Heroes are not always people who do spectacular deeds but are often merely everyday individuals who determine to take an opportunity to act and make a difference. Blossom Fugh, the school nurse at Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy, is a special person choosing to make a difference. Hamilton County Schools honored Fugh with an I Am Hamilton shirt and recognized her as an HCS Hero for her outstanding work, keeping children and staff healthy during the worldwide pandemic.

Amazon is funding computer science education and teacher professional development for 42 elementary schools in Hamilton County Schools, impacting more than 21,700 students from underserved communities and groups currently underrepresented in tech as part of its Amazon Future Engineer program. Hamilton County Schools is part of Amazon Future Engineer’s expansion to more than 5,000 schools, 1,000 of which will be elementary schools.

Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State in Hamilton County Schools has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2020 by U. S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. Collegiate High was selected as one of the nation’s Exemplary High Performing Schools. Collegiate was one of seven schools in Tennessee to earn 2020 National Blue Ribbon status.

Kali O'Neal, an exceptional education teacher at East Ridge Elementary, was presented with a $700 check recently from the University of Tennessee and the College Football Playoff Foundation as part of their Extra Yard for Teachers project. The donation is enough to completely fund two of O'Neal's DonorsChoose projects that will support new additions to her sensory area in her special education classroom. The announcement was made at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville and recorded to share with O'Neal and the students and staff at East Ridge Elementary. The recording showed a congratulatory message to Mrs. O'Neal and her class on the large message board at the stadium.

The list of National Merit Semifinalists released recently includes nine seniors from Hamilton County Schools. Four of the nine were from Signal Mountain Middle-High, giving the school the largest number of teens recognized from any single area public school for the third consecutive year.

The Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) today announced Dr. Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, as the 2021 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year. The announcement was made during the TOSS annual awards banquet that was held virtually this year. Dr. Johnson was one of eight finalists across the state for the top state school leader award after being selected as the S.E. Tennessee Superintendent of the Year. The announcement by TOSS was the latest in state and national recognitions coming Dr. Johnson's way in 2020. The national publication, Education Week, named Dr. Johnson one of their Leaders to Learn From for 2020 in February, and the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) selected him as one of their 25 Superintendents To Watch from across the nation earlier this month.

The Tennessee Department of Education released district and school graduation rates this week for 2019-2020, showing Hamilton County Schools moving closer to the district graduation goal in the Future Ready 2023 action plan. Hamilton County Schools Overall Graduation Rate improved even while dealing with a historically challenging worldwide pandemic. The increase was especially of note as the state graduation rate declined slightly after nearly a decade of improvements. Also, Hamilton County Schools was the only large district in the state to show an increase. The district graduation rate for 2019-2020 is 87 percent, which is up from 86.9 last year and the highest for the district since 2012-2013. In the district action plan, the target for 2023 is a 90 percent graduation rate.

Heroes are not always people who do spectacular deeds but are often simply everyday individuals who determine to take an opportunity to act and make a difference. Alex Ford, theatre director, and Riley Benedict, a senior student director at East Hamilton High, are two special people choosing to make a difference. Hamilton County Schools honored Ford and Benedict with an I Am Hamilton shirt and recognized them as HCS Heroes for helping to transform the school’s spring production from a stage show to a video presentation. The school was planning to present the musical “Chicago” as a stage production last March when school was shut down because of the pandemic. Ford and his students went back to work and turned the stage presentation into a video.

Hamilton County Board of Education members Karitsa Jones and Jenny Hill have earned Boardsmanship Awards from the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA). Local board members who invest their time and effort into becoming more informed and effective board members earn the award. The Boardsmanship Awards are given for participation in activities outside of local school board obligations. There are five levels of recognition by TSBA, which honors a board member’s commitment to training, willingness to participate in workshops, and a volunteer spirit.

Kristen Burrus, an educator at STEM School Chattanooga, was named winner of the First Technology Excellence Awards Unsung Tech Hero of the Year Award announced by the Chattanooga Technology Council. The inaugural TechX Awards recognized regional organizations and companies for outstanding involvement, achievement, and accomplishments in the Chattanooga technology community. Across ten categories, there were 70 nominations from 33 companies or organizations. The Chattanooga Technology Council announced the winners in a virtual awards presentation on Thursday, September 10.

Keeping schools open is vital for the growth of children and the community. Hamilton County Schools encourages families to be SAFE this Labor Day weekend as you plan activities, so there is not an increase in COVID-19 transmission over the holiday. SAFE activities will help schools stay open when children return to the classroom after the short break. SAFE is the acronym the school district has used to remind families to Stay home when you are sick, Avoid getting too close to others, Face coverings are a must, and Everyone wash your hands regularly. During the long holiday weekend, the “S” could also stand for Stay away from group gatherings that could transmit COVID-19 to more people in the community.

Dr. Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, is one of 24 school leaders from across the country to be named a Superintendent to Watch by NSPRA, a national organization serving school communication. NSPRA selected the superintendents for their use of communication technology in innovative and effective ways. The school leaders engage and inform their school communities with new communication technology tools combined with tried-and-true techniques. Selection criteria required those selected to have less than five years of experience as a superintendent in a school district and possess dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core.