s a perfect time to redesign our license plate and feature the Tri-Star that represents each of our state’s unique grand divisions,” said Gov. Lee. “We welcome all Tennesseans to cast their vote and play a role in choosing this piece of our state’s history.”
Voting began yesterday and will conclude at 11:59 p.m. CT on Monday, September 27. The winning design will be announced later this fall and available to the public January 2022.
Tennessee statute requires the display of “Tennessee,” “Volunteer State” and “TNvacation.com” on the plate, as well as county name and expiration year decal locations. Statute provides that Tennesseans may select an “In God We Trust” plate option.
The new license plate design will replace the current plate that launched in 2006 with modifications in 2011, 2016 and 2017.
The Tennessee Department of Education recently announced the school designations for the 2020-21 school year, which include the top five percent of schools for academic achievement and the top five percent for student growth, including 188 schools spanning 61 districts statewide.
In addition to recognizing Reward schools, the department also named schools that have improved and earned their way off of the Priority list. Priority schools, federally known as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools, were identified for poor academic performance at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year. Focus schools, which are either Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI), could also exit if they met the respective exit criteria. Cannon County Schools – West Side Elementary School was one of the schools that scored high enough to EXIT the Targeted Support status!
The complete list of Reward schools and schools exiting Priority or Focus status is posted on the department’s website.
“These schools have shown how Tennessee districts and schools can overcome a variety of challenges including a global pandemic that impacted the past several months, including the majority of the 2020-21 school year,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “During these difficult times, the department continues to celebrate the hard work of our districts, educators, and students across the state.”
Public Chapter 2 (PC 2) of the First Extraordinary Session of the 112th General Assembly amended laws regarding school and district accountability which offer the opportunity to remove negative consequences associated with accountability for the 2020-21 school year. This includes using student performance or student growth data from the 2020-21 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) administration to assign letter grades, or assigning summative ratings for schools eligible for accountability protections in the 2020-21 State Report Card.
In accordance with PC 2, since all districts achieved a minimum 80% participation rate on the 2020-21 TCAP assessments, all districts are held harmless for the 2020-21 school year. In other words, districts and schools will not use student achievement and student growth data to assign letter grades or any other summative ratings in the 2021 State Report Card, which will be released later in September. These data will not be used to identify Priority schools, nor to assign a school to the ASD. LEAs will still be responsible for performance goals, even though performance goals will not be determined using student achievement or student growth data from 2020-21 TCAP assessments.
“Held harmless” refers to schools and school districts for whom student performance and student growth data from the 2020-21 school year cannot be used to assign letter grades or any other summative ratings in the 2021 state report card. These data also cannot be used to identify a school as a priority school, nor to assign a school to the Achievement School District (ASD).
For the 2020-21 school year, schools earned Reward status based on the most recent year of data. Schools that are held harmless can still earn Reward School status, even if they do not have a letter grade assigned.
These districts are designated as Exemplary:
· Maryville City Schools
· South Carroll Special School District
· Newport City Schools
· Alamo City Schools
· Bradford Special School District
· Gibson County Special School District
· Lincoln County Schools
“Despite the tremendous challenges faced by teachers, administrators, and personnel during the 2020-2021 school year, the TCAP assessment demonstrated many successes by our schools and specifically OUR students. One of those celebrations that we have in Cannon County is the exit of West Side Elementary School from Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) status,” said William Freddy Curtis, Director of Schools, Cannon County Schools. “We are extremely proud of the work accomplished by our teachers and staff of West Side Elementary School to achieve results that literally got them off the Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) list! Kudos to Principal Karen King and all of those excellent educators and hard-working students at West Side Elementary School, Curtis said. “This demonstrates, The VISION and MISSION of Cannon County Schools which has been adopted by the Cannon County Board of Education which states, “VISION – ‘To Actively Engage in Excellence EVERY Day in EVERY Way!’ through OUR MISSION – ‘To Create a Unified Environment That Will Provide Opportunities for All Students to Succeed and Reach Their Full Potential!’ Congratulations!”
“We were beyond excited to hear that we had moved off the target list. This was extraordinary considering we were teaching and learning in ways we had never done before due to the pandemic, said Karen King, Principal of West Side Elementary School. This was only possible because of the dedication of our teachers and staff, and the support of our parents. We still have some work to do in the area of achievement, but our growth scores show that we are growing our most at-risk kids, so we are going to celebrate this as a success for our entire West Side Elementary School family.”
PC 2 allows for Priority schools to have the designation removed upon meeting both exit criteria and the requirements to be held harmless. In addition, Focus schools, which are either Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI), could also exit if they met the respective exit criteria.
For the 2020-21 school year, Tennessee had the largest number of schools exiting Priority, Focus, and ATSI status in the state’s history, including:
· 7 of the 79 Priority schools from 5 of the 8 districts with Priority schools met the exit criteria
· 18 of the 37 ATSI schools from 12 of the 17 districts with ATSI school met ATSI exit criteria
· 108 of the 145 TSI schools from 57 of the 61 districts with TSI schools met TSI exit criteria – including Cannon County – West Side Elementary School.
These preliminary designations are available on the department’s accountability page and will be presented to the State Board of Education for approval at the October 29th Board quarterly meeting.
The Tennessee Department of Education recently released the 2020-21 Spring Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) district-level results. The results highlight the importance of addressing the needs of students and moving forward with a sense of urgency and optimism about what our students can and will accomplish this school year.
State- and district-level results from the 2020-21 Spring TCAP assessments show that pandemic-related disruptions to education led to expected declines in academic proficiency across the state. However, proficiency declines were mitigated as a direct result of the hard work of our districts, schools, and educators and some districts even saw improvements in their proficiency rates in some tested subjects/grades.
Tennessee’s school districts are the best sources of information for characterization of local results and know their communities best. While declines were expected due to the pandemic, this is an opportunity for our school communities to share their data and rally together to advance programs, initiatives and supports that will benefit student achievement.
Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Peggy Schwinn
“Since the start of the pandemic, Tennessee’s districts, schools, educators, and families have worked incredibly hard to ensure students continue learning, and now a brand-new school year has just begun,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn.“While we expected declines in student proficiency, the data from our statewide assessment creates an opportunity to make more informed, strategic decisions and investments that are best for accelerating the achievement of our students. Tennessee is well prepared for the work that lies ahead, and we will continue to put our kids first.”
Access an overview presentation about the district-level results here and a downloadable spreadsheet of district proficiency rates across student groups here.
To ensure districts are able to best support their students, district-level results are essential to providing a snapshot into each of our school communities to highlight needed supports and investments to continue driving student acceleration and achievement.
In the overview presentation, the department highlighted district proficiency rates in early grades, specifically 3rd grade English Language Arts (ELA) and 7th grade math, because we recognize the importance of ensuring students are learning on grade level for these foundational years. Specifically, meeting expectations in 3rd grade ELA is a key indicator of future academic success; and 7th grade math is foundational to Algebra and mathematical reasoning.
This release only includes high school TCAP participation data from Spring 2021 and not Fall 2020, so it is more appropriate for local districts to highlight high school information. Further, statewide high school participation rates were lower than those of elementary and middle schools, making longitudinal comparisons more difficult.
The spotlight slides in the overview for each district contain information on the district’s overall participation rate for the 2020-21 TCAP test administration; proficiency percentages from the test administration for all eligible Tennessee students, all students in the respective district, and all student groups; the district’s primary operating model for the reported grade level for the 2020-21 school year; and proficiency data to illustrate both how the district performed in the subject and grade versus how the state performed over time, as well as how various student groups in a district performed, over time. Student group proficiency data is suppressed for a count of ten or fewer students.
It is important to note that these assessment data are different from school and district accountability and designations. This release provides assessment data for students across the state and by district. Tennessee’s accountability model has additional rules to attribute academic achievement and growth to each school and district, which may not include every student, and is determined after a district appeals process. Assessment is about measuring and reporting on the performance of students; accountability, which includes more data points, is about reporting on the performance of systems.
During the January 2021 Special Legislative Session, Public Chapter 2 removed negative consequences associated with accountability for districts and schools whose district-wide TCAP participation rate was 80% or higher. On Tuesday, July 27, the department shared that 100% of districts met the 80% participation rate, with 80% of districts having met the federal 95% participation rate. More than two million TCAP tests were administered this year to approximately 750,000 students, providing families and schools systems access to information that will help drive strategic decision-making for students.
To help Tennessee families and students understand their TCAP results, the department’s free, online resource, TCAP Family Portal, created in direct response to parent and stakeholder feedback, is available and provides access to test results from this year. The portal also includes test history features allowing families to track progress over time, TCAP scale scores and performance levels by subject, parent guides and resources, and individualized recommendations for improvements. Families can access this resource by registering at familyreport.tnedu.gov.
To support districts and schools experiencing various learning disruptions, the department offered multiple flexibilities and supports to districts so they could make the best assessment plans to fit their needs. These flexibilities included the expanded use of off-site testing locations, flexibility for local testing schedules, and guidance on medical exemptions for COVID-impact students.
In alignment with the Best for All strategic plan, the department recognized the impending impact the global pandemic would have on K-12 education in Tennessee and has proactively and strategically committed investments to prioritize meeting the needs of all Tennessee students through the state’s ARP ESSER plan, which lays out the state’s spending strategy for its portion of federal COVID-19 relief and stimulus funding to benefit K-12 education in Tennessee. Specifically, the state plan highlights combatting existing gaps in student achievement and opportunity, addressing the needs of rural communities, improving early literacy, investing in a statewide tutoring corps, and accelerating student academic achievement across the state.
District leaders commented on the importance of annual assessments and how Tennesseans need to come together to support our students.
Director of Schools William F. Curtis
“Cannon County Schools has worked extremely hard to aid our students and ensure they are prepared for this new school year. I am proud that we achieved a 97.4% participation rate for the TCAP assessments this past school year, and saw tremendous gains in Student Growth in the 2020-2021 School Year,” said William Freddy Curtis, Director of Schools, Cannon County Schools. “With most ALL of our students having tested, we know how essential these results are in regard to our students’ growth, academic achievement and success rate. These results assist our personnel to provide a valuable snapshot of where our students need support. We are prepared and already making investments to put our students first as we have started this new year. I am very very proud to announce the following results:
Participation Rate:
District 97.4%
State 94.4%
The TCAP Participation Rate shows the percent of students recorded as attending each expected TCAP assessment administration. Participation rates help show how well a school or district did in measuring each student’s learning. The participation rates across student groups can help with interpreting the Achievement and Growth data from the 2020-2021 school year.
Growth
Cannon County District = Level 5 out of 5 levels.
Overall growth shows the amount of growth achieved by students. Based on the growth achieved by their students, a school is assigned a level between Level 1 and Level 5, with Level 5 being the highest.These level indicators give us a better understanding of how much growth students are achieving in a particular school or district. This allows us to see whether or not students’ achievement is increasing or decreasing over time relative to other students in Tennessee.
Subjects
Cannon County School District
English Language Arts Growth = Level 4 out of 5 levels.
English Language Arts (ELA) growth shows the amount of growth achieved by students in English Language Arts. This indicator considers student performance on state assessments for: Grades 3-8 ELA, English I, and English II. It is important to look at ELA growth to understand how schools or districts are best meeting the needs of their students when it comes to English Language Arts.
Math Growth = Level 5 out of 5 levels
Mathematics growth shows the amount of growth achieved by students in mathematics. This indicator considers student performance on state assessments for: Grades 3-8 Math, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Integrated Math I, Integrated Math II, and Integrated Math III. It is important to look at Math growth to understand how schools or districts are best meeting the needs of their students when it comes to Mathematics.”
Director Curtis continued, “We are sincerely appreciative of the hard work of Cannon County Educators during the eventful 2020-2021 School Year. We have demonstrated significant progress in growing our students! We have great reasons to celebrate this historic growth of our students! In celebrating our success, we have major concerns regarding Learning Loss, as our Academic Achievement and Success Rate is Cannon County School District = 18.8% and the State Average is
27.8%. The one-year success rate represents the percentage of students that scored on track or mastered on annual state tests. This information tells us how many students are succeeding on state exams, and can paint a picture of how well schools and districts are preparing students for these exams. More information from the Tennessee Department of Education is forthcoming with the release of individual School Accountability information and the Release of the State and District Report Card in the near future. The Tennessee Department of Education plans to issue a press release on September 23rd, 2021 to share updated accountability metrics that will be live on the State Report Card, and to feature TVAAS growth highlights from the past year.”
District- and state- level spring 2020-21 TCAP assessment data files are accessible to download on the department’s Data Downloads webpage.
The Executive Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in DeKalb/Cannon County, Donny Green, reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Donny Green
“Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10 years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction,” said Green.
Foreign investors must file Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reports with the FSA county office that maintains reports for the county where the land is located.
“Failure to file a report, filing a late report or filing an inaccurate report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land,” said Green.
For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts total 10 acres or more.
Disclosure reports are also required when there are changes in land use. For example, reports are required when land use changes from nonagricultural to agricultural or from agricultural to nonagricultural. Foreign investors must also file a report when there is a change in the status of ownership such as the owner changes from foreign to non-foreign, from non-foreign to foreign or from foreign to foreign.
Data gained from these disclosures is used to prepare an annual report to the President and Congress concerning the effect of such holdings upon family farms and rural communities in the United States.
For more information regarding AFIDA and FSA programs, contact the DeKalb/Cannon County FSA office at 615-597-8225 or visit the USDA website at http://www.usda.gov.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry (TDF) is offering a variety of tree and shrub seedlings for reforestation and conservation projects. The East Tennessee Nursery in Delano, Tenn. is accepting orders until April 15, 2022, or while supplies last.
“The East Tennessee Nursery grows native species that will perform well for landowners who are interested in reforestation, wildlife habitat improvement, and other conservation practices,” State Forester David Arnold said. “Seedlings we grow supply the raw materials needed to support Tennessee’s forest products industry. The economic affect through our reforestation program occurs in the state’s rural areas which provides jobs and revenue in those communities.”
Landowners may apply for free seedlings for forest sustainability and restoration through Trees for Tennessee, Play. Plant. Preserve, and the Duck and Elk River Watershed Buffer Initiative programs. Quantities are limited with all three seedling programs.
Trees for Tennessee is an initiative aimed at increasing pine regeneration on recently harvested land or fallow fields and is sponsored by Huber Engineered Woods, LLC. The landowner must have a reforestation prescription plan prepared by a professional forester. The plan must be submitted and approved by a TDF Area Forester.
Play. Plant. Preserve. works to ensure that the hardwood resources used for making drumsticks and mallets in Tennessee are sustainable. Landowners must have a reforestation prescription plan prepared by a professional forester and plant a minimum number of trees to be eligible. The program is sponsored by D’Addario.
The Duck and Elk River Watershed Buffer Initiative program works to enhance riparian zone or wetland buffers for wildlife with primarily nut-producing hardwood seedlings. Eligible landowners must have a wildlife management plan and the land must be in one of the following counties: Bedford, Coffee, Dickson, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Humphreys, Lewis, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, Moore, or Williamson.
Cost-share opportunities to purchase seedlings are available through the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program and other state and federal programs.
In celebration of National Voter Registration Month in September, the Secretary of State’s office is leading voter registration efforts in Tennessee with college voter registration tailgates, the launch of the Ann Dallas Dudley Award for high schools and by working with businesses and organizations across the state.
“More Tennesseans are registered to vote now than any time in our state’s history. During National Voter Registration Month, we are looking to build on this momentum,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “That is why we are working with high schools, universities, businesses and organizations to make sure everyone knows that it has never been easier to register to vote or cast a ballot in Tennessee.”
The Secretary of State’s office is working with Tennessee’s nine Division I Public Universities to hold a voter registration drive during a tailgate before a home game at each school. Students, university leadership and staff, athletic departments, student government associations, campus civic engagement organizations and local county election commissions to are all coming together to help university students and football fans register to vote.
At the beginning of the school year, the Secretary of State’s office launched the Anne Dallas Dudley award for Tennessee high schools that register at least 85 percent of eligible students to vote. The award is named in honor of Anne Dallas Dudley, one of the central figures in the women’s suffrage movement.
Through the Your Vote Matters program, the Secretary of State’s office is working with businesses and organizations across the state including Ascension Saint Thomas, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc., Home Depot, Memphis Grizzlies, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Nashville Predators, Nike, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Tennessee County Services Association and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. to help them promote voter registration and civic engagement to their employees, customers and community.
The Secretary of State’s office is providing corporate and community organizations participating in the Your Vote Matters program with tools they can use to promote National Voter Registration Month. Secretary Hargett is also speaking with groups across the state about how to increase civic engagement. Any Tennessee business or organization can join Your Vote Matters by registering on GoVoteTN.gov.
“Your vote is your voice and your vote matters! But if you don’t vote, you are giving up your voice and letting others decide who will represent you,” said Secretary Hargett. “The first step to casting a ballot is registering to vote. If you are not registered, now is the time to get registered. If you’re already registered, you can participate by encouraging your friends, coworkers and neighbors to register to vote.”
Registering to vote, updating your address or checking your registration status is fast, easy and secure with the Secretary of State’s online voter registration system, GoVoteTN.gov. Using a computer, phone or tablet, any U.S. citizen with a driver’s license or a photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security can register in minutes at GoVoteTN.gov. A paper voter registration application is also available to download at GoVoteTN.gov. National Voter Registration Month is a nonpartisan, nationwide effort encouraging all eligible voters to register and participate in the electoral process.
For more information about registering to vote in Tennessee, go to GoVoteTN.gov or call the Division of Elections toll-free at 1-877-850-4959.
In preparation for the Short Mountain Distillery’s hosting of the Bonnaroo Refugee-The Detour event, the Cannon County Emergency Management Agency in conjunction with County EMS and assistance from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency activated a Command Post to prepare for the massive influx of attendees from the canceled Bonnaroo Concert in neighboring Coffee County.
Over 1,000 people have arrived in Cannon County to attend this event. Preplans have been developed for this event and equipment staged in the event of any emergency calls.
The agency gave the update in a Friday evening social media post.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) announces the application dates for this year’s cost share program are Oct. 1-7. This year, there is a new option to the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP) for citizens who are new to farming.
“Agriculture is the top industry in Tennessee,” Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said. “TAEP investments have been made in every county in the state and the impact goes beyond our farmers. Improvements and expansions in farming operations also boost our rural economic development efforts.”
TAEP has supported agricultural production projects through a cost share program for more than 15 years and has invested nearly $207 million in 68,748 producer projects.
“With support from legislative and industry partners and Governor Lee, more long-term investments are made on Tennessee farms,” Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “Including those new to farming in TAEP sets them up for success.”
Tennessee farmers who are applying for cost share assistance for the first time and have been farming fewer than five years may be eligible for the Beginning Farmer option under Application A to improve their operation.
Producers may qualify for up to 50 percent cost share in a variety of programs. Producers should use Application A for livestock equipment, genetics, hay equipment, herd health, livestock solutions, permanent working structures, dairy solutions, and row crop solutions. The popular hay equipment program is available this year and will alternate with hay storage as an eligible program every other year.
Application B is for farmers with investments in agritourism, fruits and vegetables, honeybees, horticulture, organics, and value-added products. Application C is for commercial poultry growers.
Approval notifications will be mailed mid-December. Program purchases can be made starting Oct. 1, 2021 and must be completed by the program’s final reimbursement request deadline. Participants should make purchases and submit reimbursement requests in a timely manner to avoid processing delays.
Producers are encouraged to work with their local extension agent or a TDA representative to complete the application. For more information about the program, visit www.TN.gov/taep and for applications, visit www.tn.gov/agriculture/farms/taep/applications.html or call 1-800-342-8206.
Effective August 31, Motlow State Community College is requiring face masks to be worn inside buildings. This decision supports shared recommendations across the college community.
All students, faculty, staff, and visitors are required to wear face masks while inside Motlow facilities. Social distancing is encouraged wherever possible.
“In a proactive effort, college representatives unanimously support the wearing of face masks to allow for the continuous on-ground presence of students, faculty, and staff in the safest environment possible,” said Motlow President Dr. Michael Torrence. “To meet the varied needs and requests of our students, an on-ground presence is necessary; therefore, the mask requirement helps to keep the college open and ensures the safety of everyone.”
Protocols are in place to support the mask requirement as well as the health, safety, and wellness of everyone on campus, including the availability of masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
To learn more about Motlow State’s Response to COVID-19 and the Return to Campus Plan, go to www.mscc.edu.
Director of Cannon County Schools, Mr. William F. Curtis stated, “Due to the treat of Flash Flooding and Severe Weather associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ida and due to the alarming increase in COVID-19 cases and contacts these past few days in all our schools, is the reasoning for these three days of closure. No Instruction or distance learning will take place during these days. There has been a recent up-tick in the number of positive cases of COVID-19 with students and staff at ALL our Cannon County Schools this past week. The following Statistics indicate:
Students
Total Positive Cases = 68 Students or 3.6%
Total Contacts = 167 Students or 9.0%
Total Cases/Contacts = 235 Students or 12.6%
Staff – Total 24 Staff Full and Part-Time
Total Positive Cases = 14 or 5.6%
Pending Cases = 12 or 4.8%
Total Staff Cases/Pending Contacts = 26 or 10.4%”
Curtis continued, “We are instructing Principals to have their custodians deep clean our schools during this time off and hopefully will allow time for these possible exposures and cases to diminish. Our School District was already off for the Labor Day Holiday on Friday, September 3rd, 2021 and Monday, September 6th, 2021. Students will return to school on Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 thus allowing for a week for this current “surge” in our area to diminish. No Instruction or distance learning will take place during these days. All Athletic Games have been cancelled including, CCHS Golf, CCHS Volleyball, and Soccer. The CCHS Football Game with Sequatchie County scheduled for Friday night, September 3rd, 2021 had already been cancelled. Athletic practices will be allowed to proceed, weather conditions permitting, with precautions and COVID-19 protocols in place. We appreciate all our parents/guardians and our entire community with their understanding during this inclement weather and COVID-19 event.”
