We hosted our third State of the District breakfast on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at Cheatham Middle School. About 100 government, community, business and school leaders were in attendance. We appreciate IES for sponsoring this year's breakfast. We invite you to watch the breakfast (video link above). The breakfast includes a speech by Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck as well as speeches from educators, alumni and students.

At this year’s State of the District breakfast, our focus was on the arts. Our students are deeply immersed in the visual and performing arts and enjoy many opportunities for creative expression, including drawing, painting, marching band, choir, art shows and theatre productions. Please take a few minutes to watch a video (video link above) about the arts in our schools that we shared at the breakfast.

We are excited to present our 2021 Annual Report. The report, now in its fourth year, showcases the accomplishments and successes of our district. Additionally, the report gives our stakeholders a snapshot of what we are able to accomplish with the resources and support provided to us. We unveiled the Annual Report at our annual State of the District breakfast. We want to thank the digital design students at Sycamore High School for helping to design this publication. To view the 2021 report, click here. To view the previous reports, click here.

February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. Our CTE programs continue to prepare our students for high-wage and high-demand career fields in today’s workforce. We are committed to providing our students with the opportunities to become a vital part of the school-to-workforce pipeline, and our programs are driven by dedicated educators and students who strive for success. Please take a few minutes to watch a video (video link above) showcasing the Auto Mechanics CTE program at Cheatham County Central High School. The program is being funded through an Innovative High School Models Grant by the Tennessee Department of Education.

National School Counseling Week is Feb. 7-11. Sponsored by the American School Counselor Association, the week focuses public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors across the United States and how students are different as a result of what counselors do. The week highlights the tremendous impact counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. Our school counselors are:

• Ashland City Elementary STEM Academy: Joy Kassner

• East Cheatham Elementary School: Bri Sogla

• Kingston Springs Elementary School: Laura Deer

• Pegram Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School: Callie Bobo

• Pleasant View Elementary School: Lydia Postlewait

• West Cheatham Elementary School: Tara Canterbury

• Cheatham Middle School: Ashley Lockert and Erica Delavergne

• Harpeth Middle School: Callie Bobo and Brandi Gilland

• Sycamore Middle School: Molly Hudgens and Matthew Shuff

• Cheatham County Central High School: Beth Campbell and Amzi-Lynn Spain

• Harpeth High School: Andrea Holley and Deborah Barger

• Sycamore High School: Maggie Fields and Christine Faircloth

• Riverside Academy: Brianette Shannon

We want to remind our families that there will be an early dismissal day on Friday, Feb. 18. Lunch will be served to our students, and school will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m. Our teachers will participate in professional development in the afternoon. Additionally, our schools and the central office will be closed on Monday, Feb. 21 for Presidents Day.

One Generation Away, working in conjunction with local churches, will host a free food distribution on Saturday, Feb. 19 from 9-11 a.m. (or until food runs out) at Ashland City Elementary STEM Academy, 108 Elizabeth St. in Ashland City. This is open to all families in our community and will operate as a first-come, first-serve drive-thru distribution. Everyone is asked to stay in their vehicle and have space cleared for the food. We appreciate One Generation Away and our local churches for helping our families in these challenging times.

The second Cheatham County STEAM Camp will be held on Saturday, March 12 from 9 a.m. until noon at Ashland City Elementary STEM Academy, 108 Elizabeth St. in Ashland City. We are calling all engineers, drivers, pilots and captains in grades K-8 to attend. To register for the camp, click here. The registration will end on March 4. Once you compete the online registration, an event permission slip will be emailed to you. Please bring the permission slip with you on March 12.

The 2022-2023 school calendar is now available on our website. The school year will begin on Friday, Aug. 5 for students in grades 1-9 with a 10:45 a.m. dismissal. The first full day for students in grades 1-12 is Monday, Aug. 8. The first full day for Pre-K and Kindergarten students is Friday, Aug. 12. The complete calendar can be found here.

Members of the 2021-22 Aspiring Administrators Academy have been announced. Educators selected for the academy learn more about the leadership roles of an administrator. Through guest speakers and discussions, class members are exposed to a school administrator’s scope of work. Members also have a variety of requirements to meet throughout the program. This year’s members are:

• David Ufnar, Harpeth High School

• David Jones and Jordan Reed, Riverside Academy

• Callie Bobo, Michel Morrow and Jessica Goodwin, Harpeth Middle School

• Kristina Pardue, Cheatham County Central High School

• Tracy Delano, East Cheatham Elementary School

As a reminder, we made a switch in November in our mass notification system. We are now using Blackboard in order to let you know about emergency situations, school closings, school updates and more. We use the contact information from your child's registration and/or emergency cards to send out these notifications via phone, text and email. PLEASE ensure that your contact information (phone numbers and email addresses) is up to date by calling your child’s school. Also, please contact your child's school if you are not currently receiving these notifications.

• Riverside Academy, Wednesday, May 25, 10 a.m., Ashland City Church of Christ

• Harpeth High School, Thursday, May 26, 7 p.m., Harpeth High School Football Field

• Sycamore High School, Friday, May 27, 10 a.m., Austin Peay State University, Dunn Center

• Cheatham County Central High School, Friday, May 27, 1 p.m., Austin Peay State University, Dunn Center

We are hiring in our employee only daycare program as well as in our afterschool daycare program at our elementary schools. We have full-time and part-time positions available. For the complete list of openings, please click here. If you are interested in working for our daycares, please contact Daycare Supervisor Emily Staggs at 615-746-1433 or emily.staggs@ccstn.org.