April 2023 Updates and Reminders

March 29, 2023

Please note: This article was originally posted during a previous school year. Information and/or dates from past events
may be not be relevant for the current school year.

Good afternoon, CMCSS families,

Please see below for updates and reminders for April.

Calendar Reminders

• Tuesday, April 4 (5-7 p.m.) – Kindergarten Kick-Off for 2023-2024 School Year
• Friday, April 7 – Holiday | No School
• Monday, April 17 – State Standardized Assessments (TCAP) Begin
• Wednesday, April 19 – “Purple Up! For Military Kids” Day
• Monday, May 1 – Friday, May 12 – Advanced Placement (AP) Exams
• Wednesday, May 24 – Last Half Day of School

April – Month of the Military Child

April is designated as the Month of the Military Child. “Purple Up! For Military Kids” will be celebrated in CMCSS and DoDEA schools on Wednesday, April 19. We encourage the entire community to wear purple to show your support for military-connected children. In CMCSS, around 30% of our nearly 39,000 students are military-connected. Almost half of CMCSS’ schools have earned the TN Purple Star School Award for their commitment to serving military-connected students, with additional schools earning the distinction each year. Military members and military-connected families make many sacrifices for the security and safety of our nation, and we honor and recognize the unique challenges children and family members make to support their loved ones in uniform.

Assessments/Testing – TCAP

The Tennessee TCAP assessments (state standardized tests) will be administered in CMCSS beginning April 17, 2023. Please click here for the communication that was sent last week with more information about TCAP.

For families of third-grade students, during the 2021 Special Session, the Tennessee legislature updated the student promotion and retention law effective this school year. CMCSS has been sharing letters with families and hosting informational meetings. The third parent letter will be sent home next week. The Instruction and Curriculum Department will host additional informational meetings the week of April 10, and the letter next week will include more information. Click here for information on third-grade promotion and the English Language Arts TCAP. Please note, as with all legislation, the laws, rules, regulations, and guidance are subject to change.

Kindergarten and Voluntary Pre-K Information

Kindergarten enrollment has begun for the Class of 2036! If you have a child who will be five years old on or before August 15, 2023, please click here to learn more about kindergarten registration and the upcoming Kindergarten Kick-Off events on April 4.

Additionally, CMCSS offers Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten classes on an application basis as established by the Tennessee Department of Education. CMCSS will begin accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year on April 4, 2023. If you have a child who will be four years old on or before August 15, 2023, and you are interested in learning more about Voluntary Pre-K, click here.

Parent/Guardian Spring Survey

CMCSS will begin dispatching the second parent/guardian survey next week. We received over 13,000 responses to the parent/guardian survey in the fall. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete, and we ask all families to please complete the survey. Your feedback is extremely important and helps our schools and the District improve our services. Parents/guardians will receive the survey directly from CMCSS via email and/or text.

School Safety

As we grieve the tragic loss of innocent lives of students and staff at Covenant School in Nashville, our hearts are heavy, and our community, like those across the nation, continues to experience a range of emotions. In the first three months of 2023, our country has experienced nearly 130 mass shootings, with Education Week reporting 13 school shootings. Many of us can remember a time when these tragedies were rare. However, with ongoing violence in our society, we must remain vigilant and continue working together to make our schools and communities safer.

We ask families to continue reviewing CMCSS’ School Safety Hub. While CMCSS does not publicly advertise its complete plan to ensure that those who wish to do harm do not have access to the information, this resource provides important information on safety and security protocols and practices.

Please see below for three points the District and schools continue to reiterate, and we appreciate your partnership and support to reinforce these in your home and the community:

• Families, please talk to your children about the importance of immediately reporting any safety concern to a teacher, administrator, SRO, or other trusted adults. Whether it is on social media or in the schoolhouse, if you see or hear something, say something. For imminent threats, immediately call 911.
• Per state law, an individual can be charged for recklessly, by any means of communication, threatening to commit an act of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity. Additionally, the Student Code of Conduct was updated to make credible threats a Zero Tolerance Offense (mandatory calendar-year expulsion). In several cases, students have made threatening statements they claimed were jokes. Making a threat is not a joke, and the consequences are serious.
• One of the most important things we can all do is truly get to know our children. When students have meaningful connections with family members, teachers and staff, and other trusted adults, it can make a tremendous difference when they are struggling emotionally or need extra support. If your child needs support, CMCSS has school counselors, school psychologists, and social workers who are ready to assist and can provide additional community resources to families.

School safety is CMCSS’ top priority. It takes the entire community working together to provide a secure educational environment. Thank you for your partnership and support.