TEACHER INFORMATION

Moore Elementary teachers in a groupThe Franklin Special School District is proud to have the highest quality teaching staff in the state. Our ability to draw the finest teachers available, and retain them, is in large part due to the competitive salary schedule and generous benefits plan offered by the district.
 
Important Links
  • Skyward Educator Access:  Skyward is the student management system for FSSD. Teachers use Skyward’s Educator Access Plus both to enter assignments and grades for student reports cards, and to enter attendance.
  • Skyward Business Access:  This link will take you to the area of Skyward where you will request time off, request substitutes (through Aesop), and review pay stubs.
  • Frontline Education (formerly My Learning Plan):  an online tool that FSSD faculty and staff use to enroll and track professional learning.
 
Grant Team
  • Grants
The FSSD uses grants and federal programs to support the district’s mission, vision, and goals by actively seeking resources that enrich the lives of the stakeholders of the Franklin Special School District.
 
Grant representatives are located in each school. The grant team representative assists faculty and staff in the grant application process as grants are written for classrooms or schools.For more information on grants and the grant funding process, please speak with your building representative. Grant Team Representatives

If you intend to pursue a grant, please click below for the steps involved:

Recent Major Grants Awarded to the FSSD

  • Tennessee LEAP (Lottery for Education: Afterschool Programs) – $397,197 (2017 – 2020) This grant provided before and after school activities for children receiving free or reduced lunch.
  • Dollar General – $8,000 Summer Literacy Program (2017),  $3,000 Summer Reading Program through Gentry’s Educational Foundation (FIS 2017),  $4,000 English Learner Reading Strategies (PGES 2016-17)
  • Jamba Juice – $1,000 Climbing Equipment (2016-17 LES)
  • Everlast Climbing – $8,000 Climbing Equipment (LES 2016-17)

 

FSSD Grants
Connie McKee 
Grant Consultant
507 Highway 96 West
Franklin, TN  37064

Instructional Technology

The mission of the FSSD Instructional Technology Department is to integrate technology seamlessly, providing students with a rich educational experience while equipping students and staff with the technology skill set needed to function successfully in an increasingly digital society. The FSSD Instructional Technology Specialist is committed to advancing and supporting an environment which maximizes the integration and use of technology by students and staff, thereby allowing them to reach their full potential to adapt, manage, and participate in a digitally literate world. Academic achievement is enhanced when the implementation of technology tools is combined with sound instructional practices. The FSSD is committed to collaborating with teachers, administrators, and students to enrich teaching and learning through the use of technology.

Instructional Resources 

The Instructional Technology Department has compiled a listing of  online resources to assist students, parents and school staff with finding and using appropriate and instructionally sound web sites and digital textbook companions. Please click the button below to visit the list of resources for each category:

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Instructional Technology Specialists 

 
FSSD Central Office Annex
1406 Cannon St.
Franklin, TN  37064

615-472-3115

 

National Board Certification

National Board Certification for Teachers

The Franklin Special School District truly believes that great schools begin with great teachers whose instructional

Rebecca Parks of Franklin Elementary is recognized by Dr. David Snowden and the Board of Education as a newly pinned 2015 National Board Certified teacher.

Rebecca Parks of Franklin Elementary is recognized by Dr. David Snowden and the Board of Education as a newly pinned 2015 National Board Certified teacher.

leadership can positively impact children.  National Board Certification supports its vision of Excellence in Teaching and Learning for All; therefore, the FSSD supports its teachers who pursue this rigorous process beyond year one to ensure all district NBCT candidates become fully certified. This is an investment that will have a far-reaching positive impact not only for the teachers who participate in this process but also for quality of instruction we offer the children of the Franklin Special School District.

 
2018-2019 National Board Certification
  • Total Cost for the Process:  $1,975
  • Teacher Cost (Including $75 application processing fee):  $690
  • District Cost (allocated over 3 years):  $1,285
  • NBPTS Candidate Center

District funding will not be dependent upon the achievement of the National Certification.  However, if the teacher does not complete the process, the district will require the $1,285 to be repaid to the district.  The $690 fee paid by the teacher is not refundable from the National Board.

Once a teacher achieves National Certification, the teacher will receive a $4,000 per year supplement (southeastern average) for the life of the certificate as long as 100% of his/her day is devoted to direct classroom instruction.

Additionally, any teacher who accepts district funding for payment of the National Board Certification process shall sign an agreement that states that she/he will remain a teacher with FSSD for three years or repay, on a pro-rated basis, any district expenditure for the program.

 
Process
Teachers interested in pursuing National Board Certification should email the following two National Board Certification coordinators. All details of teacher and district cost and responsibilities will be conveyed to those interested in pursuing NBC.
Professional Learning
careers 2What Professional Learning Means to FSSD
The Franklin Special School District mission statement is “Teaching and Learning for All,” which simply means it is our goal to provide high quality teaching and learning opportunities for all students, parents, teachers and administrators.  Research has shown that high quality professional learning for all teachers improves the learning of all students. With professional learning, teachers can design more meaningful learning opportunities for their students, enabling students to meet high academic standards. This data driven, ongoing, research based, and high quality professional learning program is designed to raise the academic performance and achievement of all students, including one year or more academic growth.
 
As they meet with their colleagues, teachers discuss new and effective strategies that will meet the needs of all of their students. The Franklin Special School District realizes professional learning is vital for school improvement and has designed a program with high standards, based on careful analysis of student academic data and learning needs.
 
Lunch and Learn Professional Learning Teams
At the beginning of every quarter the Associate Director of Schools for Teaching and Learning and the Curriculum and Professional Learning Supervisor meet with a team at each school to discuss data and request input regarding professional learning and other issues and needs. Teachers from each grade or specialty area, paraprofessionals and school administrators participate in the Lunch and Learns and are able to suggest agenda items prior to each meeting. The input and questions from the Lunch and Learn team members as well as from their colleagues is extremely enlightening and valuable. Information gleaned from these meetings is utilized to plan for the two district-wide professional learning days, professional learning offerings throughout the year, and to drive targeted professional learning sessions and/or discussions at each site.  The goal of the Lunch and Learns is to have a truly open and collaborative process to tailor professional learning to the needs of FSSD teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators with optimal student learning as the result.
 
Time to Learn
To provide the framework for a high quality professional learning program, time must be embedded into the school year so that teachers will have an opportunity to learn, implement what they have learned, talk with their colleagues and continue to investigate.During professional learning time, teachers continue to deepen their own knowledge of the subjects they teach by working with experts in the field, observing other model classrooms, participating in online courses or interactive video sessions, developing technological skills that increase productivity and support student learning, and collaborating with colleagues in study groups or learning communities. Like practitioners in other professional fields, educators must keep abreast of emerging knowledge in their field. Therefore, time has been intentionally placed in the FSSD calendar to provide ongoing, sustained and job embedded professional learning. This time is scheduled outside of the time that a teacher spends with students.

Three days are designated in the FSSD calendar for district professional learning.  On one of these days, all teachers come together to design curriculum, create pacing guides and district assessments and to explore additional instructional strategies that been proven to result in student achievement. Two days are designated as district-wide professional learning days during which all FSSD educators have the opportunity to select and attend courses provided by other FSSD professionals as well as by presenters from outside the district. These sessions address a wide variety of professional learning topics including research-based best instructional practices, intervention and enrichment, technology, and education law.

 

At least 18 additional hours are earned through professional learning sessions, which occur in the summer, after school and on the weekends. These learning opportunities are designed based on identified district needs.

 

Two full days and six partial days are set aside for school based professional learning.  Two days occur at the beginning of the school year to explore student data and plan for new school initiatives.  The six partial days occur on days when students are dismissed early and teachers remain to continue to work and learn.

In addition, four other days have been placed in the calendar during the summer and at the beginning and end of the school year so that teachers can attend to administrative needs in their schools such as preparing the classroom environment, conferencing with parents and completing records.
 
Learning is Ongoing
Research has shown that student learning most often occurs when a teacher has deep content knowledge of his or her subject as well as expertise in a variety of research based instructional practices and strategies.  Teachers also continually investigate and prepare to use a variety of classroom assessment strategies so they can make informed decisions and differentiate student instruction. By designing a professional learning program that is ongoing and job embedded, not only are teachers learning to use current and appropriate research-based strategies, they are supported as they implement these strategies in their classroom.
 
Professional Learning Requirements: Teachers must participate in the district and school-based learning days as designated in the school calendar. In addition, teachers are responsible for a minimum of 18 hours of professional learning outside of these days.  At least 9 of these hours should come from Menu Courses. A teacher may choose to earn all required 18 hours with menu-driven courses.
 
The definitions and requirements for both Menu and Personal Choice professional development follow:
  • Menu Courses provide time for teachers to engage in identified topics, which support district and school goals.  Menu professional learning opportunities are posed and offered throughout the year, including after school, on weekends, and during summer breaks. Menu credit is approved through the district.
  • Personal Choice Courses provide experiences that are not necessarily based on district needs but meet the needs of a particular teacher or a particular school. The building principal must approve personal choice options prior to attending the activity. Personal choice approval forms are available from each building principal.
Through their involvement in this professional learning program, teachers and administrators are models of life-long learning and demonstrate the importance of continued education to their students. In FSSD, it is truly  “Excellence in Teaching and Learning for All.”
 
 
Instruction and Professional Learning
Mary Decker, Supervisor
Deb Naber, Secretary
1406 Cannon St.
Franklin, TN  37064
615-591-2802
Response to Intervention
LITERACY AND RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RtI)
Screen-Shot-2013-09-13-at-10.25.01-PM-300x222The Franklin Special School District uses the Tennessee Department of Education’s Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI2) Model to provide academic and behavior support in the general education classroom with the goal of early intervention and prevention before a gap in achievement becomes too great.  RTI2 is a school-wide, multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement.  It is a tiered approach to service delivery that provides a systematic and data-based framework through implementation of research-based instructional practices correlated to the individual learner’s needs.

We believe that a consistent, informed intervention program for all students will result in more achievement opportunities.  FSSD fully implements a unified RTI2 approach in all grade levels.  RTI2  interventions are provided in all schools in both mathematics and reading.

 

Literacy and RtI
Gina Looney, District Reading Coach
1406 Cannon St.
Franklin, TN  37064
615-472-3114
Sharepoint Library
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SharePoint is a document management program that enables users to centrally store, manage and access documents across the district. Documents are stored and organized in one central location and users have a consistent mechanism to navigate and find relevant information. The documents may only be accessed using a secure log-in and password.

 

Teacher Calendar and Contracted Days

The Teacher Calendar breaks down the FSSD school calendar into more specific labels for professional learning and mandatory teacher contract days. Please click on the links below:

Teacher Planning Calendar

 

2018-2019 Contracted Days for Teachers

200 Teacher Contract Days

  • Student Days:  177 days
  • FSSD Scheduled Professional Learning:  5 days (See below)
  • Menu-Driven/Personal Choice Days:  3 days (See below)
  • Administrative Days:  4 days (See below)
  • School Renewal:  1 day (See below)
  • Paid Holidays: 10 days

FSSD Scheduled Professional Learning Days (5)

All teachers will engage in learning that is critical to the district or the school; therefore, attendance is expected.

August 1:  District Professional Learning
August 2:  School Professional Learning
August 7:  School Professional  Learning
November 6:  District Professional  Learning
January 3:  District Professional  Learning

Teacher Scheduled Professional Learning Days (3 days or 18 hours)

A teacher is responsible for a minimum of 18 hours of professional  learning. Additional hours beyond the required may be applied to license renewal and as additional hours on the Professionalism Rubric.

  • Menu professional learning hours provide time for teachers to engage in identified topics, which support  district and school goals.  FSSD professional learning offerings are posted in My Learning Plan and offered throughout the year, including after school, weekends, and during the summer.  Professional Learning credit is approved through the district.

In order to ensure that credit is posted,  professional  learning  hours should be reported  in a timely manner  to Mary Decker.

 

Administrative Days (4 days)

Teachers complete administrative duties associated with the opening  and closing of school (e.g., student  records, reports,  etc.).

  • Flex day during summer  (Teachers log time in classroom, per the direction of their principal, preparing for beginning of school)
  • August 3 – Preparation for the opening of school
  • August 6 – Preparation for the opening of school
  • January 4 – Preparation for the second semester

 

School Renewal Day (1 day)

Neither teachers nor students attend on this day since time has been logged previously outside of the regular school day.

  • October 15 – This day is included as a part of Fall Break in exchange for logged time outside of the regular school hours conducting Parent/Teacher conferences.

Early Dismissal Days (6 days)

Students attend in the morning.  Teachers engage in school-based professional learning after student dismissal.

  • August 8
  • August 31
  • October  12
  • November 16
  • February 15
  • March 15

Please note:  the 18 hours of required professional learning, as part of ht teacher contract, must be earned outside of the school day (after school, weekends, summer). However, hours earned during the school day may be submitted as Professional Development Points (PDPs) in TN Compass.

2018-2019 Teacher Contract Days (pdf)
2019-2020 Teacher Contract Days (pdf) – NEW!

 
 
Instruction and Professional Learning
Mary Decker, Supervisor
Deb Naber, Secretary
1406 Cannon St.
Franklin, TN  37064
615-591-2802
Translated Documents

The FSSD Parent Liaisons have translated many documents for the schools as well as the districts. The following link will take you to a Sharepoint site where you can look for translated documents by location:

Translated Documents Sharepoint

WeeMAC

WEEMAC

Franklin Special School District’s employee childcare center, WeeMAC, is open year-round for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, offering them a nurturing and caring environment in which they can grow and learn. It is licensed by the Tennessee Department of Education’s Office of Early Learning. Tuition is comparable to other childcare facilities in the area and the program is self-sustaining.

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