​The Cheatham County School District has named three exceptional educators as the 2017-2018 District Wide Teachers of the Year.
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Nominations are accepted from all schools and then one teacher is selected from each academic level.
 
“Cheatham County is a district filled with caring, motivated and highly-qualified teachers. To be selected as a district-wide winner is a distinguished honor for an educator,” said Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck. “The three finalists represent the exemplary teaching that goes on every day across our district. They truly inspire their students and colleagues, and we are fortunate to have educators like these in our county.”
 
The 2017-2018 District Wide Teachers of the Year are:
 
High school: Maggie Mason, Sycamore High School fine arts teacher. Mason has taught for 25 years and has been with the district for 23 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb University and master’s degree from Austin Peay State University. Mason started her teaching career in 1992 at Portland Middle School. Two years later, she joined the district as the general music and choir teacher at Sycamore Middle School. She has been at the SHS building since it opened in 1996 and was on staff during its transition from a middle school to high school. At SHS, she has taught a variety of classes, including English, general music, choir, creative writing, introduction to fine arts and dual enrollment music history. Mason currently chairs the school’s Fine Arts Department and serves as a Fine Arts Mentor Teacher and on the District Advisory Committee. She has been named the SHS Employee of the Month three times during her tenure. She is a member of the Sycamore Chapel Church of Christ.
 
Middle school: Matthew Shuff, Sycamore Middle School eighth-grade science teacher. Shuff has taught for four and a half years – all at SMS. He earned his associate’s degree from Nashville State Community College and bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Shuff is the school’s wrestling coach and has been named the SMS Employee of the Month twice during his career. He currently serves on the District Advisory Committee and has been a member of the school’s discipline, textbook and bullying committees.
 
Elementary school: Kristin McQueen, Ashland City Elementary School K-4 STEM teacher. McQueen has taught for five years and has been with the district for four years. She is the only educator in the district that teaches STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as a separate class at the elementary level. McQueen earned her bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Tech University and master’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Before joining the district in 2014, she taught for one year at St. Bethlehem Elementary School in Clarksville. McQueen has received three A.O. Smith grants, and she currently serves as the Grade Level Chair representative at ACES and on the district’s Teacher Advisory Board. She led a six-week STEAM Robotics summer camp in 2017 at Lipscomb University and Pellissippi State. For the past three years, she has been the assistant softball coach at Cheatham County Central High School. In August, McQueen was selected as one of 45 educators across the state to serve on the inaugural Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative.
 
The 2017-2018 School Level Teachers of the Year are: 
 
Ashland City Elementary School: Kristin McQueen
East Cheatham Elementary School: Melissa Barr
Kingston Springs Elementary School: Amy Brown
Pegram Elementary School: Nathan Anderson
Pleasant View Elementary School: Amber Pennington
West Cheatham Elementary School: April Long
Cheatham Middle School: Megan Hunter
Harpeth Middle School: Brittney Burgess
Sycamore Middle School: Matthew Shuff
Cheatham County Central High School: Susie Kephart
Harpeth High School: Alesia Beshears
Sycamore High School: Maggie Mason
Riverside Academy: Doug Hungate
 
“I want to congratulate all who were nominated. This nomination is a commendation for your leadership, your commitment to excellence and dedication to our students, our schools and our district,” Beck said.
 
All of the winning teachers will be recognized at a banquet in April.

The Cheatham County School District celebrated 13 exceptional educators at the 2016-17 Teacher of the Year banquet. 
 
Each school selected a Teacher of the Year that was awarded at the banquet. 
 
The Teacher of the Year program honors and awards teachers who exceed expectations to provide meaningful and rewarding learning experiences for Cheatham County students.
 
To be selected as a school-level Teacher of the Year is a significant honor because they are selected by their peers.
 
The school-level Teachers of the Year are:
 
• Ashland City Elementary School: Kristi Hasse
• East Cheatham Elementary School: Emily Wong
• Kingston Springs Elementary School: Deanna Mealio
• Pegram Elementary School: Jennifer Bolton
• Pleasant View Elementary School: Megan Frost
• West Cheatham Elementary School: Amanda Willoughby
• Cheatham Middle School: Amanda Bradley
• Harpeth Middle School: Lori Johnson
• Sycamore Middle School: Molly Hudgens
• Cheatham County Central High School: Rachel Balthrop
• Harpeth High School: Anita DeFrancesca
• Sycamore High School: Andrew Gaskill
• Riverside Academy: Nathaniel Walker
 
In addition, the three district-wide Teachers of the Year were honored at the banquet:
 
Elementary School Teacher of the Year: Deanna Mealio, Kingston Springs Elementary School
Middle School Teacher of the Year: Molly Hudgens, Sycamore Middle School
High School Teacher of the Year: Anita DeFrancesca, Harpeth High School

The Cheatham County School District has named three exceptional educators as the 2016-2017 District Wide Teachers of the Year.

​Nominations are accepted from all schools and then one teacher is selected from each academic level.
 
“Cheatham County is fortunate to have so many talented and committed teachers in our schools, serving our students every day and helping to ensure their success in the classroom,” said Interim Director of Schools Stacy Brinkley. “The three finalists represent the exemplary teaching that goes on every day across our school district.”
 
The 2016-2017 District Wide Teachers of the Year are:
 
High school, Anita DeFrancesca: Theatre arts teacher at Harpeth High School. DeFrancesca has taught and served in this position for 13 years. She currently serves as the head of the school’s Fine Arts Department, and she is a member of the faculty advisory committee and safety committee. She has sponsored Harpeth’s talent show since 2015. She has been named a WSMV Teacher of the Week and Community Bank & Trust Distinguished Teacher. She is active in the community, having previously served on the Cheatham County Community Theater’s board of directors. DeFrancesca has directed many plays through the years at Harpeth, setting the stage for her students to shine. Her passion and enthusiasm for the arts is immeasurable. Watching her students bloom and sparkle is a huge personal reward, and she’s grateful for the support the theatre program has received.
 
Middle school, Molly Hudgens: Counselor at Sycamore Middle School. Hudgens has been with the district for 18 years and has served in her current position for nine years. She has been a member of the SMS crisis team as well as the leadership and grant-writing committees. She sponsors the Junior Beta Club and is the school’s public relations designee. This is the second time she has been named Middle School Teacher of the Year (2004-2005). Hudgens regularly conducts school violence workshops, and she has served as a trainer for the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Department and Juvenile Court for her “Recognizing Red Flags: Understanding Your Role in Preventing Teen Violence” program. She is an active member of Friendship Free Will Baptist Church. She also enjoys participating in local 5Ks and races. In the past two years, she has run every local race, including the MidTN Shootout, Booby Bolt, Panther Prowl and Grateful Gobble. She also ran the Bowling Green 26.2 Marathon. Hudgens goes above and beyond her duties as a counselor to ensure the success of every student at SMS.
 
Elementary school, Deanna Mealio: First-grade teacher at Kingston Springs Elementary School. She has taught for 12 years and has been in her current position for five years. Before arriving at KSES, she taught at Luckett Christian Academy in Michigan and McKissack Middle School in Nashville. She loves her students and deeply cares for their success. She works diligently to meet the academic needs of her students by providing learning experiences that are hands-on, individualized and relevant to her students' lives. She has served on the KSES leadership team for five years. She was named the school’s Employee of the Month in March 2016. She is active in her community, serving as a tutor and helping with The Ark’s school supply giveaway. She attends Pegram Church of Christ, where she serves as a Bible class teacher.
 
The 2016-2017 school-level Teachers of the Year are: 
 
Ashland City Elementary School: Kristi Hasse
East Cheatham Elementary School: Emily Wong
Kingston Springs Elementary School: Deanna Mealio
Pegram Elementary School: Jennifer Bolton
Pleasant View Elementary School: Megan Frost
West Cheatham Elementary School: Amanda Willoughby
Cheatham Middle School: Amanda Bradley
Harpeth Middle School: Lori Johnson
Sycamore Middle School: Molly Hudgens
Cheatham County Central High School: Rachel Balthrop
Harpeth High School: Anita DeFrancesca
Sycamore High School: Andrew Gaskill
Riverside Academy: Nathaniel Walker
 
All of the winning teachers will be recognized at a banquet in April.