NEWS
AND VIEWS
To say the least, this has been an unforgettable year
for TSB and Nashville. We began the school year with construction delays; we
celebrated our improvements with a wonderful Open House, and then the rains
came. Thank
you, students, parents, staff and friends for your patience, understanding and
support. The end product is that on June 11th
we will be graduating fourteen seniors and through our on-campus program and
outreach services we will have provided educational services to nearly nine
hundred students.
Campus Improvements:
Here’s a laundry list of what was completed this year:
1. Re-wiring of older classroom building,
2. Repaired plaster and painted older classroom
building and installation of a sound absorbent ceiling in the main cafeteria,
3. Re-roofed cottages with metal, fifty year roofs,
4. Constructed a connector hall between the gym and
the “Blue Roof Building,”
5. Roofed and remodeled the Atrium courtyard to create
an indoor play area,
6. Upgraded plumbing, light fixtures and added new
geothermal wells to make our campus more energy efficient,
7. Long awaited completion of the Gym renovation,
including a Goalball floor and repair of the swimming pool.
Sometimes the “perfect storm” works in your favor.
The
question has been asked, “How can these expensive projects be achieved
considering the current economic crisis?”
The simple
answer is that major projects like these take years to plan and fund and
fortunately the planning and funding phases had been accomplished prior to the
present downturn. Because
of the downturn, we were able to get a bigger “bang for our bucks” and stay
within our budget.
I would be remiss if I did not recognize Mr. Rick
Allison, our Facilities Manager, for the huge part he played in the planning and
day to day detail of this construction.
Also, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ms. Deborah
Boshears-Davis, Executive Director of Capital Projects for the State Department
of Education; Ms. Valerie Law and Ms. Gisela Patteson of the State Department of
Finance and Administration.
These ladies were our guardian angels throughout the
projects.
Open House:
On April 7th,
we celebrated the culmination of these projects with an Open House.
Our Student Council provided docents for school tours to
show off the projects completed as well as other enhancements to our campus
provided by the Friends Foundation and some special touches provided by the hard
work of our teachers and students.
Ms. Andrea Conte, the First Lady of our state paid a
surprise visit to our Elementary Talent Revue and graced us with a tour of our
facilities.
This was a personal thrill to me and a true honor for our school.
And Then The Rains Came:
As I know you all are aware, on the weekend of May 1st,
Nashville was deluged with an all time record 13 plus inches of rain.
Many areas of the city were flooded including the
suburbs around the school.
Fortunately, because of the school’s location on high
ground, we were spared from the devastation that occurred in other parts of the
city.
Our auditorium and maintenance building were flooded and we had several
roof leaks; but as of the date of this report, all repairs and cleaning has been
accomplished.
The major challenge that the school faced was low water pressure
on our campus.
Because of this pressure deficiency, the school was unable to
meet the demands normally placed by one hundred and fifty plus students and our
staff.
It was deemed that for health and safety reasons the school should be
temporarily closed until adequate pressure could be restored.
The silver lining in this story is that for several
years TSB has extended our school day by a few minutes and we are able to
“stockpile” thirteen school days each year.
We were able to draw upon these stockpiled days and not
be forced into a situation of having to extend the school year.
I won’t embarrass these folks by acknowledging each of
them, but all of you need to know that many members of our TSB Family gave
freely of their time and money to assist our staff and students who had suffered
losses during the flooding.
These TSB heroes also volunteered for countless
community service hours.
Reminder:
During this emergency most of you were updated on the
school situation by our automated calling system. Please, remember this system
is only as effective as the telephone number you give us.
If your number changes, call us or advise your child’s
cottage parent or teacher.
Retirees:
At the conclusion of the school year several long time
TSB employees will be retiring. Youth Service Workers, Ms. Judy Henley and Ms.
Judy Zoph will be sorely missed for the care and love they provided our cottage
students. Ms. Suzanne Rutledge, parent of a one of our alumni, long time school
supporter and valued member of our business office, retired earlier this year.
Para-educator, Ms. Linda Wise plans to play a lot of golf after dedicating many
years of classroom support to TSB students.
Ms. Sue Alban has taught home management and
independence skills to hundreds of our students. We’ll all miss her event
planning skills and I will miss her as a strong advocate for kids. Dean of
Students, Mr. Marvin Sanford, is retiring after many years of service at TSB and
previously at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. Marvin is responsible
for supervising the custodial, security and cottage staff.
He leads by example and has never asked an employee to
do a job that he was unwilling to tackle. Mr. Sanford is a TSB institution. His
organizational skills and leadership are irreplaceable. All told these folks
have given 141 years of service to the students of TSB. “Thank you” just doesn’t
seem to be enough.
Respectfully,
Jim Oldham
Superintendent