Join TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves for a discussion on athlete transfers. TSSAA’s position and rationale, proposed state legislation, and the implications for your schools will all be on the table. You may register guests however they can’t register themselves. If you have issues contact barry@tosstn.com.

Universally, one of the most anxious firsts for beginning superintendents is building the first budget. Join Superintendent Steve Starnes as he walks you through his process. Steve has budget experience in both Hawkins County and now Greeneville City Schools and is a wealth of knowledge in this area.  You will learn his process for utilizing staff to determine budget priorities and how he works with his board throughout the process, among many other things. Additionally, he will give an overview of how ADM is generated, which drives TISA funding, and the impact WFTEADA plays in dividing local tax dollars in counties with multiple school systems. Given the later dates for the New Superintendent Academy Part 2, this session will be conducted virtually this year. An advantage is that it will be recorded, and you can refer to it anytime.

Join TOSS General Counsel Chuck Cagle on Monday, February 3 at 1:00 P.M. CST for a conversation around the recent ELPA21, FRRA, and Immigration in general. Feel free to include any additional staff. Jonathan Criswell, Chief Program Officer with TDOE, has been invited as well.

In partnership with the Tennessee Education Technology Association (TETA), TOSS invites you, your district director of technology, and your E-rate coordinator to join us on December 17 at 9:00 central for a 90-minute virtual session discussing:

• Implications of two conflicting US District Court opinions on E-Rate

• Current E-Rate contract status in Tennessee

• Implications of a new contract

• Timelines

• Funding 

Presenters will include Noelle Ellerson Ng from AASA, Jill Pierce with TETA, TN E-Rate Coordinator Kim Friends, and Candice Hall, TN State E-Rate Specialist..

Has your district recently received a charter school application or are you wondering how to prepare should an application come your way? Join us on Wednesday, November 20th from 9:00-10:30 a.m. CST for a virtual training session with the State Board to learn everything you need to know to be prepared for a charter school application. The session is open to all districts regardless of whether you’ve received an application or have several open and operating charter schools. Directors of schools are encouraged to invite key staff and school board members to join as well. This is the first in a series of trainings conducted by State Board staff on quality authorizing and will cover the necessary steps to prepare for a quality application review. 

Each year, an estimated 45.2 million vehicles in the US illegally pass stopped school buses, putting students at risk on the ride to and from school. Under Tennessee law, school districts are permitted to use photo enforcement technology to tackle this dangerous issue and make roads safer for students.

Join Steve Randazzo, Chief Growth Officer at BusPatrol-the nation’s most deployed school bus photo enforcement solution-for an educational webinar during National School Bus Safety Week. Learn how other school districts are successfully working with BusPatrol to reduce stop-arm violations. 

Feel free to register others as your guests.

Education with Destination in Tennessee

Wouldn’t your job be easier if you knew more of each student’s story and any non-academic barriers they may have to learning? Things like feelings about school, confidence in learning, attitude toward attendance, and perceived learning ability. Join this session and learn how to:

• Identify struggling students for one-to-one interventions

• Group students who are struggling in the same areas to intervene appropriately

• Uncover students in need of support who might have otherwise fallen through the cracks

• Share student insights with parents and families

• Measure the success and impact of interventions

Presenter: Faith Smith, National Academic Advisor at Renaissance faith.smith@renaissance.com

To learn more, visit the Renaissance Fundamentals page at www.renaissance.com/products/renaissance-fundamentals. Contact your Renaissance team to get started.  

2024 TOSS Legislative Update

The TOSS Government Relations Team will host in-depth discussions of the legislative session across the state. During these meetings we will do a deep dive into the legislation that passed this year, how it will impact you and your district, and what we are anticipating for the 114th General Assembly that begins in 2025.

This session will run from 10:00am – 2:00pm CST with lunch provided.

2024 TOSS Legislative Update

The TOSS Government Relations Team will host in-depth discussions of the legislative session across the state. During these meetings we will do a deep dive into the legislation that passed this year, how it will impact you and your district, and what we are anticipating for the 114th General Assembly that begins in 2025.

This session will run from 10:00am – 2:00pm CST with lunch provided

2024 TOSS Legislative Update

The TOSS Government Relations Team will host in-depth discussions of the legislative session across the state.  During these meetings we will do a deep dive into the legislation that passed this year, how it will impact you and your district, and what we are anticipating for the 114th General Assembly that begins in 2025.

This session will run from 10:00am – 2:00pm EST with lunch provided.

As a superintendent, the list of difficult issues you deal with is long and varied. But certainly, the most squeamish on that list is child exploitation. In all its forms, it sickens us. Sexual exploitation of a child tops that list. Join us on April 10, 1:00 central time for a frank discussion with two state/national experts: Stephen Woener, Executive Director of Children’s Advocacy Centers of TN, and Lt. Joe Laramie, Ret., former Program Manager for the National Criminal Justice Training Center.

During this 90-minute session we will:

1. Discuss the variety of online dangers for our students: local, national, and international

2. Discuss Erin’s Law

3. Learn what our obligations are

4. Discuss how we can best help, protect, and equip our students

5. Learn the legal implications for our students

6. Learn strategies for talking with both students and parents about this very difficult topic

7. Tailor your message to your local context

8. Take time for your questions

For a gut-check, navigate to the video here of their expert witness testimony before the House Education Instruction Committee and fast forward to 15:20.

Join TOSS General Counsel Chuck Cagle as he discusses the Disciplinary Hearing Authority process.  Topics addressed will include TCA 49-6-3401, board policies, the process of convening the DHA, accepting evidence at a DHA meeting, creating a record of the meeting, and the process to follow if an appeal is taken either to the Director of Schools or the Board of Education.  Mr. Cagle will share his experiences in assisting the operation of DHAs and ensuring that laws and constitutional rights are adhered to.

You will likely want to register multiple guests. Given how the registration system is set up, if after your initial registration you decide to add even more guests, you may be blocked. If that happens just contact barry@tosstn.com or trisha@tosstn.com, and they will add them for you.

Recently questions have arisen around purchasing cooperatives specifically, and bids and purchases generally. The Comptroller’s office is currently giving audit exceptions to some school districts that purchase capital / construction projects through purchasing cooperatives. Several architects and contractors are advocating for these purchases from purchasing cooperatives based on their own interpretations of TCA 12-3-1205. Why risk the embarrassment of a material audit exception?

Join TOSS General Counsel Chuck Cagle on February 20 at 9:00 Central for an examination of these topics. Please feel free to register any appropriate staff as your guest(s).

Prepare to be wowed by new TN research showing the degree of improvement in math shown by students appropriately exposed to Zearn….a program that all TN districts currently have. And best of all, the biggest impact is on those students for whom it is most difficult to move the needle. Do yourself a favor and invest 30 minutes of your time and include your curriculum and instruction staff as well.

A new, quasi-experimental research study shows consistent Zearn Math usage leads to transformative results for Tennessee K-8 students. Join a live briefing hosted by the Zearn team to explore the research study analyzing 2023 TCAP math performance growth.

Specifically, researchers found that:

• Students completing three or more grade-level lessons weekly on Zearn achieved a 7-point increase in TCAP math scores, with greater gains across student subgroups. 

• Zearn usage resulted in significant upward academic mobility: 64% of the lowest-scoring students advanced by one or more performance levels when using Zearn.

Hopefully, you are all blessedly ignorant of the process of reporting alleged educator misconduct.  Sadly, we know that isn’t universally true and becomes less so each year.

Join State Board of Education Deputy General Counsel P. Danielle Nellis to learn more about this difficult topic including how and when to report, investigation tips, and how a case proceeds once it is reported. Ms. Nellis will be joined by members of her team and prepared to answer your questions! Feel free to also register your HR Director or other appropriate personnel as your guest(s).  

Has your district recently received a charter school application or are you wondering how to prepare should an application come your way? Join us on Wednesday, November 29 from 1:30pm-3pm CST for a virtual training session with the State Board to learn everything you need to know to be prepared for a charter school application. The session is open to all districts regardless of whether you’ve received an application or have several open and operating charter schools. Directors of schools are encouraged to invite key staff and school board members to join as well. This is the first in a series of trainings conducted by State Board staff on quality authorizing and will cover the necessary steps to prepare for a quality application review. 

School Support Organizations are increasingly under scrutiny. Avoid the audit findings and the headlines by joining this SLI session conducted by TOSS General Counsel Chuck Cagle. Feel free to include principals and others as your guests. If you are fairly new and unsure if this session is for you, ask around. This session will be recorded, and superintendents will be able to access it through the TOSS website.

The Band’s Getting Back Together Again!

a.k.a

Superintendent Reunions

As announced at the Legislative Conference and stealing a long-standing West TN tradition, TOSS will also be hosting superintendent reunions in Middle and East TN this June. We are asking each of you to invite the former superintendents from your district to join you and the TOSS staff for fellowship and a very casual lunch (sponsored by TOSS platinum partner, Edmentum.) The agenda will be very loose with our main objective being simply camaraderie.  If there are situations in which it would be better for the invitation to come from TOSS, we are happy to handle that (though contact information would be very helpful). 

Register just as you would for any TOSS event and include any former superintendents as your guest(s).

PLEASE NOTE: There is also an opportunity to join a friendly golf game afterwards (thanks to TOSS platinum partner, American Fidelity) so please sign up yourself and guest if you wish. 

9:30 AM fellowship

10:00 AM Meeting

11:00 AM Lunch

1:00 PM Golf (optional)

The Band’s Getting Back Together Again!

a.k.a

Superintendent Reunions

As announced at the Legislative Conference and stealing a long-standing West TN tradition, TOSS will be hosting superintendent reunions in Middle and East TN this June. We are asking each of you to invite the former superintendents from your district to join you and the TOSS staff for fellowship and a very casual lunch (sponsored by TOSS platinum partner, ESG.) The agenda will be very loose with our main objective being simply camaraderie.  If there are situations in which it would be better for the invitation to come from TOSS, we are happy to handle that (though contact information would be very helpful). 

Register just as you would for any TOSS event and include any former superintendents as your guest(s).

The Band’s Getting Back Together Again!

a.k.a

Superintendent Reunions