Dr. Dan Lawson, Director of Schools Welcome to Tullahoma City Schools and to the 2017-18 school year! Tullahoma City Schools have a tradition of high academic standards and a focus on individual and corporate student success. This school district is known across the state, and the country for outstanding academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular programs. During the 2016-17 school year, we were honored as our instrumental music program performed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as our East Lincoln Elementary Archers won the Tennessee State Championship and as several Career and Technical Education programs set the standard in competitions. While that is a tremendous record of performance, we expect MORE this year! Each day I challenge myself and those with whom I am blessed to work to develop in ourselves and those that we lead a greater sense of Character, Competence, Chemistry, and Courage. While those āCāsā are easy to remember and to share, the challenge is in the doing! As we are introduced to five-year-old children, we strive to assist them in becoming young people of character, of competence, of chemistry and courage. Sure, tests matter, but not nearly as much as developing young people of character, and no test is a complete measure of competence in the subject matter. As we consider the value of chemistry, we focus on the value of working together, of working in teams and a consideration of "does that person make those around them better?" And finally, the question of courage is critical in the development of a child, as we well know that not all decisions in life are easy, and making the right decision often involves a demonstration of courage. As students leave us as graduates, we know that numbers are easy to consider but our task is greater than a numerical evaluation. Truly our most relevant questions on graduation day become this: As a result of our efforts and investments, are the young people that we interact with people of better character, competence, chemistry, and courage? Our work as professional educators is indeed a difficult task, but surely it pales in comparison to the task assigned our parents. Parental and community investments and cooperation make our school district special and tremendously supports the work of our dedicated professionals. I truly treasure the hard work of the school board, administrators, educators, and support staff that make Tullahoma City Schools a successful enterprise and look forward to the great things in store for the 2017-18 school year! |