Consistency and collaboration have made it possible
for each WCS school to operate with great fidelity to
the district’s vision statement, adopted in 2010 after
an intentional dialogue with stakeholders throughout the community: “Williamson County Schools will
become a district recognized nationally for students
who excel in academics, the arts, and athletics.”
“You need time within the day
and schedule to have this kind of
collaboration,” Dr. Eric Lifsey said.
“There’s a big difference between having
a conversation and actually being able
to go and see things happening. We’ve
all been able to pick ideas and scale
them up as we need in our buildings.”
This statement defines the work of everyone in the
district, starting with academics, said Tim Gaddis,
assistant superintendent for teaching, learning and
assessment (TLA). WCS prioritizes classroom time,
which Mr. Gaddis calls the district’s most important
resource. There are no PA announcements interrupting classes, and no movies shown. Teachers and
administrators hold one another accountable for
bell-to-bell instruction.
Another high priority is rigor, across all achievement
levels. This is a professional development focus –
the district has brought in national consultants to
speak with educators on the topic. At the central
office, data is analyzed across all quintiles, and
growth within each quintile is tracked. More growth
is achieved in the lower quintiles, but it’s “a heavier
lift” to keep students growing once they reach the
top quintile, Mr. Gaddis said.
“We are really focusing heavy attention on that,” said
Mr. Gaddis. “What we have to do is make sure that
they aren’t just staying where they are, but actually
making progress.”
The district is also working to fully embrace RTI2
processes. Starting with the 2015-16 school year,
WCS will be a K-12 RTI district. WCS gives schools
control over how RTI is managed, and creative responses are shared through school leader collaboration. The district is considering a shuffle of principal
PLCs next year that would create PLCs composed of
multiple school levels, so high school principals can
learn from elementary and middle schools that have
had RTI processes in place for a year or two.
In addition to excellence in academics, WCS pro-
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