Department of Education
Kevin Huffman, Commissioner

Burchfield Elementary School

Scott County Schools

Burchfield Elementary School is a pre-K through 8th grade school facility nestled on the Cumberland Plateau in Oneida, Tennessee.  The property was purchased by the Scott County Board of Education for $375.00 from P., Tabitha, Andrew, and Bessie Burchfield on May 7, 1926.  A wooden structure was built soon after, and the new school was named Burchfield School.  Over the years as attendance grew, several additions and improvements were made to the original structure.  Burchfield Elementary School currently has a student enrollment of 567 and a school staff of 55 individuals.

The mission of Burchfield Elementary School seeks to promote an environment that cares for and challenges each child.  Burchfield’s goal is to provide all students with the values, knowledge, and skills needed to achieve their fullest potential; to challenge students to become life-long learners and critical thinkers; and to become aware of their responsibilities as a citizen to society.

The components that help Burchfield Elementary School obtain academic success begin with grades K-2 utilizing the first three hours of the day for uninterrupted literacy time.  Burchfield Elementary School uses the research-based, data driven strategies utilized through the use of the Learning Focused program.  This program provides instructional models with strategies for every component of instruction that produces high student achievement.  Differentiated instruction including role play, movement/music, hands-on activities, problem solving, pneumonic devices, modeling, and cooperative learning are also used.  Teachers utilize pre-tests to measure growth after post-tests are administered, give practice tests to help students become familiar with expectations, use graphic organizers, class discussions, peer tutoring and study guides to assist student learning.  Inclusion of special needs students in our general education classes has led us to practice additional strategies such as oral testing, abbreviated assignments, modified test formats, and extended time as needed, in order to assure success for every student.  Other innovative strategies used throughout the school include direct vocabulary instruction, think-alouds, decoding, Letter People, modified note taking and brain storming.

Through the collaborative effort of administration, staff, parents, students, and the community, Burchfield Elementary School is soaring to new heights in student achievement and community involvement.  With people striving together for the same goal, the results are nothing short of spectacular for the students and staff at Burchfield Elementary School.

Centerview Elementary School

Cocke County Schools

Centerview Elementary School is a prekindergarten through eighth grade educational facility located in northwest area of Cocke County.  By consolidating several community schools, Centerview Elementary School was built in 1954.  The community schools consolidated were Bybee, Bruner's Grove, Fowler's Grove, Glendale, High Point, Holt's Jones, Liberty Hill and Point Pleasant.  The school was built on a seven-acre parcel of property purchased from Mr. Floyd Denton.   In 1999, a building program was initiated that included major renovation of the original building and building a new gymnasium.  The school has eighteen classrooms, administrative offices, staff workroom, computer lab, library and library offices, and offices to house guidance, speech, and special education.  Centerview School offers curriculum in language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science at all grade levels.  Curricula programs are  complimented by instruction in physical education, art, music, and library skills.  Special services such as guidance, special education, speech therapy, and Title I provide assistance to students on an as-needed basis.

In addition to serving as an educational facility, Centerview School is actively involved with the community.  Adult Basic Education classes are offered two nights a week at the school to help adults in our community obtain their GED diploma.  The local Ruritan Club uses the football field and concession stand for its fall fund raising activities.  Recreational basketball and volleyball games are played at the school, and Centerview School is a voting site for local, state, and federal elections.  The local fire department uses the school to have annual fund raising dinners.

Circles of Success Learning Academy (COSLA)

Memphis City Schools

The Circles of Success Learning Academy recognizes that learning for at risk students and their parents occurs when all involved in the process embrace the concept that all children can learn.  COSLA is committed to engaging students in meaningful learning experiences designed to overcome environmental disadvantages.  Charter schools are independent, accountable public schools of choice.  As a charter school, COSLA controls its own curriculum, staffing, organization and budget.  In exchange for this freedom, they must maximize student potential and meet and exceed Tennessee’s academic standards.  

The mission of the Circles of Success Learning Academy is to educate the whole child to function productively at the middle and secondary schools levels and ultimately in a global, pluralistic, technologically advanced society. The school is designed to offer an alternative route to excellence in education for student in grades K-5, to holistically encircle students with the models, methods, and academic means of success, with special accommodations for students who are at risk of not fulfilling their full potential in traditional educational settings.

We value excellence in all that we do.  We are committed to high academic standards.  We support excellence in teaching and in the learning and support systems that advance student success.   We are committed to continuous improvement of our school.  We recognize the expertise of all members of the Circles of Success Learning Academy community and encourage individual contributions.  We will include stakeholders in the decisions that affect them.  We will promote trust through professional courtesy and fair treatment.  We will recognize and support employee and student contributions.

We view educating children from a holistic approach.  We believe that in order for children to be successful we must empower them with a positive essence of self.  We are committed to fostering a spirit of excellence, in a nurturing environment conducive for affirmative, life-changing growth.

Gleason School

Weakly County

Gleason School is very unique in that it houses students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.  The K-12 setting allows interaction of activities between the different grades and provides for richer learning experiences--high school drama students presenting plays and skits for elementary students; agriculture students explaining small engines to second and third graders; child development classes presenting lessons to primary students; and the science departments in the elementary, middle and high schools cooperating for a school-wide science fair.  The possibilities are unlimited.

Since the founding of Gleason School in 1906, the campus has undergone social and physical changes.  Gleason’s first public school was housed in the Masonic Male and Female Institute.  Even then, the school was the center of the community.  Reflecting the persevering spirit of the times, a new school building was constructed in 1929 during the era of the Great Depression.  This persistent spirit grew into a determination to keep the school at the heart of the community.

Coordination and integration of federal, state, and local programs is achieved in a variety of ways.  Federal funds are used to provide special education services, including counseling and speech therapy.  Title services are also provided through federal funding.  State funds provide programs in summer remediation and after-school tutoring. This continues with local funding in areas of equipment needs, textbooks, educational materials, and technology.  Opportunities for continued teacher training are also provided at the local level through a combination of staff development and optional in-service training in various areas.

The state mandated two-path system has been in place in our high school since the early 1990’s.  A student chooses a curriculum based on college preparatory, technology, or a combination of the two.  Students who choose the technology path must choose a vocational focus in Family and Consumer Science, Agriculture, or Information Systems. 

The school has 42 professional staff members, including a full-time principal, assistant principal, librarian, 6-12 guidance counselor, elementary physical education teacher, and 37 classroom teachers.  Part-time staff includes an elementary guidance counselor, elementary music teacher, elementary art teacher and a speech therapist.  Gleason School makes every effort to employ only highly qualified and certified teachers as required by NCLB.  Currently all staff are highly qualified and credentialed.  In the past, when a teacher at Gleason School did not meet highly qualified status, that particular teacher was given the option of principal evaluation or the Praxis exam to meet the status.

Gleason is a small town in Weakley County located in a rural area of northwest Tennessee.  With a population of 1,463, it lends itself to a warm and hospitable environment. Because Gleason School is in a small rural community, the family characteristics reflect a more traditional family oriented lifestyle.