Miller Perry Elementary, Johnson City Schools and Rogersville City School win Tennessee awards

BLOUNTVILLE — Among 12 Exemplary School Districts across Tennessee named Tuesday, two are in Northeast Tennessee: Johnson City Schools and Rogersville City School, which is a district with a single K-8 school.In addition, selected schools throughout Northeast Tennessee, including five-time award-winner Miller Perry Elementary and five others in Sullivan County have received Reward School status for the 2022-23 school year.So did seven in Johnson City and seven in Washington County school systems.Districts listed as Advancing included Bristol, Carter County, Elizabethton, Grainger County, Greene County, Greeneville, Kingsport and Washington County, while those shown as Satisfactory included Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan and Unicoi counties.Elsewhere among Reward School designees, in addition to Rogersville, Kingsport had two, Bristol three, Hawkins County and Elizabethton each two and Carter County four.These were among 400 Reward Schools named statewide Tuesday afternoon by the Department of Education in Nashville.Each year, schools and districts are eligible for designations based on their overall performance across indicators including how they prepared students to be proficient or achievement, accelerated student learning or growth, encouraged students to attend school regularly or avoid being chronically out of school, prepared students for postsecondary success or graduation rate and Ready Graduate ranking and supported English learners acquiring language skills."Schools are recognized as a Reward School when they demonstrate high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance by meeting objectives across performance indicators and student groups, and the Reward School distinction places significant emphasis on performance and improvement across all indicators from the prior school year," a news release said."Districts are recognized as an Exemplary District when they receive an overall district performance score of 3.1 or higher on a 4.0-point scale across all performance indicators as referenced above."SULLIVAN COUNTYSullivan County Director of Schools Chuck Carter said he was excited and proud of the six designations of the award for Sullivan County schools.Those included Miller Perry Elementary, which Carter said won its fifth-consecutive Reward School status, and Rock Springs Elementary, which won its fourth non-consecutive designation. Mike Wilson is Miller Perry's principal.Carter pointed out that Miller Perry also has been nominated for the National Blue Ribbon Award, crediting its consistently high academic rankings for that honor.Others in Sullivan that won were Central Heights, Ketron and Mary Hughes elementary schools and Sullivan East Middle.ELIGIBILITYA Tennessee Department of Education online listing of the 400 Reward Schools said the schools are eligible when they have "an overall school score of 3.1 or higher per federal accountability calculation" and "is not identified as a Comprehensive Improvement School, Targeted Support and Improvement School or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement School" by Tennessee.CITY SCHOOLSJohnson City Schools won the most among area city school systems, with seven schools designated: Johnson City Virtual Academy, as well as Lake Ridge, North Side South Side, Town Acres and Woodland elementary schools.In Kingsport City Schools, Adams and Jefferson elementary schools won the designation, while in Bristol Avoca Elementary, Tennessee Middle and the Tennessee Online Public School won.From Elizabethton, winners this year were T.A. Dugger Junior High and West Side Elementary schools.AREA COUNTY SCHOOLSWashington County, like Johnson City, also had seven schools make the list. They are Boones Creek, Fall Branch, Grandview, Gray, Ridgeview and Woodland elementary schools and University School.The latter is a K-12 school that is technically a county school but operated by East Tennessee State University.Hawkins County winners were Carters Valley and Mount Carmel elementary schools, while in Carter County Central and Hampton elementary schools, Cloudland High and Little Milligan School won.OTHER WINNERSElsewhere in the broader region west of the Tri-Cities, in Greene County Baileyton Elementary, Chuckey Doak High and Middle, North Greene High and Middle and West Greene Middle schools won, as did Greeneville's Eastview Elementary.In Grainger County, Bean Station and Joppa elementary schools won the designation.