We will distribute this newsletter on the Wednesday following the monthly Board of Education meeting. This newsletter will have 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.

The Johnson City Board of Education approved funding to install the CrisisAlett system from CENTEGIX. This will equip each teacher and staff member in Johnson City Schools with a CrisisAlet badge that will be setup through geo-fenceing and function both indoors and outdoors.

After receiving city commission approval, Johnson City Schools is working toward having the system installed by January. The grand total for installation and five years of service across the district will be $609,700. For more information, please read the bid sheet below.

October 2023

• National Principal Month
• National Arts & Humanities Month
• National Book Month
• Down Syndrome Awareness Month
• School Custodian Appreciation Day - October 2
• National Taco Day - October 4
• National Coaches Day - October 6 (Also Instructional Coach Appreciation Day)
• Manufacturing Day - October 6
• Fire Prevention Week - October 8 - 14
• FALL BREAK - October 9 - 13
  
• Columbus Day - October 9
• National Boss' Day - October 16
• Digital Citizenship Week - October 16 -20
• National School Bus Safety Week - October 16 - 20
• Unity Day (Bullying Prevention) - October 18
• Topper Trick or Treat - October 26 from 5 pm to 7 pm at Science Hill
  
• National Red Ribbon Week - October 23 - 31
• National First Responders Day - October 28

• Click here to view Printable Calendars 2023-2024 & 2024-2025
  

Johnson City Schools' Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund documents are available for review through this link. At the bottom of the page, there is a link to a Google form where we ask for feedback from all of our stakeholders. Every six months we will use this feedback for our ESSER 3.0 Public Plan-Federal Relief Spending Addendum. Please feel free to review these documents and provide us with feedback.

Johnson City Schools is hiring Educare assistants, custodians, and instructional assistants. Current job postings can be viewed at www.jcschools.org/jobs.

Johnson City Transit is in need of bus drivers. Please visit this page for more information about open Bus Driver positions.

Open Enrollment for Health Insurance will be October 1st through the 27th. This is the only time during the year changes can be made to your Health Insurance coverage without a qualifying life event. Changes to coverage will be effective January 1, 2024. You will be receiving emails from Partners for Health and Edison regarding open enrollment. Resources for open enrollment as well as the 2024 Premiums Rates can be found at www.jcschools.org/departments/finance/insurance-open-enrollment

Open enrollment for other benefits including Dental, Vision, LT Disability, ST Disability, FBA Spending Accounts and other coverages will be the last full week of October. As in previous years, representatives will be at your school to assist with enrollment. As we get closer to open enrollment, schedules for your school and specific plan information will be available.

The TCRS pension retirement plan annual statements as of 6/30/23 are now available at mytcrs.com. If you have any questions when reviewing your statement, you may reach out to Leia Valley, Supervisor of Finance at valleyl@jcschools.org.

For those on the TCRS Hybrid Plan, the 401k portion of the retirement plan will not be found on the TCRS annual statement. For information on the 401k plan portion, you can visit https://participant.empower-retirement.com/participant/#/login

Now is also a great time to make sure your beneficiaries listed under TCRS and/or Empower Retirement are up-to-date. You can login in online to view your beneficiary listed and to make changes.

Please contact BrooksB@jcschools.org if you have any issues with Bloomz.

If you have any questions or concerns about Bloomz, feel free to reach out to at BrooksB@jcschools.org with any questions.

Bloomz On-Demand Training for Teachers

• Beginning with Bloomz: Teacher Basics

• Beginning with Posts/Announcements/Alerts/Messages

• Beginning with Events, Sign-Ups, and Conferences

Beginning Parents on Bloomz | More Information

We want to recognize several students for outstanding performance on their Preliminary SAT Qualifying Exam. Six Science Hill High School students recently earned Letters of Commendation from College Board. Recipients of these letters scored in the top 3-4% of all scores among test takers. The following students earned Letters of Commendation:
Mara Donahue
Everett Hamm
Henry Hance
Christian Marshall
Davis Owens
Molly Wilson

Eight Science Hill High School students were named Semifinalists in the 69th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Their scores represent less than 1% of all US High School Seniors and they now advance to compete for approximately 7100 scholarships worth approximately 28 million dollars. Would the following students please come up when your name is called:
Allen Feng
Owen Hoover
Shiven Jain
Amanda Noe
Aarushi Raj
Sophia Stone
Dakota Ward
Selena Wheeler

I. As part of their program to provide opportunities for students to share strong academic achievements with colleges and programs seeking to recruit diverse talent, College Board recognizes outstanding student achievement in four different groups. These groups include Rural Area, African-American, Indigenous and/or Latino students. We are proud to announce Science Hill High School has several students who recently earned recognition from College Board through this program:

National Hispanic Recognition Award:

Gianna Becerra

Christian Marshall

Melyssah Toledo (pictured)

Erick Trejo

National African American Recognition Award

Gianna Becerra

Next, we want to recognize Mehal Dubey, 8th Grade student from Liberty Bell Middle School . Mehal recently earned a 34 on her ACT, placing her in the 99th percentile. As a result, Mehal earned the Grand Honor Medal from the Center for Talented Youth program at Johns Hopkins University. Congratulations to Mehal!

Next, we want to recognize Krissi McInturff from Indian Trail Middle School. Mrs. McInturff was recently appointed to a five year term to the Tennessee State Board of Education by Gov. Bill Lee. Mrs. McInturff is one of 11 members of this Board who are charged with rule-making and policy-making for K-12 education. We want to congratulate and thank you for your service.

We have seven schools that recently earned a Level 5 Distinction for Annual Growth. Those schools are:
Cherokee Elementary
North Side Elementary
South Side Elementary
Woodland Elementary
Indian Trail Middle School
Liberty Bell Middle School
Science Hill High School

We want to recognize Johnson City Schools for earning a Level 5 Distinction for Annual Growth for 2022-2023.

Finally, we want to recognize Fairmont Elementary for recently being named a National Blue Ribbon Reward School, which recognizes a school’s overall academic performance or closing achievement gaps among diverse groups of students. Fairmont was recognized as an Exemplary High Performing School. Fairmont is one of 353 schools nationwide and only six schools in Tennessee to earn this distinction. Additionally, this is the 2nd time in 12 years that Fairmont has earned this recognition.

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

Johnson City Schools has enrolled with STOPit, the leading technology platform for schools that deters and controls harmful or inappropriate conduct. STOPit empowers students with an easy app to safely and anonymously report anything of concern to school officials – from cyberbullying to threats of violence or self-harm. STOPit empowers students to stand up for themselves and others while giving our schools the insight we need to keep students safe. Students can download the App from the Apple Store or Google play store on their mobile device and then search for their Johnson City School. While the reports are anonymous, there will be severe consequences for anyone who is found to have made a false report.

Science Hill High School’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program continues to grow, as it saw record numbers participate in AP classes during the 2022-2023 school year. In all, 690 Science Hill students took AP classes, while 1,485 AP exams were given amongst the 27 AP classes offered at Science Hill during the 2022-2023 school year.

Read more -

https://www.jcschools.org/view-all-news/district-default-post-page/~board/johnson-city-schools-news/post/science-hill-advanced-placement-program-continues-to-grow-break-records

Johnson City Schools loves celebrating the accomplishments of our students, staff, and community. If you know of any events, awards, programs, or other compelling stories involving the Johnson City Schools' community, please fill out this form or reach out to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org