KCS Hall Pass Student Supports

Compassionately Navigating Specialized Transport: The Role of KCS Special Education Transportation

Suzanne Clapp’s daughter, a middle school student, commutes to school just like her peers. For seven years, the Special Education Transportation Team has made sure that her unique needs don’t keep her from riding the same buses as 20,000 other students across the district. 

Clapp’s daughter is just one of the 2,000 special needs students benefiting from the work and expertise of the SPED Transportation Team. 

The Team — which includes licensed physical and occupational therapists, a Special Education Supervisor, and a Transportation Router — collaborates with nursing, speech, and behavioral specialists to facilitate the safest, most appropriate transport of special needs students to and from school every day. 

Though Clapp recognizes the Team’s obvious expertise, she values the Team’s acknowledgment of the unique challenges families face in understanding and meeting their child’s specific needs.

“As parents, we are deeply immersed in our child’s needs,” said Clapp. “Maybe they struggle–to varying degrees–with mobility, behavior, or communication. Some are non-verbal and most probably don’t understand bus safety rules. While we want our children to have the same school experience as their peers, there can be a lot of stress involved in that.”

That’s why the SPED Transportation Team encourages family involvement in the process of evaluating and arranging these services and prioritizes understanding each child’s individual safety needs.

“Wheelchairs are as unique as the children who use them and each one must be secured in a specific way to be safely transported,” Clapp explains. “Researching all those specific requirements and protocols is time consuming and, honestly, tedious, but the Transportation Team ensures every child is fitted correctly in the right chair and that every chair is secured properly.”

The team also provides Child Passenger Safety training to school-based staff throughout the district for those who either ride the bus with students or participate in the transportation process. Additionally, they complete trainings for approximately 160 special education bus drivers, 40 shuttle drivers, and contractors. 

The group also completes specific training modules. Several members hold Child Passenger Safety Certifications with Safe Travel for all Children endorsements. The endorsement is specific to the Child Passenger Safety Certification.

These hands-on training sessions include the proper use of individual safety devices, loading and unloading, the securement of wheelchairs, behavior strategies, and evacuation techniques.

Emphasizing the district’s commitment to providing every student with a quality, free, and appropriate education, KCS Director of Transportation Ryan Dillingham commends the Special Education Transportation Team for their efforts, saying: “The SPED Transportation Team works incredibly hard to make sure the complexity of a student’s needs doesn’t impact their ability to get to school in the same way as their traditionally educated peers.”

For more information on Special Education Transportation, please contact Ryan Dillingham (ryan.dillingham@knoxschools.org) or Lauren Mays (lauren.mays@knoxschools.org).

KCS Hall Pass 865 Academies, Career Empowerment, Student Success

Belew Pharmacy Helps Students Explore Medical Field

Dr. David Belew’s parents bought their pharmacy in the 1960’s, and Belew Pharmacy is a staple of the North Knoxville community. David Belew – now the president of the chain – said some patients have been coming to it for more than four decades.

“I have people that will still come in and say, ‘I remember the day you were born,’” he said.

Those deep roots in the community have also led the company to partner with two KCS schools – Fulton High and Hardin Valley Academy – to offer students work-based learning opportunities.

Belew said the relationship began five or six years ago with Fulton’s health science program, and that one of those students is still working for Belew as their marketing director.

“It’s more than shadowing, because we do get them involved to any extent we can,” he said. “I want them to see everything that pharmacy can offer … From technicians to marketing to going on and advancing your education and getting a professional pharmacy degree.”

Nathan Fawver is a senior at Hardin Valley who is part of the school’s pharmacy pathway. He is hoping to become a physician, but his work as an intern at Belew has prepared him to take a pharmacy technician certification exam later this year.

Fawver said he has worked closely with Dr. Jamie Price, the pharmacy manager at Belew’s Broadway store, and has seen her establish relationships with the store’s customers. 

“Whenever Jamie gets a medication, she always likes to quiz me on them,” he added. “So that kind of helps me learn about all the different medications.”

The KCS 865 Academies initiative aims to foster partnerships between local industries and district high schools, including opportunities for job shadowing and career exposure.

If your business is interested in getting involved, please visit knoxschools.org/academies for more information.

David Belew said the partnership has provided him with a new perspective on the business, including student insights about topics like social media: “By and large it’s unbelievably positive.”

 

KCS Hall Pass 865 Academies, Career Empowerment, Community Partners, Student Success

Iron Chef Competition Provides Hands-On Training

Culinary students from Karns High School participated in an “Iron Chef” competition on Oct. 19, an event that also provided hands-on training for students from the school’s A/V Production class.

On a recent Wednesday morning, students from Karns High School gathered in the school’s commercial kitchen as teacher Jacob Neblett gave a countdown: “Your time starts NOW!”

With that cue, a flurry of activity began as two groups of students opened packets of military-style MREs and rushed through the kitchen to gather additional ingredients.

The occasion was an Iron Chef-style competition at Karns, which was sponsored by the Tennessee Army National Guard and that offered hands-on training for students in the Culinary and A/V Production programs.

Students were challenged to transform the MREs – or “meals-ready-to-eat” – into a culinary creation by using the secret ingredients in the packets along with fresh ingredients from the kitchen. As they worked, Neblett offered advice and guidance, at one point reminding them to “Always be tasting, always be plating!”

At the same time, students from teacher Chris Wade’s A/V Production class gathered video, photos and interviews, which will be used in digital media content promoting the school.

The competition also served as a recruiting tool for 9th-grade students from the KHS Freshman Seminar, who watched from one end of the kitchen and got a pitch from Neblett that emphasized the hands-on, high-energy vibe in his classes.

The event parallels the goals of the district’s “865 Academies” initiative, which aims to provide strong connections between classroom knowledge and workplace success. Launched with support from Knox Education Foundation, the initiative’s ultimate goal is to make students “865 Ready” for college enrollment, enlistment in service to their country, or employment in a high-wage, high-demand field.

Julie Langley, the academy coach at Karns, said the culinary program aims to give students a vision for entrepreneurial career options, including work as chefs, restaurateurs or caterers.

“We want students to be able to imagine themselves in a high-paying, high-demand field,” said Langley. “We’re not trying to turn out food-service workers, we’re trying to emphasize the ‘art’ in Culinary Arts, or the entrepreneurship of Culinary Arts.”

As participants energetically stirred sauces, shot video and chopped vegetables, the appeal of a hands-on class was apparent. And when the winning dish was announced — taquitos with homemade tortillas, and fried churros with chili chocolate sauce — the room erupted in cheers.

Haley Matthews, a 9th-grader who observed the competition during her Freshman Seminar, said she enjoyed watching students work together as a team, adding that she thinks culinary arts “would be a cool class in high school.”

The event had the frenzied feel of a cooking competition on the Food Network, and Wade said his long-term goal is for A/V Production students to produce a full-length show similar to “Iron Chef” or “Chopped”.

In the meantime, the content they produce is providing valuable experience. The video production industry has a robust presence in East Tennessee, and Wade said there is strong demand for employees including production assistants, camera operators and lighting directors.

And even before they graduate, the participation in dynamic, work-based learning helps to promote student engagement.

“Getting to see the advanced students do all that cool stuff, that’s just a great way to get younger students excited about coming to school,” Wade added.

 

Culinary teacher Jacob Neblett told freshmen that his Culinary Arts class is ideal for students who enjoy a high-energy, fast-paced environment.
KCS Hall Pass Student Success

Latino Student Alliance Provides A Place To Connect

The Latino Student Alliance at Hardin Valley Academy gives students a chance to make connections and celebrate their heritage. Club members include Eduardo Perez, Brisa Villatoro, club president Grace Rodriguez, and Brenda Moreno Bernal.

On a recent morning, a group of students at Hardin Valley Academy gathered in the auditorium for a meeting about postsecondary opportunities and the college application process.

It’s a common topic, but in this case there was a twist. As she discussed issues like dual enrollment and financial aid, a guest speaker from Centro Hispano seamlessly shifted from English to Spanish and back again.

The meeting was hosted by HVA’s Latino Student Alliance, which has more than 80 members, and aims to provide Hispanic students a place to belong and share their cultural heritage within the broader Hawk family.

“I feel like it helps you feel welcomed in the school, and you see a little bit of yourself in it, your culture,” said club president Grace Rodriguez.

The club was founded six years ago by ELL teacher Veronica Calderon-Speed, who said that as the school’s Latino student population grew, she saw a need to help those students feel part of their school, make connections and showcase their talents.

She added that at one time, students would feel anxious about speaking Spanish in the hallways, “but since we’ve created this group that has gone away.”

One of the group’s key projects is Orgullo Latino, a cultural celebration that takes place during Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Brisa Villatoro, a junior at HVA, participated in a merengue performance during last year’s Orgullo Latino, and said the Alliance gives students a place to represent their culture within a diverse student body.

At the same time, she said club members also benefit by learning about each other. “Because we’re all from different backgrounds and different ethnicities,” she said. “And it’s just really cool to learn about different countries and stuff like that.”

KCS Hall Pass Student Success

Couple Provides Bus Support In Three Languages

Rudy and Becky Bran use their language skills to assist Knox County students — Rudy as a bus driver, and Becky as a customer service representative in the Transportation Department. (Submitted photo)

A husband-and-wife team of transportation professionals is putting their language skills to good use on behalf of KCS students.

Becky Bran is a customer service representative for the KCS Transportation Department, while Rudy Bran is a bus driver. Both are native Spanish speakers, and they have also learned the Akateko dialect, providing another way to connect with students and families who need assistance.

Becky said being bilingual has been beneficial in every job she’s had, and it has made a difference when talking to parents about bus issues. Language barriers can sometimes make it hard to understand information about routes or drop-off times, but she said parents are very grateful when they can get information in their own language.

“When I get to speak to them in Spanish, they understand and they’re not as confused,” she added.

Becky Bran was born and raised in New York City to parents who were originally from Honduras. They insisted that Rebecca and her siblings speak Spanish at home, and while she didn’t like it at the time, she came to appreciate that rule after seeing the benefits of speaking both languages as an adult.

Rudy Bran grew up in Guatemala, and didn’t know any English upon coming to the U.S. at the age of 17. He learned the language little by little, and eventually began working as a bus driver because it offered a flexible schedule that complemented his work as a minister with the Jehovah’s Witnesses church.

For KCS, he drives a route in the Carter community and also drives an additional route for special education students who participate in Community-Based Instruction during the day.

Rudy said new students who don’t speak English are often apprehensive when they get on his bus, and if he can have a conversation with them it helps make them comfortable.

He first noticed the influence of the Akateko dialect in his work as a pastor, and began picking up conversational phrases to interact with parishioners. About three years ago, he and Becky traveled to Guatemala on a mission trip, and stayed in a city where that dialect was the only language spoken.

After gaining fluency in the dialect, both now use it as part of their work with families and students. Becky said that when she receives a call with an Akateko speaker on the line, they are always surprised to hear a greeting in their language.

“Just by saying a hello, a greeting – ‘What can I help you with?’, ‘Where do you live?’ – in Akateko, that comforts them,” she said. “And you can get more information out of them in the little bit of Spanish that they do know. You can just tell the difference, that they’re not as terrified that nobody’s going to understand them.”

 

KCS Hall Pass 865 Academies, Community Partners, Great Educators, Student Success

Math Field Day Provides Fun With Numbers

 

During Math Field Day at Karns High School, the Iron Fit Challenge allowed students to analyze data generated by a weight-lifting exercise.

Field Day got a new twist at Karns High School this week.

On May 20, KHS hosted a Math Field Day for 9th-grade students, an event that aimed to build awareness and interest in math through a variety of hands-on activities and challenges at the school’s football stadium.

  • At an Iron Man challenge hosted by the Tennessee Army National Guard, students completed deadlift, ball toss and sprint-drag-carry challenges, then completed the assignment by performing math calculations to analyze the data they generated.

Another booth highlighted the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two preceding it. 

Posters and fliers highlighted ways that the sequence occurs in nature, and students – led by art teacher Caitlyn Kingsbury-Gomez – used a large-frame loom to create a tapestry that incorporated the sequence.

Julie Langley, an instructional coach at KHS who organized the event, said the school wanted to find creative ways to increase achievement using high-interest activities.

  • “These are … primarily student-facilitated activities, which makes it a lot nicer and kids are sometimes more approachable than a teacher you don’t know,” she said.

Math Field Day included 42 events, with nine local businesses present on-site while another six collaborated on specific activities.

Yuleesa Kennedy, who plays on the KHS softball team, participated in a softball hitting challenge in which students used results to calculate batting averages.

Kennedy said she enjoyed the events, and there was also a nice year-end perk – the Field Day event provided students the opportunity “just to get outside.”

 

Yuleesa Kennedy takes a turn during the softball event at Math Field Day.
KCS Hall Pass Student Success

Bearden Student Earns Solo Wings

Sarah Stanley, a sophomore at Bearden High School, recently completed her first solo flight and is pursuing her pilot’s license. (Submitted photo)

For many high school students, spring is the season to make memories at prom, in a school musical or on the graduation stage. But for a sophomore at Bearden High School, her most memorable achievement came in the air.

On April 16, Sarah Stanley logged her first solo flight, taking off from Island Home Airport in a Cessna 172 and flying for about 15 minutes before returning to the same airport. 

The short journey marked the culmination of a long process. Stanley, 16, got her start in a mechanics program for teenagers that was offered by the Skyranch Youth Aviation Program, in Alcoa. She met a flight instructor through Skyranch, and began taking lessons at the age of 13. 

For her first solo flight, Stanley received a scholarship from the F.L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, which helped cover the $1,600 cost by matching the funds that Stanely raised by washing planes and babysitting.

Stanley said the most challenging part of flying is the landing, but that her favorite part is the feeling of freedom that comes from being in the air, because “when you’re flying, all that matters is that you’re flying.”

“You don’t have to think about anything else that’s stressing you out or aggravating you … In my mind, it’s just like ‘That’s on the ground.’”

Stanley’s next goal is to earn her pilot’s license, and while she’s leaving her career options open, she hopes to continue flying: “I definitely want to keep doing that for as long as I can.”

According to aviation tradition, flight instructors commemorate a student’s first solo flight by cutting off their shirt tail, indicating that they can fly without direction. In the early days of aviation, instructors guided their students by tugging on the back of their shirts. (Submitted photo)
KCS Hall Pass Student Success

Farragut Student Chosen As Knoxville Youth Poet Laureate

Melody Dalili, recently chosen as the Knoxville Youth Poet Laureate, said poetry is “a universal language.”

Melody Dalili has been writing poems for years, but she didn’t begin reciting them publicly until a spoken-word performance last August.

Since then, the Farragut High School junior has gotten several opportunities to perform her work, and this month her literary journey led to a groundbreaking honor – recognition as the City of Knoxville’s first Youth Poet Laureate!

Dalili has always loved poetry and has a collection on her phone with more than 250 poems, beginning with pieces that she wrote in the third grade. (Her first? A poem about two rabbits who were in love.)

She credited two sources with boosting her confidence as a writer: co-workers and leaders at The Muse, where she works, and Elizabeth Toth, her advanced creative writing teacher at FHS.

Dalili said she began performing after her manager at the Muse introduced her to an organizer of the SEEED Knoxville poetry slam, who invited her to participate in that event. “I was like ‘No, I love poetry but I would never say it out loud.’ And they said ‘Why don’t you just give it a shot?’”

That performance was last August, and it led to other spoken-word opportunities in the months since. At the same time, Dalili took Toth’s advanced creative writing class last year, and said the ELA teacher has been a constant support by attending her events, helping her craft a speech and staying after school to prepare for the Youth Poet Laureate competition.

“Being a teacher and really making that extra effort for one of your kids was a huge part in my journey here,” she said.

Toth said Dalili’s work is insightful and creative, and that when given a writing prompt during class, she would often ask if she could complete the assignment in poetry. 

“She is definitely immensely talented, she really draws from her own personal experience and her own feelings about people that are important to her and that have shaped her life,” Toth said.

Earlier this month, Dalili and Knoxville Poet Laureate Rhea Carmon shared a poem as part of Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon’s budget address, the first of many appearances she will make as a literary ambassador for the city.

Asked why she loves poetry, Dalili said it is a universal language: “Poetry is just something with its arms wide open, and it’s just waiting for people to come in and join and to be united through our language. I really think that it’s just such a privilege to be able to be a part of that and to commemorate that in what I’m doing.”

Video: Watch Melody give a spoken-word performance on the KCS YouTube channel

KCS Hall Pass Student Success

Twin Sisters Share Academic Honors At Karns

Jeanne Seibel (left) and her twin sister, Emily, will be honored as co-valedictorians when the Karns High Class of 2022 graduates on May 27.

Jeanne and Emily Seibel grew up singing together in church, they’ve performed in musical theater productions together at Karns High School and in the fall they’ll attend Freed-Hardeman University together.

  • But before starting the next chapter of their lives, the fraternal twins will be honored together as co-valedictorians of the Karns High Class of 2022!

The achievement caps a stellar academic career for the sisters, who said they have always been best friends even though they aren’t exactly alike.

  • Emily Seibel has an aptitude for math and plans to major in the subject at Freed-Hardeman, while Jeanne Seibel was more inclined toward science and plans to pursue a career in physical therapy. 

And while both are efficient, they agreed that Emily’s highly organized approach to tasks – “I’m a total perfectionist” – is a contrast to Jeanne’s more laid-back style.

“We help to bring out each other’s strengths and we complement each other in a lot of ways,” Jeanne said.

“Hopefully we cover up each others’ weaknesses too when we can,” Emily added.

Karns principal Brad Corum said that while the sisters are competitive they also cheer for each other, and described them as good ambassadors for their school.

  • “They’ve always been very good students and more importantly than that, they’re great people,” Corum said.

Emily and Jeanne Seibel, pictured holding childhood photos, said they have always been best friends.
KCS Hall Pass Uncategorized

Hardin Valley Academy Celebrates Future Teachers

Hardin Valley Academy senior Amaya Martin, who plans to become a teacher, celebrates at a college signing ceremony with her mother, Tiffany Martin; former teacher Suzanne Sherman; and her father, Chris Martin.

Hardin Valley Academy held a college signing ceremony on Monday – to celebrate a group of future educators!

The event celebrated 10 HVA seniors who are planning to return to the classroom as educators when they graduate from college.

  • Amaya Martin, who will attend Middle Tennessee State University, participated with her parents, Chris and Tiffany Martin, along with former teacher and school librarian Suzanne Sherman.

Martin said her former teacher made sure that students were always heard, and during a lesson on children’s literature she incorporated a book that featured a Black family – helping Martin feel that she was represented. “That really stuck with me,” she said.

  • Knox County Schools has made it a priority to identify and support high school students who are interested in pursuing a career in education. In some cases, college students who participate in the district’s “Grow Your Own” program can receive a salary, health care and credit toward retirement while completing their college degree.

Hope Johnson – whose mother, Maria Johnson, is a former teacher – is planning to attend Tennessee Tech, and has already spent many hours in the classroom as part of the district’s Teaching as a Profession program.

The HVA student particularly enjoyed working with elementary students, because they are just starting to learn how the world works and where they fit in:  “It’s so cool to be the avenue that opens that up for them.”

During a ceremony on April 11, HVA student Hope Johnson and her mother, Maria, celebrated Hope’s decision to attend Tennessee Tech.