Sullivan schools receive annual report card

Nine of Sullivan County’s 24 public elementary and middle schools scored a “C” average on an annual report card released Tuesday by the Tennessee Department of Education.

But the news wasn’t all bad, as eight other elementary and middle schools got an “A” average, while the remaining seven scored a “B” average.

“We’ve got some things to work on,” Director of Schools Jack Barnes said Tuesday.

School officials learned how they performed in July and already have taken steps to improve grades on the report card, he said.

The grades are based on three-year averages of scores from standardized tests in math, reading, social studies and science. Students in third through eighth grades take the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests, known as TCAP, each spring.

Schools receive an “A” for scores of 55 points or more on a particular subject; a “B” for scores of 50-54 points; a “C” for 45-49 points; a “D” for 40-45 points; and “F” for scores of 39 points or below.

Akard, Blountville, Emmett and Weaver elementary schools each scored a “C” average on their tests, according to the report card. All four of the schools are in areas surrounding Bristol, Tenn., at the county’s eastern end. Blountville, Holston Valley and Sullivan middle schools, as well as Ketron Intermediate and Mary Hughes Elementary/Middle School also got a “C” average. All but Ketron and Sullivan Middle are on the county’s eastern end.

But geography isn’t the only thing the “C” average schools have in common, said David Timbs, the county’s supervisor for testing and federal programs. Most of them also are Title I schools, he said, which means 50 percent or more of their students receive free or reduced-priced lunches. Mary Hughes and Sullivan Middle are the only two schools with a “C” average that do not fit into this category, he said.

But being a Title I school can be an advantage, Timbs said, because the status opens the door to federal funding sources designed to beef up test scores and improve student achievement among the economically disadvantaged.

Timbs said the school system has used federal money to strengthen staff development programs in math and reading, which were two tests on which most county schools scored a “C.”

He said federal money also has been used to hire a part-time assistant to teach math at Akard Elementary and a considerable amount has been spent on training and professional development in the subject at Weaver Elementary.

The county’s eight elementary and middle schools that got an “A” average included Bluff City and Holston elementary schools, both on the county’s eastern end and classified as Title I schools.

Every other school in the county got a “B” average.

Among Bristol, Tenn., schools, only one – Central Elementary – got a “C” average on the report card, while two got a “B” and three got an “A” average.

“Our goal is to improve student performance and give every boy and girl the tools they need to succeed,” said Jennifer Rouse, the city school system’s supervisor of federal projects and testing.

Central has the school system’s highest percentage of Title I students and is already the target of several programs aimed at beefing up test scores, she said.

Bristol’s Anderson and Avoca elementary schools each scored a “B” average, while Haynesfield Elementary, Holston View Elementary and Vance Middle schools each received an “A.”

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