Tag Archives: White County Schools

A White County Elementary School teacher has been named one of nine finalists for Tennessee’s Teacher of the Year. Aleta Apple is an Interventionist at Woodland Park Elementary School. The 2022-23 Tennessee Teacher of the Year, and winners for each grand division of the state, will be selected from this group and announced during an honorary banquet this fall. Read More »

Reopening the unoccupied Central View School building would cost over $2 million. That is according to a State Fire Marshal’s report. White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said in his opinion, making the repairs does not make sense. “Ultimately, there is no fiscal value in having that school open, and there’s really no academic value,” Dronebarger said. “As we’ve ... Read More »

It was a rebound year for the White County School System as the district’s TCAP scores saw gains across the board. Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said the data was a “pleasant surprise.” One in particular was 4th grade math. “That’s exciting, because that’s something that has been a low area across the state for the past several years and ... Read More »

A three percent raise for support staff and a $1,000 increase for teacher salaries included in the some $34 million White County School Budget. McDonald said the teacher raises come from the state. The state increased the minimum salary to $40,000. “I think with the money that we have set aside in our general purpose school fund I think we ... Read More »

White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger will meet with emergency management leaders Friday to start conversations about school safety. Dronebarger gave an update to the school board on the strategy Thursday night. Dronebarger said he will work with the Sparta Police Chief, County Sheriff, Fire Chief and 9-11 Director. “This initial meeting is kind of like a 30,000 foot ... Read More »

White County High School Senior Allie Heady has published her first book titled, Cole Magnus. It is the first book of a children’s series called “We Met in the Fog,” written under Heady’s pseudonym Grace Edgewood. Heady said the book follows Cole and his sister Lyla through a world of magic and trouble. “I’ve always loved the idea of creating ... Read More »

Upper Cumberland school systems are preparing for end of year state testing to begin Tuesday. White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said teachers the last couple of weeks have been focusing on getting students ready. “Our teachers feel confident,” Dronebarger said. “They’ve been down this road before. They are hitting those standards, going back hitting those benchmark scores and ... Read More »

The White County School District has achieved a 1:1 ratio for laptops in the student body. Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said the push began about four years ago. Dronebarger said the influx of federal COVID money sped up the process. “Some of those are in Chromebook carts, and some of those are more in lab settings, but there are ... Read More »

White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said finally getting specifics from state officials on the new education formula answered some of his concerns. “The framework helps now knowing to see how it’s broken down,” Dronebarger said. “At the point I think we spoke about this last, it was just there was just this grand formula coming and you’re going ... Read More »

Registrations are underway for White County Schools Pre-K and Kindergarten classes. Supervisor of Elementary Curriculum Angela Fresh said that when signing up online or in-person, parents will need to have updated physical and immunization records, among other documents. “For Pre-K they have to have a copy of their social security card, a copy of their birth certificate–not the mother’s copy, ... Read More »