Kingsport City Schools Recognized as District Administration Magazine’s Districts of Distinction
KINGSPORT – In recognition of the innovation and success of the Administrative Support Center Support Teams initiative, Kingsport City Schools has been named a District of Distinction by District Administration Magazine.
We are pleased to honor Kingsport as a District of Distinction, says JD Solomon, editorial director at District Administration magazine. Like all our honorees, Kingsport City Schools serves as a model for school leaders across the country.
KCS was recognized due to the unique approach and work being accomplished by the Administrative Support Center (ASC) Support Teams. In 2012, ASC staff meetings were changed from information sharing to service planning sessions, with cross-departmental teams working to identify and provide support at school or classroom functions. Each team was assigned two schools and all schools identified a liaison to serve as a point of contact and collaborate on potential support opportunities.
The five dimensions of the transformation developed by the staff included:
- Developing learning-focused partnerships with principals to deepen instructional practice
- Assisting with central office/principal partnerships
- Reorganizing central office units to support the partnerships and the learning process,
- Taking stewardship of the overall central office transformation process
- Using evidence to support the improvement of work practices and relationships with schools.
The seven cross-departmental support teams volunteer support work grew from 1,400 hours in the initial year of implementation to 1,500 in the second year – equating to an average of 27 hours for each employee on the eight-person teams.
In addition to being, Student Focused -¦ World Class, staff took action in developing lean project work and implementing efficient business operations.
Districts of Distinction honorees will:
- Be identified in District Administration magazine and on the magazines website
- Be included in a nationally distributed press release and in The District, a newsletter distributed to superintendent-members of the District Administration Leadership Institute
- Receive a District of Distinction plaque along with a letter of commendation from the Publisher of District Administration
- Receive a press release template to promote their recognition to local media
Kingsport was among 62 districts that were honored in the March 2015 round of Districts of Distinction, the magazines national recognition program for K12 school districts.
You can view the full article here: http://www.districtadministration.com/dod/awards/kingsport-city-schools-transformation-central-office-culture
About Districts of Distinction: Districts of Distinction is a national recognition program created by District Administration magazine to honor school districts that are leading the way with new ideas that work. Looking to recognize established initiatives that are yielding quantifiable benefits, and that could be replicated by other districts. Visit http://www.districtadministration.com/dod for more information.
Kingsport City Schools (KCS) is a public school district located in Kingsport, Tenn. serving students in Sullivan and Hawkins county. The district is comprised of 13 schools, including a Pre-K, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and a non-traditional school; with total enrollment over 7,100 students. The vision of Kingsport City Schools is to be, Student Focused -¦ World Class.
KCS has been named the top school district in Tennessee as winner of the 2014 SCORE Prize District Award by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and has earned the 2014 Achievement Award in the annual Excellence in Tennessee Recognition Program by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNPCE).
For more information on KCS, visit k12k.com, listen live on WCSK 90.3 FM, The Voice of KCS, read our blog, We Are KCS, or call (423) 378.2100. Were social too; follow us on Facebook (Kingsport City Schools), Twitter (@KCS_District) and check out our YouTube Channel (KPTSchools).