With less than a month until the end of the school year (19 school days to be exact… Seriously, where has this year gone?!?), this week the Saturday Six takes a look at some information you need to be aware of as the year draws to a close.  It will be a very busy four weeks, as the finish line approaches!

1. The culminating event of the 2016-17 school year, Dobyns-Bennett Graduation, will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 20.  Barring any unforeseen weather issues, graduation will take place in J. Fred Johnson Stadium.  Make your plans now to come congratulate and send approximately 450 D-B seniors on to their next phase of life!
2. The school year may be coming to a close, but it certainly doesn’t mean KCS activities stop for the summer.  In fact, a wide range of academic, arts, and athletics camps will be taking place all summer!  Everything from STREAM camps (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Math), to music camps, to sports opportunities… There is something for everyone!  Click here to explore the full range of summer learning opportunities, including camp information and registration.
3. Do you or someone you know need assistance with food over the summer?  KCS, in partnership with the U.S. Department of School Nutrition Services, provide a free breakfast and lunch program for children during most of June and July.  Meals are served at John Sevier Middle School for children 18 years and younger.  Click here to find out more about this free program.
4. It would be a near impossibility to fully list all the events, concerts, awards days, field days, and athletic contests that are on the schedule in the coming month.  To help keep everything straight, the KCS website has an extensive schedule to keep you informed.  Click here to view the KCS Events Calendar.
5. Did you know that we are less than one month away from the official 100 year anniversary of Kingsport City Schools?  On May 18, 1917, the KCS Board of Education met for the very first time.  On May 18, 2017 at 6 p.m., all living KCS BOE members, superintendents, and administrators are invited to a reunion reception at the Administrative Support  Center (400 Clinchfield Street, 3rd Floor).  You are invited to join us as well!  Come share in what will be the largest ever gathering of KCS Board members and superintendents.  It will truly be a special event, and we hope you will join us.
6. One last plug for the KCS Hall of Fame!  May 1 marks the deadline for nominations for the 2017 class of the Kingsport City Schools Hall of Fame.  This is the top honor that can be received by KCS employees, and we’re on the hunt to identify the best of the best!  Remember, all employee categories are eligible as long as the employee worked for KCS for a minimum of five years and has been retired for five years.  Please consider who you might nominate, and click here to submit that individual for consideration!

Such a busy month ahead of us!  Thank you for all you do to support Kingsport City Schools in our vision to be student focused and world class!

This past weekend, students from five KCS elementary schools participated in the Tennessee Destination Imagination (DI) state tournament at Nolensville High School, near Nashville.  The state-level competition caps a year of creative problem solving by teams of innovative thinkers from Kennedy, Adams, Johnson, Jackson, and Jefferson Elementary Schools.  All teams did extremely well at the state tournament, with a group from Jefferson Elementary finishing second in their division, qualifying them for the Global DI Finals in May!

In this week’s Saturday Six, let’s learn more about DI and the talented Jefferson students that will represent their school and KCS in the upcoming global championships.

1. What is Destination Imagination?  The mission and vision of Destination Imagination is “To teach students the creative process and empower them with the skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing world.”  Students participating in DI receive a complex challenge each year and spend countless hours working out solutions to these problems. The challenges require numerous skill sets and encourage students to solve problems in innovative and novel ways. With the driving force being creativity, DI allows opportunities for all students to shine.
2. How has Jefferson been a part of DI in the past?  Jefferson has competed in Destination Imagination for three years.  This year, two teams are competing in the category of “Improv,” where students are given various scenarios and characters and have to perform a skit with very little time to plan.  The Jefferson Improv Maniacs (Hunter Wells, Will Mayhew, Jakob Price, Dallin Smith, Nikki Louthan, Ruthie Cinnamon, and Tori Wright) and Purritos (Aidan Ponasik, Ben Painter, Ava Burris, Audrey Hammonds, Megan Hall, Abigal Presnell, and Mark Sago) are both teams composed of first-year DI participants. The Purritos qualified for the Global Finals by placing second in their division at the state tournament!
3. Practice Makes Perfect.  DI teams practice every week.  Students have different strengths and skills which combine to make strong, diverse teams.  All students can find a place to excel in the program, which is what DI is all about.  A special aspect of DI involves the teamwork and friendships developed by students.  This allows them to plan and perform skits that are unique and creative.  In improv, students must listen, think, and respond in the blink of an eye, as there is no script.  This is an extremely difficult skill to master, but students have really made an effort to build team chemistry, which allows them to work well together.  Everything in DI is student led.  This includes learning all the requirements about the challenge, researching key information, making necessary changes or improvements, and ultimately learning how to work together to accomplish a common goal.  An amazing aspect about Jefferson students going to the Global Tournament is that they did all the work themselves!
4. The DI Global Finals.  Global Finals will be held at the University of Tennessee from May 23-May 28, 2017.  This event will include students from 45 states and about 15 different countries.  About 9,000 elementary, middle and high school students from around the world are expected to participate.  Jefferson students will not only have the opportunity to showcase their skills and talents to their peers all over the United States, but will also be able to collaborate with students from all over the globe.  This is a huge accomplishment for our students and a once in a lifetime opportunity.
5. The DI Challenge:  DI practices began with students understanding the challenge and all of its components.  This year’s challenge required teams to plan and perform a skit in three minutes.  Each skit had a situation that required students to incorporate various characters and perform in a certain genre.  All the elements were unknown to the students until immediately before they presented.  Three skits were performed, and in each, the stock character and genre would change.  This means students had to spend considerable time researching different literary and theatrical genres as well as characters that had to be implemented in the performance.  In addition, students were required to use props to enhance the scene.  Every week, students would practice their skits, reflect on their performance, and figure out what they could improve to better to meet the requirements.  No skit is pre-planned, but through practice, students learned how to better implement certain aspects of their challenge in more creative and exciting ways.  One of the best parts of this challenge is the communication skills students learn.  While they have the opportunity to be silly and creative, they are also leading and guiding one another and really learning the importance of teamwork.
6. DI builds community.  If you attend a DI tournament, you will see students, parents, teachers, and many others supporting and learning from one another.  Destination Imagination is operated completely on a volunteer basis and would not be possible without the support of parents and other volunteers.  It is extremely encouraging to see so many people that care about our students, helping them grow into incredible individuals that can truly change the world.

Congratulations to all the KCS Destination Imagination teams, and good luck to the students from Jefferson Elementary as they compete at the global championships in May!

The 2017 KCS District-Level Teachers of the Year – Todd Wagner (Elementary), Joanna Nash (High), and Marsha Buck (Middle), w/ BOE President Eric Hyche

Kingsport City Schools is blessed to have a team of outstanding educators providing a world-class educational experience for the children of Kingsport.  Each Spring, a select group is honored as the KCS Teachers of the Year.  School-level winners are chosen by their peers, with an elementary, middle, and high school district-teacher of the year selected by committee.

This week, the Saturday Six recognizes these award-winning educators.  Congratulations to the 2017 KCS Teachers of the Year!

1. Todd Wagner, a kindergarten teacher at John Adams Elementary School, is the district winner for grades Pre-K–4. Wagner is in his seventeenth year with Kingsport City Schools. During his career, he has served as literacy teacher leader, core coach for social studies, regional content coach for Pre-K–Kindergarten numeracy, a member of leadership teams at John Adams and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools, and a mentor for student teachers and new teachers. He has also been named a teacher of the month by Milligan College and radio station WTFM.
2. Marsha Buck, an eighth grade science teacher at Ross N. Robinson Middle School, is the district winner for grades 5–8. Buck has a total of sixteen years of teaching experience, and eight in her present position. She has served on the Robinson teacher leadership team, as a district teacher leader in science and as department chair in science for multiple years. She has been a member of the statewide science textbook adoption committee, a member of the KCS Teacher Leader Academy, and served as a State TN CORE Coach for Literacy in Science. Buck has been named Teacher of the Year at John Sevier Middle School (2007) and Robinson Middle School (2014), also being named a district-level Teacher of the Year in 2014. She is the current coach for the Science Olympiad team at Robinson, was selected to serve on Governor Bill Haslam’s Teacher Cabinet, and was appointed by Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey to serve on the State Science Standards Review Committee

   Buck has also been named a First CORE Region Teacher of the Year finalist and will advance to competition in the State’s grand division. Winners in the grand division will then advance to State-level competition for Tennessee Teacher of the Year.

3. Joanna Nash currently teaches 9th grade world history at Dobyns-Bennett High School and is in her sixteenth year as a teacher with Kingsport City Schools.  She is the district winner for grades 9–12. Nash has a total of 20 years of experience in education with both KCS and Bristol City Schools, having previously served as an instructional assistant, coordinator for the homeless education program, and coordinator for the coordinated school health program. While teaching middle school students, Nash was cheerleading coach and sponsor of the student council.  She has served as leader for the World History Team and coach for the Scholars’ Bowl Team.  In addition, she has participated in the school climate committee, served as team leader for 5th grade at John Adams Elementary, taught a summer session on social studies content methods at Milligan College, and served as a KCS math teacher leader. She has also presented at numerous department in-service meetings and workshops. Nash is now organizing a trip to Europe which will provide a global learning experience for students and allow them to connect what they have learned in their world history classroom to the places and cultures studied. 

   In addition to the three district winners, 2017 individual school winners are:

4. Grades Pre-K–4
   • Michelle Carpenter, Pre-K Special Education, Palmer Center
   • Carla Casey, 2nd Grade, Jackson Elem.
   • Renee Polson, 1st Grade, Washington Elem.
   • Ryan Robbins, Physical Education, Kennedy Elem.
   • Amy White, Kindergarten, Roosevelt Elem.
5. Grades 5–8
   • Jessica Chase, 5th Grade, Jefferson Elem.
   • Kathleen Donnellan, 7th Grade Language Arts, Sevier MS
   • Kristen Duncan, 6th Grade Language Arts, Sevier MS
   • Rachel Heaton, 6th Grade Language Arts, Robinson MS
   • Heather Hobbs, 5th Grade, Johnson Elem.
   • William Miller, 5th Grade, Lincoln Elem.
6. Grades 9–12
   • Amanda Blackburn, Science, Dobyns-Bennett HS
   • Jimmy Burleson, Special Education, Dobyns-Bennett HS
   • Joshua French, Social Studies, Dobyns-Bennett HS
   • Jennifer Gilbertson, CTE, Dobyns-Bennett HS
   • Sam McCord, English, D-B EXCEL
   • Jenny Rogers, Music, Dobyns-Bennett HS

Last weekend, students at Ross R. Robinson flexed their mathematical muscles competing in the state-level MATHCOUNTS competition.  What a successful competition it was!  Due to much hard work and practice, the Robinson team placed third in Tennessee… quite an accomplishment that places these KCS students among the best of the best!

This week, the Saturday Six takes a look at the MATHCOUNTS program and highlights the exceptional accomplishments of our world-class students!

1. The MATHCOUNTS competition is a national program that provides students the opportunity to compete in live, in-person math contests against and alongside their peers. It was created in 1983 and is open to all 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students in both public and private schools.
2. The MATHCOUNTS competition has four levels of competition… school, chapter, state and national.  Schools register in the fall and RNR had their school competition in December, where 10 students advanced to the Upper East Chapter competition in February.  The students practiced after school with their coach, Lisa Bratton, and their assistant coach, Cameron Buck,  as well as volunteer and community member, Dr. Greg Rasmussen. The students also put in many hours on their own through online and print resources provided by MATHCOUNTS.  The top eight individual scoring students from the Chapter competed in the state competition in March.  The top four individuals from the state will represent Tennessee at the National Competition in May.  Only 224 students from across the nation will compete in this top level of the competition.
3. Each MATHCOUNTS competition consists of four rounds:  Sprint (30 problems in 40 minutes with no calculator), Target (eight calculator problems presented in pairs with six minutes for each pair),  Team (10 calculator problems in 20 minutes taken by the top four students from the school competition), and Countdown (Top 8-12 individual scoring students compete head-to-head with no calculator.  This round focuses on speed and accuracy).
4. This year’s Robinson team was comprised of Sahil Gaba (captain), Chandni Bhat, Ryan Herzog and Neekon Nejad.  They earned the right to compete in the state competition after placing 1^st at the Chapter level.    Individuals who also qualified to compete in the state competition were Marcus Espeland, Caleb Buell and Emily Cai.  Other students that participated at the chapter level were Noah Lee, Melody Yuan and Ria Kothan. RNR took 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place in the individual rounds of the chapter competition. The Robinson MATHCOUNTS team placed 3^rd in the state competition. Sahil Gaba placed 1^st in the oral countdown round and 2^nd in the written round of the competition.  He earned a spot on the Tennessee team and will be competing in the national MATHCOUNTS competition May 13-15 in Orlando, Florida with three other students from across the state.
5. RNR has had 16 consecutive 1^st place wins since 2002 at the chapter level team competition.  They have had 10 top-four finishes as a team at the state level and have sent eight students to the national level since 1994.
6. All of this year’s participants in RNR MATHCOUNTS also participate in the school band or orchestra.  Music and math really do have a connection here at RNR!

Congratulations to the students and coaches of the Robinson MATHCOUNTS team!  You are truly world-class!!

Please note that just like the rest of KCS, the Saturday Six will be on Spring Break next week.  Look for the next Saturday Six on April 8, 2017!

With the arrival of Spring just around the corner, there is so much going on throughout Kingsport City Schools!  To help keep you fully informed, this week the Saturday Six is taking a look at six things that have happened, or are about to happen, around KCS.  What a busy time!

1. 

   

   

   This week, students at Lincoln Elementary School took part in a unique math and team-building activity, constructing a house through the “If I Had a Hammer” program.  This cooperative hands-on activity, sponsored by community partners such as Eastman and RCAM, provided 5th graders the chance to work together and support each other to achieve a completed build.  What a great opportunity!

2. 

   

   

   This past Tuesday, over 100 retired KCS teachers gathered in the Administrative Support Center Tennessee Room for the annual Retired Teachers Association Brunch.  This celebration of our former teachers honors the legacy of Kingsport education.  In addition to recognizing our former educators, special thanks also goes to the D-B Culinary Arts program for providing and serving the meal, as well as the D-B Air Force Junior ROTC unit for preseting the colors and helping welcome our guests.

3. On Thursday, March 16, students from across Kingsport came together for the annual City-Wide Choral Festival.  This event highlights the musical talents of many KCS students, and is a wonderful example of the commitment to the arts exhibited by our entire community.  Want to hear more?  Click here to hear a reply of the concert, courtesy of WCSK Radio, 90.3 FM. the Voice of Kingsport City Schools!
4. Speaking of musical commitment, the next generation of KCS band members is ready to launch!  Instrument placement days for 5th graders attending Robinson and Sevier Middle Schools are upon us.  Students attending Robinson will have their instrument placement day today, Saturday, March 18 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at RNR.  Student attending Sevier will select their instruments on Monday, March 20 from 4 – 7 p.m. at JSMS.
5. This coming Thursday, March 23, 2017, KCS will hold a special kindergarten registration event and pre-k screenings (not registrations).  Kindergarten registration will take place from 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. at all KCS elementary schools for Kingsport residents with children five years of age on or before August 15, 2017.  Pre-kindergarten screenings for the 2017-18 school year will take place at the Kingsport Civic Auditorium (1550 Ft. Henry Drive) from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.  Only Kingsport residents with children four years of age on or before August 15, 2017 are eligible for pre-k screenings.  Click here for additional information related to kindergarten registration and pre-k screenings.
6. 

   Photo courtesy Allen Greene Photography

   And finally, spring sports are underway all across KCS!  Student athletes at D-B, Robinson, and Sevier are all hard at work.  Come out and support the Tribe this week!.

   1. Click here to view the complete D-B athletic schedule.
   2. Click here to view the Robinson Middle School athletic schedule.
   3. Click here to view the Sevier Middle School athletic schedule.

The Insight KCS Class of 2017 – April Banks, Lisa Norman, Joy Spruell, Nathan Flora, Melissa Dixon, Lora Barnett, Lindsay Powers, Amanda Bowman (Not pictured: Dawn Blake)

On Friday, March 10, the 2017 Class of Insight KCS wrapped up their year-long exploration of all things-KCS, completing a six-session program that explored all aspects of education and operations of Kingsport City Schools.  The community outreach and engagement program is available each year to interested stakeholders of KCS, starting in the fall and taking place once each month through the month of March.  This year’s class marks the third year that KCS has offered this award winning program, with year four scheduled to begin in September of 2017.

What does KCS have to offer?  This week, the Saturday Six looks at the wide variety of information and experiences explored during the Insight KCS program.  With multiple school and facility visits taking place during the program year, it a wonderful opportunity to learn about the inner workings of all KCS educational and functional operations, while empowering  advocates for KCS throughout the Kingsport community.  It’s not too early to start considering how you might be involved during the 2017-18 school year!

1. Session 1 – KCS Overview, Leadership, and Organization:  A review of the KCS organizational structure, history, people, strategic plan, and Guiding Tenets.
2. Session 2 – Teaching and Learning:  An exploration of all KCS curriculum and instructional services, including school tours, classroom observations, sessions with instructional leadership, and professional learning structures.
3. Session 3 – KCS Vision:  A look at major KCS instructional initiatives and visioning process, including current projects such as D-B EXCEL, the Regional Science and Technology Center, and the KCS STREAM and Technology visions.
4. Session 4 – School Facilities and Organization:  A deep review of how KCS maintains and services school facilities and operational management, as well as exploring school nutrition services, transportation, and communications efforts.
5. Session 5 – Human Resources and Finance:  Seeing how an organization of over 1,200 employees recruits, hires, retains, and compensates its workforce, as well as reviewing the KCS budgeting process.
6. Session 6 – Student Services and Community Engagement:  Exploring the many ways KCS supports students and engages with the Kingsport community, through programs such as KCS Student Services, the Homeless Education Program, and the KCS Family Liaison initiative.

Sound interesting?  To learn more about how you can participate next year, view the Insight KCS webpage by clicking here!

This Friday, the Kingsport Aquatic Center hosted one of the most unique and absolutely fantastic events on the Kingsport City Schools event calendar, the D-B Tribe Games.  Held throughout the year and also featuring athletic events such as bowling and track & field, the swimming portion of the competition gave KCS students of all abilities the opportunity to hit the water and display awesome athletic talents in a fun and supportive atmosphere.  The program was developed by D-B Special Education Teacher Jimmy Burleson and is supported by a great team of D-B and KCS staff members.  The day was filled with laughter, excitement, and spirited competition!

The Tribe Games would also not be possible without an incredible group of sponsors that share their time, talents, and resources to make the event such a success.  Thanks so much to:

• Texas Roadhouse, for providing lunch free of charge for all of the athletes, coaches, BUDS, and volunteers at each Tribe Games events this year.  Thank you Texas Roadhouse of Kingsport!
• Daniel Kilgore, D-B grad and member of the San Francisco 49ers.  Daniel has been a consistent sponsor and supporter of the Tribe Games and finds time in his busy schedule to be a part of event days.  Thank you Daniel, for giving back so generously to your community!
• The Palmer Foundation and Kingsport Aquatic Center, for providing the swimming pool and facility for Friday’s event.  We are fortunate to have such a world-class facility in our community and are so grateful for the hospitality!
• Food City, for providing bottled water for our athletes.  Food City is a wonderful example of a local business that gives back to its community, and we appreciate your sponsorship and support!
• Allen Greene, for donating his photography talents to help record and share images from the event.  Allen does such fantastic work… Thank you for providing your professional photographs of the Tribe Games to our teachers and school!
• Varsity Trophies, for helping support the production of t-shirts and medals for participants.  These items were very proudly worn by our students today, and serve as a lasting reminder of a wonderful day in the pool.  Thank you Varsity Trophies!
• The Kingsport Chamber, for their generous sponsorship of the event.  Time and time again, the Chamber steps forward to support worthwhile programs throughout our community, and we greatly appreciate their partnership in so many ways!

This week, the Saturday Six features some of the fantastic images captured during the event by Allen Greene.  Many thanks to Allen for his talents for allowing us to share these photos here in the Saturday Six!

How often do we truly have the opportunity to change the face of our community?  Nearly a half-century ago, residents of Kingsport did just that with the construction of the Dobyns-Bennett High School facility.  In the coming months, we will enter the next phase of world-class education in Kingsport with the construction of the Regional Science and Technology Center at D-B.  This game-changing addition will not only provide a wide range of enhanced educational opportunities for KCS students, but will also serve to drive science and technology development throughout the entire region.

Where does the project stand at this point?  This week, the Saturday Six takes a look at six things you should know about the Regional Science and Technology Center that will truly differentiate Kingsport City Schools in our region!

1. There are four overall goals for the Regional Science and Technology Center facility:
   • Adding an enhanced science and technology program at D-B with new facilities and programming, while also increasing D-B’s student capacity.
   • Defining the D-B main entrance.
   • Improving circulation and accessibility at D-B for students and staff.
   • Capitalizing on an opportunity for a new identity for the D-B facility, while maintaining the current design and legacy elements.
2. Visioning work on the Regional Science and Technology Center actually began back in May 2016 with a session involving D-B staff members and a focus on design and programming.  Since that time, conceptual design and programming work (July 2016), schematic design (August/September 2016), and design development (November 2016) have been ongoing.
3. As designed, the new three-story facility will include 18 science and technology labs, two teacher work spaces, six student work spaces, one TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) lab, one large research lab, and four small research labs.
4. What will be happening in these incredible new learning spaces?  Expanded STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programming will provide a wide range of new educational experiences for KCS students, focusing on five key areas:
   1. Supporting scientific inquiry and discovery;
   2. Fostering creativity and problem solving;
   3. Offering meaningful career opportunities;
   4. Providing application-based experiences through an integrated curriculum, and;
   5. Utilizing the power and flexibility of technology.
5. The Regional Science and Technology Center will also serve a vital purpose in adding capacity to the D-B facility.  With the new construction and added seat-space, the capacity of D-B will increase to support 2,500 students at 85% utilization.
6. When will construction on the RSTC begin?  As currently scheduled, you’ll start seeing work taking place in the Fall of 2017, with a projected move-in date of Winter 2018/19.

What an exciting and bold move forward for our entire community!  Click here to view an expanded presentation about the Regional Science and Technology Center.  Also, keep an eye on the KCS Facilities Update webpage for additional information on the RSTC and other facility news in the coming months.

How often do we truly have the opportunity to change the face of our community?  Nearly a half-century ago, residents of Kingsport did just that with the construction of the Dobyns-Bennett High School facility.  In the coming months, we will enter the next phase of world-class education in Kingsport with the construction of the Regional Science and Technology Center at D-B.  This game-changing addition will not only provide a wide range of enhanced educational opportunities for KCS students, but will also serve to drive science and technology development throughout the entire region.

Where does the project stand at this point?  This week, the Saturday Six takes a look at six things you should know about the Regional Science and Technology Center that will truly differentiate Kingsport City Schools in our region!

1. There are four overall goals for the Regional Science and Technology Center facility:
   • Adding an enhanced science and technology program at D-B with new facilities and programming, while also increasing D-B’s student capacity.
   • Defining the D-B main entrance.
   • Improving circulation and accessibility at D-B for students and staff.
   • Capitalizing on an opportunity for a new identity for the D-B facility, while maintaining the current design and legacy elements.
2. Visioning work on the Regional Science and Technology Center actually began back in May 2016 with a session involving D-B staff members and a focus on design and programming.  Since that time, conceptual design and programming work (July 2016), schematic design (August/September 2016), and design development (November 2016) have been ongoing.
3. As designed, the new three-story facility will include 18 science and technology labs, two teacher work spaces, six student work spaces, one TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) lab, one large research lab, and four small research labs.
4. What will be happening in these incredible new learning spaces?  Expanded STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programming will provide a wide range of new educational experiences for KCS students, focusing on five key areas:
   1. Supporting scientific inquiry and discovery;
   2. Fostering creativity and problem solving;
   3. Offering meaningful career opportunities;
   4. Providing application-based experiences through an integrated curriculum, and;
   5. Utilizing the power and flexibility of technology.
5. The Regional Science and Technology Center will also serve a vital purpose in adding capacity to the D-B facility.  With the new construction and added seat-space, the capacity of D-B will increase to support 2,500 students at 85% utilization.
6. When will construction on the RSTC begin?  As currently scheduled, you’ll start seeing work taking place in the Fall of 2017, with a projected move-in date of Winter 2018/19.

What an exciting and bold move forward for our entire community!  Click here to view an expanded presentation about the Regional Science and Technology Center.  Also, keep an eye on the KCS Facilities Update webpage for additional information on the RSTC and other facility news in the coming months.

This coming Wednesday, Kingsport City Schools will officially cut the ribbon on our new facility for D-B EXCEL, a Dobyns-Bennett program of choice specializing in blended-learning classes and featuring flexible scheduling for students.  The new facility is located at 400 Clinchfield Street, adjacent to the KCS Administrative Support Center.  We invite you to take part in this special celebration at 10 a.m., with tours taking place immediately following the ribbon cutting.  Click here for more information related to the open house!

To refresh your memory and get you ready for next week’s celebration, here are six facts about D-B EXCEL.

1. D-B EXCEL is not an alternative school!  DBE provides students of all types a unique way to earn a D-B diploma.  There is no “typical” DBE student… They are students that seek a smaller learning environment and students that, for whatever reason, desire a flexible high school schedule.  The DBE student is one that seeks a different path than the traditional high school environment.
2. D-B EXCEL offers a variety of scheduling options.  Students at DBE can take courses in the environment that best suits their individual needs.  Full-time blended-learning students take their classes online at the DBE facility, but with the ongoing support and “shoulder-to-shoulder” guidance of a teacher in the classroom.  This truly is an individualized approach to learning!
3. It’s not just the physical learning environment that is individualized.  By providing a learning platform that is specifically unique to each child, students even have the flexibility to speed up or slow down the learning process.  The pace of learning depends on the needs of the individual student… meaning the student can work quickly through content that is already known and spend longer on items where more support is needed.
4. Many students at D-B EXCEL participate in courses at the main D-B campus.  Attending D-B EXCEL doesn’t mean you can’t participate in experiences at D-B.  Many DBE students participate in D-B Band and extra curricular activities such as sports.  Transportation options exist to help students take advantage of such opportunities.
5. The new D-B EXCEL facility helps support the whole learner!  Students in the new DBE facility are able to utilize a variety of lab and technology environments, including a makerspace that includes 3-D printing and an opportunity to take part in video production.  A cafe also provides food service and a welcoming environment for additional academics and community-building!
6. D-B EXCEL is growing!  Currently, over 200 students attend D-B Excel, receiving personalized academic attention from a wide variety of teachers and staff members.  The staff is able to provide a deep level of instruction and support to DBE students, both in-person and online.

Want to learn more about D-B EXCEL?  Is it right for your family?  Find out more by contacting Principal Mrs. Shanna Hensley at shensley@k12k.com.