DCHS recognizes Student, Teacher, and Parent of the Month

February 12, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County High School continued its monthly observance Friday of recognizing a teacher, student, and parents or guardians of the month for January.

Each received a certificate from the school and a gift card for a meal from the Lipstick Pig. A different restaurant will be offering a meal gift card to each month’s honorees.

DCHS educator Lesa Hayes was selected as Teacher of the Month while freshman Christina Youngblood is Student of the Month, voted on by the teachers, faculty, and staff. The parent of the month is Kristen Lynch and this honor was based on a winning essay written by her son Jeremiah Elswick, a senior at DCHS.

“Jeremiah is an extraordinary young man,” said DCHS Assistant Principal Thomas Cagle. “He is always sending emails and messages to his teachers checking on us making sure we are doing okay so we have returned the favor checking on him all the time. He is one of our office aids. He is a very quiet young man but a very caring and loving young man and we are very fortunate to have him in our school. I wish I had a whole bunch more Jeremiahs in the school,” said Cagle.

Lynch said she was surprised to learn she had been named “Parent of the Month”.

“I am really honored. Its touching. I didn’t expect it. Jeremiah didn’t tell me he was doing it (nominating me), so it was kind of a shock. They just pulled me out of class and said get next door. I am very touched,” said Lynch, who is a special education math intervention teacher at DeKalb Middle School.

Hayes, whose duties include teaching as a profession, family studies, and human studies said she is excited to be named Teacher of the Month.

“I am excited and shocked. This is my third year here at DCHS. I have grown to love this school as well as the kids here. I just feel humbled that I was chosen as Teacher of the Month,” said Hayes.

Altogether Hayes has been a teacher for more than 27 years. In the local school system, she was at DeKalb West School for about 13 years followed by a stint at DeKalb Middle School for five years before moving to DCHS. Prior to her years in the DeKalb County School District, Hayes taught in Wilson County for a private company that contracted with the Department of Labor to train adults for re-entry into the workforce. Before becoming a teacher, Hayes worked in banking and then took a job at DeKalb West working in the office. “I had my teaching degree but there was not a position open at that time, so I started working part-time in the office and part time in adult education. When a computer position came open at DeKalb West is when I moved into the classroom,” said Hayes.

Hayes plans to continue teaching at least another seven years to get in her 30 years before retirement from the system.

Youngblood, daughter of Wade and Tonya Youngblood, said she is thrilled to have been chosen as “Student of the Month”.

“I never thought this would happen, but I am excited that it has, and I feel so honored. After high school I hope to go to college to become a nurse,” she said.

“These awards are a way for us to acknowledge students who are performing exemplary each month. This isn’t always going to be for your straight “A” student. It’s for those putting in the effort to make DeKalb County better each and every month. Every teacher can nominate a student and all teachers vote on the student nominated. Teachers are voted on by the administration. The parent of the month award is determined by student essays. Students can write an essay each month and nominate their parent for a chance to win. In the essays, students can highlight things the parents are doing in their life outside of school that we may not know about,” said Cagle.

February 12, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Eleven persons have been issued qualifying petitions by the DeKalb County Election Commission for municipal elections on Thursday, August 4 in DeKalb County.

(Click links below to view updates on other 2022 races)

13th Judicial District

County Commission and School Board

County Wide Races

City elections will be held in Smithville, Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown.

Persons may now pick up a petition for the municipal elections as well as the state and federal primaries also to be held on Thursday, August 4.

Petitions have been issued to the following persons for August 4, 2022 Municipal Elections:

City of Smithville:
Josh Miller-Mayor (Incumbent) (petition filed)
Beth Chandler-Alderman (Incumbent) (petition filed)
Don Crook-Alderman (petition filed)
Rhonda Tiefenauer-Alderman

City of Alexandria:
Lloyd Dyer-Mayor
Beth Tripp-Mayor
Allen Lawson-Alderman

City of Liberty:
Darrell W. Johnson-Mayor
William H. Reynolds-Alderman
Kendra Stanford Alderman
Derek Johnson-Alderman

A mayor and two aldermen will be elected in Smithville on Thursday, August 4th. Each term is for four years.

In Alexandria, voters will elect a Mayor to a full four-year term, three Aldermen each to a full four-year term; and two Aldermen to fill unexpired terms.

Liberty voters will elect a Mayor to a full four-year term and five Aldermen each to a four-year term.

In Dowelltown, two Aldermen will be elected each to a full four-year term.

State primary elections will be held on Thursday, August 4 for Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, and Tennessee House of Representatives. General elections will also be held for state judicial offices and applicable county offices.

The qualifying deadline for municipal and state primary elections is Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 12:00 Noon including for Independent candidates and the withdrawal deadline is Thursday, April 14, 2022, at 12:00 Noon

February 11, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Department of Education has announced that the DeKalb County School System is among 68 districts that have received statewide recognition as Best for All Districts for significantly investing federal COVID-19 stimulus funding to drive student achievement and improving academic outcomes.

Best for All Districts will receive financial, operational, celebratory, and resource benefits in appreciation for districts’ planned investments to spend their share of the $3.58 billion in federal COVID-19 relief and stimulus funding directly on services, resources and supports that will help students achieve academically. Governor Bill Lee announced a Day of Recognition in honor of Best for All Districts on Friday, February 11, 2022. Additionally, each Best for All district was awarded grant funds from the department’s ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) funds, with the full grant funding for Best for All Districts totaling more than $15 million. DeKalb County’s allocation is $200,000.

“Tennessee’s ‘Best For All’ districts have gone above and beyond to invest strategically in student achievement, address learning loss, and drive positive outcomes,” said Gov. Bill Lee. “As we continue to prioritize students, I commend each of these high-performing districts for their hard work and thank our teachers and administrators for their commitment to providing high-quality education across Tennessee.”

“Tennessee’s Best for All districts are truly deserving of this recognition for their strong commitment to strategically investing in their students at a time when there were literally billions of other opportunities to spend,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “Our kids deserve the best possible education we can provide them, and I am proud to honor our Best for All districts for their leadership in putting a clear focus on academic achievement to help them succeed.”

Beginning in 2020, the U.S. Congress responded to the global COVID-19 health pandemic by passing several pieces of legislation, and as a result Tennessee is benefitting from over $4.5 billion for K-12 education to be spent between spring 2020 and fall 2024. Through three rounds of funding referred to as ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 funds, over $3.58 billion will flow directly to local school districts to decide how to spend.

The department understands the importance of rewarding investments in mission-critical initiatives that are most likely to benefit students. Best for All Districts are those entities that have strategically planned for and invested in ways that are likely to accelerate student achievement. To qualify for the Best for All recognition program, a district must have planned to spend an amount equal to or more than 50% of its ESSER 3.0 award amount on strategies to raise student academic achievement, as well as opted to participate in the state’s high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring program, TN ALL Corps.

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