School board talks tennis, Kirkwood Elementary and accountability data
The Oct. 4 study session of Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board had three big topics, a potential new tennis court, possible designs plans for Kirkwood Elementary School, and the most recent data from the Every Students Succeeds Act accountability data release.
Potential new tennis court
Recently, the United States Tennis Association approached Montgomery County Parks and Recreation with an interest in helping to fund and design a new tennis court complex next to Carmel Elementary School.
However, for this to happen, the land would have to be held by the county, and not the school system.
The county is currently 18 courts deficient in tennis, officials said, and this complex would help alleviate that. The school board questioned why the Carmel location was selected, and whether it could complicate any future expansions of Carmel.
The plot was initially planned as a park, which is why it is being considered for tennis facilities. but there are currently no design plans.
Kirkwood Elementary
As part of a three-campus project that was approved in 2020, Kirkwood Elementary is next on the roster for design decisions and construction.
The current options are the Rossview model, which is a 842-student facility, Rossview model extended (including 12 more classrooms) making it a 1,056-student facility, and a new model that would be four stories tall and could accommodate 1,320 students.
Each model has its own benefits. Officials said both versions of the Rossview model would be quicker to construct because CMCSS has the experience with it. The four-story model would take an additional year to construct and cost almost twice as much as the Rossview models, but could accommodate more students. Due to the price and construction time, officials are not suggesting using the new model.
The project approval process will start in January.
ESSA Accountability Data Release
The Every Student Succeeds Act Report Card is a report that helps parents and the public know how school performance is within counties, districts and states. The CMCSS Report Card is due to be released in November, but there was an update given by Kimi Sucharski, Director of Accountability.
In order to be deemed advancing, a group must get a score of 2.1 or higher. In the four groups that were reported, only one didn't meet that threshold. The Black/Hispanic/Native American group had a score of 2.42, English Language Learners got a 2.92, Economically Disadvantaged got a 2.17, and students with disabilities received a 1.67.
As of the meeting, it was reported that Kenwood Middle, Montgomery Central Middle, and West Creek Middle schools have been identified as needing "Additional Targeted Support and Improvement" for students with special needs.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: School board discusses tennis, Kirkwood Elementary and accountability
