JCS Staff Newsletter (December)

This newsletter will be distributed on the Wednesday 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.

Upcoming December Performance Dates & other events

December 8 – Science Hill Choral Holiday Concert at 2:30 p.m.

December 10 – Science Hill Orchestra Holiday Concert at 7 p.m.

December 13 – Science Hill Drama Improv in Studio 535 at 7 p.m.

December 17 – Science Hill Band Holiday Concert at 7 p.m.

Calendars

• Printable Calendars for 2024-2025
• Staff Holiday Schedule for 2024-2025
  

As we approach the holiday season, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for all that you do. Your dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment to our students and their success have made this year truly remarkable. Thank you especially for dedicating these last three weeks leading up to the holiday break to ensuring our schools are safe and productive.

I hope this holiday season brings you time to rest, reflect, and celebrate with your loved ones. Whether you are decking the halls or simply enjoying quiet moments at home, may your holidays be filled with joy and peace. Thank you for being an essential part of our school family and for making a difference every day.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a wonderful start to the new year!

Warm regards,

Steve Barnett

Dr. Barnett has announced his retirement and his last day will be January 31, 2025.

The JC Board of Education will accept internal applications for Interim Superintendent until the end of day on Monday, December 9. To apply, users must log into their Skyward account through the JCS Portal. Once logged into Skyward, click FastTrack Open Positions and you will see the Interim Superintendent posting.

The board will then meet on December 12 at 3 pm to discuss applicants. The search for the next Johnson City Schools' Superintendent will begin in January and the board will use the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) to help conduct the national search.

Classroom library lists in PDF format must be submitted to your school's communication representative ASAP. If you have updated your library, then those books must be scanned and included. It is very important to have these to your communications representatives ASAP.

How to Export your BookSource Library List into a PDF

• Visit our updated Human Resources web page to find assistance with your employee benefits and questions about the hiring process.
  
• Johnson City Schools is hiring Educare assistants, custodians, and instructional assistants. View our current job postings and apply today!

• Johnson City Transit is in need of bus drivers. For current bus driver position openings visit https://johnsoncitytn.applicantpro.com/jobs/.

• Please visit our updated web page at Finance | Retirement.
• Sharron Livingston in Human Resources now manages most benefits for our system. Christy Fair in Finance manages the Hartford Life Insurance only.
• Our Employee Forms page will assist you with finding commonly requested forms and the contact person for each one.

JC Schools provides for full-time employees life insurance equal to the employee’s annual salary or double the employee’s annual salary after 2 years. The IRS requires that the portion of life insurance above $50,000 be treated as a taxable benefit to the employee. This will be done for 2024 on the 12/5/24 paycheck. This will cause employees’ net pay to be less than normal as a result. You can find more information on how this is calculated by reviewing the IRS’s Publication 15-B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits.

The end of the year is right around the corner. Please make sure if you have had an address change in the past year that you have submitted your new address to the Finance Department. You can submit address changes through Skyward. Once in Skyward, go to Employee Information, Personal Information, Address, Request Change.

The next time you log into Skyward, you should see the option to receive a printed or electronic copy of your W-2 once it is ready in January. If you do not select a choice, the system will default to your selection from previous years. W-2s will be available by January 31, 2025.

Due to the upcoming Winter Break, the second regular paycheck for December will be paid early on December 18th. Any supplemental pays submitted to Finance by December 10th and will be paid on December 19th. Any supplemental pay not received prior to the cut-off will be paid in January.

2025 Medial Insurance Rate changes will take place on the 1/3/25 paycheck. 2025 Rates can be found at jcschools.org/departments/human-resources/benefits

All other voluntary benefits (dental, vision, etc) rates and coverage will change effective January 1st. The new rates will also take place on the 1/3/25 paycheck.

TLC is now accepting school and district-wide in-service sessions for the winter months. Earn an hourly rate for presenting district-wide sessions from TLC, and choose your training location. TLC’s computer lab is available for use, or host your session in your classroom or school library. Visit our Professional Learning|TLC department web page to complete the 2024-2025 JCS New Training Request Form to get started.

Student teachers may contact Tracey Coffey to request certificates for attending professional learning sessions in the first semester before winter break. I will create and email requested certificates by January 3, 2025. Please forward this information on to your interns.

Please return all checked-out classroom resources to TLC by December 13th. Please let us know if you would like to hold on to them for continued use. Find new manipulatives and book sets for the next quarter on our Professional Learning|TLC department page. Email us your request, and we’ll have it in the mail to you right away.

The next Johnson City Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, January 6 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.

Science Hill freshman Kara Wiggins, won 3rd place for the Young Playwrights Festival for the Barter Theater.

Several students across Johnson City Schools submitted entries for the Monday Club Youth Poetry Contest. During our board meeting, we recognized several winners from the contest. They include:

Emma Temaj and EllieKate Price (Fairmont), Analise Butler, Helen Keaton, Savanna Nadolsky, Zara Samiuddin and James Sandos (Towne Acres), Evelyn Robey (Indian Trail) and Brinley Price (Liberty Bell). Congratulations!

On Monday night we honored two of our former board members, Beth Simpson and Herb Greenlee. We appreciate everything that you did for Johnson City Schools!

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.

Johnson City Schools is proud to announce that five schools were named among the 400 Reward Schools in Tennessee by the Tennessee Department of Education for the 2023-24 school year. Those schools include Lake Ridge Elementary, North Side Elementary, South Side Elementary, Towne Acres Elementary and Woodland Elementary.

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For the fourth consecutive year, Johnson City Schools earned a Level 5 composite score on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), according to data released by the Tennessee Department of Education. Additionally, five schools earned Level 5 distinction. Those schools included Science Hill High School, Lake Ridge Elementary, North Side Elementary, South Side Elementary and Woodland Elementary.

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Students arrived at Mountain View Elementary Wednesday to a celebration of kindness. For World Kindness Day on November 13, the school’s Kindness Club welcomed students with bracelets, fanfare and, most importantly, smiles.

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The City of Johnson City’s Community Survey is now open for residents to provide input on government services and quality of life. The online survey will be open until Monday, Dec. 16.

Click here to take survey