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In today’s episode, Dr. Cathy Beck, Director of Schools for Cheatham County Schools, and David Risner, Board Chairman of the Cheatham County Board of Education, share the importance of becoming the first school district in Tennessee to be named a Unified Champion District by the Special Olympics. Join us as they cover the steps the district took to achieve this designation as well as the importance of promoting social inclusion throughout the school district.

https://www.cheathamcountyschools.net/apps/news/article/1810530

https://www.cheathamcountyschools.net/apps/news/article/1732327

https://youtu.be/3O2Fxc3pyFs

https://www.cheathamcountyschools.net/apps/news/article/1644462

The Tennessee School Boards Association maintains an awards program that, each year, recognizes school board members who have gone above and beyond for their school district. In today’s episode, Brittany Massey, Director of Finance and Member Services, and Sandy Jones, Board of Directors Services Coordinator, cover the different types of awards and recognitions available for school board members to achieve throughout the year. Visit www.tsba.net for additional award details and applications.

In today’s episode, Nathan Abbott, Information Systems Manager with the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury – Division of Local Government Audit, provides an in-depth overview of cybersecurity and speaks to why it is important for school districts to ensure that the appropriate safeguards are in place to protect their digital assets.

Show Notes:

Below are a few websites mentioned during today’s podcast that may be helpful to reference when learning more about cybersecurity:

https://www.cisa.gov/

https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functions/la/resources/cyberaware.html

https://www.tn.gov/cybersecurity.html

https://www.cisecurity.org/ms-isac

In today’s episode, Patty Thomas, Director of Career & Technical Education, Federal Programs, & Nursing Services for Alcoa City Schools, discusses Careers in Motion, a program that encourages students to participate in CTE opportunities. Careers in Motion is a grant-funded project awarded by Pathways TN and the Tennessee Department of Education to Alcoa City Schools, Blount County Schools, and Maryville City Schools in order to promote high-wage, high-demand, high-skill career and technical education-related programs to students.

Visit the Careers in Motion website by clicking here.

In today’s episode, Dr. Ricky Catlett, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, and Greg Hammond, Chief Public Information Officer, discuss why communication is key at Jackson-Madison County Schools. Listen in as they cover the different methods of communication that they have implemented to foster relationships with their employees, students, parents, and the community. To learn more about their district, visit them at www.jmcss.org.

In today’s episode, Ben Torres, TSBA Assistant Executive Director & General Counsel, and Brittany Massey, TSBA Director of Finance & Member Services, discuss school board member training and provide information as to these training requirements as well as the trainings available through the Tennessee School Boards Association.

In today’s episode, Bill Parker, Director of the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission, discusses the importance of financial literacy in grades K-12 and the resources available for school districts when focusing on financial education.

Click here to access a video created by the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission.

In today’s episode, Tiffany Kerns, Executive Director of the CMA Foundation & SVP Industry Relations & Philanthropy at the County Music Association, and Franklin Willis, Director of Community Impact at the Country Music Association, discuss the importance of music education in our Tennessee schools and provide resources and recommendations as to how school districts can strengthen their music programs.

In today’s episode, we discuss the benefits of BOEconnect, an online meeting platform offered by TSBA. Vijaya Subramani, Board Secretary for the Germantown Municipal Board of Education, highlights the many reasons why she and the Board enjoy utilizing this service and how it has streamlined the board meeting preparation process. Listen today to learn how your Board can start streamlining their process today through BOEconnect.

In today’s episode, Christy Tennant, Deputy Director of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Investigations, is speaking about the role of the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office and how it works with school districts when overseeing school support organizations. Listen today to find out more about the board’s role when ensuring these organizations comply with state law.

For more information, click here to access the procedures manual for school support organizations referenced during today’s episode. Click here to view the investigations map created by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office.

In today’s episode, we are speaking with Eston Williams, USDA Liaison, and Joe T. Wood, USDA Community Liaison, about local prosperity councils and the benefits that come when launching a council within a community.

For more information as to the resources mentioned in today’s episode, see the links below:

• TSBA Data Dashboard
• USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement
• USDA Communities of Faith & Opportunity Playbook

If you have any questions as to the topic discussed during this episode, feel free to reach out to Eston Williams, USDA Liaison, at (202) 596-0226 or eston.williams@usda.gov.

In today’s episode, we are speaking to Special Agent Andy Hendrix and Special Agent Jim Cole with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about an initiative designed to combat the sexual exploitation of children. This initiative, Project iGuardian, is an outreach effort to share information about the dangers of online environments, how to stay safe online, and how to report abuse and suspicious activity.

For information as to the resources mentioned during this podcast episode, please see the links below:

• Be Safer Online for students under the age of 12  
• Be Safer Online for students over the age of 12 
• Be Safer Online for Parents and Teachers
• Child Rescue Coalition 
• Internet Safety 101 
• What to do when a child predator contacts your child
• There’s an app for that! 

In today’s episode, we are speaking to Neel Durbin, Director of Schools of Dyersburg City Schools, about therapy dogs and how these types of animals are being incorporated within the school district to create a positive and thriving learning environment for students as well as staff.

To see photos from today's recording, click here.

For more information regarding therapy dogs, click here for a powerpoint created by Dyersburg City Schools. 

In today’s episode, we are speaking with David Ricketts, Assistant Director of BuyBoard. The BuyBoard National Purchasing Cooperative helps save time and money while purchasing the products school systems use every day. Would you like to save time and money? BuyBoard is an online purchasing cooperative designed to streamline the purchasing process and help its members make confident buying decisions.

We are speaking with Randall Bennett, former Deputy Exec. Director & Gen. Council, about the top ten things all school board members need to know. Today's episode covers things to know 6-10.

[Re-Air]: We are speaking with Randall Bennett, Deputy Exec. Director & Gen. Council, at TSBA, about the top ten things all school board members need to know. Today's episode covers things to know 1-5.

We are speaking with Jennifer White, Director of Policy and Staff Attorney at TSBA, about open meetings and what board members need to know to comply with state law. We will discuss exceptions and misconceptions of the law, and why it's important to be mindful of discussing topics outside of the board meeting. 

Jennifer White will provide insight on Collaborative Conferencing and identify key components that staff and management need to successfully conduct this form of communication. Co-host, Jenna Zwan is also asked a series of questions to test her knowledge on the topic, and her answers are anything but correct. Tune in to share some laughs and learn how to use Collaborative Conferencing in your school district. 

For more information regarding parliamentary procedure, click the links below: 

https://tsba.net/policy/parliamentary-procedure/

http://www.orgsites.com/tn/tennesseeparliamentarians/_pgg9.php3

Randy's Recommended Books for Parliamentary Procedure

Recommended books that everyone needs on their shelves: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Robert's Rules; Robert's Rules for Dummies

For more information as to the OPEB Trust and how to join, check out our website: https://tsba.net/services/tsba-opeb-trust/.