Two Cheatham County schools were named “Reward Schools” on Friday by the Tennessee Department of Education.
 
Cheatham Middle School and Kingston Springs Elementary School were among the 169 schools statewide to achieve the honor.
 
Reward Schools are those in the top 5 percent of schools for academic achievement and the top 5 percent for student growth.
 
CMS was honored for student growth (Reward Growth), while KSES was recognized for academic achievement (Reward Performance).
 
“This is a wonderful honor for Cheatham Middle and Kingston Springs Elementary,” said Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck. “There was a lot of hard work that went into achieving this recognition, and we want to celebrate our educators and students for this great accomplishment. We hope to continue this success as we move the district forward.”
 
Schools earn a Reward Performance status if its one-year success rates for the “All Students” group are in the top five percent of schools in the same pool. Reward Progress designation means a school’s one-year TVAAS school composite score for growth places them in the top five percent of schools in the same pool.

​The Cheatham County School District has named Dawn Wenning as the new Kingston Springs Elementary School principal.
 
Wenning, who is currently an academic specialist at Pegram Elementary School, will replace Joy Bauman, who is the new Sycamore Middle School assistant principal.
 
A 1990 graduate of Prairie View Academy in Bastrop, La., Wenning earned her bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education English from Welch College (formerly Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville) in 1994.
 
She received her Special Education endorsement from Tennessee State University in 2001 and Masters in Educational Leadership from Austin Peay State University in 2012.
 
Wenning has been in the education field for 21 years.
 
She spent three years at Metro Christian Academy, teaching third grade and middle school English.
 
Wenning has been with Cheatham County Schools for 17 years. She started in 1998 as a special education teacher at Cheatham County Central High School and then moved to the English Department to teach English I until 2005.
 
Her family moved to Florence, Ala., and she taught seventh and eighth grade English for one year at Florence Christian Academy.
 
Wenning returned to Cheatham County in 2007 to begin teaching in the English Department at Sycamore High School before becoming the academic specialist at PES in 2015.
 
She is married to Steve Wenning, the principal at Cheatham County Central High School. They have two sons, Sean and Avery.
 
"I am so thankful for the opportunity to continue my journey in education at Kingston Springs Elementary School. I am excited to begin working with the faculty and staff, students and parents, as well as other members of the community to continue to build on the strong foundation and standard of excellence that previous administrators have worked so hard to build,” Wenning said.
 
She added: “I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and becoming an integral member of the Kingston Springs family and community.”
 
Interim Director of Schools Stacy Brinkley said Wenning’s vast experience in multiple roles will benefit KSES.
 
"Her enthusiasm and passion for students and teachers has made her a great choice for Kingston Springs Elementary School. In addition, her successful experiences in the classroom have prepared her for this next role in her career and in this district,” she said.
 
Wenning will step into her new position on July 1.

The Cheatham County School District has named Joy Bauman as the new assistant principal at Sycamore Middle School.
 
Bauman, who is currently the principal of Kingston Springs Elementary School, will replace Robyn Miller, who is taking over as SMS principal following the retirement of Lisa Young.
 
She will begin her new duties July 1.
 
Bauman, a 2000 graduate of Hendersonville High School, received her bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University in 2005 and her master's degree in school counseling from Tennessee State University in 2010. 
 
She earned her Education Specialist in Administration and Supervision from Middle Tennessee State University in 2013.
 
Bauman served as the school counselor at KSES from 2009 to 2013. During that time, she was the Harpeth Middle School assistant girls basketball coach in 2011 and the Harpeth High School assistant girls basketball coach in 2012.
 
She led KSES as principal for four years from 2013 to 2017.
 
She has served on the Ark Community Resource Center's Board of Directors since 2010 and was a co-facilitator of the district's Aspiring Administration Academy for the 2016-2017 school year.
 
“Leaving the Kingston Springs Elementary family and community will be incredibly difficult. Over the last eight years, I have grown so much personally and professionally in my time at Kingston Springs and it is due to the fantastic team of people with whom I have been fortunate to work," Bauman said.
 
She added: "In the spirit of lifelong learning, I am looking forward to continuing my professional career on an administrative team with Robyn Miller and Sycamore Middle School. Both KSES and SMS have great traditions of academic success and wonderful school climates. I am honored and humbled to continue serving the Cheatham County School District.”
 
A new principal at KSES has not yet been named.

​The Cheatham County School District has named Amanda Tupper as the new academic specialist at Kingston Springs Elementary School.
 
Tupper replaces Dr. Sherry Gibbs, who retired this year.
 
Tupper began her Cheatham County teaching career in 2006 at Sycamore Middle School before transitioning to Ashland City Elementary School.
 
She taught kindergarten and fourth grade at ACES. She then transferred to Pleasant View Elementary School, where she has taught first and second grades.
 
Tupper, a graduate of Sycamore High School, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in education from Austin Peay State University. She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership from Austin Peay State University as well.
 
She was voted Best Teacher in Cheatham County in 2007-2008 and is a recipient of awards from the Tennessee Education Association.
 
She has served in multiple leadership roles during her years of teaching. She is a graduate of the Aspiring Administrators Academy.
 
“I am looking forward to working in such a wonderful community. I have giant shoes to fill in replacing Ms. Sherry Gibbs, but I am thrilled to becoming an active member of the Kingston Springs Elementary family,” she said.
 
Tupper and her husband, Jordan, and two daughters, Cora and Ruthanne, live in Pleasant View.