June 25, 2008
New Portland Panther / Corey Brewer websites
Update: Corey Brewer also has a new website: http://cbrewer22.com
Posted by B. Ruckle at 10:01 AM | Comments (4)
April 06, 2008
Learn about autism resources available in Tennessee
I felt this needed it's own post, Thank You - Jessica for the information
I am hoping that it is okay that I post this here, I know its not in Portland, but I hope that it is a cause that our town is interested in, as I know it is a very important issue to me..
Do you have a family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker who would benefit from learning about autism resources available in Tennessee?
Then.....
Come to the Autism Resource Fair
held in conjunction with the
5K Run/Walk Beyond the Limits for Autism
at Memorial Park in Hendersonville on April 19th!
There are 30 resource providers coming to the Autism Resource Fair representing a wide variety of services. A few are listed here:
The Arc of Davidson County TRIAD
First Steps 17th Avenue Psychiatry
Blessings Unleashed The Autism Society of Middle TN
ABC Services Moms In Touch
Seven Gable Farm Therapeutic Riding Special Riders of Sumner County
Blessings Unleashed And Many Others……
Schedule of Events
6:30 a.m. - 5K Run - (Same day registration)
7:30 a.m. – 5K Run Begins (To register online - www.active.com)
8:30 a.m. - Walk (Same day registration)
9:30 a.m. – Walk Begins (To register online - www.active.com)
10:00 a.m. – Autism Resource Fair
10:00 a.m. – Family Fun Fair (inflatables, music, balloons, food, face painting)
12:00 p.m. – Live Music (bring a lawn chair)
4:00 p.m. - Event is over
Spread the word to everyone you know! Come out and support this great autism event! The proceeds from this event will benefit Beyond the Limits, An Autism Resource Connection. For more information about this event, a “Face of Autism” sign, the silent auction and the mission of Beyond the Limits, go to www.autismresourceconnection.com.
Posted by Jessica Escue at April 6, 2008 08:26 PM
Posted by judy at 08:34 PM | Comments (3)
March 20, 2008
MY Space - Good, Bad or Ugly?
After seeing the report on TV last evening about the 12 Y.O. Sumner County girl that met her rapist on MY Space, I thought this would be a good time to bring up this topic on the blog.
What are your experiences with MY Space?
Should there be better security measures that not allow under age members?
What do you do in monitoring under age computer users in your household?
The stories that come out about My Space are horrific, yet some good has come as well, what, and who should be responsible for policing this site if any? Lets hear your thoughts, experiences and suggestions.
Posted by judy at 07:40 AM | Comments (32)
November 15, 2007
MRSA Staph Infection In Local School
As reported on the local news, ONE case of the MRSA Staph infection has been confirmed in Portland at JW Wiseman Elementary.
Other counties have reported confirmed cases of this infection including Robertson, Davidson, Putnam, Montgomery and Christian County KY. One case does not warrant alarm, but rather stressing to our children the need to be cautious by vigourously washings their hands when ever possible.
Any other suggestions or reports please post, I'm sure the rumor mills will soon begin in full force let's keep that in mind when posting.
Posted by judy at 09:38 AM | Comments (27)
October 06, 2007
Director of Schools Causes Uproar
In this week's The Portland Progressive, Josh Nelson reports on a hiring decision made by the Director of Schools, Benny Bills, that has the School Board, as well as the County Commission in an uproar. Commissioner Cummings even went so far as to suggest, "I think we need to consider getting a new Director of Schools."
It was reported that less than 11 hours after the school board created a new position by combining two departments, Benny Bills had selected, and hired Steve Nichols as the Assistant Director of Schools for Faculties.
Mr. Nichols is the husband of Rachel Nichols who is the Sumner County Finance Director.
While many believe that there will not be a "conflict of interest", they are basically stunned that the position was filled almost instantly and that Mr. Nichols reported to work the following morning.
Even after reviewing Mr. Nichols' resume, many disagree that he is properly qualified for the position. This is based on the education and experience the Board had determined that the ideal candidate would possess.
I hope you are able to to read the article since I do not have enough space to adequately relay the entire story.
Posted by Michelle Hanners at 10:21 AM | Comments (9)
July 30, 2007
Standard School Attire in Public Schools
With the start of a new school year quickly approaching I wanted to bring this subject up
on the blog and see how you all felt about it.
Davidson County Schools will begin a new Standard School Attire policy in their schools this year,
I have copied and pasted it below.
What do you think?
Would you support a similar policy in your childs school?
Should Sumner county consider a standard school attire policy for their schools?
What are the advantages?
What are the disadvantages?
Davidson County Public Schools Standard School Attire:
All shirts must have short or long sleeves and must have a collar (polo, dress-style, peter pan or turtleneck).
White or navy blue shirts are acceptable in all Metro schools.
Check with your school to learn what additional colors are permissible for shirts.
All pants, shorts, capri pants, skirts, skorts or jumpers must be navy blue, black or any shade of khaki.
Cargo pants and denim jeans of any color are not permissible.
All shirts must be properly buttoned and tucked inside pants, shorts or skirts.
All clothing must be appropriately sized. Tightfitting, baggy or sagging shirts or pants are not allowed.
Logos or manufacturer trademarks, if any, must be no larger than two inches.
School logos are permitted and are not limited in size.
T-shirts with or without sleeves may be worn as undergarments. They must be solid white, navy blue or one
of the additional solid colors approved by the school and may not display any writing, pictures or images.
A single blazer, suit jacket, vest, sweater, or cardigan is permitted as an item that may be
worn over the Standard Attire top. These garments must be in one of the district- or school-approved solid colors.
Hooded sweatshirts are not allowed.
Outerwear such as raincoats, windbreakers and cold-weather jackets and coats may not be worn in the school.
Appropriate footwear must be worn at all times.
Laces on shoes or sneakers must be tied. No house shoes are allowed.
Torn clothing or see-through clothing is prohibited.
Spiked accessories, oversized jewelry or belt buckles and inappropriate head coverings
such as bandanas or do-rags cannot be worn or seen during school time or school functions
Posted by judy at 01:47 PM | Comments (15)
July 25, 2007
The Price Is Right . . . Or Is It?
It was recently announced that the State of Tennessee had allocated over $1,000,000.00 in additional funds to Sumner County Schools which allowed the Board to balance the budget and give teachers a well-deserved and long overdue 5% raise. So far, so good, but I am curious to know if anyone was as taken aback as I was by the announcement that Governor Bredesen gave the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education a 63% raise. No, that is not a typo. Commissioner Lana Seivers was bestowed a remarkable $69,100.00 raise, bringing her new salary to $179,100.00 per year.
What are your thoughts?
Posted by Michelle Hanners at 05:21 PM | Comments (6)
July 22, 2007
New Football Stadium
As requested here is your chance to ask or sound off about a new stadium at the high school.
I have asked this question to several folks here in Portland and I have received the following:
1. Tradition, Tradition, Tradition
2. Just wouldn't be the same without the train whistle
3. Why? The old stadium works just fine!
Maybe the Quarterback Club could answer this question.
Thoughts????
Posted by DebraP at 07:25 PM | Comments (32)
July 16, 2007
High School Graduation Rates - Sumner & Robertson County
This information was provided by Mack in another post, as requested I am starting a topic dedicated to this information.
Did anyone see this in today's Tennessean?
2006 High School Graduation rates (I just included Sumner and Robertson County schools)
Hendersonville High: 96%
East Robertson High: 94.4%
Station Camp High: 90.2%
White House High: 90.2%
Beech High:89.5%
WH-Heritage High: 86.2%
Jo Burns School: 86%
Westmoreland High: 85%
Greenbrier High: 82.2%
Gallatin High: 79.9%
Portland High: 79.5%
Springfield High: 69.6%
That's right folks, Portland according to this is last in the county and next to last in both counties...
The highest Mid-state grad rate was Hume-Fogg at 98.5% and the lowest was Maplewood High 42.6%.
What's everyone's opinions?
Go to data.tennessean.com for more details, including rates for previous years and levels of improvement.
Posted by judy at 10:55 AM | Comments (11)
June 18, 2007
Seclusion Rooms in Sumner County Schools
I just saw on the channel 4 news about the seclusion rooms in our schools. This was appalling!! I had no idea this was going on in our school system. The news was talking about the room at Clyde Riggs. They said the room is approx. 3' x 4'. If you put your child in a closet at home and shut the door DHS would be all over you.
So it seems it's not alright to spank our children at school but it's ok to lock them up like they are in prison.
If you don't already know a seclusion room in a box like room where they put unruly children for a limited amount of time.
Does anyone else have a problem with this behavior??
Posted by DebraP at 06:56 PM | Comments (66)
March 29, 2007
Problems & Concerns with Portland Scools
I am posting this topic as requested by Michelle, she seems to have a sincere interest in trying to get the citizens, Parents and Students involved tackling some of the problems that present themselves in our neighborhood schools.
All I ask is that we think about the kids first before entering your concerns on the internet. If you feel that by posting a concern here may be giving more information than needs to be public thus risking further our childrens safety don't post it, bring it to the meeting, or Michelle, or the school board.
Maybe the parents of children in the schools can get them involved here too, after all they deal with it every day. Please, we are talking about children, let's protect them and not refer to them by name.
Other than that, go for it, let's be productive & Happy posting!
Judy
Posted by judy at 09:15 PM | Comments (24)
March 13, 2007
Portland Middle School Crisis
I'm sure everyone has heard by now about the 8th grader at the Portland Middle School getting beat up because his attacker wanted to join a "gang" that was being formed. Where were the teachers when this happened? Are the teachers so scared of the students that they will not step in when needed or do they just not care?
Is it time for a new principal? Does the school have security patrols? ARE YOUR CHILDREN SAFE? These are just some of the questions that parents need to address to the school board.
This is NOT the first time something like this has happened at the middle school.
It's time for a BIG change at the Portland Middle School before someone gets killed.
Lets' hear from the mothers, fathers, and grandparents that have a child(ren) in the middle school.
Posted by DebraP at 06:01 PM | Comments (89)
February 20, 2007
Your Thoughts
Do you think it is possible for a terrorist group to target our local schools?
Do you think it is possible to have a digruntled student to carry a firearm into our schools and have what happened in Penn. or Colorado take place here?
Would it be worth having the schools checked out for weaknesses in their security?
Would it be noteworthy to have these deficiencies corrected?
Give your thoughts.
Posted by Chris at 01:33 PM | Comments (3)
February 01, 2007
No Show Weather & Closed Schools- what's a parent to do?
I would like to know how everyone deals with the issue of schools closing due to weather or now the so widely used "Closed due to Illness". Even most day cares are closed when schools close due to weather.
I realize children's safety is the number one priority, but having come from an area that measures snow in feet not inches and rarely ever do the schools close, I'm baffled by how quickly they shut down schools here and it isn't just one city but the closing of schools in a whole county.
I know they aren't as well prepared to handle snow here like they are in the northern states, but couldn't they put together a snow emergency route for busses so the kids still make it to school on days like today when it was a questionable call to begin with.
I also know schools in Sumner County were closed today due to Illness and not necessarily the weather, but how do they justify closing a whole county when it may just be a few schools in the district that are experiencing low attendance due to illness.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks
have a :)) Happy Day!
Judy
Posted by judy at 06:47 AM | Comments (47)
January 26, 2007
Can I Help?
Do you think that is is possible to have an incident occur in our schools like what happened in Penn. and Colorado just to mention these two?
Do you think that a terrorist threat might approach our area in the future, targeting our children?
Would you like to know just how safe or unsafe your school is concerning your childs safety while attending the school day?
Would it be worth giving each school in the county an accurate and truthfull evaluation concerning its level of security?
Would upgrades (if needed) be a good thing to offer?
View your concerns and thoughts on these matters.
Posted by Chris at 01:03 PM | Comments (1)
October 04, 2006
Safety in our Schools??
"What if anything are the schools in Portland doing to protect our children?? I say a prayer every morning when I drop off my grandson that he will be safe"
I've taken this entry from another area. I thought that with everything that has happened over the past weeks in other states it would be a good topic to post. Thanks Deb for the thought.
Posted by judy at 07:39 AM | Comments (12)
October 02, 2006
Wow! No Wonder the Schools Have a Budget Problem!
A quote from the Gallatin News-Examiner, October 2, 2006, page 4: "Land for a new elementary school in Portland has already been purchased at $244 million."
Wow! Land in Portland sure has gotten expensive. I had no idea that it was now worth millions of dollars per acre.
Could it be that the News-Examiner added about three extra zeroes?
Charlie
Posted by admin at 09:29 AM | Comments (2)
January 29, 2006
New School
Does anyone else disagree with the school boards purchase of land on South Russell St for a new elementary. As if Portland doesn't already have a traffic problem. It is now going to be moved into the residental area of town where the roads can barely support the current traffic. Also, what about a county commissoner profiting off the sale of land for the new school site. I would think that the school board would have put more thought and studies into the site proposal. Mr Callis, was there ever any discussion with the city BOMA about this?
Posted by David at 09:59 AM | Comments (12)
October 21, 2005
Watt Hardison Portables Decorating Contest
Watt Hardison had a contest for all the portables over the last couple weeks to see who could decorate it the best. My son's class didn't win, but they made a great effort. When we went to parent conferences yesterday I was completely amazed at how great they all looked. They were decorated with trees, plants, mulch, stones, flowers, garden statues, brick borders, stepping stones, painted rocks, benches and much more. I just wanted to thank the school for doing this contest to decorate the portables and the parents and teachers for their contribution. Everyone did a wonderful job and the results were amazing. It makes such a difference! If you get the chance, stop by and check them out. They worked very hard on them and should be very proud of themselves! I've posted pictures below of some of the portables.
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Posted by jc at 12:57 PM | Comments (5)
August 16, 2005
Crisis
Here are a few facts (at least I think they're facts; it's hard to tell):
1. The News-Examiner had an article 08/10/2005 entitled "New home growth explodes in Gallatin."
2. In that article, the reporter listed 2,042 homes, apartments and condos which are being planned or in the works.
3. Similar growth is taking place in Hendersonville, Westmoreland, White House and Portland. All you have to do is drive around; they are building everywhere.
4. There are children associated with new homes. I have no idea how many, but let's say 3,000 new students in Sumner County.
Now here are some more facts:
1. Sumner County schools are almost full.
2. Many (most?) schools already have portables.
3. Many of the schools that have portables are at capacity; there is no room for more portables. (In Portland, only Portland Middle School has more room for portables.)
4. There are no schools currently on the drawing board. There are plans like "we need a new elementary school in Portland," but nobody has even agreed upon a site.
5. It takes 2 to 3 years from initial design to opening day for a new school.
6. Sumner County Schools just had to cut their budget by $6 million last week. This includes cutting out about eight school buses.
So where does this leave us??????
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that very soon Sumner County will have more students than the schools can hold. This may happen in a year. I don't really know.
The situation is very similar to the cartoon above. The train is racing down the track, but it's about to slam into a brick wall. Growth in Sumner County has been phenominal, but where is the infrastructure (schools, water, sewer) to support the growth? We've got the train going 80 mph -- before we've dug the tunnel.
So what happens to the children when there are no schools?
I actually grew up in an area of Florida that was experiencing similar growth. The school system ran out of school space.
What the school board did was to pick a section of town and designate that section as the "mobile" part of the county. I lived in the mobile part of the county.
In the 6th grade, I went to school A.
In the 7th grade, I was bused to school B about 10 miles away because school B had some room.
In the 8th grade, I was bused to school C about 15 miles away because school B was full.
In the 9th grade, I was bused back to school B. However, school B was now on double shift it was so full. One group of kids went to school from 6:30 a.m. to noon. I was in the group that went from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It was pitch black dark when I got out of school. It took another hour on the bus, at which time it was almost time to have dinner and go to bed. Yuck.
In the second half of the 9th-grade school year, I was bused to a new school (school D), which just opened. We went back to single shift, but they were still working on the building much of the day. (When we first arrived, we had to sit on the floor because the desks had not come in yet.)
In the 10th grade, I was bused to school E where, fortunately, I got to stay for three years. A year later, they opened another high school. Fortunately, I missed the move to school F.
Conclusion
It looks to me like Sumner County Schools is going to be having a capacity crisis one day soon. The only options that I know of to fix this are 1) busing students far from home to fill up every possible seat in every school, 2) going double shift. Neither option looks too attractive to me. (What's going to happen if both parents work, and their elementary school child doesn't go to school until 1 p.m.? How much is it going to cost to bus children around with no new buses and planned ones cut from the budget, fuel at $2.50 or more per gallon and buses getting only 4-6 miles-per-gallon?, etc.)
The Sumner County Commission needs to address these issues and come up with a plan. They need to do this now. There is a tunnel about 10 feet ahead that hasn't been dug yet! Please discuss this with your commissioners, NOW!
Posted by admin at 08:08 PM | Comments (10)
School Starts
Well it's school time again. My kids are excited that its finally here, although my son in kindergarten wasn't too happy about going this morning. I'm not sure who its harder on, me or him....LOL They are attending Watt Hardison and I am really happy with everything so far. Everything is very organized, and everyone was really nice. I do have one concern though. My second graders classroom is in a portable. If someone has to go to the bathroom or the nurse, etc, they have to walk outside to get to the school. Maybe I am worrying over nothing, but in this day of age you can never be too careful. Does anyone know if they are planning on adding on to the school or are these portables a permanent fixture?
Posted by jc at 09:19 AM | Comments (2)
July 30, 2005
Panther Pride
Well, it's almost that time of year again. Football season! The hard work has already begun. The players are already out on the field in the high summer heat (this week over 100 degrees at times), memorizing plays, practicing formations, pushing themselves to exhaustion. Because they want to be the best. They want to make Portland proud. And once the season starts, they will march out onto the field with their heads held high, wearing their hot, heavy uniforms and carrying their heavy equipment, praying all of their practice and hard work will earn them the respect and pride these exceptional teenagers so richly deserve.
But they are NOT the football team. They are the members of the Portland High School Marching Band. They work hard. No athlete, no member of a team works harder. They must learn intricate marching formations and patterns, learn multiple musical pieces, and learn to do all of these things IN UNISON - while most are carrying 40 or 50 pounds of equipment. They do this without being paid. They do this many times without much recognition (how many times have I seen the stands at a home game virtually empty during the halftime show). They do this without much funding; the band relies almost exclusively on the sale of SMART cards and the money it receives from game concessions to pay for uniforms (at $400 a student), music, and instruments (most of which cost thousands of dollars each).
And unlike the football team, they do this without a great deal of community financial support.
I urge you to support PHS students. ALL PHS students. Not just the football team. Support the band. Support the cheerleaders. Support the basketball team, bowling team, golf team, tennis team, baseball team, soccer teams, track and field teams, speech team, drama team, chorus, and academic team. All of these teenagers work very hard at what they do. Many of you seem to have forgotten those other students exist. Portland Pride means pride in ALL of our students who excel and work hard toward a goal.
So please remember the next time you attend a Portland football game that there are other students on the field who deserve our respect, who deserve to be seen and heard, who deserve your attention during their halftime show (snacks will be available after the show is over). And when your place of business, your neighbor, your friend at church, or YOU are looking for a "team" to support financially, think of the band. After all, their blood runs purple too.
Posted by laa at 11:12 AM | Comments (5)
July 19, 2005
School Bus Driver Stamp
I hope everyone in Sumner County will support the project to ask the United States Postal Service to create a postage stamp honoring our nation's school bus drivers. For details on this project, please see http://www.schoolbusdriverstamp.com. Thank you!
Posted by bill at 09:22 PM | Comments (1)