We are excited that all of our elementary and middle schools are getting new playground equipment. The installation started in May, and the work is almost complete. Mulch was also added to the playgrounds as part of this project. The new equipment is a welcome addition to our campuses (pictured is our West Cheatham Elementary School playground). Thanks for your patience as we worked on this project over the past several months.

The Cheatham County School Board elected its chairman and vice chairman for the 2022-2023 school year at its Sept. 1 meeting. David Risner (District 6, pictured on the right) was re-elected as chairman and John Patrick (District 1) was re-elected as vice-chairman. Each September, the board selects a chairman and vice chairman from among its ranks. We appreciate your leadership and service to our district!

There is a vacancy on the Cheatham County School Board in District Two. Due to redistricting, current School Board member John Patrick moved from District Two and is now representing District One. District Two includes the East Cheatham area. If you are interested in representing District Two, please click here for additional information.

The Cheatham County School Board voted at its Sept. 1 meeting to move the starting time for both the monthly workshop and meeting. The new time is now 6 p.m. The monthly workshop is held on the last Thursday of the month and the meeting is held on the first Thursday of the month. Both are held in the Board Annex, 104 Elizabeth St. in Ashland City. For September, the monthly workshop will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 27 due to board members attending the Tennessee School Boards Association Mid-Cumberland Fall District meeting on Thursday, Sept. 29.

In 2020, our Transportation Department implemented a new student badge program. All students who ride a Cheatham County school bus must have their badge with them and scan it when they get on and off the bus. With the new school year underway, please make sure your child is bringing their student ID badge (with the barcode) to school every day if they ride a bus. If your child has lost their badge from last year, please have them ask their front office for a temporary barcode until the fall student IDs arrive. Starting Sept. 12, the badges will be mandatory for riding one of our buses.

Mark your calendars! Our family Thanksgiving lunch will be served on Thursday, Nov. 10 and our End of School lunch will be served on Thursday, May 11. Families are invited to come eat with their child(ren) on these two days. Also, our National School Breakfast Week will be held March 6-10 and we will have special days in which mom, dads, grandparents and government workers can come eat at our schools. We will share additional information about these events closer to when they happen.

The Tennessee Department of Education has created a TN ALL Corps Advisory Council comprised of district leaders and early adopters of the TN ALL Corps program to help ensure that participating districts have a strong partnership with the department. Katie Arnold, our ESSER coordinator, is among the six individuals to serve on the council. The TN ALL Corps program is a high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring program to boost student outcomes and accelerate academic achievement. The Advisory Council will offer guidance on how to meet program requirements and model for what high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring can look like that includes more learning opportunities for students.

We encourage the attendance of students, parents, and fans at all of our athletic events. It is our goal to create an atmosphere which is conducive to healthy athletic competition, is safe for those involved, and which provides the ideals of sportsmanship and sound educational practices. With the 2022-2023 sports season underway, we ask that everyone please review and be familiar with our updated Spectator Code of Conduct.

With fall sports underway, we want to remind our families that ONLY service animals are allowed on our school campuses and at after-school activities. This means no dogs or other pets are permitted at any school event, which includes indoor and outdoor sports, unless it is a service animal. We ask that our families and guests abide by this as we want to keep everyone at these events safe and healthy.

We want to thank the Cheatham County Community Enhancement Coalition for sponsoring our all-call system this year! This is such an important resource as we notify families about emergency situations, school closings, school updates and more through this system. As always, we appreciate the Coalition for its ongoing support of our district.

Our 12-week Strengthening Families program will begin this month at Faith Community Church in Ashland City. The program is open to parents and youth ages 9-16. The sessions will be held on Mondays from 5-7 p.m. from Sept. 19-Dec. 19. Families share a meal together and then break into groups to learn specific skills such as conflict resolution; how to discuss difficult topics such as drugs, peer pressure, etc.; and how to develop speaking and listening skills. At the end of the program, a printed copy of the family mission statement is presented to each family during a closing graduation ceremony. Strengthening Families is an evidence-based program recognized by the Tennessee court system and Department of Children Services.

Our first early dismissal day of the 2022-2023 school year is Friday, Sept. 23. 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.

The Cheatham County Literacy Council will host a Book Walk on Saturday, Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon at Riverbluff Park in Ashland City. The book, “Iggy Peck, Architect,” will be featured. Students and families will walk through the story in a series of book pages set up at the park. This is a free event, and all families are invited to attend.

We are excited to offer the Cheatham Achievers after-school program again this year. We have had a great 8 years and look forward to another wonderful year of opportunities and student growth. Cheatham Achievers is an after-school program funded by the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant. This year’s program begins Sept. 26. This program serves students in grades 5-8 at Cheatham Middle School, Harpeth Middle School and Sycamore Middle School. All programs associated with the grant are offered free of charge. To learn more about the program, please click here.

We want to remind our families that they can pay online for just about anything school related (such as school meals, yearbooks, daycare, club/organization events, laptops, etc.) via our RevTrak payment system. We have individual school links on the district website. To access the RevTrak system, click here.