ECS

VORTEX

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ECS’ DirectorA letter from

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Table of Contents

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ECS Facility Improvements

ECS Facility Improvements

ECS vs State Report Card

Every Student Succeeds Act

Community Involvement

Federal/SPED Programs

DonorRecognition

I would like to extend a warm greeting to all of you during these cold days of winter. Our team has put together an annual report to update you on several key areas of our success. Elizabethton City Schools has seen a great many

changes over the last year. The most notable change was the opening of Citizens Bank Stadium. We have been blessed by the support of the Citizens Bank Tri-Cities Foundation (Sam, Chris, Steve and Joe LaPorte), Joe and Hope LaPorte, Sycamore Shoals Hospital, Highlands Fellowship Church, the Elizabethton Board of Education, and the Elizabethton City Council. In fact, we had more than 230 donors give more than $875,000 to various projects this year. We want to thank all of you who made contributions to our projects this year. We now are working on a new music room and classrooms at Elizabethton High School which will be finished sometime in February. The new music room will house one of the most decorated music programs on our side of the state. Elizabethton City Schools has had a banner year for academic achievement. The school system was awarded the highest score possible for our growth last reporting year. Another area of success has been the recruitment, hiring and retention of high quality educators and coaches to work with our children. They truly make a difference for our students. Because of our success, we have been able to attract great additions to our staff. We are working on our goals of achieving success by supporting every program we have. It takes a team to achieve success. You are a part of our team. You join in our motto of Support, Growth, Success. Thank you for your support in making this year a successful one. Thank you for being a part of Elizabethton City Schools.

Warmest Regards,

Dr. Corey Gardenhour

SOURCES OF REVENUEALL FUNDS - $26,412,119

6/30/15

Expenditures from Reserves

$3,254,495.93 12.32%

Local Taxes$5,135,617.33

19.44%

Charges for Current Services

$565,009.24 2.14%

Local Revenue$25,121.59

0.10%

State Revenue $12,659,792.24

47.93%

Federal Revenue$2,182,128.39

8.26%

City Allocation$2,331,999.96

8.83%

Donations$232,758.85

0.88%

Indirect Cost from Grants

$25,195.00 0.10%

Financials 2014-2015

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Announcements

* Parent PortalParents will be able to see student grades and better communicate with teachers and their children

* WeatherStay updated via WJHL,Weather-related schoolwide closures are announced by 6 a.m.

* 5-Year Plan InfoA link to the ECS 5-Year Plan has been made available online * Sky Alert System

Contact Teresa Simcox with any updates at 547-8000

* Testing DatesInformation can be found online about TNREADY and ACT testing * Calendar

School events are posted to the ECS website: ecschools.net

After five months of use, Elizabethton City Schools Assistant Superintendent Richard VanHuss elaborates on the new football stadium’s impact on the community.

Q - Did you ever think in your career that building a new stadium could happen? A - Definitely not! This was Mr. Alexander’s vision and he refused to let it die. He’s was the driving force in making the new stadium a reality. A project like this comes around once in a lifetime, and I’m honored to have played only a small part in its development and construction. It’s certainly one of the highlights of my career. Q - What school-related and community-related needs have been met through this project? A - It’s one of the best facilities in the country for its size. It is a tremendous

venue for our football teams, soccer teams, cheerleaders, and band programs to showcase their talents. The Milligan College soccer teams have also played and practiced in the stadium. Youth League Football and cheerleading, sponsored by the Elizabethton/Carter County Boys’ & Girls’ Club, also used the stadium for games and performances. It is a real asset to the community, especially for people who don’t live here. It sends a strong message that our community supports our most valuable resource, our children. Hopefully, it is a source of pride for everyone in our community. In the future, we hope to host band competitions, concerts, and other events in the stadium. We want it to be a multi-purpose facility. Q - From your observations, has this facility boosted student morale and why is that important?

A - We have always had a very strong sense of pride in our schools, students, and programs, but knowing that we have some of the best facilities anywhere, certainly enhances this. Our student body (including our athletes, band members, and fans) certainly enjoyed the inaugural season in the stadium. I loved walking around the stadium and just looking at the expressions on our fans’ faces as they walked in for the first time. I think everyone has appreciated our attention to the details, which really set our facility apart from others.

ECS FACILITy IMPROVEMENTS

CITIZENS BANK STADIUM

ECS Assistant Superintendent Richard VanHuss took this photo from his seat inside the stadium. Tuffy is featured below.

Q&A: Richard VanHuss

EHS MUSIC ROOM & CLASSROOMS

T.A. DUGGER

The Betsy Band walked away from 2015 with many accolades. In the Tournament of Champions, the band reached their top 10 goal by placing 9th. At the Hilltopper Invitational, the band won its class and also named band of the day. For the state championship, the band came home with 2nd place. Band Director Perry Elliott expects Elizabethton High School’s new music room and classrooms to boost the entire student body’s morale and give all music students the space they need to grow and improve their award-winning talents. “This is a huge positive,” Elliott said. “We are excited about the ensemble room and all the storage. The music room will be divided into 2/3 music and 1/3 vocal. We are hoping that all of these positive things like the stadium and the new music facility will all end up making the band more attractive to students. We’re hoping it get more students involved all around.” Elliott was also excited to see his colleagues acquire their own teaching spaces with the addition of classrooms. “Now teachers will have a room they can call their own,” he said. “It will alleviate some overcrowding that we have.”

Above, construction in progress. At right, EHS Choral Director Debbie Gouge and EHS Band Director Perry Elliott dig in during the site’s groundbreaking.

This is a rendered drawing of a renovated T.A. Dugger facility.

The Elizabethton City School system is looking forward to initiating the improvement of our middle school this year. Superintendent of Elizabethton City Schools said the vision is still being crafted. This project will add six additional classrooms, updated science classrooms and connect the Gymnasium/Crow’s Nest to the rest of the building simultaneously allowing for handicapped accessibility to those places. Additionally, the project will include new, centrally located, restroom facilities, new office space and demolition of Home Stands at Brown-Childers Stadium.

The 2015 State Report Card for our school system has been released and verifies the System received a “5” on TVAAS.

* Our academic progress on the TCAP achievement tests for grades 3-8 significantly exceeded the state performance in every

area. Elizabethton City Schools received an “A” for exemplary performance in all three TCAP Criterion Referenced Academic Achievement categories (Grades 3-8 ELA, Grades 3-8 Math, and Grades 3-8 Science).

* Elizabethton City Schools continued to show improvements in achievement by meeting all 11 Annual Measureable Objectives.

* Highly qualified instructors taught 100% of core courses. No teacher waivers or permits were issued to our system.

* Our system’s graduation rate was 94% compared to the state rate of 87.8% - which continues to be above the state goal of 90%.

* Elizabethton High School’s ACT composite score of 21.4 was well ahead of the state average of 19.4. EHS students were also significantly ahead of the state in meeting all 4 ACT College Readiness Benchmarks at 27% (state 17%).

* One hundred and eleven (111) students or 55.3% of Elizabethton High School’s seniors met the ACT HOPE scholarship eligibility criteria (compared to 32.4% of the state’s seniors).

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ECS 2015 Report Card Summary

Elizabethton City Schools Comparison with Statewide Schools on TCAP/EOC Testing

for Students Achieving Proficient and Advanced Performance Levels

Subject | EHS | State

3-8 Math | 63.1% | 55.6%

3-8 ELA | 56.7% | 48.4%

3-8 Science | 78.3% | 64.5%

Algebra 1 | 77.8% | 65.6%

Algebra 2 | 59.4% | 54.2%

Biology | 83.8% | 65.2%

English 1 | 79.2% | 71.8%

English 2 | 67.6% | 64.8%

English 3 | 56.8% | 41.7%

This report is issued by the Tennessee Department of Education. A complete copy of the state report card may be viewed at:

http://www.tn.gov/education/

This year, the Community Involvement Program has been successful in getting new programs approved and added to our calendars, so that we may bring in more community members to our schools’ facilities.

In addition to the new programs, we are still currently offering the Water Aerobics Program at EHS three days a week, and have recently seen an increase in attendance.

One of the new programs is the Typhoon Swim Club, aimed at providing coaching and competition for kids age 5 and up.

We have started a fitness class, which meets at West Side Elementary School. We would like to start a yoga class, but we are still seeking an instructor. In the future, we hope to offer other adult education classes as well.

We appreciate the input from the board and the community. We would love suggestions for future class or schedule changes to existing programs.

Thank you,

Amber AbelCommunity Involvement Coordinator

Community involvemenT program

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Fitness Coach Scott Abel, Community Involvement Coordinator Amber Abel and Swim Coach Bonnie Grindstaff

Photos courtesy of Elizabethton Star

Q&A:Alainya Hare

My role in the playground project is the President of the West Side Elementary PTAC, which is responsible for jump starting the fundraising for this school project.

The start: Gina May and myself decided at the start of this year that we were going to put a handicap accessible playground at West Side.

In the process of this, we learned that our previous handicap swings have been damaged beyond repair and that our handicap children have no playground equipment whatsoever causing them to be pushed around the track while the other kids play.

How far along: We started our playground fundraising with our Fall Carnival last year. We raised approximately $8,000. We have had $5,500 in local donations so far.

Needs: Our school has two playgrounds. The track side is where our new playground will be housed.

We have lots of space for it and more. This new structure houses many more children and is handicap accessible.

Our playground is open to the public. After school hours, this playground will be available to other handicap children in our

community. This playground will fulfill a need of much needed equipment for the school, and our community and promotes exercise to encourage healthy lifestyle and fight childhood obesity.

My hopes: I hope this fundraising is contagious, and our school can continue to see many more needed improvements.

Our track is in need of repair. We need more

shade trees. The K-2 playground

needs improvements and some new equipment as well.

I would love to see our parents and community come together to continue to make improvements to Elizabethton City Schools.

Most importantly, I want to see all of our children smiling and playing on this much needed structure.

In October 2015, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) was photographed watching President Barack Obama sign a bill into law that would replace No Child Left Behind (NCLB) with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). “Today we are unleashing a new era of innovation and excellence in student achievement — one that recognizes that the path to higher standards, better teaching and real accountability is classroom by classroom, community by community, and state by state — and not through Washington, D.C,” said Chairman Alexander to the Associated Press. “We have reversed the trend toward a national school board, repealed the federal Common Core mandate, and enacted what the Wall Street Journal called ‘the largest devolution of federal control to states in a quarter century.’ With his signature, the president has joined the Senate and the House in sending a Christmas present to 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools across this country — something they’ve been eagerly awaiting.”

ESSA TO REPLACE NCLB

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NEW PLAYGROUND AT WEST SIDE

Photo courtesy of Elizabethton Star

For more information, go online to www.ed.gov/essa

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Elizabethton City Schools employs 183 teachers and 14 administrators. We have the privilege of educating 2594 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade. One percent of our students are English Language Learners. Our ELL students receive specialized language support through two certified English as Second Language teachers.

Federal Programs support our students who have been identified with disabilities and/or are economically disadvantaged. 16.3% of our students are considered to be students with disabilities. These students receive specialized academic interventions, as well as, other specialized services, such as Speech/Language, Occupational and Physical Therapies as deemed needed. Economically disadvantaged, which consists of 54.1% of our students, are supported through the additional funds received through Title I.

All three elementary schools are supported by Title I to meet our economically disadvantage students’ academic needs. These funds are used to supplement student needs in the form of programs, large-scale supplies, supplementary materials, and additional student assistance in the areas of Math and Reading/Language Arts. Through Title I funds, each elementary school is provided a Math and Reading/Language Arts interventionist. The role of the interventionist is to assist students as they work toward proficiency in these subject areas. Title funds also help provide some equipment to each school.

Title funds are also provided through “set-asides” in three additional areas. (1) Funding is utilized to help with providing two teachers at the Early Learning Center. The use of federal money here

is to provide early intervention for economically disadvantaged students. This program provides the necessary foundation for elementary teachers to build on over the next 6 years.

(2) Parent Involvement, at the elementary level, is another area of focus and one of the most important keys for student success. A small amount of funding is provided to facilitate grade-level and school-wide opportunities for parents to visit schools and learn more about the rigors of today’s educational process and mandated testing programs.

(3) Elizabethton has a significant number of students that are considered “in transition.” These students, and their families, lack adequate fixed housing and may be living with friends, family, or in a hotel. The school system has a part-time staff member that works with “families in transition” to assist in the registration process, provide essential school supplies, clothing for students (if necessary), and tutoring services. Funding for this program comes in the form of a Title I set aside and also through a McKinney-Vento sub-grant the system currently receives.

Lastly, Title II funds provide assistance for teachers through an instructional coach (to work with teachers in Math and Reading/Language Arts), and through staff development and teacher training. Opportunities are provided for teachers to attend workshops and trainings throughout the year and in the summer. Instructional Coaches also attend training sessions and bring information back to teachers individually, as-well-as in school and system-wide professional development settings. Title II funds are utilized for the recruitment of highly qualified and highly effective teachers that will have a profound impact on student success.

FEDERAL/SPED PROGRAMS

Photo courtesy of Elizabethton Star

Adams, LarryAdams, Lisa

Alderson, SueAlexander Insurance Agency

Alexander, Joe & DebbieArnold, Teresa

Bailey, Jack & PriscillaBaird, FeleciaBare, Kenneth

Barker, RichardBartz, Christine

Bernshausen, JoyBill Gatton Mazda

Blackburn Childers & Steagall Bolognese Family

Booher, RitaBowers, Fred & Ruth

Bradford, DebbyBradley, Leslee

Bradshaw, James SamBray, Bill And Sheila

Briggs, JoyBurleson Sr, JohnnyButler Concrete, Inc

Campbell, NinaCannon Family Dental

Carter, KenCarter, MonaCarter, SusanCarter, Kenny

Cates, Jeff & ReginaCentral Office Staff

Chamber of CommerceCitizens Bank Tri Cities Foundation

Class of 1940 (Florence Tucker)Class of 1948

Class of 1950 (Shirley Gentry)Class of 1957

Class of 1959 (June Johnson)Class of 1960 (Felecia Kosco)

Class of 1962Class of 1968Class of 1971

Class of 1973 (Alexander Ins)Class of 1975Click, LeanneCline HolderCoe, Eddie

Cole, Judy CCollake, Justin & Tracey

Combs, LeanneCooper, Vivian

Cooter, Dicky LouCooter, Matt

Cox, SidCrawford DrywallCrosswhite, Dean

Cuddy, TerryCusack, Catherine

Cyclone Touchdown ClubDavidson, Richard

Dean, Mary & NathanDeaton, James

Debose, Carol LDepew, Scott

Dubose, Carol LDugger, Carolyn

Dugger, Greg & TeresaEdens, Terry

Edmisten, Bob

Eggers, SharonElizabethton City Schools Central Office

Elizabethton StarEllis, MeganFair, Cindy

FatzFinney, Susan

First Assist Urgent CareFleenor, GeneFleenor, JudyGarland, RayGass, BobbyGass, Jimmy Gass, JustinGass, Lewis

Gass, MichaelGass, Travis

Gentry, Shirley (Class of 1950)Gilbert, Anna Broome

Gobble, Robert L JrGoodsell, Brian & Jamie

Gouge, DebbieGRC

Greer, ScottGregs Pizza Of Elizabethton

Grindstaff, Benny LGrindstaff, Brenda

Grindstaff, JudyGrindstaff, Sherri

Grubbs, DawnGuy, Debbie & Chris

Hall, GloriaHall, Larry

Hambrick, EddieHardin, KennyHarper, Jerry

Hayes, MargaretHill, Elizabeth A.

Hilton, BillyHoldren, Ginger

Holly & HollyHolly, Jack LHolly, Peggy

Holsclaw, Willie & LeotaHolt, Tim And Sherree

Hooks, LoraHopson, Sam & Teresa

Horace MannHunan Chinese Restaurant

Hunt, WilliamHunt, William T Iii

Hurley, TravisHuskins, Roy

Happy Valley Credit UnionHyder, Tammy

InglesIngram, CraigJackson, John

Jarnigan, BeckyJb’s

JC PressJenkins, Brian

Jewelers BenchJohnson, JanJones, David

J’s CornerKeebler, Larry & Susan

Keller, Vicki LKoruschak, Eleanor

Lacey, David

Lane, Dr. HaroldLaPorte, Chris

LaPorte, Hope & JoeLaPorte, Steve LaPorte, Sam

Linebaugh, DougLingerfelt, Ralph & Harold

Little, Buddy & TrellaLittle, Chris

Little, SerenaLittle-Warner, NathanLittle-Warner, Susan

Livingston, BethLowes

Lyons, JamesMagill, Becky

Manuel, HannahMarkland, TammyMashburn, Jeremy

Matheson, KimMcElroy, JoyceMcGinnis, Lisa

Mcinturff, NathanMckeehan, LeighMilligan CollegeMoore, RichardMoore, TammyMorgan, Shirley

Morley, KeithMorrell, Kathy

MSHAMullins

Mullins, AdamMurray, AnthonyNanney, Linda

Nanney, VanessaNanney, VictoriaNeilsen, Joyce

Nichols, MelissaNix, JP

Nor-Well Company, IncO’Quinn, Danny

Pearce, FlorencePerkins, Bill

Perkins, ClaraPerkins, Rebecca

Perry, BettyPeters, Angie

Peters, LeonardPeters, VeraPhillips, Jane

Physical Therepy ServicesPierce, Jeff

Pilk, Johnnie AnnPilk, LucasPizza Inn

Pless, EddiePost, LibbyPotter, Tim

Prather, SamanthaPrecision Electric

Presnell, PeggyRange, Jerry GReece, Jackie

RemaxRichards, Paula

Ritchie, LawrenceRitchie, SamRobbins, Jay

Roberts, Carol

Ryan, DickSams, Robert L (Bob)

Security FederalShell, Dalton C

Shell, JasonShell, Ladd B

Shepherd InvoiceShultz, Rachael ASiepert, Natasha

Sifford, ChaseSimerly, RobertaSimons, TeresaSlagle, AshtonSmith, DannySmith, JustinSmith, Pearl

Smokey Mtn. MedicalStahl, Charles J

State Farm - Ken WandellState Farm - Wayne Hodge

Stevens, JanStout, Debbie & Tommy

Stout, ShaunStreet, Duncan I

Summers-Taylor, IncSunnybrook, Anne & Jay

Sycamore Shoals HospitalSweeney, Pat

Taylor, Joe & ShirleyTaylor, Marsha

Taylor, V. ThelmaTester, Jack

Tester, RichardTetrick, Bill

Thomas, JoTipton, Tommy

Tkatch, Jack & IdaTobacco Depot

Townsend, DonnaTri Cities Gun Depot

Trott, Meredith (Patty Treadway)Vance, Brooke

Vanhuss, RichardWal Mart

Walters, RickWalton, Anna Marie

Wandell, KenWandell, TabithaWatson, Tammy

Webb, RonnieWeems, Thomas

Weems, Thomas, ArchitectWelch, Bob & Judy

Westside Elementary SchoolWetzel, Mary Lou

Whitehead ConstructionWhitehead, Michael

Whitehead, RebaWhitlock, SheilaWhitten, ShawnWilliams, JerryWilliams, LisaWilson, Beth

Wilson, Kathy LyonsWilson, Mike

Witten, Jason & MichelleWoods, Gary

Woods, SteveWortman, Dave

Wright, David

DONOR RECOGNITION