Elizabethton City Schools recognized by the TDOE

Published 10:30 pm Friday, February 11, 2022

Friday the Tennessee Department of Education announced Elizabethton City School System is a Best for All District, joining 67 other districts across the state earning this designation.

Additionally, the department is celebrating these districts for #BestforAllDay through a statewide livestream event from 10-11:30 a.m. EST.

Governor Bill Lee announced a day of recognition in honor of Best for All Districts on Friday, Feb. 11.

The Best for All recognition program awards benefits to Tennessee school districts that designated historic amounts of federal COVID-19 relief and stimulus funding directly on student achievement and improving academic outcomes.

“I appreciate the state recognizing Elizabethton City Schools for our focus on improving educational opportunities for students. These funds have allowed us to put supports in place that assist our staff members in their work with our students. I am so proud of the job our teachers and staff have done during the pandemic! They have been asked to do something no group of educators have ever been asked to do. Not only have they done it, but they have excelled! Our teachers and staff members have always kept the needs of students as their focus. They have gone many extra miles to make this a very successful year. It has been a challenge, but this has been their finest hour in many ways! We appreciate all the staff working together as a team to strive for success. Thank you to our ECS family for all they do to make our system the best in

Tennessee!” Richard VanHuss, Director of Schools

“Best for All Districts are meeting this critical moment in time head on, building upon statewide momentum to focus their efforts on students-first work and outcomes,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn.

“I couldn’t be more proud to celebrate these districts and their communities who are so deserving of this recognition as we accelerate achievement each day moving forward. Congratulations!”

The department 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 benefiting 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 (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 funds, over $3.58 billion will flow directly to local school districts to decide how to spend.

The department understands the importance of rewarding investments in mission-critical initiatives that are most likely to benefit students.

Best for All Districts are those districts that have strategically planned for and invested in ways that are likely to accelerate student achievement.

To qualify for the Best for All recognition program, a district spent an amount equal to 50% of its ESSER 3.0 award amount on proven, research-based strategies to raise student academic achievement and participate in the TN ALL Corps tutoring grant program to provide students with high dosage, low ratio tutoring opportunities.