JCS Community Newsletter (March)

This newsletter will be distributed on the Friday following the monthly Board of Education meeting. This newsletter contains important information from district departments and other helpful tips. If you have suggestions for content in this newsletter, please send them to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org.

• Paraprofessional Appreciation Day - April 3
• Make Up Snow Day - April 4
• School Librarian Appreciation Day - April 4
• National Assistant Principal Week - April 7 -11
• National Robotics Week - April 5 - 12
• Earth Day - April 22
• School Bus Driver Appreciation Day - April 22
• Public School Volunteer Week - April 21 - 25
• National Administrative Professional's Day - April 23
• Month of the Military Child
• Financial Literacy Month
• National Occupational Therapists Month
• Poetry Month

Calendars

• Printable Calendars for 2024-2025 (Updated 1-16-25)
  
• Staff Holiday Schedule for 2024-2025
  

We will have school on Friday, April 4th to make up for the day we were out of school for snow on February 19th. We will not make up the snow day we had on February 20th.

The Johnson City Public School Foundation's biggest fundraiser, Spell-a-bration, will be held on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at Science Hill High School. The event will start at 6:30 PM. This year, the goal is to raise $40-$60K to purchase a new Star Lab for the elementary and middle schools. The registration fee is $200 per team and the registration form can be found below.

In total, there were 21 applicants for the Johnson City Schools Superintendent position. The Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) screened the applicants and then recommended the top three who met the best criteria.

The three finalists include:

• Dr. Josh Carter (Science Hill Principal - Monday Interview)
• Dr. Corey Gardenhour (Principal at Ross N. Robinson in Kingsport - Tuesday Interview).
• Dr. Erin Slater (Superintendent at Fort Madison Community School District - Wednesday Interview).

Interviews will take place on Monday (March 10), Tuesday (March 11), Wednesday (March 13) at 6 pm each night inside the Board Room at Central Office. The board then plans to meet on Thursday, March 13 at 6 p.m. to select the next superintendent. The interviews will not be live streamed.

Dear JCS Families,

We wanted to let you know that PowerSchool has started to notify individuals whose personal data was breached during their data breach in December. The email may be in your spam folder, but it is a legitimate email.

The email begins with the following (see below).

The e-mail then goes on to tell people how they can sign up for two years of complimentary identity protection services through Experian. We encourage our employees to take advantage of this free service through PowerSchool. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. This data breach happened through PowerSchool and Johnson City Schools was then notified. If you have any questions, please direct them to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org.

Tuition Rates

Tuition rates will remain the same as the 2023-2024 school year. For tuition students residing in Carter, Sullivan and Washington County it will be $1,200 per year. For students residing in other counties it will be $1,700 per year. Employees receive half-price tuition for their students.

Tuition Schools

The tuition schools for the upcoming school year are based on a review of enrollment projections. After reviewing those numbers, Science Hill High School, Indian Trail Middle School, Fairmont Elementary and Cherokee Elementary will accept new tuition students for the 2025-2026 school year. The application will be available on the district website beginning April 7, 2025.

This information will be posted on the district website for 14 days beginning on March 24 through April 6. The open enrollment period will begin on April 7 and close on May 6. Criteria used to identify available spaces are Grade Band Average, Individual class size and grade level limits, potential growth, actual number of classrooms at each school and number of teachers.

Transfer Spaces Available for 2025-2026 Open Enrollment

Cherokee: 8 in first grade, 2 in third grade, 5 in fourth grade.

Fairmont: 5 in second grade, 3 in fourth grade.

Towne Acres: 8 in second grade

Woodland: 5 in fourth grade

Indian Trail: 6 in sixth grade, 6 in seventh grade, 8 in eighth grade.

The next regularly scheduled Johnson City Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, April 7 starting at 6 p.m. inside the Board Room at Central Office (100 E. Maple Street). Board meetings can be viewed on the Johnson City Schools' YouTube channel.

Congratulations to Shreyas Singh and Ryan Zheng for being named as candidates for the 2025 Presidential Scholars. It is one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.

Congratulations to these students for being named National Merit Finalists . These students were recognized for their academic achievement and potential. The following Science Hill students have been named National Merit Finalists:

• Shreeyan Papireddy
• Caleb Spurling
• Samantha Wilder
• Ryan Zheng

The Johnson City Schools' Communication Department is looking for suggestions for features stories to share with our community. This could be anything you think parents, students or the public want or need to know about can be good features. We're talking student achievements, teachers doing cool things in their classrooms, school programs or offerings that could benefit from a little awareness, clubs... Anything. If there's a visual component – something or someone I could photograph to go along with it – it will be even more engaging. We would love to hear your ideas!

Please reach out to Nathan Baker or Collin Brooks with your suggestions.

Visit the Johnson City Public Library's website here.

Johnson City Public Library Calendar

Need a library card? Follow this process to get one.

Thanks to YOU, we were able to donate 740 pounds of food to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee!

Your generosity during Food for Fines 2024 is making a real difference for the 44,000 neighbors SHFBNT helps each month.

NEXT WEEK AI is changing the world—are you ready? How do you feel about its impact?

Join us Tuesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. for a thought-provoking discussion with AI expert Joe McKenna.

Snag a JCPL pin for just $2 at the Circulation Desk—perfect for Library Lovers' Month!

All proceeds support your Library.

Visit the Johnson City Parks and Recreation website here

Johnson City Parks and Recreation Calendar

Jump into the conversation! Let us know your thoughts about aquatics facilities in Johnson City by taking this short survey about how you use our current facilities and what you'd hope to see for the future. https://loom.ly/ELGOnxw

Compete in fighting games like Super Smash Bros., Rivals of Aether 2, and other rotating traditional fighting games like 2XKO, Tekken, Street Fighter and more. If you are one of the top players for the respective game, you can expect a prize! Sign-up at start.gg/JCMST or in-person to be included in the brackets.

Spring Youth Softball Registration is still open now through March 21st! Registrations March 7th - March 21st will have a late fee added. Register here: https://loom.ly/lww7RsA. For more information, call our Athletics team at 423-283-5822.