Four Elizabethton city schools ranked among state’s best

Published 2:02 pm Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Four schools in the Elizabethton City Schools district were honored as Reward Schools, placing them among the top 5 percent in the state for student achievement.

The schools earning the designation are East Side Elementary School, Harold McCormick Elementary School, West Side Elementary School and T.A. Dugger Junior High.

“I can’t begin to express how proud I am of our schools for all they accomplished last year,” said Director of Schools Richard VanHuss. “To have so many schools in our district recognized is truly remarkable. The challenges our teachers, staff members, and students have faced over the past three years have been difficult, but they have continued to work hard, and the results speak for themselves. The entire Cyclone Family is to be commended for their perseverance and dedication to seeing our students succeed through less-than-ideal circumstances. Please join me in celebrating the accomplishments of these schools.”

Schools are recognized as a Reward School when they demonstrate high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance by meeting their annual measurable objectives across performance indicators and student groups, and the Reward School distinction places significant emphasis on improvement from the prior school year. From the 2020-21 TCAP administration, a significant number of schools saw improvement and increased participation in this year’s assessments to qualify for the distinction.

“Tennessee students, families, educators, and school communities have worked hard to overcome a variety of challenges stemming from the pandemic and I congratulate them on their efforts,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “Our teachers, school and district leaders focus on helping students improve every day and we will continue to focus on student achievement, as well as growth, so that all students are set on a path to success.”