October 2021 News

CMCSS student report cards for the first nine weeks of the 2021-22 school year will be available on Wednesday, October 27. Parents/guardians will access report cards online using the CMCSS Parent Self-Service webpage at parents.cmcss.net.

If parents/guardians have issues accessing their child’s report card using CMCSS Parent Self-Service, they can contact their child’s enrolled school.

The report card available through Parent Self-Service is considered the official report card with comments for the grading period.

At any time, parents/guardians can check their student’s academic progress on PowerSchool. PowerSchool is the official grade book and attendance tracker for CMCSS. While some digital learning platforms have a grade book, please note that official grades will only be recorded in PowerSchool.

TNREADY DATA

TNReady data from the 2020-21 school year will be sent home with your student(s) beginning Wednesday, October 27. Please contact your child’s enrolled school if you do not receive this information.

CREATING A POWERSCHOOL ACCOUNT

If you need to create a PowerSchool account, visit powerschool.cmcss.net, click the Create Account tab, and complete the form.

Families will need an Access Code for each child. Access codes can be obtained through the parents.cmcss.net portal by clicking on “Get Student Security Info” and following the steps listed in the video below.

PowerSchool Access Codes: https://ior.ad/7PBU

Here’s an interactive tutorial

** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **

https://www.iorad.com/player/1866690/Accessing-PowerSchool-Access-Codes

If you are using the PowerSchool app, the CMCSS’ District Code is P Z Q N.

UNDERSTANDING POWERSCHOOL AND REPORT CARD ABBREVIATIONS

Families may see several abbreviations in PowerSchool, including:

• N(#) ex. N1, N2, etc. This is the student’s current grade in the nine weeks.
• S(#) ex. S1, S2, etc. This is the student’s semester grade, which includes the nine weeks combined. For high school students, this grade will reflect the semester credits earned for that period. This grade will also include mid-term exams when applicable.
• Y(#) ex. Y1. This refers to the student’s cumulative grade for the year.
• OT On-Track. Students in grades K – 5 may see this designation on their report cards.
• AE Approaching Expectations. Students in grades K – 5 may see this designation on their report cards.
• BE Below Expectations. Students in grades K – 5 may see this designation on their report cards.

Watch this video to understand the PowerSchool dashboard:
K-2 Standards-Based Iorad: https://ior.ad/7MKm
3-12 Traditional Grading Iorad: https://ior.ad/7O3p

Note: Students in grades 3 – 5 may be assigned a letter grade and have letter grades available through PowerSchool. Report cards may also display the OT, AE, or BE information under College and Career Readiness.

On Friday, October 29, the community is invited to attend the Honor Choir Festival at Montgomery Central High School. Over 80 students from CMCSS high school choir programs will participate in this public concert, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The clinician for this year’s festival is Dr. Tim Sharp and the accompanist is Jan Corrothers. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students, and children 6 and under are free.

Clinician/Accompanist

Tim Sharp (BM, MCM, DMA) has varied his career as conductor, university professor, publisher, and arts administrator and innovator. Currently in his thirteenth year as Artistic and Executive Director of the Tulsa Chorale, Tulsa (OK), Tim enjoys programming relevant concerts that have become a staple of the artistic classical music landscape throughout the region. He is the Director of Innovation for Trevecca University’s (Nashville, TN) Center for Community Arts Innovation, and Director of Music at Immanuel Baptist Church (Nashville, TN).

Tim’s research and writing focuses pedagogically in conducting and score analysis, and his many published essays and books betray his eclectic interests in regional music history, acoustics, creativity, innovation, and aesthetics. He has conducted university, community, church, and children’s choirs, and performs as choral conductor and clinician in the United States and internationally.

Dr. Sharp is a Life Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, with degrees in music and conducting from The School of Church Music of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Belmont University, and Bluefield College.

Tim has just concluded thirteen years as Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association, the national professional association for choral conductors, educators, scholars, students, and choral music industry representatives in the United States. He represents choral activity in the USA to the International Federation for Choral Music. Prior to his leadership of ACDA, Sharp was Dean of Fine Arts at Rhodes College, and earlier, Director of Choral Activities at Belmont University.

Sacred Choral Music Repertoire: Insights for Conductors is Tim’s latest book for choral conductors. Other publications in choral conducting are Relevance in the Choral Art, Innovation in the Ensemble Arts: Sustaining Creativity, Mentoring in the Ensemble Arts: Helping Others Find Their Voice and Collaboration in the Ensemble Arts: Working and Playing Well with Others. In addition to these publications, Tim has many published choral compositions and arrangements.

Tim lives on a working farm in Hickory Point (Clarksville), Tennessee, along with his wife Jane and daughter Emma.

Jan Corrothers is a collaborative pianist and organist based in the Greater Nashville area where she serves as Staff Accompanist for the Music Department of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Jan performs as accompanist for choral conventions, workshops, festivals, recitals, and reading sessions across the United States and abroad. Previously, Jan served as Staff Accompanist and Adjunct Faculty member at Xavier University, Northern Kentucky University, Alderson Broaddus University, Marietta College, Ohio University, and as Principal Accompanist of the Cincinnati Youth Choir, in residence at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music.

While in Northern KY, Jan collaborated regularly with the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson, as well as the Festival Singers of Florida, under the direction of Dr. Kevin Fenton. Most recently, she was the guest pianist for the 2020 ACDA Eastern Division Elementary Honor Choir in Rochester, NY, under the direction of Henry Leck.

Jan has been an invited guest lecturer in Beijing, China, presenting research on the art of Choral Collaboration: Understanding the Function of the Conductor/Accompanist/Choir Triangle. She shared her research as a guest presenter for Chorus America’s Conducting Retreat at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music in 2013.

Freelance performing opportunities include serving as Guest Collaborative Artist at Anderson University with Jessica Rivera Shafer, Soprano (2015), choral festival pianist with the Cincinnati Youth Choir in Carnegie Hall, All State Chorus accompanist in WV, KY, TN, and FL, as well as ACDA Regional and National honor choir accompanist.

From 2015-2017, Jan served as Board President and Conference Coordinator of the Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians’ national organization (FABM). She is also featured as a recording artist with Dr. Raquel Rodriquez, cornet, on the album: Cincinnati Virtuosity, The Cornet Solos of Frank Simon and Herman Bellstedt.

Jan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organ Performance and Church Music from Alderson Broaddus University, where she received the 2008 Outstanding Young Alumni Award, and a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from Shenandoah University, where she was awarded a graduate assistantship as pianist for the opera program.

This week, CMCSS students in grades 6 – 12 will have the opportunity to voluntarily participate in a short one-question survey regarding ESSER 3.0 funding. The question will be a multi-select ranking question. Data collected will provide the district with another avenue of stakeholder feedback.

The question was specifically designed for students and appeared as follows: 

CMCSS expects to receive a lot of money that we can spend on our schools and students. Please rank the items below from 1 to 7 that you would like to see CMCSS spend more money on with these new funds. 1 = I want CMCSS to spend the most money on this, 7 = I want CMCSS to spend the least amount of money on this

1. Academics and Instruction
2. Arts (Music/Band, Art Classes)
3. Improvements to School Buildings
4. Student Social and Emotional Learning Support
5. More Technology or Technology Improvements
6. Tutoring Opportunities 
7. More Substitute Teachers and Bus Drivers

Stakeholders who have questions regarding ESSER 3.0 can contact [email protected].

On October 20, parents and guardians of CMCSS will receive an electronic Federal Impact Aid survey.

Federal Impact Aid is designed to assist local school districts that have lost property tax revenue due to tax-exempt Federal property. Federal Impact Aid is set up for school districts where federally owned lands (such as Fort Campbell, government buildings, TVA steam plants, subsidized housing, etc.) are located. It intends to help offset the lost property taxes that would have been collected if businesses or privately owned residences were located there instead. Federal Impact Aid does not provide funding for every military-dependent child who is served in our school system.

Each year, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System sends out to parents a survey to collect data about federally connected students. The funding formula that determines how much money a school system will receive hinges on accurate information collected on the survey.

It is crucial that parents complete the forms. And the information must be what is accurate on November 2. This year, there will be an electronic survey that is confidential and has no effect on personal taxes or on those who live in subsidized housing.

Please complete the survey by November 12, 2021.

Caring individuals always make a difference in the lives of CMCSS students. The district is actively seeking community members who are able to represent the educational interests of students with disabilities.

All children with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) under state and federal special education laws. Included in these laws is a mandate for the parents of children with disabilities to have the opportunity to actively participate in the educational decision-making process. Some children with disabilities may not have parents who can fulfill this very important role, leaving their educational planning solely to representatives from their local school system or other agencies. Federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and state rules, regulations and minimum standards require that an individual must be appointed to make decisions regarding the education students with disabilities must receive.

What is a surrogate parent?

A surrogate parent is a volunteer who is appointed by a local education agency to assist children who do not have parents or family members. The surrogate parent has all of the rights and can make all of the special education or early intervention decisions that are usually made by the child’s parents. Surrogate parents can review educational records; request and consent to evaluations and reevaluations; and challenge the recommendations of the education or early intervention agency by requesting informal and formal dispute resolution procedures. A surrogate parent does not have any rights and responsibilities for the child outside of the special education process.

When does a child require a surrogate parent?

A child with a disability requires a surrogate when:

1. the parent (as defined in § 300.519) or guardian cannot be identified;
2. the LEA, after reasonable efforts, cannot discover the whereabouts of a parent;
3. the child is a ward of the State; or
4. the child is an unaccompanied homeless youth as defined in section 725 (6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(6).

What are the responsibilities of a surrogate parent?

The surrogate parent acts as a substitute parent and is given the responsibility of determining the child’s educational experiences. A surrogate parent is not responsible for any financial costs or direct care of the child with disabilities. The surrogate parent represents the child in every step of the education process including identification, evaluation, and educational placement. The Surrogate Parent fulfills the parent role at all Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Team meetings and works to ensure that the child receives FAPE. A surrogate parent is also responsible for keeping confidential all information from the child’s educational, medical, or social services records.

Who can be a surrogate?

Any citizen of the United States of permanent resident who is at least 18 years old and has no conflict of interest concerning the child’s education may serve as an educational surrogate and must be of good moral character. The educational surrogate must act in the best interest of the student he/she represents. Furthermore, an educational surrogate may not be an employee of a public agency providing care, custody, or educational services to the specific child in need of educational surrogate representation.

How much time and money will this commitment take?

Surrogate parents are required to devote approximately three hours to the training provided by Clarksville Montgomery County Schools at least annually. After a student with disabilities is assigned, the educational surrogate reviews the student’s record well enough to understand the student’s needs, strengths, interests as well as their school history. Training is provided free of charge.

If you are interested in attending a training to become a surrogate parent, please email [email protected].