Sumner County Schools

Sumner County Dominates Quiz Bowl

Sumner County High School Academic Teams hosted a virtual Quiz Bowl. Approximately, two dozen teams across the state participated in the tournament that also included teams from Gallatin High, Portland High and Merrol Hyde Magnet.

The overall tournament was won by Merrol Hyde Magnet and Gallatin High finished 4th overall.

The top individual scorer for the day was Opal Flanagan from Merrol Hyde Magnet School. Flannagan bested 87 total individuals to earn the top honors. Flanagan was followed closely in scoring by Gallatin's Chris Wright with a 2nd place individual finish.

Other Sumner County top 10 individuals recognized for their efforts were Andy Wattanaskolpant from Merrol Hyde Magnet School with a 6th place finish and Avery Cranford from Portland High School in 10th place. Congratulations!

TDOE Announces 48 Districts Selected for Pre-K–12 Literacy Implementation Networks
Implementation Networks to Support High-Quality Literacy Instruction

Nashville, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced the 48 districts selected to participate in the optional, Pre-K–12 Literacy Implementation Networks, part of the state’s Reading 360 initiative to help boost strong reading skills amongst Tennessee students.

As part of Reading 360, eight regional implementation networks will consist of 48 districts with the overarching goal of supporting the implementation of high-quality English Language Arts (ELA) instructional materials for Pre-K–12 students through competitive grants over the next five years.

“Over the next five years, the regional Pre-K–12 Literacy Implementation Networks will foster opportunity for districts to learn from each other and to form unique partnerships to support high-quality literacy instruction to build strong readers, which ultimately promotes success for our students and our state,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn.

Each regional implementation network will consist of one mentor district, 4-6 participating districts, and a regionally selected vendor partner, with the option of selecting an elementary, middle or high school focus. The districts selected to make up the eight regional Pre- K–12 implementation networks are:

Mentor districts have multiple years of high-quality instructional materials implementation experience and will help build capacity of participant districts who have adopted and purchased new ELA materials in the past year. Additionally, mentor districts will support participant districts’ system-level implementation strategy.

“Lenoir City Schools is thrilled to be able to join the PK–12 Literacy Implementation networks to collaborate around the important work of supporting high quality literacy instruction,” said Millicent Smith, Supervisor of Instructional Services, Lenoir City Schools. “We are excited to share lessons we have learned and look forward with anticipation to additional training and learning to support our continuous improvement!”

The district partnerships will help ensure teachers have the resources and support necessary to offer high-quality learning experiences for all children. Additionally, the networks will provide free coaching support for the training and use of Tennessee Instructional Practice Guides.

This competitive grant opportunity was open to all Tennessee districts to apply. The selected mentor and participating districts will agree to the grant requirements, which includes data sharing and a five-year commitment per the $20 million federal Comprehensive State Literacy Development (CSLD) grant awarded to the department to support the launch of the regional implementation networks.

“Ensuring every child is reading on grade-level or better is the most important job of our public schools,” said Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland. “I am delighted Sumner County Schools will help provide a successful framework for literacy that will benefit many other students on their educational journey.”

“I’m very proud Sumner County Schools has been recognized for the excellent work they are doing to give students a strong foundation in literacy. I congratulate our teachers and students for their combined efforts and achievements,” State Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville.

“Readers are leaders and leaders are readers,” State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, R-Lancaster, said. “I commend our district for their outstanding literacy instruction in our community. I am confident Trousdale County Schools will do their part to help improve student literacy across the state.”

Reading 360 is a comprehensive statewide literacy initiative to provide optional grants and resources to help more Tennessee students develop strong phonics-based reading skills by supporting districts, teachers, and families.

To launch Reading 360 and invest in optional reading resources and supports at no cost to the state or districts, the state is leveraging approximately $60 million of one-time federal COVID-19 relief funding and $40 million in federal grant funding.

To access additional resources on Reading 360, click here.

For additional information on the department’s COVID-19 and school reopening related resources, please visit Reopening Guidance.

For additional information, For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Gallatin Chamber Awards $15,000 to SCS

We have several teachers running in Gallatin’s Shamrock Run on Saturday, March 13th. Proceeds from this event are used to fund educational grants for teachers K-12 in the City of Gallatin.

This past school year, the Gallatin Chamber of Commerce gifted Sumner County teachers with $15,000!

In 2020, the Gallatin Chamber Foundation expanded its awards to include scholarships for graduating seniors, to honor the late Jim Hawkins, a Sumner County School Board Member and a champion for the Gallatin area. The James B. Hawkins Good Neighbor Scholarship is available to seniors at Gallatin High School and Station Camp High School who exemplify the traits of a good citizen.

If you’d like to participate in the race and support the Gallatin community please visit the Chamber's website. https://www.gallatintn.org/programs.../calendar-of-events

Congratulations to the 2020-2021 educational grant recipients!

* Brittany Tyree (Howard Elementary)
* Heather Hays (Guild Elementary)
* Cynthia McGuire (Vena Stuart Elementary)
* Tyler Raines (Station Camp Middle)
* Amy McAllister (Station Camp Elementary)
* Jacqueline Creasy (Union Elementary)
* Misty Donoho (Rucker Stewart Middle)
* Scott Pascarella (Gallatin High School)
* Dave Parker (Gallatin High School)
* Sandy Hale (Gallatin High School)
* Ashley Downs (Benny Bills Elementary)
* Kathy Vinson (Benny Bills Elementary)
* Stacy Benton (Benny Bills Elementary)
* Kate Kennedy (Shafer Middle School)

Pictured with our winners is Gallatin Chamber of Commerce CEO Kim Baker.

SCS Parents and Families,

We have been working diligently to provide all of our Sumner County Schools employees access to a free Covid-19 vaccination as quickly as possible.

We have received 1,800 vaccine doses from Hendersonville Medical Center and the Tennessee Department of Health to provide to our employees.

In order to manage the logistics necessary to provide the quantity of first and second dose vaccinations needed in single-day events, I will be scheduling distance/remote learning days for March 5, 2021 and April 1, 2021. All SCS students (Pre-K thru high school) will learn from home on those two dates. We wanted to provide as much notice to parents about these distance/remote learning days as possible to allow families time to make appropriate accommodations.

I am proud to say through a partnership with Sumner Regional Medical Center, we have already conducted two previous smaller clinics that provided over 1,400 vaccinations to our employees.

Parents are a critical part of our team and we appreciate your support and understanding to make this vaccination event possible.

Dr. Del Phillips III, Director of Schools