JMCSS superintendent delivers year in review

JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson-Madison County School Board members gathered Monday for their monthly meeting.

School officials usually meet on Thursday but decided to combine their work session and board meeting. There was a lot on their agenda as they prepare for the next fiscal year.

Superintendent Eric Jones delivered his year in review as another school year comes to an end.

“I just think it’s very important to be as transparent as possible about what we feel we’ve made progress in as a district, but just as much so where opportunities lie for us to improve,” Jones said.

Dr. Jones said out-of-school suspensions dropped by 37 percent and total disciplinary actions dropped by 22 percent. School officials believe there’s still room to lower those numbers.

“I think as a district we need to give teachers a toolkit that they can refer to to help deal with those issues in a classroom setting and support them a lot more,” Jones said.

Throughout Dr. Jones’ end-of-year report, he highlighted improving climate and culture across the district. “That’s something that never goes away. We don’t perfect that,” Jones said.

Living in a different day and time, school officials say they’re trying to figure out the best way to lead students and teachers in the right direction.

“Just as much as we’re coaching students, we need to coach our teachers to be able to coach students,” Jones said. “So it’s a trickle-down effect.”

With the new school year kicking off in August, school leaders are pushing to improve literacy. “A lot of our students are coming to us two, three years behind starting kindergarten,” Jones said.

Dr. Jones said providing additional support in early grades will create change, but it’s not something that will happen overnight.

“This is going to be for the long haul,” Jones said. “How we intentionally address literacy in our construction to make up for those deficits ultimately will determine the future of our city, quite honestly.”

In an update for building projects within the school system, students will remain at Lincoln until construction at Whitehall is completed. Dr. Jones said the district wanted to be moved in by January 2019, but instead it’s been pushed back to summer 2019.

School board members will reconvene in July.