Cheatham Achieves

Our second early dismissal day of the 2024-25 school year is Friday, December 6. Schools will dismiss at 11:45 a.m. Lunch will be served for students on this day. Teachers will participate in professional development in the afternoon.

As you might recall, we teamed up with the Cheatham County Chamber of Commerce several years ago to start the “Shop Local Shop Cheatham" campaign. The goal of the campaign is to encourage the community to be aware of the choice to shop locally, and how that choice positively affects the economic well-being of our county and school district. As you finish up your Christmas shopping this month, we encourage you to shop with our local businesses. A portion of every sales tax dollar spent in Cheatham County goes toward education!

We want to remind our families of our inclement weather policy. Inclement weather closures are made when we determine that not all students can safely be transported to school. Our buses travel through every part of the county, and road conditions may vary by location. Should we make the decision to close schools due to weather, families will be notified via an automated phone call and email directly from the district. The closure will also be posted on the district’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and website as well as shared with the Nashville TV stations. If possible, we will notify families about school closures or delays the night before. If the decision to close school is made overnight, families and staff can expect to receive a phone call and email early in the morning. Our goal is to notify everyone by 5 a.m. We also encourage our families to make plans in advance for potential weather-related disruptions. Whether it's arranging for child care, modifying work schedules or ensuring that students are kept safe and warm at home, planning ahead will help minimize stress if school closures occur.

For the second consecutive year, we received top marks from the Tennessee Department of Education on student improvement. We are proud to announce that we have been named a Level 5 district.

The Level 5 designation is based on the 2023-2024 Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) scores. This is the highest level that a district can achieve for student academic growth. TVAAS measures student growth year over year. Districts that earn a 5 are making more growth than expected. These numbers signal that more than a year’s worth of growth was made during the past school year.

We are also proud to announce that six of our schools – a district record in one year – received a Level 5 designation:

• Kingston Springs Elementary School

• Pleasant View Elementary School

• Cheatham Middle School

• Sycamore Middle School

• Harpeth High School

• Sycamore High School

Additionally, Kingston Springs Elementary School was named a Reward School by the Tennessee Department of Education. Reward School status is the top distinction a school can earn in Tennessee. Schools receiving this designation exemplify student success in achievement and growth in the tested areas.

Students will be dismissed at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, December 20 for the winter break. Lunch will not be served on this day. We hope our families have a wonderful holiday season, and our students and staff members will return refreshed from the much-deserved winter break. Staff members will return on Monday, January 6 and students will return on Tuesday, January 7. Report cards for the second nine-weeks grading period will be released on Friday, January 10.

Our new Innovative Scholars program is off to a great start! This program expands the learning opportunities for our academically advanced students. These students participate in academic programs that go above and beyond the instruction they receive in the classroom. High school students are also provided with job shadowing opportunities. The criteria for students to join this program is based on standardized scores and recommendation from their schools. More than 300 students are currently enrolled in the program. Dr. Lynn Seifert oversees the program.

The Cheatham County Polar Plunge will take place Saturday, January 18 at Riverbluff Park, 175 Old Cumberland Street in Ashland City (there will be a pool, not the river). Registration begins at noon and the plunge starts at 1 p.m. Money raised will help provide sports training and competition for Special Olympics Tennessee athletes in Cheatham County. Create a team and challenge others, join a team, or plunge as an individual. Each plunger needs to register and raise the minimum $75 ($50 for students) to plunge. If you don’t want to plunge, you can still donate to Special Olympics Tennessee. Complete details about the 2025 Polar Plunge can be found by clicking here.

The Cheatham County School Board is making a change to its meeting schedule for three months in 2025. The monthly board meetings will continue to be held on the first Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. However, the location is changing only in February, March, and April. The February 6 meeting will be held at Harpeth High School, the March 6 meeting at Cheatham County Central High School and the April 3 meeting at Sycamore High School. The board recognizes the importance of parental involvement in the educational process and rotating the location of the meetings will give individuals another opportunity to engage with their schools in their community.

We encourage everyone to protect themselves against the flu virus this year by getting vaccinated. Vaccination is the best way to protect against the flu and severe complications from the flu. Flu vaccines can be administered at a variety of places such as private physician’s offices, walk-in clinics, pharmacies, and health departments. Also, while we are out of school for winter break, we encourage our families to clean their children’s personal items such as backpacks, lunch boxes and water bottles to help prevent the spread of germs.

In case you missed it ... We shared our annual Thanksgiving video last week on social media. In keeping with tradition, we asked a few of our students what they are thankful for this year. We hope you will take a few minutes to watch the video if you haven't done so already.

Our Cheatham Achievers after-school program at our three middle schools is going strong! This FREE program is funded by a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant and serves students in grades 5-8 at Cheatham Middle School, Harpeth Middle School and Sycamore Middle School. It is held from 2:45-5:45 p.m. each school day Monday-Thursday. Weeks that have a holiday and we are closed that day during the week, we are open on those Fridays. For more information about the program and to register your child for the program, please click here. Contact information for the school site directors are also included in the link. We want to thank our community partners, including the Cheatham County Community Enhancement Coalition, for providing some programming for our Cheatham Achievers, including those at SMS (pictured).

Cheatham County is blessed with a multitude of agencies and organizations that provide a wide variety of support for families. Our community resource guide is one of the initiatives in the Partnerships and Community Engagement section of the district’s five-year plan. A copy of the 2024-2025 guide is available by clicking here. We will update the list as needed. If a resource needs to be added to the guide, please contact Communications Director Tim Adkins at tim.adkins@ccstn.org.

Join the Cheatham County Community Enhancement Coalition for an evening of gratitude and inspiration as they honor faith leaders and community members who bring hope and healing to our community. The annual Celebration of Hope program will be held on Tuesday, December 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Gateway Church, 1642 Highway 12 South in Ashland City. Free hors d’oeuvres will be served from 5:30-6 p.m. Together, everyone will remember those we’ve lost to overdose and addiction, and lift one another up with strength, support, and unity. Those who attend will have the chance to connect with local resources. Faith-based community leaders will also be recognized.

Email: info@ccstn.org
Website: cheathamcountyschools.net
Location: 102 Elizabeth Street, Ashland City, TN, USA
Phone: 615-792-5664
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccboe1/
Twitter: @CCBOE

Instagram: ccsdtn