For the Record: End of Semester Message from Kay Drew

As we close out the first semester and 2011, my ninth as Head of Schools will always belong in a category of it’s own.  It has been marked by several notable achievements already:

• Achieving a 24.6 composite ACT score while the state average is 19.1 and the national average is 21.1.
• Varsity football advanced to the second round of the TSSAA State Tournament with a 10-2 record.  Our football staff received the coveted A.F. Bridges Sportsmanship Award over all coaching staffs in A, AA, and AAA.
• AnnaMichelle Moore placed 7^th in the State for golf, while our boy’s team advanced to the Regional Tournament.
• Eight of our cheerleaders traveled to NYC to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.  Two will travel to London to perform later this month.
• Girl’s soccer advanced to the Quarterfinals in District play.
• CA went Apple!  9^th-12^th grade students were issued MacBooks, staff received MacBook Pros and the Lower/Intermediate classes have a state-of-the-art technology lab.

This partial listing doesn’t capture one of the most important achievements: the continued devotion of our faculty and staff to the vision of this school.  Just last week we witnessed the magic that occurs when exceptional educators collaborate to bring learning to life.  Lower school students were afforded the opportunity to board The Polar Express for a ‘train ride’. Each student was able to travel using reading and imagination as the transportation system to another world.  Our students had additional related lessons including how to make snow in science class, calculating distance in math, (how far is it from Clarksville to the North Pole?) and most importantly discovering that ‘believing’ can truly make dream’s come true.  Without loving, enthusiastic, creative, and highly skilled teachers this experience of exploration and discovery would not have been possible.

The CA Polar Express day was filled with many memorable snapshot moments but my favorite has to be when one second grade student, who was boarding the train, wide eyed with her ticket clutched in her hand, looked up at our Conductor, (Coach Todd Hood), and said,  “This is the best day I have ever had.  I have always wanted to ride this train!”  For me, that says it all.  We reinforced to our students the power of combining our mind and knowledge with imagination.  The sum of these can transport you anywhere you want to go.  When students realize this priceless life lesson, the gift of education is one that they will respect and cherish forever.

As you have heard me say before, thank you for the opportunity to educate your children.  It is a gift that the faculty and staff and I enjoy each and every day!

For the Record…I am so very proud to be Cougar this holiday season.  2012 will bring more great things to CA and I am glad you are along for the ride.

Merry Christmas!  May you all enjoy a holiday break of fun, laughter and making great family memories.  See you in January!

For The Record: Staying in front of the instructional curve for our students

It has been said that one of the most significant challenges we face as professionals in education is attempting to stay in front of the instructional curve for our students.  As a college preparatory school this is extremely important.  We want Clarksville Academy to produce leaders and in order to do so, we must lead, not follow.  It is important for us to educate our students with current, cutting edge technology and practices.  We have taken a huge step forward this year with the immersion of technology in our curriculum.

The good news is Clarksville Academy is a leader.  We have worked very hard laying foundations and strategizing for excellence in our educational offerings. Because we constantly assess where we are, where we want to be, what the challenges might be to reach our goals and how we will move toward them, we are noting progress.

Progress has been made in our means of instruction.  The addition of the 1:1 laptop program from a technological advantage is huge.  We are giving our teachers and students the technological tools they need to be innovative and creative, while still mastering the skills and knowledge we know they must have to be successful.  This practice will begin with our youngest students and grow with them through their years at CA.

Two years ago, we made the change to all honors and AP courses in our upper school curriculum.  This week we received our ACT scores, and the data agrees with what what we thought would happen.  Our students’ scores are surpassing county, state and even national standards.  The education they are receiving is putting them at the top of list for scholarships and college acceptance.

Our lower school students also can boast great standardized test scores.  The teachers worked tirelessly to prepare our students for their futures.  Lower school students have had science and math labs along with vocabulary studies intermixed with their core classes for several years now.  We believed that this would reinforce the basic skill set they were learning in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  According to their latest scores on the CTP4 ERB, the standardized test they take each year, this practice is producing excellent results.

Being open to new ideas and improved practices in education doesn’t always have to relate to academics. Have you read about our latest revisions to our food services?  We have seen a great response to our addition of the breakfast bar, which is open every day at 6:00-8:00 a.m. Items include made to order pancakes, waffles, sausage and biscuit, or cereal, to name just a few.  We will also be adding an afternoon snack or break time to the end of the day which will include items such as protein drinks, fruit and other great after school snacks.

Progress is transforming CA.  Progress, and better yet, success is seen in the amount of scholarship dollars our graduates receive ($2.8 million for a class of 32 in 2011), our above par ACT composite scores (24.6) and the scores of our lower school students on their standardized tests (number).  We are proud that you have chosen to be part of the Cougar family.

We make a life by what we give

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

-Winston Churchill

For the record, I agree with Winston Churchill!  As Head of School for Clarksville Academy, I have the good fortune of encountering kind, generous people all the time.  It will never cease to be exciting when someone contacts me wanting to help our school.

There is such a variety of ways to offer assistance-gifts of time, gifts of talent, gifts of labor, gifts of services, and financial gifts. For example…

Just this past week, we had the opportunity to honor two families who have given much to Clarksville Academy.  These families have given time, talents, and resources to make the school’s facilities, educational and athletic resources better. For them, it was rewarding to contribute to the students, faculty, coaches and families of Clarksville Academy, to make a vision become a reality.

Another family generously committed to giving $100, 000 as a display of devotion and gratitude to our school. Eight members of this family have attended Clarksville Academy over the past four decades. By giving so generously this family’s hopes are that many generations to come family and friends will continue to benefit from an education at CA as they have in the past.

Recently, on April 21st, 160 friends of Clarksville Academy gave time during their busy day to test drive a Lincoln around downtown Clarksville. Jenkins and Wynne graciously offered the Drive One Opportunity to our school for a spring fundraiser.  In just 4 hours together we raised $3200 for our school.

Maybe your gift is your talent?

Could you volunteer your services for a summer camp? Do you have tech, construction or artistic skills that we could put to use on an upcoming project? Could you help our teachers in their classrooms throughout the year with their needs?

Some ways to help could be:

• Reading with a child who is learning & practicing reading aloud.
• Assisting in challenging a math student who is working above one grade level.
• Be a part of our parents group, CAA and volunteer.
• Help during Teacher Appreciation Week
• Volunteer during Grandparents Day.

Regardless of what your gift may be the important part is becoming actively involved.

Our gift making process makes the act of giving exciting and easy.  We want to work with all friends and families who want to give to CA to make a dream a reality.  You may want to honor a loved one & memorialize them, or you and friend may want to partner and name a project at CA. Monetary gifts don’t have to be given in a single year.  A repeat commitment for several years could make it more feasible while also being helpful for your charitable donation deduction on annual tax reports.

I urge you to give some time and thought to what makes you happy? Together Sally Allen and I welcome the opportunity to talk and work with you to make a difference at CA.

A digital learning environment

Are you familiar with these terms? Digital learning environment, 1 to 1 initiative,  campus network infrastructure, deployment of laptops, and iLearn program.

These are terms CA is excited to embrace for Fall 2011. Don’t worry if you are not familiar with these terms because we will all learn about them together over the next few months. They are important to know as CA is embarking on a new digital learning path and for the record… I couldn’t be more excited!

Clarksville Academy will begin following a digital learning environment model for classroom instruction.

A digital learning environment is made possible when following the 1:1 model where each student has a laptop.  CA has elected to embrace this learning style beginning next year for our students.   Prior to the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year we will deploy approximately 200 MacBooks to our 9^th through 12^th grade students.  Another 60 MacBook Pros will go to the administrators and faculty so that they can fully integrate technology into instruction.  And finally, 25 iMacs will create a new lab on campus for training our K-8 students how to use technology to think creatively, make informed decisions, manage and build projects and conduct research.

A critical part of making a program addition of this magnitude successful is having the network infrastructure, hardware, software, staff and support in place.  Our school has been fortunate to have a board appointed technology committee, that has given many hours to work with Cara Miller and myself to ensure that calculated, purposeful decisions were made.

There is a true excitement in the air surrounding the launch this new 1 to 1 initiative program.

Students are excited about having their own laptops, teachers are excited about all the new possibilities this opens up in the classroom and parents can rest assured that their child will continue to receive the skills necessary they need to compete in a global society. You won’t want to miss a second of this exciting journey with us, so log-in now and subscribe to this blog for frequent updates about campus.

Kay Drew

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs

Kay Drew, Head Of Schools

“ Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”  -Theodore Roosevelt

For the record…I know there are worse things in life than losing a game, but sometimes the pain that comes with the loss conceals what those are.  There is no doubt that we all felt the pain of our team’s loss on Monday.  For most of us, it was not until Wednesday that we could talk about it without tearing up.   Thank goodness, as each new day dawns, it seems to get a little easier to discuss. While I acknowledge that a win was what we all wanted and that is part of the reason we had a record attendance of 1374 in our gymnasium that evening, I also know the fans were there for more than just to witness another win.  Our bleachers were filled with fans who wanted to watch a great game played by talented young men who conduct themselves with dignity and class.  They wanted their young children to see great role models who understand what true team work and an unselfish attitude can accomplish.  The fans wanted to see young men who respect their coaches and stand up for their fellow teammates when they exit the basketball court and give them a clap for a job well done.

For me, I will always remember the fans wearing blue standing and cheering louder than ever before for this team they are so proud to be associated with.  I will remember the cheerleaders and dance team bringing the crowd to their feet as they led the fans in a side line cheer and performed for a sellout crowd. I will remember our student section never sitting down for one moment as they cheered and clapped for their peers.  I will always remember our coaches and players standing in the traditional line to shake the hands of the Perry County players even though they were filled with sadness.  I will remember the fans of our opponents coming up to me and telling me what a great school we have and what a pleasure it was to play where the team and fans were a class act.

The 2011 Cougars of Clarksville Academy made us very proud in their run for a repeat State Championship in 2011! The commendations and awards our Cougars received were many including an unprecedented occurrence of two twin brothers being named finalists for Mr. Basketball!   I wouldn’t take anything for being a part of that experience and I am honored that you were there by my side to witness another grand moment of our school’s history.

Kay Drew