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

• Franklin Elementary: Joanna Salce
• Johnson Elementary: Rebecca Granstaff
• Liberty Elementary: Katie Giles
• Moore Elementary: Christen Wilkes
• Freedom Intermediate: Marie White
• Freedom Middle: Catherine Curtis
• Poplar Grove Elementary School: Cinamon Collins, Ed.D.
• Poplar Grove Middle School:  Laura Boyd

 

Grant Process

Before You Apply

1. Plan a project that meets a real need for students at your school.
2. Contact your Grant Team Rep for possible funding sources.
3. Present your project idea to your principal or supervisor.
4. Complete Intent to Apply grant form
5. Your Grant Team Rep and FSSD Grants Consultant Connie McKee will provide feedback on your proposed project.  

 

While You Are Writing
Work with your Grant Team Rep to complete the Project Profile Planning Sheet.

1. Identify the need
2. State the goal
3. Describe the objectives
4. List the activities
5. Prepare the evaluation
6. Build the budget
7. Consider dissemination and sustainability

Grant Team Reps have access to additional online resources and can help you access data on the school and district. If you make changes to your original plan, please change the Intent to Apply form to reflect these changes. All grant proposals must be submitted to Connie McKee, Grants Consultant, for review at least five working days prior to being submitted to the funder.

 

When You Have Finished
A grant consultant will review your proposal to ensure it meets the high quality standards expected from Franklin Special School District and its staff. Contact the Associate Director for Teaching and Learning, Dr. Mary Decker, to arrange for any required signatures from the district. Whether or not signatures are required, send a copy of the completed grant application to Connie McKee.

​ 

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

National Board Certification for Teachers

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

 

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.

• Leslie Duke, Human Resources Supervisor

• Mary Decker, Ed.D., Associate Director of Schools, Teaching and Learning

What 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.

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

Summer Carlton, Supervisor

Deb Naber, Secretary

1406 Cannon St.

Franklin, TN  37064

615-591-2802

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.

• Academic Support Team (AST)
• Curriculum
• Differentiated Instruction
• ELL Team
• Employee Documents
  • Employee Handbook
  • Ending Employment Notification
  • Grievance Forms
  • Personnel Directory
  • Tuition Reimbursement
• Grants
• Instructional Technology and Communication
  • Social Media Guidelines and permission form for official account
• National Board Certification
• Special Education
  • SpEd Manual

The Teacher Calendar breaks down the FSSD school calendar into more specific labels for professional learning and mandatory teacher contract days. The Teacher Contract Days are explained in full below. You are welcome to click on the links below for a printable calendar and contract day explanation:

• 2020-2021 Teacher Calendar (pdf)

• 2020-2021 Teacher Contract Days (pdf) 

 

2019-2020 Contracted Days for Teachers

200 Teacher Contract Days

• Student Days:  177 days
• FSSD Scheduled Professional Learning:  5 days (See below)
• Teacher Professional Learning 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.

• 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 Dr. 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.

 

Instruction and Professional Learning

Summer Carlton, Supervisor

Deb Naber, Secretary

1406 Cannon St.

Franklin, TN  37064

615-591-2802

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. WeeMAC is under the MAC umbrella of childcare services

WeeMAC Office 
Melissa Whitehair, Supervisor
c/o Freedom Middle School
750 New Highway 96 West
Franklin, TN  37064
615-591-2559

All district adopted resources for core content area teachers can be accessed through your Clever dashboard.

• McGraw Hill Wonders
• Holt McDougal
• Curriculum Associates Teacher Toolbox
• Studies Weekly
• Gallopade
• Accelerate Learning STEMscopes
• Pearson EasyBridge

Travel Reimbursement Form