VOL. 52 NO. 16
IN THIS ISSUE Halls alumni dinner is Saturday
The annual Halls High Alumni Association dinner is Saturday, April 27, in the Halls High cafeteria. The gathering begins at 6 p.m. and the banquet starts at 6:30. The classes of 1953 and 1963 will be honored. Halls historian Hubert LaRue, retired college professor Jim Marine and retired Home Federal Bank president/CEO/board chair David Sharp – will be inducted into the Halls High Hall of Fame.
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Jake Mabe has more on page A-3
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Jordan promoted at Clayton Homes
David Jordan is now vice president for corporate services at Clayton Homes. Jordan and his wife, Pam, live in Halls. He began his career at Clayton Homes in 1983 and has held various positions with increasing responsibilities, including serving as corporate controller since 2001. As vice president, he will continue to direct corporate accounting, risk management, community relations, philanthropic outreach and facilities services. Jordan serves on the advisory council of blountAchieves and as a member of the board of Innovative Education Partnership, representing Clayton Homes as lead corporate project manager for the ClaytonBradley STEM Academy. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UT.
Williams to be honored
Former WBIR-TV news anchor Bill Williams will be honored at a tree planting ceremony 2 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at Fountain City Park. This award is being bestowed by the Tennessee Board of Parole and Tennessee Department of Correction, honoring victims of crime. The event is being held to commemorate National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which is April 21-27. Williams is being recognized for his long association with WBIR’s “Monday’s Child” program, the first segment of which was filmed in Fountain City Park. The public is invited.
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April 22, 2013
New technology more than ‘stuff’ By Jake Mabe You couldn’t wipe the grin off Chris Henderson’s face if you tried. The Halls Elementary School principal is excited that his school is one of 11 chosen to pilot new technology next year through Knox County Schools’ Technology Challenge. Although the final specifics are to be determined, Henderson said the school will be equipped with a 1:1 wireless connection, will receive six devices per classroom (five for students, one for the teacher) and a mobile lab for every four 4th and 5th grade intermediate classes. “But it’s really more than the ‘stuff’ of it,” Henderson said. “We are adding powerful tools to our tool kit to reach kids in individual ways. We can tailor the classroom environment to the individual student’s needs.” Henderson said in a “typical reading class,” for example, a teacher could use assessments that provide instant feedback on students’ reading levels and combine them with a program like Big Universe, which offers e-access to thousands of literature sources.
Halls Elementary School principal Chris Henderson is all smiles after learning his school is one of 11 Knox County schools chosen to pilot new technology. Photo by Jake Mabe “She can assign literature to each student on an Abraham Lincoln project. The top readers can be assigned more advanced material, those reading on grade level can be grouped together and work in collaboration and those reading below grade level can work with text more suited to them. And it’s
just enough to push all of them to the next step. That’s just a sliver of an example.” Henderson says the most powerful thing the new technology offers is “connections,” of the personal kind. He is talking with a magnet middle school about offering advanced instruction to high-performing 5th graders. “And it opens up collaboration. The classroom is no longer isolated to its four walls. A teacher here can teach in China or Brazil. It can open up the world to students in a meaningful way. There’s a site called Pete’s Pond that is a camera set up 24/7 at a water (source) in Botswana. So students can watch elephants or hyenas walk by. You’re right there. “And this technology isn’t just about the ‘stuff.’ It’s the ability to access knowledge but also to show students how to analyze it and use it effectively.” The school will also receive an on-site tech person as well as a TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) coach, a full-
time staff member who will help implement strategies meaningfully, Henderson says. Training will be provided for teachers and administrators in two five-day sessions this summer. The 11 schools will collaborate as well during the pilot year. The application process included a written component and an interview. The school produced a video for the project, as did Realtor Rhonda Vineyard, and several students wrote notes of encouragement. One 5th grader wrote: “I may be going to middle school next year, but I am thinking about future generations.” Henderson said when he announced the school had been selected for the pilot program one 3rd grader came up to him crying happy tears. “What’s most exciting to me is that while we have all these ideas floating out there, our teachers are so creative. When they get this in their hands, it’s going to blow us away. Their support and the support of the students and the parents and the community leaders who wrote letters have been phenomenal. They made this happen.”
Budget talk What to expect from Burchett, Rogero By Betty Bean The theme won’t be “We’re in the Money” for fiscal year 201314, but it won’t be “Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime,” either. And for that, local officials are grateful. “It’s a tight budget,” said Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, who is expected to unveil a proposal on Friday that looks a lot like last year’s $180 million budget.
Analysis “Revenues are still pretty flat – it’s been this way for several years, but as the economy rebuilds, capital projects will continue.” “Very sufficient,” was how Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett described the budget figure Rogero that is expected to nudge a little higher than last year’s $710 million, primarily due to an increase in education funding (BEP) from the state. The first thing that both mayors want people to know is that in spite of expensive problems like insufficiently funded pensions, there won’t be a property tax increase in the coming year. “We’re deliverBurchett ing the services they need and not charging them any more for it – and these days that’s a pretty good deal,” Burchett said. County Finance Director Chris Caldwell said the county has seen modest growth – 2.5 percent in
sales tax growth, 1.5 percent in property tax growth – and expects a $7 million increase in state educational funding. “Nothing to write home about,” he said. “But growth, nevertheless. The mayor wants to pay down the debt by $100 million by the end of 2016, and we are still on pace to do that.” Meanwhile, the city has found a way to start getting a handle on its unfunded pension liability. “This required taking $10 million out of our budget last year, and we applied it to this year to buffer the impact on the operating budget. That buys time and helps us meet those obligations while waiting for the economy to come back,” said Rogero. Vice Mayor Nick Pavlis, who represents South Knoxville and the University of Tennessee area, is cautiously happy. “There’s no pot of gold,” said Pavlis. “But I had some large capital projects already in last year’s budget, and those are in the pipeline.” He is speaking of Suttree Landing Park on the south waterfront, the realignment of Woodlawn and Ft. Dickerson at Chapman Highway, the redesign of Cumberland Avenue and his favorite project, the Urban Wilderness. “That’s what I’ve pushed more than anything and I want to stay very focused on that,” Pavlis said. Rogero will host the annual budget luncheon at noon Friday, April 26, at Ijams Nature Center, Mead’s Quarry, spotlighting the first phase of the South Loop Trail, which connects Ijams Nature Center, Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area, William Hastie Natural Area and Marie Myers Park and is part of the Urban Wilderness project. Burchett will roll the county budget out May 1, but says there won’t be any refreshments. “We’ll just be going around to the districts, giving presentations. It’s too dadgum expensive to feed a bunch of people.”
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Brickey-McCloud Elementary School student Caelin Cole talks with a ham radio operator in Nashville on a handheld radio. Caelin is assisted by Jim Norman. The experience was made possible by the Radio Amateur Club of Knoxville. Students in the STEM Club learned the history of radio, the history of ham radio and the steps needed to become a ham radio operator last week. The club meets after school once a week and learns different aspects of science, technology, engineering and math. Photo by Ruth White
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