Kaleigh Walker Great Educators, Student Supports

NEA Recognizes West Haven TA With ‘ESP Of The Year’ Award

A West Haven Elementary staff member is earning time in the spotlight as the Tennessee Educational Support Professional (ESP) of the Year and will attend the National Education Association’s ESP Conference.

Patricia Jackson has been an ESP at West Haven for 23 years and has a heart for her students.

“I get really close to a lot of my kids,” Jackson said. “I’ve got kids in their 20s and 30s that still call me. I think it’s because I try to get really involved with the students that are the most needy. Those that just don’t have it anywhere else.”

Jackson initially applied to West Haven to be a secretary, but the then-principal offered her a TA position instead. As a former Big Sister for Big Brothers, Big Sisters and volunteer for her church’s kids’ ministry, she was happy to accept a position to work more closely with the students.

“I think they know I love them, and that’s very important,” she said. “Being a TA, I can do that more than the teacher. The teacher has a whole class. All of us TAs, we have that freedom to reach out a little more personally to these kids.”

Jackson also serves on the executive board of the KCEA as a classified staff member. She uses this platform to build up other TAs personally and professionally.

“I do try to get people involved because the more involved the TAs get, the more we have to work with,” Jackson said. “I’m trying to be a cheerleader for them.”

She hopes fellow ESPs recognize the importance of their jobs. 

“To other TAs everywhere, my advice would be to never, ever say, ‘my opinions aren’t important, I’m just the peon,’” she said. “Be proud of what you can be to your teachers and the students and look at it like, ‘Wow. They couldn’t do it without me.’”

Jackson travels to Seattle for the NEA ESP Conference from March 23-26 where she will attend workshops and networking events. The national ESP of the Year will be announced at a banquet for the state winners on Saturday.

Kaleigh Walker Community Partners, Great Educators, Student Success

Artsonia Names Addelynn Slinger “Artist Of The Week”

Addelynn Slinger won Artsonia’s Artist of the Week competition. Pictured with Ebru Ekici (left) and Christy Davis (right).

Farragut Intermediate’s Addelynn Slinger was named the Artsonia Artist of the Week out of hundreds of thousands of student artwork submissions.

Artsonia is an online gallery for student art and a hub for teacher lesson plans and resources. Out of the 247,000 pieces of artwork uploaded to Artsonia that week, Slinger’s piece was randomly selected for the Artist of the Week competition.

“We have a really great community, so our PTO put it on Facebook, and we sent it out to parents, and we voted,” Farragut Intermediate art teacher Christy Davis said. “We voted in class, so that was cool about having the Chromebooks in class because we had them log in and vote each day.”

Slinger won the competition with over 1,500 votes, which earned her and her classroom a gift card to Blick Art Materials. She said she was “really excited” to win and already purchased art supplies for her growing hobby. 

“Ms. Davis really helped me create this. I kept asking her if this looked good, or if I need to fix anything,” Slinger said. “My friends helped me think of ideas to make my artwork better.”

Davis incorporated Artsonia into her classroom over a decade ago so students will be able to look back on their school art projects. The only piece of artwork she has from her childhood is a mug she keeps on her desk, and she wants her students to be able to upload their work onto a permanent database so they can hold onto their childhood memories longer. 

Davis and fellow FIS art teacher Ebru Ekici have their students upload every assignment they finish in art class. 

“We put everything on there, good or bad,” Davis said. “Put everything up there and be proud of what you did and accomplished.”

Uploading the work online also builds other skills, such as photography and photo editing. 

“They need to write, come up with a creative title, artist statement,” Ekici said. “It’s not only making art and putting it there but learning how to communicate and share it with others.”

The longstanding relationship with Artsonia may be growing in the coming years. 

“We are going to be a pilot program in the district for Artsonia,” Davis said. “It’s the first time they’re going to have a gallery for our district because we’ve been involved a lot.”

Davis hopes more schools in the district will use Artsonia in their classrooms and believes this pilot program might be just the encouragement they need.

View Slinger’s winning piece here.

Kaleigh Walker Great Educators, Student Success

Teachers Take The Plunge For The Special Olympics

Brave teachers and students leapt into frigid waters last Saturday to raise money for their peers – local Special Olympics athletes. 

The annual Polar Plunge is a fundraising event hosted by the Knoxville Special Olympics, a chapter of the worldwide sports organization that provides competitions for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. 

Kelly Metz, a special educator from Karns Elementary, has participated in the Polar Plunge fundraiser for the last four years.

“Karns Elementary has been doing the Polar Plunge longer than I’ve been a part of it, but I saw an opportunity when I first started at this school to be a part of the craziness and the fun,” Metz said. “It’s a really good time, and I just wanted to be a part of it.”

 

Schools and businesses created teams and competed against one another to raise the most money for the cause. 

Individuals who raised at least $75 took the plunge, jumping with their team into the pool at the West Side YMCA. Metz and the Karns Elementary group dressed in costumes, as did many other teams in attendance. 

The Knoxville chapter raised over $40,000, surpassing its goal by more than $5,000. 

Special educator Kenny Johnston from Powell High School said the schools keep 50 percent of the funds for their special education programs. The Knoxville Special Olympics will receive 25 percent, and the remaining 25 percent will be sent to the Special Olympics of Tennessee. 

Riley Clark is a Special Olympics athlete from Powell High and looks forward to participating in the games every year. She competes in bowling, bocce, and basketball.

“It makes me feel happy because I get to do stuff that normally not a whole lot of people get to do,” Clark said. “I have more fun when I get to do that.”

Metz said the Special Olympics is an exciting time for the students, and tear-jerking for the staff.

“We do a Hall of Champions at the school where the entire school lines the hallways and we play something that’s pumping them up,” she said. “The kids just cheer, they make signs, and they cheer them on as we’re all walking to the buses. It’s emotional and overwhelming. The kids are beaming and the adults are crying.”

The next Special Olympic Games will be held at Powell High School starting April 17 with track and field competitions.

 

Kaleigh Walker 865 Academies, Career Empowerment, Great Educators

HVA Teacher Receives National Guard Promotion

Lt. Matthew Riddle with his wife, Jillian, at his graduation from Officer Candidate School in August 2022.

Earlier this year, Hardin Valley Academy math teacher 2nd Lt. Matthew Riddle celebrated a promotion to an officer in the Tennessee Army National Guard following a year and a half in Officer Candidate School (OCS).

Riddle joined the National Guard three years ago as an 09 Sierra, with the intention of becoming an officer. 

The lieutenant said he has always felt the calling to join the military. He was a part of Carson-Newman’s ROTC program and was ready to commit when his plans were abruptly put on hold.

“My younger brother got diagnosed with lymphoma in his brain,” Riddle said. “I felt like joining the Army and my brother, not knowing what was going to happen there, was not a great time to join up and possibly get deployed somewhere.”

Riddle then finished college, began teaching high school math, and got married before once again pursuing the military and OCS.

“The year and a half of OCS was probably the hardest thing I’ve had to accomplish,” he said.

Officer candidates attend monthly sessions throughout the program and two sessions of field operations training during the summers.

“It’s two and half weeks of miserable,” Riddle said. “And every single month, being able to mentally prepare yourself and stay physically fit and injury-free, it’s just very taxing.”

Riddle earned his commission as a second lieutenant in the Tennessee Army National Guard during a ceremony on August 13.

As difficult as the path to become an officer has been, leadership has always been a driving force for Riddle. He has adopted leadership positions in other areas of his life as an athletic coach and math teacher.

“I think it’s really a passion of mine as somebody that wants to lead, to be able to grow other people,” he said. “I like being able to push those that are younger to reach whatever their potential is.”

One way he leads his students is by educating them on the military and its benefits, so they consider it as a potential postgraduate pathway.

“KCS is pushing for this movement that not every kid has to attend a four-year university, and that’s okay,” Riddle said. “We need those trade schools, and we need those people that are willing to join the military.”

Riddle now looks ahead to a 16-week Basic Officer Leadership Course to further his career as a military intelligence officer. He is also pursuing a doctoral degree in mathematical education.

“I don’t know how I’ll introduce myself,” he joked. “At that time, it’ll be Dr. 1st Lt. Matthew Riddle.”

 

 

Josh Flory Community Partners, Great Educators

“Grow Your Own” Program Offers Path To Licensure

The Tennessee “Grow Your Own” program helps teaching assistants like Monica Angelelli gain certification as licensed teachers, through financial assistance and a flexible schedule for additional training.

When Monica Angelelli first considered becoming a licensed teacher, the goal seemed out of reach.

Angelelli had been a stay-at-home mother for 14 years before becoming a substitute teacher and then a teaching assistant at Farragut Intermediate School. 

The thought of earning a teaching certification, she recalled, “was something that I didn’t know I wanted until I got here. And when it came up I thought, ‘No, I cannot do this. I have four children of my own at home, I’m very busy, I can’t do grad school, I can’t do work at the same time.’”

But her friend and co-worker, Karol Harper, urged Angelelli to consider Tennessee’s “Grow Your Own” teacher apprenticeship, which provides financial assistance and a flexible schedule for TA’s who want to become full-fledged teachers.

Now, Angelelli is on track to earn her license in December of 2023 and a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2024.

“I would not have been able to do it … if I had to quit and not have an income,” she said. “If I would have had to pay for it myself, there’s no way. So it has really changed my life completely.”

Earlier this year, Tennessee became the first state to receive federal approval for a permanent teacher apprentice program. Along with that approval came a federal grant that allows participants to earn their master’s degree at no cost, while also keeping their job and benefits with the district.

The University of Tennessee is accepting applications for next year’s program until Nov. 14. For more information and an application, visit growyourown.tennessee.edu or the UTK College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences website.

Alex Moseman, executive director of talent acquisition for Knox County Schools, said the program allows TA’s who are already doing great work with students to take the next step.

“The ability to have that pathway, where they’re able to continue to work, have classes that are structured around their work schedule, experiences that are embedded in their work day, at no cost to the employee is really really important,” he said. “This program is going to open up a lot of opportunities for folks who really have a heart for giving back to the students in Knox County but might not have had the opportunity, or the barriers were just too great at one point in time.”

As school districts across the country work to attract and retain high-quality teachers – including those in high-need areas such as special education and English Language Learners – the apprenticeship is an innovative approach to identifying talented educators.

Karol Harper, a colleague of Angelelli at Farragut Intermediate, is also participating in the apprenticeship. Harper has an older brother with special needs and said that working in special education was a natural fit for her.

She learned about the apprenticeship program when another participant came to her school for an interview, and said she was excited and relieved to hear about the opportunity.

Asked what she would say to another KCS educator who is considering the program, Harper was emphatic: “Go for it. Don’t hesitate, just sign up and everything will fall into place.”

 

 

Josh Flory Great Educators

New Incentives Bring Retired Teachers Back To Class

Vicke Pyles returned to the classroom this year as a teacher at Holston Middle School. New state incentives allow eligible teachers to continue receiving retirement benefits while working full-time.

When Vicke Pyles signed her retirement papers in 2019, the veteran educator’s hands were shaking. 

After teaching for more than 30 years, she felt that the financial advantages of retirement were too good to pass up – but leaving the classroom was difficult. That fall, Pyles went to Charlotte with her grandson during the week that teachers returned to school, because she knew that being away from the classroom would be painful. 

But after reading a lot of books and realizing that “you can only clean the house so much”, she got a call from a friend who said West Valley Middle School needed a supply teacher. 

That temporary assignment was followed by others, and earlier this year Pyles began researching options for a full-time return. In the process, she learned about a new state incentive program that allows eligible teacher retirees to benefit from two new options:

  • Returning to the classroom at a 100% salary level, while still receiving 70% of their retirement benefits; or
  • Returning to the classroom in a hard-to-staff area at an 85% salary level, while receiving 100% of their retirement benefits.

With that in mind, Pyles chose the second option and returned to the classroom this fall as a math teacher at Holston Middle School.

In an interview, she said that “going back has been awesome”, adding that “A lot of my friends thought I was crazy for going back, but I said, ‘This is me.’”

The incentive program is aimed at addressing a teacher shortage across the state, and fits with the Knox County Schools priority of “Great Educators In Every School.”

In addition to the new pathways, retired KCS teachers have the option of returning to part-time positions (of 120 days or less) while still receiving 100% of their retirement benefits.

Jennifer Hemmelgarn, assistant superintendent of business and talent for KCS, said the district is thinking creatively to meet classroom staffing needs.

“Veteran educators are a tremendous resource and we value their skills and experience,” she said. “Our hope is that these incentives will eliminate barriers for retired teachers who miss the classroom and want to continue making a difference in the lives of students.”

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 Community Partners, Great Educators, Student Success

Fundraising effort helps Karns students take AP exams

Karns teacher B.J. Arvin and junior Lyndsey Dodge helped raise funds to offset the cost of Advanced Placement exams at the school.

A fundraising effort at Karns High School is working to broaden access to Advanced Placement classes. 

The initiative was sparked last year, when social studies teacher B.J. Arvin heard about a Karns student who had completed an AP class, but chose not to take the exam because of the cost. 

When he learned of the situation, Arvin recalled later, he thought to himself “We’re not going to have this happen again.”

The result was a fundraising campaign which led to:

  • A $1,500 donation from TVA Employees Credit Union;
  • A $500 grant from the Junior League of Knoxville; and
  • A Homecoming campaign by KHS junior Lyndsey Dodge, which netted $750.

Dodge sold items including hair ties and bracelets as part of her campaign, and has also taken several AP classes during her academic career.

While the classes are more rigorous than a standard high school course, a good score on the AP exam can lead to college credit for high school students.

  • “I know how beneficial AP programs can be for college and for peoples’ future,” Dodge said. “So I figured I would help out.”

AP exams cost $96, although discounts – at a price of $62 – are available for students in financial need. But Arvin pointed out that many students take multiple AP classes in a year, and the testing costs can add up.

He said that in his AP Human Geography class, every student was able to take the test this year, and another fundraising campaign is planned for next year’s Homecoming.

  • “The ultimate goal is we do this for a few years, word gets out, and then we start getting kids who maybe wouldn’t normally take an AP class because of the financial aspect of it – they start enrolling.”
KCS Hall Pass Great Educators

A-E Educator Receives National Teaching Award

Melody Hawkins, an assistant administrator at Austin-East Magnet High, was honored on Tuesday as the National University Teacher of the Year. (Photo credit / Justin Johnson)

A Knox County educator was in the spotlight after earning a national award, a $50,000 prize and an appearance on a daytime talk show!

On Tuesday, Melody Hawkins, an assistant administrator at Austin-East Magnet High, was recognized as National University’s Teacher of the Year. Hawkins previously served as a teacher at Vine Middle Magnet School, before joining A-E as an administrator last fall.

The announcement was made on “The Drew Barrymore Show”, and Hawkins was able to celebrate with her students after watching the episode in a classroom at A-E.

In the televised interview, Hawkins talked about her passion for teaching, the lasting impact of a former student, and the influence of educators in her own life – including her mother, who was also a teacher.

During the celebration at Austin-East, Hawkins showed students the replica $50,000 check that she received, and highlighted a scholarship to pursue a doctoral degree which is part of the award.

Lazaire Nance, a 9th-grader at A-E who was previously one of Hawkins’ science students at Vine Middle, said she wants to pursue a career as a doctor and a biochemist, adding that Hawkins has played a big role in her life: “She really inspired me to be who I want to be and let me know I could do it.”

Students also talked about Hawkins’ encouragement to pursue academic achievements in fields like science, where women of color are often underrepresented.

Hawkins said Tuesday that she was happy to see students have been listening to that message: “I encourage them to be themselves unapologetically, without question, without shame,” she said. “Be who you are, show up as who you are and everything else will take care of itself.”

 

KCS Hall Pass Great Educators, Student Success

KCS Community Gives, Receives During Holidays

Across Knox County, KCS employees and students take time during the holidays to assist those in need. Skikila Smith, an ELA teacher at Austin-East Magnet High, organizes an annual holiday shoe drive for Roadrunner students.

As district schools prepared for Winter Break this month, final exams and end-of-semester activities weren’t the only items on the calendar. Across Knox County, students, families and school employees took time to give — and receive — gestures of kindness in the holiday spirit.

At Austin-East Magnet High School, ELA teacher Skikila Smith — known to her students as “Ms. Sky” — has been coordinating an informal holiday shoe drive since joining the Roadrunner family as an intern in 2017.

Smith said that when she lost her children’s father at the age of 21, her family benefited from local Angel Tree programs that provided holiday gifts, and she is also grateful for all the people who supported her when she got her master’s degree at the age of 42.

The shoe drive is a way to give back and help students in need put their best foot forward, and Smith said A-E teachers help to identify potential recipients.

“It would not be possible without a teacher that is looking to cultivate the entire human, and uplift the entire family,” she added.

Organizers of the Farragut Giving Tree program provided gift bags to families in need.

In some cases, the effort to assist families in need has been adjusted because of COVID-19. LeighAnna Colgrove, a Farragut High School parent, coordinates a Giving Tree program that supports families at four schools in that community.

Colgrove said that in the past, the program would provide a clothing gift bag to families and give them a chance to pick a donated toy. Because of COVID, organizers last year adjusted the campaign to a drive-up event in which gift cards were provided.

Colgrove said the feedback they received was positive, not only because of the additional privacy of the drive-up format but also because it allowed families to shop for their own Christmas gifts.

This year, she said, organizers did shop for a handful of families who had transportation or medical challenges, but gift cards were mostly provided. In addition, because donations exceeded expectations, they were also able to provide coats and shoes, while private donors provided school hoodies, a Walmart gift card and a food box.

“We were just overwhelmed by the generosity this year,” Colgrove said.

KCS students have also benefited from the generosity of outside organizations, including East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.

Shelli Eberle, principal of Fort Sanders Educational Development Center, said Children’s does an annual Christmas tree drive at the school in honor of a former patient who passed away.

The drive has grown so significantly that this year, ETCH was able to provide 125 mini-trees – one for each student.

Eberle said students have enjoyed the chance to take home an individual tree, and that the drive has been a bright spot of the holiday season.

“Seeing the joy on each child’s face as they picked out their very own tree to take home was an important reminder to look for the magic of the holiday season,” she said.  “We are so grateful to have ETCH as such an incredible Partner in Education.”

East Tennessee Children’s Hospital provided 125 mini-trees for children at Fort Sanders Educational Development Center.