The Cheatham County School District has named Amy Castleberry as the new academic specialist at Pegram Elementary School.
 
Castleberry, a longtime Pleasant View Elementary School teacher, replaces Dawn Wenning, who is the new principal at Kingston Springs Elementary School.
 
Castleberry is a 1997 graduate of Cheatham County Central High School and a 2002 graduate of Austin Peay State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education.
 
She began her teaching career in 2003 at PVES. She taught second grade for eight years and first grade for six years.
 
Castleberry was a member of the school district’s Aspiring Administrator’s Academy in 2016.
 
In 2017, she graduated from Capella University with her master's degree in Educational Leadership.
 
“I am very excited to begin this journey and developing new relationship at Pegram. I will deeply miss Pleasant View Elementary School because it has been my home since 1986, but I am thankful for the opportunity to become the academic specialist at Pegram,” she said.
 
Castleberry lives in Chapmansboro with her husband, Jeff, and two sons, Dillon and Preston.

​The Cheatham County School District officially broke ground Monday on the much-anticipated paving project at Pegram Elementary School.
 
School and county officials came together to commemorate the start of the project.
 
The district is making some much-needed traffic and parking improvements at the school.
 
To help eliminate the ongoing traffic buildup along Highway 70 and Dogwood Lane when students are being dropped off in the mornings and picked up in the afternoons, the district will construct a new paved car rider lane around the front field along Highway 70.
 
When the project is complete, car riders will use the new lane during arrival and dismissal.
 
The district will also expand the current car rider lane area on Dogwood Lane for additional parking and for future bus arrival and dismissal.
 
In addition, the district will address the drainage in the back of the school to help reduce flooding that occurs during heavy rains.
 
The project is scheduled to begin in a few weeks.
 
“The school district is excited about this project because it will help alleviate the traffic congestion at Pegram Elementary School. We also appreciate the support of the Cheatham County Commission, which approved the funding for the project. By working together, we expect great results,” said Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck.
 
Once the project begins, additional information will be communicated to Pegram families.

Pegram Elementary School is always on the lookout for new and exciting ventures.

​Students at Pegram are learning about the arts and great outdoors — thanks to two grants the school has received over the past year.
 
​The school received a $7,000 grant through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to promote the arts. 
 
Pegram has been the recipient of many Community Foundation grants through the years, but the $7,000 was the largest the school has received, said Principal Detra Emery.
 
The most recent grant covers various art projects for the spring 2016 and fall 2016 semesters.
 
In the spring, artist and Pegram resident and parent Kristie Fakhoorian worked with the students, and each grade created a large painting.
 
"Each student was also able to paint an individual canvas for themselves," Emery said.
 
The fourth-grade class painting, which features a bluejay (the school's mascot) perched atop a tree limb, hangs on the side of the school and can be seen when staff members, students, parents and visitors arrive.
 
The painting also contains the initials of each fourth-grade student from last school year. The students are now fifth-graders at Harpeth Middle School.
 
Fakhoorian's husband, Ryan, also landscaped the area surrounding the painting.
 
Emery said the other class paintings will be displayed throughout the school for everyone to admire.
 
"The students had so much fun working with Kristie and learning about art," Emery said.
 
Emery said the school hopes to have an art show to display the students' work, and the school has applied for the same grant again.
 
Another new project at the school includes an outdoor garden, which was made possible by a $500 Tractor Supply Co. grant.
 
Pegram received the grant at the end of the 2016 school year.
 
The third-grade class has already started working in one garden, which is in the back of the school near the playground.
 
"Our goal is to have a different garden for each grade level," Emery said.
 
Emery said the garden is a good learning tool for the students as teachers can incorporate other subjects, such as writing, math and science, into the project.
 
A few parents and businesses have either volunteered their time or donated items to the garden. StoneTree Mulch Gravel and More recently donated some mulch.
 
"The students have enjoyed learning about the garden, and we are thankful for the hands-on experience they are receiving," she said.