Category: Harpeth Middle School

Cooper named academic specialist at KSES, PES

5/28/2019

Chris Cooper

The Cheatham County School District has named Chris Cooper as the new academic specialist at both Kingston Springs Elementary School and Pegram Elementary School.

Cooper has served as the band director at Harpeth Middle School since 2014.

The two South Cheatham schools will share an academic specialist in the 2019-2020 school year.

Cooper has been in the education field for 25 years, including five years in Cheatham County and 10 years in Williamson County.

Prior to his work in Williamson County, Cooper taught at Vanderbilt University and served as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Louisville and the University of Georgia.

“I am very excited about my new role. I look forward to the amazing opportunities working with the talented faculties at these two schools,” he said.

In particular, Cooper said he is excited to be a part of the new arts integration program at PES.

“I have had an instrument in my hands since fourth grade and this transition took a great deal of consideration. I believe that this opportunity is the path to being a stronger teacher and sharing the many lessons from my mentors with others. I am particularly excited about working in the elementary schools, truly rounding out my K-post graduate experience in education. I look forward to collaborating and learning with a new team of educators and am excited about the growth it offers,” he added.

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Fowler named new HMS principal

5/8/2019

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Dr. Audra Fowler

The Cheatham County School District has named Dr. Audra Fowler as the new principal at Harpeth Middle School.

Fowler, the academic specialist at Kingston Springs Elementary School, will replace Ryan Philipp, who will become the academic specialist at Harpeth High School.

Fowler began her Cheatham County teaching career in 2008 at Sycamore Middle School, where she taught eighth-grade Social Studies.

She also taught eighth-grade Social Studies at Cheatham Middle School and served as the Dean of Students at Cheatham County Central High School before joining the KSES staff this year.

A 2003 graduate of Harpeth High School, Fowler majored in History, minored in Education and received her teacher certification at Belmont University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree. She also received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Belmont.

In May 2018, she earned her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from Carson Newman University.

"I am so excited and grateful to serve HMS students, teachers and parents. It is truly an honor and privilege to be a part of the HMS family,” Fowler said.

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Baker named new SHS assistant principal

4/25/2019

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Adrian Baker

The Cheatham County School District has named Adrian Baker as the new assistant principal at Sycamore High School.

Baker is currently the assistant principal at Harpeth Middle School, a position he has held since 2015.

He replaces Aime Carter, who will become the new assistant principal at Cheatham County Central High School.

Baker, a CCCHS graduate, has been with the district since 2011. He taught for four years at Sycamore Middle School, where he served as music teacher and band director.

During his time at SMS, Baker also served as assistant band director at Sycamore High School, and has maintained connections to the SHS band program as the music composer/arranger for the Marching War Eagles from 2014-present.

Throughout his administrative career, Baker has served as a mentor to new and veteran teachers, facilitating reflective practices for professional learning and growth.

He has also modeled a technology-driven approach with school-level and classroom processes and instruction.

"I am incredibly humbled for the opportunity to return to my home community to serve as the assistant principal at Sycamore High School. The past four years at Harpeth Middle School have provided many opportunities for growth and development, and I am thankful for the educators who have taught me more than they realize. ‘Grateful’ and ‘excited’ are the words that come to mind as I look forward to working with the faculty and students at SHS," Baker said.

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CCCHS assistant principal taking on same role at HMS

4/24/2019

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Dana Bates

The Cheatham County School District has named Dana Bates as the new assistant principal of Harpeth Middle School.

Bates is currently the assistant principal at Cheatham County Central High School.

Bates has been with the district for nearly 30 years and much of that time was at Harpeth High School as a teacher and academic director. She was named the CCCHS assistant principal in 2015.

Throughout her career, she has developed instructional strategies to help students improve attendance, test scores and discipline.

Bates has also served as a mentor to other teachers, helping them to analyze data and develop effective lesson plans.

“It’s been 30 years, and I am fortunate to be back where I started. No matter where I go, it is all about caring and educating children. I am grateful for the incredible educators and students that I have learned from along the way. Thank you,” Bates said.

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HMS principal resigning, joining HHS staff

4/18/2019

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Ryan Philipp

Harpeth Middle School Principal Ryan Philipp announced Thursday that he is stepping down as principal at the end of the 2018-2019 school year.

Philipp, who has been with the district for 13 years, will serve as the academic specialist at Harpeth High School next school year.

A 2001 graduate of Harpeth High School, Philipp taught at HHS for eight years before being named the assistant principal at Cheatham Middle School. After two years at CMS, he was named the HMS principal in 2016.

Philipp said the following about his decision:

It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to come back home and serve as the Principal of Harpeth Middle School for the past three years. At this point in my life, though, I have three little ones aged 5, 3, and 8 months that are simply calling for more of my time than this position currently allows.

I believe strongly in the adage that you’ll never regret spending too much time with your children and at 36 years of age, I feel that it’s time to press pause and revisit school administration at a time down the road when they are a little older and I’m better able to dedicate the proper energy to giving the job of a school administrator all I have.

HMS is a fantastic place, with amazing staff members and students, and a wonderful and supportive community, and I couldn’t imagine a better place to have had this opportunity. I’ve made lifelong friends at HMS and I can’t thank all of my friends and colleagues enough for supporting me as principal every day and helping to make these three years so successful and fulfilling as an educator.

I also want to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Beck, Dr. Watson and Stacy Brinkley for their amazing support and guidance during these past few emotional weeks. I know that I surprised them when I first floated the idea of stepping back from this position, but their kind and understanding approach to every aspect of this tough time has meant more to myself and my family than I can even express. Their leadership and compassion with their staff members represents a primary reason why I couldn’t imagine leaving this district.

To that end, while I am deeply torn on leaving HMS, I am honored to get to return to another place that has been very special to me in education career in Harpeth High School. I will be working with Dr. Rector, Shannon Schliwa and the amazing staff at HHS as their academic specialist starting in the fall, and I look forward to continue serving and supporting the students and staff of the southern cluster in this new role.

Thank you so much again to everyone at HMS for everything these past three years and for giving me an opportunity to lead such a fantastic school and a fantastic group of students, staff, and parents. It has truly been an incredible honor.

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HMS launches new 'Celebrate Cheatham' podcast

3/12/2018

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Chris Cooper’s RTI class at Harpeth Middle School has started a weekly “Celebrate Cheatham” podcast.

The podcast will highlight the many successes of the Cheatham County School District.

The recording of the first podcast took place on Monday, March 11 and featured Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck, Coordinated School Health Supervisor Shelley Duke and Schools Resource Officer Supervisor Sgt. Chris Gilmore.

The episode focused on school safety - an important topic facing schools across the nation.

The podcast is being produced, edited and managed by students in Cooper’s RTI class. Cooper is the school’s band director.

Cooper and HMS eighth-grader Austin Thompson facilitated the first podcast.

The students have spent the past several weeks getting familiar with the equipment and what goes into preparing and recording the podcast.

Cooper hopes to have the inaugural podcast ready this week. Once available, we’ll let you know how you can listen to it.

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HMS students spread random acts of kindness

11/9/2017

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At Harpeth Middle School, teacher Liz Austin and her students are recognizing random acts of kindness (RAK).

Great things can be accomplished when people seek to serve each other.

Nothing is more powerful or more meaningful than an act of service for a fellow human. Acts of service can take place everywhere in public settings or in private. Random acts of kindness don’t need to be planned, they can be spontaneous. Service, best of all, is contagious.

At Harpeth Middle School, teacher Liz Austin and her students are recognizing random acts of kindness (RAK).

The project started with a paper hand. A paper hand is given to a student or adult to document a RAK. The RAK can be those that are received or witnessed.

“By refocusing our attention to find ways to help spread kindness we not only spread positivity to another but we magnify ourselves and we come away better for the experience. It feels good to be kind. It feels good to see someone else being kind. It truly is contagious,” Austin said.

Austin’s students used the hands to create wings on a wall to further symbolize hope and create a photo opportunity.

“Every class period, students are asked if they have a RAK to document. My RTI students have taken the lead in posting the hands on the wall. The metamorphosis has been ongoing. The students have moved the hands many times because it is growing every day. It is awe-inspiring to see what these students have achieved,” she said.

Austin added: “My hope is that by all of us spreading kindness into the world little by little we can change the world.”

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<<Previous

Cooper named academic specialist at KSES, PES

Fowler named new HMS principal

Baker named new SHS assistant principal

CCCHS assistant principal taking on same role at HMS

HMS principal resigning, joining HHS staff

HMS launches new 'Celebrate Cheatham' podcast

HMS students spread random acts of kindness

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