Elizabethton High recognized as U.S. Civics All-Star School
Published 7:24 pm Tuesday, August 22, 2017
With an emphasis on promoting civics, the Tennessee Department of Education recently awarded the work of one local school.
Elizabethton High School was recently named one of the state’s U.S. Civics All-Star Schools by the Department of Education. Schools can earn the title by having students graduating with a diploma also passing, by scoring a 70 or higher, on the U.S. Civics test.
“We’re very excited and pleased to hear about the accomplishment,” said Elizabethton Director of Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour. “It is a testament to our teachers about coming together and stressing the importance of civics and social studies in a collaborative way. It also says a lot about our student body working hard to achieve this goal. We couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Per state law, Tennessee Code Annotated 49-6-1028, “all districts must ensure that a project-based civics assessment is given at least once in grades 4-8 and once in grades 9-12.”
Assessments are created by the district to ensure students are “being taught the learning objectives contained within the social studies standards as well as to demonstrate understanding of civics,” according to the Department of Education.
“Civics and citizenship are of great importance and hallmarks of public education,” Gardenhour said. “Success in those areas translates to a better workforce, better educated student body and other key areas for a community. We appreciate the state highlighting the importance of these issues for our students.”
Tennessee has been on the forefront of revamping the approach in civics and social studies over the past two years. Following up the installation of an assessment, which went into effect last year, the State Board of Education voted unanimously in July to approve new state-specific academics for social studies.
The standards for the course of study will be implement during the 2019-20 school year statewide. Educators and others spent years developing a comprehensive review before unveiling the final product.
“These new social studies standards provide a strong foundation for our students, due in part to incredible participation from educators and Tennesseans across the state in the review process,” said Dr. Sara Morrison, executive director of the State Board of Education, said in a statement issued to the Elizabethton Star. “Standards point the way for high-quality instruction in the classroom, which is our ultimate goal.”