Kingsport City Schools Recognizes School Board Appreciation Week

Published on January 19, 2018

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has declared January 21–27, 2018 as School Board Appreciation Week in Tennessee. The week helps build awareness and understanding of the vital functions a locally elected board of education plays in a community.

Kingsport City Schools will be joining the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) and all public school districts across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week by honoring local board members for their commitment to children.

"Our school system provides an exceptional education to students in our community in preparation to being productive citizens and life-changing contributors to society,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Dwain Arnold. "The Board of Education members devote countless hours to ensure excellence and equity for all Kingsport City Schools students."

Arnold said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:

Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;
Ensuring progress is measured to be certain the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;
Creating a safe, orderly climate where teachers can teach and student can learn;
Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.

"It is an honor to serve as a member of a board of education, and with that honor, their is enormous responsibility to the community," continued Arnold. "We appreciate and value each board member for their dedication and commitment as they play a major role in shaping the lives of children in Kingsport."

Board members serving Kingsport City Schools are: Susan Lodal, BOE president, Dr. Karen Reed-Wright, BOE vice president, Eric Hyche, BOE immediate past president, Todd Golden and Carrie Upshaw.