HCDE In The News
The Hamilton County Department of Education has received local, state and national recognition for outstanding work in the field of K-12 public education.
Reform efforts have been showcased in several national and state publications. Links to national, state and local articles highlighting the success of Hamilton County schools are listed below.
These are the results of the random lottery which was held on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 beginning at 10 a.m. for those recently applying for the majority of magnet schools within Hamilton County. The highlighted numbers have been offered placement at this time.
Eight Hamilton County teachers, from a variety of disciplines, earned National Board Certification in December.
An art exhibit designed and created by Red Bank High School students
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith has confirmed 20th day enrollment figures of 42,705. This is an increase of 469 students.
Families interested in enrolling their children in kindergarten for the 2013-2014 school year at either Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences or Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts should review the criteria for submitting an application that is posted on the Hamilton County Board of Education’s website (www.hcde.org).
Chattanooga, TN -- Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith is pleased to report an increase of 426 students on the 10th day enrollment report.
Chattanooga, TN -- Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith has been notified by the State Department of Education that Governor Bill Haslam will be making a state-wide announcement via web broadcast next Monday, August 27, at 3:15 p.m. First Lady Crissy Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman will also be taking part in the announcement.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith announces fifth day enrollment numbers in Hamilton County Schools has increased from first day enrollment.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith is pleased to announce the first day enrollment count for Hamilton County Schools.
Mayor Coppinger will recognize the winners of the annual Hamilton SHINES Billboard Art Contest next week. (See schedule below.)
The Mayor will present each winning student artist with a county plaque and pin, and a poster-size print of their billboard. Full-size billboards will be posted by Fairway Outdoor near the school of each winning artist later next week.
Chattanooga, TN -- Hamilton County Department of Education Superintendent Rick Smith is pleased to announce that the following individuals have accepted principal appointments for the 2012-13 school year. The majority of principal vacancies for next year are due to the impending retirement of current administrators. Principals will begin their assignments in their new schools and / or positions on July 1, 2012.
Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts has received an $8,950 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga (CFGC) to go towards replacing damaged library books. “We are thrilled to receive this gift from the Community Foundation. It will go a long way toward purchasing new books for our students,” stated CSLA principal Krystal Scarbrough.
Due to the growth and overcrowding issues at several schools in the eastern part of the county, it is necessary to rezone. We are allowing K-12 grandfathering during this process.
We appreciate the many families that applied to our magnet schools during the last application period. With the exception of those that applied for Center for Creative Arts, all applicants received an assigned seat number. Every school determines the number of magnet seats they wish to fill.
Chattanooga, Tennessee – January 19, 2012 – Ten Hamilton County teachers, from a variety of
disciplines, earned National Board Certification in December pushing the number of Board Certified teachers in the district to 32.
The acronym STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This program was started by Judith A. Ramaley, the former director of the National Science Foundation’s education and human-resources division. This approach to education is designed to revolutionize the teaching of subject areas such as mathematics and science by incorporating technology and engineering into regular curriculum by creating a “meta-discipline.”
Chattanooga, TN -- The Hamilton County Department of Education is pleased to recognize six 2012 National Merit Semifinalists from Hamilton County schools. These six seniors will be recognized during the October 27th School Board meeting.
Hamilton County students are College Bound!
Our College Bound! campaign highlights the successes of Hamilton County graduates and encourages current high school students to dream big. You can meet our grads here, see them on billboards across Hamilton County, check out their video and follow them through their first year on campus on Facebook.
About 2300 high school seniors participated in graduation ceremonies last week, marking one of the largest senior classes to graduate in HCDE's history. A senior from Ooltewah High School will be attending Yale University in the fall.
Two Hamilton County counselors were recently named 2011 Counselors that Change Lives for their dedication to the college counseling profession. Eleven counselors from around the country were part of the 2011 class.
The Tennessee Department of Education has approved a request by Hamilton County Schools to waive the extra 2 days that schools were closed last week for weather reasons. This means that the existing school calendar remains the same and students will NOT have to makeup any school days.
Thirteen aspiring school leaders have spent the last year working with business mentors and participating in leadership training in preparation for the enormous responsibility of running a Hamilton County school. The Principal Leadership Academy celebrated its first graduating class on May 4.
Leonore Annenberg College Scholarship Fund awards 4 year scholarship to college with all expenses paid for rising seniors Matthew Heinichen and Alexandria Oviatt
Wednesday, May 4 is Kindergarten registration day for incoming Kindergarten students for the 2011-2012 school year. Most schools will be hosting registration from 8:30 to 10:30.
A Sale Creek student has been chosen to represent Chattanooga in a global science fair this May. At the Chattanooga Regional Science and Engineering Fair in March, Samantha Wilkinson, a student at Sale Creek High School, received an invitation to compete in the International Science Olympiad. She will travel to Houston, Texas to represent Hamilton County and the Southeast and compete against participants from over 70 countries.
In April, from the Howard School presented their plans for comprehensive community development in Chattanooga to the faculty of Howard University School of Law and the United States Department of Education in Washington, D.C.
The Superintendent's "Grow Your Own" program has the first three candidates returning to the district as teachers for the 2011-2012 school year.
Hamilton County Dept. of Education operates on a 6 year cycle for adopting new textbooks. Math textbooks for both elementary and secondary schools (middle and high schools) are up for adoption this year.
On the afternoon of March 29th Hamilton County Schools will be hosting our Spring Tomorrow’s Teachers Today: The Search Party. If you have not attended an event like this before, this is a great opportunity for future teachers to informally network with Hamilton County Schools and enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
Three Hamilton County teachers were honored as the 2011 Hamilton County Teachers of the Year at a special lunch at the Chattanoogan Hotel on Friday, March 18. Diane Stacy from Daisy Elementary, Amy Burton from Barger Academy of Fine Arts and Christina Monroe from Hamilton County High School were named 2011 HCDE Teachers of the Year. Christina Monroe and Amy Burton have also been selected at regional teachers of the year and have advanced to the statewide competition.
Twenty-six students from the Hamilton County Department of Education joined approximately 400 of their high school peers in Nashville on March 11 to express their views on public education at the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) Student Congress on Policies in Education (SCOPE). The event took place on the Avon Williams Campus of Tennessee State University. Oran Dixson, a Junior at East Ridge High School, was also elected 2012 SCOPE president at the conference.
Patrick MacCoon, a senior at Red Bank High School, won the H.L. Hall Outstanding Student Journalist Award and was recognized as Tennessee's "Student Journalist of the Year" at the Tennessee High School Press Association Awards at Lipscomb University in Nashville. By taking this honor, Patrick is Tennessee's nominee for the national journalist of the year and a scholarship, which will be given at the national convention in Anaheim, Calif., in April.
Soddy Daisy High School inducted its third Hall of Fame class on Friday, March 4.
For the last month, Jalani Ford has been more than a seventh grader at Dalewood Middle School, he has been an exhibited artist. Two of the 13-year-old’s paintings are displayed at the Creative Discovery Museum along with others from students in his class.
As a part of our ongoing efforts to keep parents involved in their students' academic careers, we have developed a Parent Engagement Plan that outlines how parents can help schools and students succeed.
Unum handed out more than $44,000 in checks to 56 teachers from around Hamilton County Tuesday at its third annual Strong Schools Grant recognition luncheon.
Seven Hamilton County teachers, from a variety of disciplines, earned National Board Certification this year, pushing the number of National Board Certified teachers in the district to 22.
On Sunday, November 21, the Hamilton County Department of Education was featured on the local NPR affiliate WUTC, 88.1 FM. From 12-1 p.m. the station aired American Radio Works podcast Testing Teachers which looked at improving achievement through teacher quality. The program focused on efforts in Washington, DC and in Hamilton County through its Benwood Initiative.
Chattanooga, TN -- Schools in Hamilton County have received a Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation grant for the second year in a row. Today, Lowe’s announced a $100,000 grant to Hamilton County Schools to install lighting upgrades in four schools: Woodmore Elementary, Lookout Mountain Elementary, Tyner High School and Orchard Knob Middle School.
Hamilton County schools, the Public Education Foundation and BI-LO have partnered to highlight student achievement throughout the county. The three organizations will host a joint press conference on Monday, Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. to discuss the launch of the “College Bound” campaign.
Prospective Graduates - Thinking about attending college and don't know where to start?
In an effort to gain parent input regarding the school calendar, HCDE is posting the two draft options for the school year 2011-2012 calendar.
CSAS, CSLA, and the Hamilton County Department of Education value the passionate interest our parents have for the education of their children. It is this passion from parents partnered with the hard work of our educators that make our schools successful.
American Radio Works (ARW) unveiled an hour-long podcast on August 28 that discusses teacher quality and teachers are the single most important factor in student achievement. ARW visited Hamilton County and features the Benwood Initiative in the podcast.
The Hamilton County Department of Education has grown by about 431 students this year versus the same time frame in 2009.
Alisha Toran and Yasmeen Cole, 2010 graduates from Howard School of Academics and Technology, were recently awarded the TVA Employee Partner Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded each year to a graduating senior from Howard who plans on pursuing a college degree in math, science or technology.
At the Board Meeting on Thursday, August 19, Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales unveiled preliminary statistics for the district that indicate graduation rate is up significantly while fights, suspensions and expulsions are down.
The fifth day of school for the 2010-2011 school year netted an increase in total enrollment of nearly 500 students in Hamilton County. Elementary Schools are up more than 400 students, while high schools jumped 100 and middle schools dropped about 23 students.
Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales sent out a welcome back message to all Hamilton County students Tuesday.
Brown Academy for International Studies, the first International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in Tennessee, will be celebrating Einschulung on Wednesday, August 11 at 9:00 a.m.
Hamilton County Schools is one of just 124 districts in the country to receive a grant to improve the quality of teaching American History.
Hamilton County Schools is one of just 124 districts in the country to receive a grant to improve the quality of teaching American History. The Teaching American History grant program aims to enhance teachers' understanding of American history through intensive professional development, including study trips to historic sites and mentoring with professional historians.
Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales welcomed back the staff of Hamilton County Schools at an Employee Convocation on August 3 at McKenzie Arena.
Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales is pleased to announce new principals at three Hamilton County schools for next year: Battle Academy, East Lake Elementary School and East Ridge High School.
Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Justin Robertson, Dr. Tom McCullough and Ms. Janice Scott as new principals at Brown Middle, Signal Mountain Middle High School and Snow Hill Elementary Schools.