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The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) will host a Teacher Job Fair on Thurs., March 14, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Applicants who hold a current TN Teaching License or are actively pursuing a TN Teaching License are invited to attend. The event will be held at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center in Clarksville, and interested candidates are encouraged to register before the event.

CMCSS is looking to fill nearly 100 teaching positions at over 40 schools. While available teaching positions exist in almost every school, high-needs areas include Special Education, elementary teachers, secondary math and science, and school counselors. The complete list of openings is available at cmcss.net/best. 

While at the job fair, interested applicants can meet school administrators and learn more about the school culture. From 4:00 – 5:30 p.m., attendees will have an open session to network and make connections. School administrators will host interviews from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and principals may set up interviews on the spot.  

As the district continues to grow, so will the need for dedicated, high-quality teachers. In 2023, with the support of the CMCSS School Board, Montgomery County Commission, and the community, the district implemented a mid-year, 5% pay increase for all employees. 

CMCSS is one of the few districts in the state with a three-year teacher induction program, offering extensive opportunities for professional development. The district also remains committed to providing a superior employee benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, retirement plans, and other supports.

Alternative licensure opportunities may be available if you are a college graduate interested in a career with a meaningful purpose. To learn more, visit cmcss.net/teach. If you have questions, email Ashley Calhoun, Certified Application & Recruitment Representative, at [email protected]. 

Register for the CMCSS Teacher Job Fair on March 14 and receive career-related information at cmcss.net/best.

About CMCSS

The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System in Clarksville, Tennessee, is an award-winning, nationally recognized district with 39,000 students across 45 schools. CMCSS employs over 5,400 difference makers and has been named the “Best in State Employer” two years in a row. Clarksville continues to be a nationally-ranked community for people of all ages. It has been named the Best Place to Live in America by Money.com, one of the top three cities where millennials buy homes, and the 4th in the nation for talent attraction.

The Northeast High School Multi-Agency Disaster Relief Center is closing at 2 p.m. on Monday, December 18. Donations that remain on-site will be distributed to local agencies and the coordinated Clarksville-Montgomery County warehouse space.

The Red Cross Shelter is moving from Northeast High School to Park Lane Church of the Nazarene at 225 Cunningham Lane at 2 p.m. on Monday, December 18. You can access the free Red Cross Emergency app or call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) and select the disaster option for more information about resources from the Red Cross.

FEMA has moved to the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library at 350 Pageant Ln #501. Please call 1-800-621-3362 or visit www.disasterassistance.gov for more information.

World Central Kitchen and Macedonian Missionary Service will serve their last meals at Northeast High today. We appreciate both of these incredible partners for coming to Clarksville-Montgomery County to serve our community. For more information on World Central Kitchen, visit www.wck.org. For more information on Macedonian Missionary Service, visit www.macedonianms.org.

Since Saturday, December 9, over 500 CMCSS employee volunteers and numerous partners have been able to serve thousands of community members in need with tens of thousands of meals, donations, and services. As we close operations at Northeast High, numerous community agencies will continue to need your support over the coming days, weeks, and months. Please visit the City of Clarksville or Montgomery County Government websites and click the “Tornado Information” banners for more information on how you can support.

Thank you, Clarksville-Montgomery County, for showing the world the true meanings of community, empathy, love, and service!

Class of 2022 tnAchieves mentor recruitment is underway!

Begin the process of becoming a tnAchieves mentor by visiting the tnAchieves website. Applications are available for new and returning mentors.

After completing a mentor application/renewal, you will receive a confirmation email with the next steps. After applying, all tnAchieves mentors must complete mentor training to be paired with Class of 2022 TN Promise students. tnAchieves will communicate training details as soon as they are available.

tnAchieves mentors play a critical role in the success of students across the state of Tennessee as they pursue a post-secondary credential. Many students need just a little extra help in navigating the college-going process. tnAchieves mentors provide that support by offering encouragement and personal guidance to students in their community.

What are the responsibilities of a mentor?

tnAchieves Mentors are asked to serve three essential roles for their students from mid-February 2022 through their first semester of college. Mentoring only takes one hour per month, but that one hour can make a significant difference in a student’s life!

Mentors invest 12 hours annually assisting 5-10 high school seniors. tnAchieves has designed the mentor role so that even the busiest executive, parent, or young professional can make a meaningful impact. If you do not have experience working in education, do not worry! All mentors receive online training, a handbook, and support from the tnAchieves staff.

Questions? Email: [email protected]

Learn more at tnAchieves.org.

This week, CMCSS students in grades 6 – 12 will have the opportunity to voluntarily participate in a short one-question survey regarding ESSER 3.0 funding. The question will be a multi-select ranking question. Data collected will provide the district with another avenue of stakeholder feedback.

The question was specifically designed for students and appeared as follows: 

CMCSS expects to receive a lot of money that we can spend on our schools and students. Please rank the items below from 1 to 7 that you would like to see CMCSS spend more money on with these new funds. 1 = I want CMCSS to spend the most money on this, 7 = I want CMCSS to spend the least amount of money on this

1. Academics and Instruction
2. Arts (Music/Band, Art Classes)
3. Improvements to School Buildings
4. Student Social and Emotional Learning Support
5. More Technology or Technology Improvements
6. Tutoring Opportunities 
7. More Substitute Teachers and Bus Drivers

Stakeholders who have questions regarding ESSER 3.0 can contact [email protected].

Caring individuals always make a difference in the lives of CMCSS students. The district is actively seeking community members who are able to represent the educational interests of students with disabilities.

All children with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) under state and federal special education laws. Included in these laws is a mandate for the parents of children with disabilities to have the opportunity to actively participate in the educational decision-making process. Some children with disabilities may not have parents who can fulfill this very important role, leaving their educational planning solely to representatives from their local school system or other agencies. Federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and state rules, regulations and minimum standards require that an individual must be appointed to make decisions regarding the education students with disabilities must receive.

What is a surrogate parent?

A surrogate parent is a volunteer who is appointed by a local education agency to assist children who do not have parents or family members. The surrogate parent has all of the rights and can make all of the special education or early intervention decisions that are usually made by the child’s parents. Surrogate parents can review educational records; request and consent to evaluations and reevaluations; and challenge the recommendations of the education or early intervention agency by requesting informal and formal dispute resolution procedures. A surrogate parent does not have any rights and responsibilities for the child outside of the special education process.

When does a child require a surrogate parent?

A child with a disability requires a surrogate when:

1. the parent (as defined in § 300.519) or guardian cannot be identified;
2. the LEA, after reasonable efforts, cannot discover the whereabouts of a parent;
3. the child is a ward of the State; or
4. the child is an unaccompanied homeless youth as defined in section 725 (6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(6).

What are the responsibilities of a surrogate parent?

The surrogate parent acts as a substitute parent and is given the responsibility of determining the child’s educational experiences. A surrogate parent is not responsible for any financial costs or direct care of the child with disabilities. The surrogate parent represents the child in every step of the education process including identification, evaluation, and educational placement. The Surrogate Parent fulfills the parent role at all Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Team meetings and works to ensure that the child receives FAPE. A surrogate parent is also responsible for keeping confidential all information from the child’s educational, medical, or social services records.

Who can be a surrogate?

Any citizen of the United States of permanent resident who is at least 18 years old and has no conflict of interest concerning the child’s education may serve as an educational surrogate and must be of good moral character. The educational surrogate must act in the best interest of the student he/she represents. Furthermore, an educational surrogate may not be an employee of a public agency providing care, custody, or educational services to the specific child in need of educational surrogate representation.

How much time and money will this commitment take?

Surrogate parents are required to devote approximately three hours to the training provided by Clarksville Montgomery County Schools at least annually. After a student with disabilities is assigned, the educational surrogate reviews the student’s record well enough to understand the student’s needs, strengths, interests as well as their school history. Training is provided free of charge.

If you are interested in attending a training to become a surrogate parent, please email [email protected].

The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System is looking for community partners to provide academic tutoring support to middle and high school students. Students in the AVID elective course benefit from mentorship as they seek to develop the skills necessary for the successful completion of their coursework. 

The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) system helps schools reduce the opportunity gap so they can prepare all students for college, career, and life.  CMCSS is in its third year of partnership with AVID at five district schools — New Providence MS, Kenwood MS, West Creek MS, Northwest HS, and West Creek HS. Over 600 students are currently being served in AVID at these schools.  

A successful tutor will assist with tasks such as reviewing student work including calendars, agendas, assignment sheets, and notes. A tutor’s most important role is serving as a facilitator for collaborative studying with a small group of students. Training is provided for all tutors on facilitating the groups and supporting students to use the AVID study strategies. Tutors often serve as role models to encourage the students to stay motivated and develop strong study habits and life skills. 

AVID tutors must be currently enrolled in, or have graduated from, a college or university. Tutors must be willing to serve students in one or more of the following schools: Kenwood, New Providence, and West Creek Middle schools as well as Northwest and West Creek High schools. 

Tutoring is a paid position that varies based on your education. Tutors should be available a minimum of two days per week, one hour per day between the hours of 7:30 am – 2:30 pm. 

“AVID tutors provide our students with another example of positive adult influence,” said Dr. Schanda Doughty, Director of Curriculum and Instruction 9-12. “The program provides students the tools they need to be successful members of the community, but the tutors provide that real-life example and the encouragement to succeed.”

Those interested in learning more about the program can fill out the interest form here. An AVID organizer will be in contact to discuss expectations and the next steps.

To view the AVID tutoring description, click the image below:

Strength and resiliency can be found in many places, yet none are as inspiring as seeing it in our students. Through the tumultuous 2020-21 school year, several CMCSS students within the JROTC program proved grit and determination can produce excellent results.

In July, three teams from two CMCSS high schools, Northwest and Rossview, competed during the JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl (JLAB) National Competition in Washington, D.C. Northwest High School was represented by their Leadership and Academic teams. Rossview High School Academic Team qualified for the national competition.

The overall finish of each team represents the highest level each school has ever received. The Northwest High Leadership team took 11th-place out of 1,500 teams across the nation. The school’s Academic Team was one of the Top 16 in the country, out of over 1,700 academic teams. Rossview High Academic Team also placed in the Top 16 and has the added distinction of receiving the highest score of any CMCSS JROTC academic team to date.

These achievements would be tremendous even in a traditional year. To accomplish this feat through the uncertainty of last year is astounding. The cadets humbly acknowledge their success and bring the credit back to the unity of the team and the foundational support of the program.

“Freshman me was this little shell of a person that didn’t want to expand much,” said Bridger Helm, a senior at Northwest. He explains how CSM (Ret.) Glenn Louk took him aside and began to assign specific responsibilities. The experience pushed him to try more, and it made all the difference.

Kaylee Coon, a senior at Northwest, and Madeline Pufall, a sophomore at Rossview, share similar experiences of being shy and unsure of themselves. Through their journey with JROTC, the cadets have grown more confident in their abilities. “Everything with JROTC has taught me a lot about myself,” said Kaylee. “I found a lot of strength. It taught me to be proud of myself.”

The JROTC program offers multiple avenues of exploration along with leadership and academics. Students can also try raider, drill, S.T.E.M. opportunities of Robotics, Drone and Cyber Patriot, and rifle teams. Cadets are assigned to the team that best fits their interests and abilities. They insist the program is not simply a ‘military focused’ mindset and instead has provided a much stronger frame of mind.

“When you think about JROTC, you think military,” Madeline explained. “But I relate it more to a life skills class. How to be a better citizen, how to work with what you have, and how to give back to the community.”

Through JROTC and their trip to Washington, D.C., the students also had a deeper understanding of the importance of relationships and teamwork.

“Teammates are definitely important, even through normal life activities,” said Kaylee. Now that she and Bridger have assumed leadership roles with their program, they both insist that teamwork and group effort are critical to achieving their goals.

They all agree the experience has left them with a better understanding of communication. For Kaylee, she admits the time spent in Washington reminded her how important balance is to her overall wellness. While she went in thinking the entire experience had to be serious and focused, she found herself becoming more anxious. “[I learned] you can have fun even if you’re doing something serious.”

Thinking back to last year, they realize the impact of the program. “It was something that didn’t change. I knew it was always going to be there,” said Bridger. Madeline nodded in agreement. “I had JROTC to look forward to. My people were there, and it was my own little outlet,” she said.

As the students made the trip to Washington, fear of the unknown ran through their minds. “I had no idea what I was walking into,” admits Madeline, as this was her first time attending the national competition. For Bridger and Kaylee, they were nervous all of their training would be forgotten.

“My biggest fear was not remembering anything,” admits Bridger. He then reflected on the foundation he learned through JROTC. “Remembering you’re not one person. You’re part of a team.”

The students all rallied around each other, even if they were competing for different schools. “We were all in the auditorium together as they announced the playoffs,” said CSM (Ret) Louk. “There were 16 teams in the country that made the playoffs, and CMCSS had two.”

“Rossview was just as happy that Northwest was in the Top 16,” said MAJ (Ret) Braun, the Rossview High JROTC instructor. While the schools retained their healthy competition, overall, the instructor support drove the students to succeed.

Moving into a new school year, the teams are excited about the potential. Individually the students are hopeful that their peers will find a place in school where they feel comfortable and supported. For them, that place was the JROTC program. “JROTC changed my life for the better,” said Kaylee. She offered her insight to other students. “You’ll learn so many things about yourself, and it will widen your perspective.”

The USDA approved for CMCSS to continue serving free curbside meal pick-up to all children 18 and under. The USDA stated that these free meals will be available through June 2022, or until funds run out.

Meals are available for all children 18 and under in Montgomery County, including children not enrolled in CMCSS schools.

Curbside meals will be available for pick-up at any of the traditional high school locations on Wednesday, each week, from 10:00 – 11:00 am. Families with multiple children can pick up all meals in one location. 

Children are not required to be present for curbside pick-up. The person picking up meals will need to provide the name of the child(ren) not present.

Applications are now open for the Teacher Residency Programs within the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. The programs allow community members, current CMCSS employees, and high school seniors a non-traditional approach to becoming a teacher.

“It’s about investing in your own community with an apprenticeship approach to developing teachers,” stated Dr. Sean Impeartrice, Chief Academic Officer for CMCSS.

Residents work towards their licensure, degree, and/or certification while gaining first-hand experience as an Educational Assistant within the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. This experience provides instructional and non-instructional support to students while learning best practices for a career in education from a certified CMCSS educator.

Now in its third year of the program, CMCSS has partnered with several colleges and universities in the surrounding area, including Austin Peay State University, Nashville State Community College, and Lipscomb University. Residents incur no expenses for tuition or textbooks.

“We are proactively addressing the national teacher shortage,” said Dr. Phyllis Casebolt, Director of Federal Projects, including the Teacher Residency Programs. “These programs provide residents an opportunity to work with high-performing teachers while completing the requirements to earn a teaching license.  Wrap-around supports are in place to ensure the academic success of the residents.  Our district recognizes the positive impact of employees committed to meeting the needs of all students.”

There are three teacher residency pathways available for the 2021-2022 school year: Early-Learning Teacher Residency in partnership with Nashville State Community College and Austin Peay State University, Lipscomb Teacher Residency, and Lipscomb Middle Teacher Residency in partnership with Lipscomb University.

Applications for community members are due February 10, 2021. High School seniors must submit their applications by March 5, 2021. All applications and required paperwork can be found on the district website, www.cmcss.net/trp.

“I’ve always had a passion for teaching since I was little. This was an excellent opportunity that I could not pass up,” said Ms. Raquel Blackley, a Teacher Resident who is currently serving at West Creek Elementary School.

Each program’s eligibility criteria and requirements can be found on the district website, www.cmcss.net/trp, along with videos and links to frequently asked questions. For more information, email the Teacher Pipeline Facilitators at [email protected].

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (October 7, 2020) – tnAchieves, the local partnering organization for TN Promise, which provides two years of tuition-free attendance at a community or technical college in Tennessee, is looking for both high school applicants and mentors to assist seniors in pursuing higher education. In Clarksville-Montgomery County, both the number of students who have applied for the scholarship and the adult mentors has seen a significant drop in 2020. 

TNPromise Applicants

The deadline for high school seniors submitting a TN Promise application is November 2, 2020. Due to disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Tennessee high schools are significantly behind last year’s TN Promise application rate. High school seniors who are interested should complete the TN Promise application, submit a FAFSA, and apply to a college.

Tennessee high school seniors can submit a TN Promise application by visiting www.TNPromise.gov and applying online.

As indicated, the scholarship will provide two years of tuition-free attendance at a community or technical college in Tennessee. Tennessee Promise is a last-dollar scholarship, meaning it will cover the cost of tuition and mandatory fees not met by Pell, Hope, or the Tennessee Student Assistance Award. As part of the program, students will be paired with a partnering organization, provided with a mentor who will support them during the college application process and complete the community service requirement. 

Mentor a High School Senior

tnAchieves, the local partnering organization for TN Promise, needs volunteers to serve as mentors for the Class of 2021. tnAchieves mentors will serve their community virtually, working with local students to offer support throughout the college-going process.

TN Promise allows any graduating high school senior the opportunity to attend a community or technical college tuition and mandatory fee-free. Many of the students will be the first in their family to attend college and may also need some additional, non-financial support. tnAchieves provides this support by pairing each scholarship applicant with a volunteer mentor. The program needs more than 9,000 mentors across the state!

tnAchieves mentors spend about one hour per month working with a group of students to help them achieve their college-going goals. In 2021, mentors will serve their students using tnAchieves CONNECT. tnAchieves CONNECT is a new virtual mentoring tool that allows mentors to remain connected to their students in a safe, online environment. It will also enable mentors to serve from their home and on their schedule!

Mentors remind students of important deadlines, serve as a trusted college resource and, most importantly, encourage students to reach their full potential. While the time commitment is small, the impact on the students can be life-changing. To learn more and apply, you can visit www.tnachieves.org/mentors/apply or contact Tyler Ford at [email protected] or (309) 945-3446