August, 2009
Welcome to the 2009-2010 Jackson Madison County school year.
The biggest first day news was the student uniforms...from pre-k through high schools all of our students are wearing very professional and attractive clothing that makes them look like the scholars they are. We even have a lot of employees following the trend and they look great as well. We had been getting ready for the first day of uniforms for almost a year which may be why the transition was as smooth as it was. Families had time to prepare and they were wonderful in their support! Thank you.
Academically we begin the year as a district that made Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind guidelines. We have been working hard to increase the rigor and consistency of the instruction provided to our students and the results are beginning to emerge. Twenty three of our twenty eight schools are in Good Standing and our initial goal is to move all into the Good Standing category and move up from there.
We have won a significant grant to make Jackson Central Merry High School a Health and Science Magnet School. With health care as the largest employer in the county we will foster future doctors, nurses and other health professionals in a rigorous, focused academic environment beginning with the 2010-2011 school year. Preparation will occur during this year.
Tigrett Middle School is ranked 9th in the state for student academic growth over multiple years and Lincoln Elementary is 9th for the elementary schools in the state.
We will be part of a study in which our intermediate level students will use artificial intelligence technology for tutoring after school and plan a pilot of online high school courses second semester.
All in all, this promises to be an exciting and productive school year. If you are an educator looking for a challenging, demanding but progressive place to work come and talk to us. If you are the parent or guardian of one of our students thank you for the privilege of working with them. We love our work and we love our students enough to expect the best from every one of them!
Sincerely,
Dr. Nancy S. Zambito
