TN Academic Standards

Family Life Curriculum

Pacing Guides: Elementary and Middle School

JCHS Course Pacing Guides & Syllabi     (Teacher Update Link available here)

During the 2016 Legislative Session, the general assembly passed the Public Chapter 1058 of the Acts of 2016 which requires school districts to screen for characteristics of dyslexia through their existing Response to Instruction and Intervention RTI² procedures and to provide "dyslexia-specific tiered interventions" for students that demonstrate a need.

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and is characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.  These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. 

Dyslexia is a language-based condition rather than a vision-based condition. Students with dyslexia struggle with the relationship between letters and sounds. Because of this, they have a hard time decoding, or sounding out, unfamiliar words, and instead often misread them based on an overreliance on their sight-word memory. Deficits are unexpected relative to cognitive abilities in that the student’s skills are lower than their overall ability and are not due to a lack of intelligence.

The ESL program in Jefferson County offers a combination of ESL classes, both pull-out and inclusion, for all limited-English proficient students.  Additionally, we provide support services for all classroom teachers. Students qualify for the ESL program based upon their performance on the state English proficiency assessment in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The purpose of our program is to help ensure students with limited English proficiency attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same challenging state benchmarks as all students are expected to meet.

ESL Documents and Resources

TN State Board of Education ESL Program Policy

The Jefferson County Schools District is committed to helping all children succeed. Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI²) is one form of support. RtI² is a three -tiered delivery system that uses a problem-solving model based on data to identify specific student needs and match appropriate instruction. Use the following resources or contact your child's teacher for additional information about RtI². 

TN DOE: RtI² Website

RtI² Triangle Graphic

District strategic and academic plans are located on the Annual District Strategic Plan page.