Warren County Schools with 873 employees, a $50-plus million annual operating budget, and 12 primary building structures, is the third largest employer in the county.  
System-wide student headcount is 6,567 which is up about 100 from the prior school year.
There is WCHS, WCMS, Warren Academy, five K-8 schools, and three K-5 elementary schools with 11 principals plus Central Offices administrative staff that manage the education effort. I met with Director of Schools Bobby Cox for this annual update. 
Tennessee student testing was not done this school year for grades 3 through 8. Comparative test scores were recorded for grades 1-2, plus high school. High test scores were achieved at Centertown Elementary (2nd grade reading), Bobby Ray Elementary (2nd grade math), Dibrell Elementary (1st grade reading), Morrison Elementary (1st grade math, language arts, & reading) and Irving College Elementary (1st grade language arts).
Improvement was made at WCHS with ACT scores (junior class led improvement) and FAFSA registrations (73 percent, up from 60 percent). 
TN Promise registration at WCHS was 100 percent for the second consecutive year. The graduation rate at WCHS increased to 93.8 percent.
Improving ACT test performance is a focused priority. Eighth-graders are given an ACT practice test. Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors take two ACT practice tests. The WCHS curriculum is aimed at ACT performance improvement. Another system priority is to improve reading scores from K-3 grade. This focus starts with working with parents of young children pre-K on reading skills. The philosophy is “learn to read from K-5” and then “read to learn from 6-12.”
A significant undertaking of the current school year is working with Belmont University of Nashville on a pilot program (Warren & Maury counties) with their Center for Improvement of Educational Systems. This program is aimed at improving strategic planning and leadership training of school principals and administrators.  
This is a three- to five-year program that is funded by Belmont. The program started in October of 2016 with collaboration with the School Board on the five-year strategic plan.  The Warren County plan now has seven focus areas, up from five. 
WC Schools and Belmont meet on average once a month. A second undertaking is the planning and transition for the 2017-18 school year at WCHS to an academy education model with various themed pathways. This will allow for schedule blocks with much more student flexibility, much like a college schedule. Students will be able to receive up to 32 credits with the block schedule, including up to 10 additional credits in elective or advanced course work. 
There will be a Freshman Academy begun in August. The 10-12 grades will then be put in motion over the 2018-19 school year. Based on early exposure, teachers and students alike are very receptive to the academy model.
Students will choose a pathway. They can delve more deeply into their chosen field as they progress through WCHS, much like a college major.  A student can change a pathway before their junior year.
Warren County will be “cutting edge” with this academy model. WCHS will be among the first counties in Tennessee to offer this educational protocol. Also planned with the Belmont program will be a summer time leadership training session this July for the 30+ WC Schools principals and administrators. The liaison with Belmont University is bringing much to our education progress.
Much progress has been made this school year with CTE (Career Technical Education).  Boosted with a $100,000-plus grant, a new STEM mobile lab went into service in early March with a visit to Centertown Elementary. There are 22 different STEM pieces of equipment including Mechatronics and robotics devices. 
The plan is to visit each county elementary school once a school year for six weeks. All equipment would be unloaded into an available classroom, allowing access to the sixth- through eighth-graders over that period. The mobile lab would be scheduled to all five elementary schools with 6-8 grades. The STEM lab will reach out to about 1,500 students with “hands-on” learning.
Funded with local donations, including the School Board and city of McMinnville, a new robotics training program will start instruction at WCHS this August. More than $114,000 of robotic gear is on order for spring delivery. 
Yorozu Automotive is also donating two late-model Motoman welding robots as part of this program. This will be one of the first such programs in Tennessee and will act as a feeder school for the new robotics center at Motlow-McMinnville once built and operational.
Through the CTE Department, WCHS is collaborating with six area firms about instituting a workplace learning program with placing seniors in paying jobs with students working as much as seven hours a day. Three seniors are already employed at Batesville Casket in Manchester as a first step with this program.
New construction projects completed this school year include a new gym, cafeteria, two new classrooms, and other renovation at Irving College Elementary, as well as a new fieldhouse at WCHS. The fieldhouse is being used everyday by multiple groups at WCHS including PE classes and athletics. 
Looking to the future, Bobby’s staff has identified four major projects over the next four years that need to be addressed. The most urgent are improvements needed at West Elementary and Bobby Ray Elementary. 
The second grouping is improvements needed at Eastside Elementary and WCMS. Most of the requirements are due to aging structures over 50 years old. WC Schools is working with the Warren County Commission on evaluating these projects.
Carl Curtis was appointed as the Director of Teaching & Learning for grades 7-12, replacing the retiring Betty Wood. Carl had prior experience at WCHS. No other staff changes are anticipated near term. WC Schools is recruiting for WCHS math and ESL teachers. Teacher replacement due to retirement is now averaging about 20/year, down from recent experience almost double that. 
Family poverty continues to be an issue with students with WC Schools, running over 65 percent based on state and federal guidelines. There are multiple ways for assisting this challenge.
 A Community Eligibility Provision (federal subsidy) allows for free breakfasts and lunches for many students. A newer program is providing certain students with take-home snacks and food. A partnership with Bridgestone-Warren and the Second Harvest Food Bank provides a take-home bag with multiple meals to families of need with students at Bobby Ray and West Elementary Schools. That program with Bridgestone has been in place for two years now. 
There is a Family Resource Center located at WCMS that has a $30,000 annual budget funded with a TN grant. The center is staffed with two part-time WC School employees to distribute food and clothing to families of need.
Bobby reported the contract with Durham School Services has saved the county from the purchase of 12 new buses representing approximately $1.2 million over the six years of Durham handling the bus service. He says bus safety has improved. WC Schools no longer has direct employees involved with busing. 
Bobby reported teacher salaries have increased 7.47 percent over the last five years. Our average salary is now $47,573 which ranks 49th out of 142 Tennessee school systems.  Warren County used to be ranked in the lower third, so much progress has been made.  The most recent average teacher raise was $1,903, which was ranked 14th out of 142.  The current starting teacher salary is $36,018.
BRAC congratulates this continuing progress for the education of our youth. Bobby Cox is a major asset to this community. The School Board is committed to this progress. The Warren County Commission is a partner in the success. On several fronts, Warren County is in the forefront of education across all of Tennessee. This is collectively vital to the future of Warren County.