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Norris Elementary STEAMs ahead


Breyden O’Neal and Charleston Leverton in Ashley Cox’s third-grade class at Norris Elementary School work on boat models with Nashville visiting artist Carlos Calderon. This activity is part of the school system’s arts integration program.
Subjects like science and math aren’t always tied to song and dance, but at Norris Elementary School they are now.

“One thing I have learned is when you teach students through the arts, their retention of that lasts way longer than if you teach it with just a worksheet,” NES art teacher and certified arts integration specialist Alison Greenhouse told the Anderson County Board of Education at a work session.

Greenhouse received that certification in 2021.

“I think that it’s significant and really exciting to see when the kids are like ‘I remembered that because we sang about it,’” she said.

NES Principal Renee Branham requested and will receive $26,000 from the Board of Education over three years.

The money will help at least four more of the school’s teachers get the national certification training for arts integration programs through the Institute of Arts Integration and STEAM.

STEAM stands for “science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.”

The school board approved this funding at the Thursday, March 5, meeting unanimously, although John Burrell was absent.

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TN rewards Anderson schools for excellence

Thanks to good performance, the state of Tennessee is giving $565,950 to Anderson County Schools.

Director of Schools Tim Parrott explained in a letter that these funds were based on student performance in the 2022-23 school year.

The Anderson County Board of Education approved a plan to distribute those funds Thursday, March 5.

It will give $500,000 to build a new elementary school for the Claxton community at 105 Fellowship Lane in Powell, the former Crossroads Christ Fellowship site.

The Board of Education will distribute the rest of the funds to the schools.

In addition, individual schools will receive bonus funds for their good performances.

Grand Oaks Elementary School will receive $2,000 for receiving an “A” on the state report card. “A” is the best rating in Tennessee’s letter-grade system.

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Board eyes $20M federal loan for new Claxton school

The Anderson County Board of Education is looking to get a $20 million federal loan for a new elementary school in Claxton.

It unanimously approved applying for the U.S. Department of Agriculture loan at its March 7 meeting. Board member John Burrell was absent.

Board member Jo Williams made the motion, and Teresa Portwood seconded.

It will next go to the Anderson County Commission and county Mayor Terry Frank for approval.

Then Frank will apply to the USDA for the loan. The amount is the same as an earlier estimated budget for the project.

Director of Schools Tim Parrott said this loan will be at a lower interest than the typical rate.

The new school will be at 105 Fellowship Lane in Powell, and the county has already paid $3 million for the land.

Parrott has said that the current school, at 2218 Clinton Highway, is old and has safety issues.

“I think this is going to be something that community’s needed for a long time,” he said.

The school will replace many of the church buildings currently on that site, but it will keep an existing auditorium and possibly the kitchen and cafeteria.

The new school will serve kindergarten through fifth grade.

The county aims to open the new school in July 2026.