The Cheatham County School District has been recognized as one of 68 school districts in Tennessee as a Best for All district by the Tennessee Department of Education.
To qualify for the Best for All recognition program, a school district must spend at least 50 percent of its federal pandemic relief funds — known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief 3.0 — on proven, research-based strategies to raise student academic achievement.
Best for All districts also must participate in the TN ALL Corps tutoring grant program to provide students with high dosage, low ratio tutoring opportunities.
As part of the recognition as a Best for All district, the Cheatham County School District has also been awarded an additional $250,000 from the Tennessee Department of Education. This funding will be used to further support student learning.
The district celebrated the Best for All designation on Friday, Feb. 11 with a special event at the new Transportation Facility on Sweethome Road.
Commissioner of Education Dr. Penny Schwinn joined a host of community stakeholders and school leaders to celebrate this achievement.
Cheatham County Mayor Kerry McCarver served as the event host and presented the district with a Best for All proclamation on behalf of the county.
During the celebration, guests were entertained by Sycamore High School senior and musician Austin Williams.
The Director of Schools’ Student Advisory Council, the East Cheatham Elementary School Dragon Patrol and Harpeth Middle School Student Council were also on hand for the celebration.
The district wishes to thank Binkley|Garcia Architecture & Interior Design and RG Anderson Contractors for sponsoring the celebration.
The Tennessee Department of Education announced the Best for All recognition program in July of 2021, sharing financial, operational, celebratory and resource benefits awarded to Tennessee school districts that planned to spend historic amounts of federal COVID-19 relief and stimulus funding directly on student achievement and improving academic outcomes.
Beginning in 2020, the U.S. Congress responded to the global COVID-19 health pandemic by passing several pieces of legislation, and as a result Tennessee is benefitting from over $4.5 billion for K-12 education to be spent between spring 2020 and fall 2024.
Through three rounds of funding referred to as ESSER 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 funds, over $3.58 billion will flow directly to local school districts to decide how to spend.