Lenoir City Schools report K–8 enrollment rise; district outlines instructional priorities

Dr. Smith, superintendent, told the Lenoir City Board of Education the district’s enrollment "as of yesterday" sits at 2,665 and that the recent growth has been concentrated in the district’s K–8 grades. "Our elementary school and middle school enrollment increased quite a bit," Dr. Smith said, adding that the high school enrollment was essentially unchanged.

The update, delivered by Ms. Hovland, a district academic staff member, and Mr. Walker, covered federal and state accountability systems, campus-by-campus enrollment and demographics, and instructional priorities. Ms. Hovland said districtwide free‑and‑reduced enrollment is about 49 percent and summarized enrollment by campus: LCES 592, LCMIS 720, the high school 1,244 and iLearn 109.

The nut graf: District leaders told the board the enrollment shift and accountability results are guiding decisions about curriculum, supports for multilingual learners, teacher professional development and measures to lift ACT performance.

District and accountability details came next. Ms. Hovland explained that federal accountability uses multiple indicators including achievement (TCAP), growth, ELPA 21 for language acquisition and chronic absenteeism; the high‑school federal measure focuses on a 10th‑grade cohort. On state measures the board saw campus letter grades: the high school and middle school scored at the higher levels (reported as “A/B” designations in the presentation), the elementary school received a C and the virtual school received a D. Ms. Hovland said the virtual school’s small cohort size limits which indicators can be generated for that campus.

On instruction, district staff said the work centers on three pillars in the district plan; the presentation prioritized ‘‘instruction and intervention.’’ The district is working to expand high‑quality instructional materials (HQIM): kindergarten has adopted foundational skills materials now being piloted and science curricula are slated for adoption with professional development planned in March. The district said it serves as a mentoring district in the TNTP network and has extended TNTP work to grades 3–12.

Multilingual learner (MLL) supports were a major focus. Ms. Hovland said the district is shifting away from pull‑out ESL as the default model and toward in‑class scaffolds and push‑in services, adopting a new language acquisition curriculum and involving ESL teachers in planning with grade‑level teachers. "ESL is not a place anymore," she said. Rebecca Summers (identified in the presentation) was credited as a lead on that work.

To raise college‑readiness metrics, the district reported continued emphasis on ACT preparation, including summer and in‑school programming, and exploration of CTE scheduling that could allow half‑day Pellissippi programs for some students. For teacher recruitment and retention, staff said a planned summer learning program will be used as a professional development and mentoring platform for incoming and early‑career teachers, pairing high‑performing teachers and coaches with teachers needing support.

The presentation included a request from a board member for comparative year‑over‑year data; Mr. Walker and staff agreed to provide historical comparisons on request.

Ending: Board members praised the district’s instructional work and mentoring role; no formal action was taken on instructional items during the meeting.