Murfreesboro City Schools in conjunction with Middle Tennessee State University will host its first Club Marvel event of 2019 this Saturday. Participating fifth and sixth grade students will attend experiential learning sessions to explore possible careers and gain new knowledge. The January event will focus on Horse Science and will be held at Miller Coliseum from 9 am until noon.

Club MARVEL is a collaboration between Middle Tennessee State University and Murfreesboro City Schools designed to maximize each student’s potential and foster a passion for lifelong learning through exposure to a variety of fields and disciplines.

“Being on a college campus generates excitement for our students as they see what education beyond high school offers as well as the vision it can create.” Stated MCS Outreach Coordinator Greg Lyles.

Club Marvel meets one Saturday each month and is open to 5th and 6th graders. Upcoming programs include: engineering & technology, concrete management, science, biology, and chemistry. This is a free program for students and transportation is provided from various pick-up points in the district.

For more information, contact Greg Lyles at 615-893-2313.

African American exhibits, cuisine, and much more will be featured Thursday, Jan 31, at 4:30 p.m., as Murfreesboro City Schools and Patterson Park Community Center celebrate The African American Cultural Celebration. The event will be held at Patterson Park Community Center located at 521 Mercury Blvd.

“We invite the community to come together and join us as we celebrate diversity through art, cuisine, history, and music,” stated MCS Outreach Coordinator Greg Lyles.

The theme for 2019 is Celebrating Unity & Diversity from the Past to the Present. The free celebration will include performances from the Bradley Academy Choir, the Northfield Elementary African Drumming Ensemble, and local jazz artists. Free food will be provided as a tasting of different African American foods. Bradley Academy students will also participate in a live wax museum honoring local heroes.

Murfreesboro City Schools is proud to announce the 2019 Teachers of the Year. Teachers from each school were nominated for the prestigious education award given by the Tennessee Department of Education.

Twenty-four teachers were chosen for the honor based on their commitment to teaching excellence both in and outside of the classroom. From those 24 teachers, two educators were selected as System-level honorees and will represent MCS at the regional level.

The 2018-2019 MCS System-level Teacher of the Year recipients are: Dana Stem from Bradley Academy and Sarah Chumney from Cason Lane Academy.

School Level Teachers of the Year are: John Pittard – Jennifer Whitlow, Kyle Cantrell; Scales – Rachel Slough, Meredith Davis; Mitchell-Neilson – Kim Curtis, Ashley Herod; Overall Creek – Whitely Troutman, Erin Nunley; Bradley Academy – Emily Petty, Dana Stem; Black Fox – Hope Padgett, Tammy Stout; Erma-Siegel – Amberly Sandberg, Margaret Lane; Hobgood – Nichole Bell, Mark Gibson; Reeves- Rogers – Amy Stevenson, Stephanie Stump; Discovery School – Kimberly Kahle, Charlotte Young; Cason Lane – Denise Crumbaugh, Sarah Chumney; Northfield – Sarah Easterly, Nancy Kelley

The Tennessee Teacher of the Year program is designed to promote recognition, respect and appreciation for teachers, to stimulate interest in teaching as a career, and to encourage public involvement in education.

The City Schools Foundation will honor the late Doug Young at the Excellence in Education Gala to be held on Friday, January 25, 2019. Young served on the inaugural board of directors for the Foundation, established in 2005, and continued serving on the board or a board committee until his passing in 2017.

The event will be held at MTSU’s new Student Union Center. A pre-party for sponsors will begin at 6 p.m. and the Gala begins at 7 p.m. Reservations for the Gala are available by contacting The City Schools Foundation at 615-893-2313.

Excellence in Education will spotlight Overall Creek Elementary. Overall Creek, A Tennessee Designated STEM School, integrates STEM curriculum with project based learning across all subject areas and programs both inside and outside the classroom. The school is home to over 1,000 students.

Most recently, The City Schools Foundation gave over $60,000 to Murfreesboro City Schools in the form of teacher grants.  The Foundation will also give over $25,000 this year to schools for parity grants.

Doug Young joins an extraordinary group of civic leaders to be honored by The City Schools Foundation for their support of public education including Drs. Max and Mary Moss, John Floyd, Ed and Andrea Loughry, Tommy and Jeannie Bragg, Dr. Sidney and Elizabeth McPhee, Dr. Susan Andrews, John Hood, Rhea Seddon and “Hoot” Gibson, Gloria and Ted LaRoche, Joyce Taylor, and Bart Gordon.

The Excellence in Education Gala is sponsored in part by: The LaRoche Foundation, Ole South Properties, UPS Georgetown, Adams Family Foundation, Advance Financial, City Tile and Floor Covering, Dr. Dunk and Vick Eastham – Tennessee Pediatrics, Dr. Peter Robertson – Saint Thomas Heart, Dr. Susan Andrews and Dr. Randall Rickard, David and Brook LaRoche, Dempsey Vantrease & Follis, Dr. Ellen Slicker, Licensed Psychologist, Exchange Club, First Bank, Franklin Synergy, Johnson + Bailey Architects, MTSU Foundation, Pinnacle, Regions Bank, Saint Thomas Rutherford, Volunteer State Bank, Wilson Bank & Trust, Woodfin’s Funeral Home and Stones River Total Beverages.

Money raised by The City Schools Foundation benefits Murfreesboro City Schools’ pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade students. To date, the Foundation has awarded approximately $800,000 in parity funds and grants to teachers to enhance science, math and other programs. The City Schools Foundation, is a group of civic and business leaders banding together to benefit Murfreesboro City Schools’ pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade students.

The Tennessee Department of Education announced that Murfreesboro City Schools has been selected as 1 of only 6 districts to be named as an Exemplary ACCESS District for intensive work and exceptional dedication to providing ACCESS for all students to high quality instruction and intervention over the past two years through the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG).

“This work has given us the opportunity to partner with you as you impact each student in every facet of their education in the least restrictive setting. Your dedication to your educators and students has, and will continue to, positively affect all students in your district for many years to come.  Thank you for stepping out as a district leader and for your dedication to continued success by creating positive, motivating, empowering learning environments throughout your district.   Your efforts are helping to ensure that All Children are Challenged and Equipped for Success in School.”

Murfreesboro City Schools is proud to announce the name of the 13th Elementary School. The school will be called Salem Elementary .

This name is a tribute to the history of the area and will serve as a landmark for the Salem community.

The name was one of over 500 suggestions from students and the community at large. Names were narrowed down by the school naming committee to a list of four that were presented to the school board at the December 11thmeeting.

The elementary school, scheduled to open in August 2019, sits near the corner of Veterans Parkway and St. Andrews Drive.

Trey Duke has been named Principal of Salem Elementary. The two-story school is designed for up to 1,000 students and will follow the footprint of Overall Creek Elementary.

Overall Creek Elementary will serve as the host school for the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative on Friday, December 7.  The program will introduce cohort members to resource-based thinking and help facilitate solutions development for regional STEM education challenges in West, Middle, and East Tennessee. Overall Creek was one of only 15 schools to receive the Tennessee STEM Designation by the Tennessee Department of Education in May 2018.

STEM education is a unique approach to teaching and learning that fosters creativity and innovative thinking in all students. STEM is focused on building critical and creative thinking and analysis skills by addressing how students view and experience the world around them.

The Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative is a year-long cohort of educators from across Tennessee that works towards ensuring that all students have access to high-quality learning opportunities in STEM by exposing them to 21^st Century Skills and local STEM career pathways.  The program will develop teacher leadership capacity, strengthen innovative instructional strategies, and provide a collaborative network for educators in rural areas.

Overall Creek students and staff will model the STEM process for the Collaborative beginning with a panel discussion at 9:15 a.m. including group tours of at 9:45 a.m. Overall Creek integrates STEM curriculum with project-based learning across all subject areas and programs both inside and outside the classroom. STEM teaching and learning opportunities rest on inquiry, technology, and project-based learning activities and lessons that are tied to the real world. It is a diverse, interdisciplinary curriculum where activities in one class complement those in other classes.

The Tennessee STEM School Designation was developed to provide a “roadmap” for schools to successfully implement a STEM education plan at the local level. The Tennessee Department of Education and Tennessee STEM Innovation Network developed tools and resources to define the attributes of a comprehensive STEM learning environment for students. Schools that receives the Tennessee STEM School Designation are recognized by the Tennessee Department of Education for their use of STEM teaching and learning strategies and serve as a model from which other schools may visit and learn. All K–12 schools serving students in Tennessee are eligible.

They entered Murphy Center excited to watch the MTSU Lady Raiders play a college basketball game. All of the thousands of Murfreesboro City Schools’ students left happy when the final horn sounded.

In between, they danced, wiggled and screamed as the Lady Raiders used a 22-7 fourth-quarter spurt to defeat visiting Georgia State, 69-54, in front of 11,310 mostly student fans at the seventh Education Day game.

“We’re always happy to have Murfreesboro City Schools students on our campus,” said Deb Sells, vice president of Student Affairs and vice provost for Enrollment Management. In all, 12 schools brought busloads of students to the game.

Coach Rick Insell was pleased with the response his players provided after the Panthers rallied to tie the game at 47-all after three quarters.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Insell, whose team improved to 6-2 on the season. “I’m very proud of our young ladies for hanging in there and coming back after they got behind.”

“It was loud … and I loved this day,” Insell added. “My hat’s off to Dr. Linda Gilbert(City Schools director) and her staff. They have to have great leadership … to pull this off. It’s a win-win for them and it’s a win-win for us.”

Reeves-Rogers sixth-grader Serenitee Matheny, 11, who plays basketball for both the Boys and Girls Club and an AAU team, predicted before tip-off “it is going to be an intense game.” And she was right.

Georgia State (3-2) rallied to tie the game heading into the final 10 minutes before MTSU hit 8 of 12 field goals and four consecutive free throws to ice the game.

A’Queen Hayesled the Lady Raiders with 20 points and added seven rebounds. Alex Johnson(14 points), Taylor Sutton(13) and Jordan Majorscame off the bench with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the victory.

President Sidney A. McPheeand MTSU first lady Liz McPheewere among those in attendance.

Story by: MTSU News and Media Relations contact:

Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 (office) or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu

Trey Duke has been named Principal of Murfreesboro City Schools’ newest elementary school, scheduled to open in August 2019. Duke will assume his new role in January and will oversee the opening and hiring for the school.

“Mr. Duke’s experience and leadership are ideal for the role of Principal of our newest school,” says Dr. Linda Gilbert, Director of Murfreesboro City Schools.  “He is a student-centered instructional leader with an amazing vision for empowering students to succeed academically and personally.”

Duke has more than fifteen years in education and currently serves as the Coordinator of Federal Programs and RTI for Rutherford County Schools (RCS).  In that role, Duke has provided administrative direction and support for all Federal ESEA programs and has overseen the instructional coaching program.  He has been an innovative leader in instructional technology and is well-known for his commitment to the professional development of teachers and administrators.  In addition, Duke has served as a classroom teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal.

“As difficult as it is to leave Rutherford County Schools, I am excited to be a part of the Murfreesboro City Schools’ team. I look forward to being surrounded by students again on a daily basis,” says Duke. “This is a unique opportunity to be on the forefront of establishing an amazing school tradition and I want to thank Dr. Gilbert and MCS for this great opportunity.  I am anxious to meet students and families and begin selecting the team for our school in the upcoming months.”

Duke received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). He is currently completing his Doctorate Degree in Assessment, Leadership and School Improvement also from MTSU. Duke has received numerous awards for his contributions to education including being named the 2018 Rutherford County Supervisor of the Year, 2016 TNTESOL Administrator of the Year, and 2008 Milken National Educator–Tennessee recipient.

The newest elementary school, referred to as Southwest Elementary until a name is selected, is located off Veterans Parkway and St. Andrews Drive. The two-story school is designed for up to 1,000 students and will follow the footprint of Overall Creek Elementary.

You just know when your child isn’t feeling well, but how can you know when coughs and sniffles mean it’s time to keep your child home from school? Or when to call the doctor? Since school-aged children get up to 10 colds a year, it can be a puzzle for many parents.

You may also want to print the attached cold and flu guide.

Cold and Flu Guide

Flu Poster