Governor Bill Lee Visits Dr. William Burrus Elementary
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee stopped by Dr. William Burrus Elementary today to highlight the school's literacy success and literacy programs, specifically Kindergarten through third grade.
"This school and these kids are some of the best readers in the whole state," Lee said.
Governor Lee visited multiple classrooms and watched Burrus teachers and students in action.
"One of the most important things you can do is read. Your school and your educators are particularly doing a really good job at that," Lee told a third-grade classroom. "We are here to say thank you to them for the work that they do."
Tennessee Education Commissioner, Dr. Penny Schwinn, SCS Board Members, political leaders and media were on hand for today's visit.
In addition to spending time in multiple classrooms, Governor Lee also sat down with a panel of teachers and discussed an array of topics.
He was also greeted and treated with snacks from the school's Leadership team.
"Very proud of you all. Keep working hard. The more you can read, the more you can write, the more you can do and the more successful and happier your life will be."
Sumner County Schools fully supports and is implementing Governor Lee’s Reading 360 commitment to K-3 literacy.
"We believe that students should start learning on day one of school, studying the rich history of our nation and world, science, and literature," Sumner County Schools Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Scott Langford said. "To become skilled readers, our students receive daily instruction in foundational literacy (Fundations) and practice decoding words and building fluency using these newly-acquired foundational skills using decodable readers (Geodes) that reinforces their content-knowledge learning."
In 2021, Sumner County Schools was chosen as one of eight mentor districts across the state by the Tennessee Department of Education. We helped six districts in Middle Tennessee implement high quality English / Language Arts (ELA) instructional materials.
William Burrus Elementary School is a STEM-accredited school, blending problem solving and the engineering process into what students learn and do daily. Burrus also has a strong commitment to training future leaders with a student leadership program for 4th and 5th graders.