Cheatham Achieves

We are proud to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week January 25-31 and honor our board members for their commitment to Cheatham County and our students. This year’s theme is “Local Leadership Lasting Impact.” Our board members devote hours of their time to provide leadership for our school district, and we appreciate the work they do to improve public education for everyone. School Board members are John Patrick (first district); Vice-Chairman Amber Locke (second district); Dale McCarver (third district); Jimmy Harden (fourth district); Robert Epps (fifth district); and Chairman David Risner (sixth district).

The Cheatham County School Board will hold its annual retreat on Saturday, January 31 from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. The retreat will be held virtually this year due to the weather. The agenda link can be found HERE.

February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. Our CTE programs are preparing our students for high-wage and high-demand career fields in today’s workforce. CTE covers many different fields, including health science, agriculture, auto mechanics, auto collision, welding, criminal justice, audio/video production and digital art/design. We thank our CTE teachers for preparing our students for post-secondary careers and college. Pictured is our new Residential Construction program at Harpeth High School. The program is taught by Charles Morehead.

The Cheatham County School Board is making a change to its meeting schedule for three months in 2026. 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 5 meeting will be held at Sycamore High School, the March 5 meeting at Harpeth High School and the April 9 meeting at Cheatham County Central 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.

National School Counseling Week is February 2-6. 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. This year’s theme is “School Counselors Amplify Student Success.” Our school counselors are:

One Generation Away will host a free food distribution on Saturday, February 7 from 8:30-10 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 Gateway Church in Ashland City for hosting these giveaways.

Faith Community Church of the Nazarene is hosting a "Feeding the Heart" event on Saturday, February 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free hot meals (to-go meals available to take to someone in need) and winter clothing will be available. The church is at 238 Ed Harris Road in Ashland City (across from Cheatham Middle School).

The Cheatham County Literacy Council, in collaboration with the Cheatham County School District, Cheatham County Public Library and South Cheatham Public Library, will host two “Meet Me at the Library” events in February and March. Pleasant View Elementary School families are invited to attend the “Meet Me at the Library” event on Thursday, February 19 from 5-7 p.m. at the Cheatham County Public Library, 188 Mayfield Drive, Suite 200, Ashland City. Pegram Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School and Kingston Springs Elementary School families are invited to attend the “Meet Me at the Library” event on Thursday, March 12 from 5-7 p.m. at the South Cheatham County Public Library, 358 North Main Street, Kingston Springs. There will be free hands-on activities, giveaways and food trucks and everyone can sign up for a library card.

February is a busy month for our students as we are hosting our inaugural middle school math competition on Wednesday, February 25, our annual STEM competition on Thursday, February 26 and our annual Civics Bee on Friday, February 27. All the competitions will be held at the Cheatham Middle School Norma Beshears Multi-Purpose Room.

We will celebrate National School Breakfast Week March 2-6. This year’s theme is “The Quest for School Breakfast.” To celebrate the week, we are inviting family members to eat breakfast at our schools on designated days. Our schools will be sharing additional information with their families, but please mark your calendars now and plan to attend! National School Breakfast Week celebrates the importance of a nutritious school breakfast in fueling students for success.

Children who are 5 years old by August 15, 2026, are eligible to enroll in kindergarten. However, children who turn 5 between August 16 and September 30, 2026, have an opportunity to be assessed to determine readiness for early access to kindergarten. The intent of early access is to identify highly capable children who miss the regular August 15 cutoff for kindergarten entrance. Early access to kindergarten is a whole-grade acceleration that is designed for the exceptional child who is academically, developmentally, and socially advanced as compared to others of his or her chronological age. We are accepting early access to kindergarten applications for the 2026-2027 school year through May 1, 2026. Additional information can be found on our website by clicking HERE. We will be sharing information about Pre-K and kindergarten registration for the 2026-2027 school year very soon.

Members of the 2025-2026 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. Assistant Director of Schools Robyn Miller oversees the program. This year’s members are:

• Harpeth High School: Mike Parsley, Andrea Holley, Allison Mueller

• Sycamore High School: Tyler Binkley, Caitlin Page, Devin Roberts

• Sycamore Middle School: Randall Wood

• Harpeth Middle School: Brooke Mounce

The graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2026 at Harpeth High School, Sycamore High School, and Cheatham County Central High School have been announced. Please mark your calendars as we celebrate this milestone with our seniors.

• Harpeth High School, Thursday, May 21, 7 p.m., Harpeth High School football field
• Sycamore High School, Friday, May 22, 10 a.m., Austin Peay State University, Dunn Center

• Cheatham County Central High School, Friday, May 22, 1 p.m., Austin Peay State University, Dunn Center

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