April 4th Meeting: Karen Carson, Knox County Chair

Please join us on April 4th to welcome Karen Carson, Knox County School Board Chairperson who also represents the 5th District.  Chairperson Carson will update the club on current issues involving our school system and the 5th District.

Karen Carson: 5^th District School Board Representative

Mom: Married 27 years to Joe, an engineer in Oak Ridge, 3 kids: TJ recent UT graduate, now gainfully employed; Doug, Maryville College Senior; and Rebeka a Farragut High School Senior.

Nurse: pediatric nurse for 33 years, at Children’s Hospital since 1990.

Volunteer: TN PTA Board of Directors, YMCA Board of Directors, numerous committees focused on healthy living for children and families.

School Board: 5^th District Representative since 2004; Chairwoman of Board 2006-2008, TN PTA’s outstanding School Board Representative in 2008 and 2010. Re-elected as Board Chairwoman 2012.

Karen believes that there are three essential elements needed for a successful school:

             Challenging Curriculum: We have increased rigor and raised expectations to better align with national and international education standards.

             Excellent Leadership: effective principals expect and demand excellence from their teachers and staff. Knox County Schools has increased professional development opportunities for Principals through the Leadership Academy.

             Engaged Families and Community: Knox County Schools has made some headway here but, too often families feel excluded and uninvolved, teachers feel overwhelmed and the community feels like an outsider.

                        Karen’s focus is on connecting families, schools and communities.

 


To find out more about Chairperson Carson and the Knox County School Board, please visit these sites:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Carson-5th-District-School-Board/356489144379370?v=info 

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/feb/12/karen-carson-for-knox-county-school-board-5th/

http://board.knoxschools.org/modules/groups/integrated_home.phtml?gid=500078&sessionid=26251bb65ea4de0d8322952cc297b648