January 21, 2010
 

    To The Parents of all Dickson County Students,   I hope your child has had a great first semester of school.  He/she may have noticed the subject matter taught was much more in-depth and more difficult this school year.  This is the result of Tennessee and 35 other States’ decision to adopt more rigorous standards for their students.  Students can expect the end of year test to be more difficult compared to previous years.  

This change was done to better prepare students for post high school education.  Many Tennessee students were not ready academically for college or equipped to get a job in the job market of today.  

In order to prepare our students for the future a team effort from schools, parents, and students will be required.  These are some things that you as a parent can do to help your child to be successful:

• Make sure your child attends school daily unless physically unable.
• Insist that your child does their school work.  Students should have some homework in their academic core classes each night.  Research suggests that students have 10 minutes of homework per grade level. (Example; 4th graders - 40 minutes, 8th graders - 80 minutes, 12th graders - 120 minutes)
• Stay in contact with your child’s teacher and/or school.  Insist that you be notified if your child starts having problems.
• Most of our schools offer free tutoring (either before or after school).  Take advantage of that.
• Make sure your child has a quiet area at home to study.  Do not allow T.V.’s, phones, etc., to be used while your child is studying.  If they tell you they don’t have school work to do, make them go over what they studied in classes that day.
• Elementary age students need to read a lot.  Take time to read with them as much as possible every day.
• For your child to be successful will take effort.  Do not allow your child to do less than they are capable.

With the more rigorous curriculum standards and the higher expectations for proficiency levels, here is what we expect:

• The level for being proficient will be raised.  In the past, students were considered proficient if their scores were between the 13th – 60th percentiles on the achievement test.  This year, they may be required to score at the 50th percentile or higher to be considered proficient.
• Expect the number of students identified as “Non-Proficient” to rise significantly. ·     
• Expect the number of students identified as “Advanced” to drop significantly.
• Although the number of students testing proficient may drop, the level of “Student Learning” should increase.  

To see the new curriculum standards please visit the following website: http://www.state.tn.us/education/  

Dickson County has great teachers.  Our teachers have researched the best ways to teach these new standards and are working very hard to prepare our students.  In the 2008-2009 school year Dickson County teachers ranked as the top school system in Tennessee in “Achievement Gains”.  Achievement gains are how much the students learned during the school year.  Dickson County was the only County in Tennessee to have two (2) A’s and (2) B’s in Achievement Gains or “Teacher Effect” on the 2009 State Report Card.  There are 136 school systems in Tennessee.  

The goal of the Dickson County School System is to prepare your child to be successful in the future.  Your child and all other children must not only compete with students in our community or state, they must compete on a global level.  

The career your child decides to pursue may not even be created yet.  Our job and your job is to prepare them to be successful in life.

Sincerely,
Johnny Chandler