[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6218772,"mediaKeyId","3625595-3930c73c1d088282d83d0f5f3a6c3ff9","parentId",3625595,"title","Knox County Board hears five-year strategic plan presentation; staff to turn goals into measurable annual actions","audioSeconds",2269,"startMs",2255000,"endMs",4524000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3625595-3930c73c1d088282d83d0f5f3a6c3ff9&start=2255&end=4524","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3625595-3930c73c1d088282d83d0f5f3a6c3ff9/thumbnail_2255000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6218772/Tennessee/Knox-County-Board-hears-five-year-strategic-plan-presentation-staff-to-turn-goals-into-measurable-annual-actions","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6218772-1a98bb7545d52f5157eadad3237756c4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770439995&Signature=WJVu6dXt3PrJFZbwYVkWfRqM7JOoxSm7pyQ3JYS4oNYUtFnZ87eG1OCaX4yWbXSb8FOkeQ5nSlORg~o0JFKOL5wreOPRF54vDzKTx6c34cl6u7fS3iOhFqlH1e5mlw7C5xpCTnh-kONnKrPG1XCfV-z7w~IEUml~Afof5ft2YVXfjdhGLHaQBXxmcweBdQ9V4dMH-zwB8KrZ2sS28bIM7pugHKITizTNwzs-UFph~4fzVSa4MJMuUkalm~XJipNHz-JDrDZhdO61TpRYtE-36fE9-H-zSQ6FvO-LR3xQUpmwIfjhh4aMCbTEoFH2kt0UuX0AKdgc~qprIsuUQhIRJw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Knox County Schools","date","2025-06-03T11:12:55Z","article","The Knox County Board of Education on June 2, 2025 received a presentation of a proposed five-year strategic plan intended to guide district decision-making, budget priorities and program evaluation through 2030.

Accenture consultant Jenny Brinkman presented the plan’s mission — “to prepare students for life by providing a high quality education that is accessible, meaningful, and future focused” — and an overview of five goal domains: excellence in foundational skills, great educators in every school, career empowerment and preparation, success for every student, and communication and engagement.

Board member Miss Christie said Tennessee school districts are required to create five-year strategic plans, framing the presentation as both a compliance and planning activity. The process included stakeholder engagement led by Milan Chicago, validation testing with students, families, staff and community members, and a follow-up survey the presenters described as producing high favorability scores across goals and objectives.

Corey, a district staff presenter, described how the five-year objectives will be translated into annual, measurable actions that the district will develop each fall. As an example of the drafting approach, he said staff would translate a strategic objective into a specific annual target such as “increase third grade reading proficiency by 1.8%.” He told the board the annual action plan is intended to make the strategic plan “bite sized” and nimble so targets can be adjusted year to year based on data.

Members asked how the district will measure progress and what would happen when objectives are more process-oriented. Corey and other staff said some annual actions will be quantitatively measurable and others will be milestone or process steps with clear deliverables and report-outs; the board will have an annual opportunity at its retreat to review and revise proposed annual actions.

Board members and staff also discussed alignment with existing initiatives including Region 5 planning and the 8-6-5 academies, and the presenters said work underway in those areas was incorporated into the plan. The committee that oversaw the plan asked staff to develop a schedule for rolling the plan into operational targets and for reporting back to the board.

The board was also told the superintendent’s evaluation tool will need to be revised to align with the new strategic plan; committee members agreed to remain engaged in that follow-up work and staff said a proposed revised evaluation tool is expected for board consideration in late summer or early fall.

No vote was taken on the strategic plan during the meeting; staff will return with the annual action plan development timeline, proposed measurable actions for year one and a revised superintendent evaluation tool for board review.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","6/2/25 KCS BOE Work Session","oneSentenceSummary","The Knox County Board of Education on June 2, 2025 received a presentation of a proposed five-year strategic plan intended to guide district decision-making, budget priorities and program evaluation through 2030.","taxTitle","Knox County, School Districts, Tennessee","taxId",13502,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6218767,"Board continues review of graduation honors policy; debate centers on GPA vs. percentage recognition",673,2847000,3520000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3625595-3930c73c1d088282d83d0f5f3a6c3ff9&start=2847&end=3520","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3625595-3930c73c1d088282d83d0f5f3a6c3ff9/thumbnail_2847000.jpg","/articles/6218767/Tennessee/Board-continues-review-of-graduation-honors-policy-debate-centers-on-GPA-vs-percentage-recognition","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6218767-346270b2d17c7feecdf092b8be38d460/orig.mp4?Expires=1770439995&Signature=epGHIVM0g7BNH8~MukoKZtK5UtHiMsEjWnI5SMJekeRvm6OGH~crXpcvXF90mOkvT3EOQug6meTSN7HibUmPCuF5HtrLhpUJEEfwm~RgakcKbwhWLkBVtn06rTmLojelpzrJMjQdNPurqsqoVfuxjnnk01TrEZpIGjKXvYA9YlIdW92WOqbQoud2e4GNXh~e2gQZbQj4ncwr9W6tITJcBwMBMxiiZXZljrkzVrxodWARfOS06wOT9LYJ1TeiUv90ekZASJhKEmGODavHAP69RpaRDE2fDlU9D9AUtNtrHdxX13IZabfIHhE7g6o9YuRTKXaxoDt8r4-AMbTOCbFpZw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Knox County Board of Education on June 2, 2025 continued discussion of a proposed revision to graduation honors that would move away from naming a valedictorian and salutatorian toward tiered recognition based on top-percentage cutoffs.

The item was returned to discussion during the policy-review segment. Reverend Butler asked the board to reconsider whether a percentage-based system is fair, suggesting a GPA threshold would recognize all students who meet a given standard rather than tying recognition to how other students in a graduating class perform.

District staff and a board liaison said the high school principals association proposed the change to recognize more students and reduce negative behaviors tied to pursuit of valedictorian and salutatorian status. Mr. Duplo (district staff) told the board that principals had discussed a Latin-style three-tier system as one option and that the percentage approach was chosen in part to produce a predictable cut line across schools.

Student representative Sofia Elkins, identified as the 2024–25 student board representative, told the board she opposed removing valedictorian and salutatorian because some colleges and scholarships use those titles in awarding aid. She said, “I do kind of have an issue with no longer identifying valedictorians or salutatorians. I don't know if you all know, but a lot of colleges offer scholarships if you're named as one of the two. … Liberty University, just to name an example, gives you a full tuition scholarship if you get named either of them.” Elkins also said several classmates narrowly missed top-10 percent cutoffs by hundredths of a point and were deeply disappointed.

Doctor Wilson (district administration) explained the principals had originally proposed GPA-based cutoffs but that GPA distributions vary across large and small high schools; using a single district GPA threshold could produce large, unequal numbers of recognized students at some high schools. Wilson said that if a university requests class-ranking information for scholarship eligibility, “that can be provided.”

Board members asked staff to return with historical GPA distribution data and counts (several members requested three-year distributions) to see how different options would affect student recognition by school. No vote was taken; the proposal remains under review and will return to the board for further consideration. The high school principals association reported unanimous support for the percentage-based option when speaking to staff.

The discussion also touched on related questions such as whether the district should separately recognize students who achieve a specific GPA (for example, all graduates with a 4.0+), but that option was not included in the current proposal and would require further study.

Next steps: staff will provide the board with GPA distribution data and estimates of how many students would qualify under various cut lines; the policy will remain under committee review.","The Knox County Board of Education on June 2, 2025 continued discussion of a proposed revision to graduation honors that would move away from naming a valedictorian and salutatorian toward tiered recognition based on top-percentage cutoffs.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6218762,"Knox County Schools introduces incoming special education director as it moves to implement PCG review",296,1858000,2154000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3625595-3930c73c1d088282d83d0f5f3a6c3ff9&start=1858&end=2154","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3625595-3930c73c1d088282d83d0f5f3a6c3ff9/thumbnail_1858000.jpg","/articles/6218762/Tennessee/Knox-County-Schools-introduces-incoming-special-education-director-as-it-moves-to-implement-PCG-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6218762-3bedc619f73aacf6b1bfdf13011424ed/orig.mp4?Expires=1770439995&Signature=A99MKzt89~6jdLyqVXj1I9YeKpJYHebn88iLsFZ6WzBGyjRnFMCahvk80HoYhriI0u7l3v2UPBoauZNuD16QdfuiujTjQlgAwFTKDC9R~C1-~v2fExL3rmO6UDVbFw8y-tK0axZIXLTJ4TIL8g51vpKosRYv8eOrdMBI1vOIKDPbls0ArQivUbk7EaIH47DF2P-Mk2RAjTf34Z6ApOaTRXFpRlWxCIMSeqAQyrsPLK7NstOpRj8dwmD9cpeLCu8Y~oc-sN-dbERve-CfA7cZubuF2E~o2neht3FPmOMhRG-RyLdVumXDEYs5P9zPJGEhUBPba9mKeIJoqOqa6SDHMg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Superintendent Dr. John Ryswick told the Knox County Board of Education on June 2, 2025 that the district is moving from analysis to implementation after a PCG review of special education services and that Dr. Karen Loy, who leads special education, will retire at the end of the month.

Dr. Ryswick said the consultant report from PCG identified “bright spots” and areas for improvement and that the district will now build an action plan to implement the report’s recommendations. He thanked Dr. Karen Loy for her work and asked the board to join him in recognizing her years of service.

The superintendent introduced Dr. Brad Carr, who addressed the board and said he is “the incoming executive director of special education” and described his background as a product of the district and experience as a special-education teacher, principal and administrator. Carr said he had begun reviewing the PCG report and meeting with PCG personnel and district staff and expected to transition into the role during June and begin duties in July.

District leaders told the board the special education task force and the PCG review date back roughly three years, and that the forthcoming implementation plan will emphasize getting decision-making closer to the classroom and principals. No formal board action was taken at the meeting; the item was an introductory announcement and a commitment to build the implementation plan for board review.

The board applauded Dr. Loy’s service and welcomed Dr. Carr. Staff said they will continue working with PCG and district leaders to convert the report into a multi-year implementation schedule and ongoing reporting to the board.","Superintendent John Ryswick reviewed a PCG report on special education, acknowledged both strengths and areas for improvement, and introduced Dr. Brad Carr as incoming executive director of special education; staff said the findings will be used to build an implementation plan","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Knox County Board hears five-year strategic plan presentation; staff to turn goals into measurable annual actions

Board continues review of graduation honors policy; debate centers on GPA vs. percentage recognition

Knox County Schools introduces incoming special education director as it moves to implement PCG review