Weakley County Schools is home to 10 schools in Northwest Tennessee. Over 300 innovative educators in the towns of Dresden, Gleason, Greenfield, Martin and Sharon serve over 4,000 students in local community public schools. Our faculty to student ratio is 1 to 19. We are the largest school system in northwest Tennessee and the second largest employer in the county. Check out this overview of our system for the school year 2019-2020

2. Serving 4,000 students from …
• Dresden
• Gleason
• Greenfield
• Sharon
• Martin
• McKenzie
• Dukedom
• Latham
• Palmersville
• Pillowville

3. Dresde
n
Gleas
on
Greenfiel
dMarti
n
• Elementary – Pre K – 4th
• Middle – 5th – 8th
• High – 9th – 12th
• Pre K – 12th
• Pre K – 12th
• Primary – Pre K – 2nd
• Elementary – 3rd – 5th
• Middle – 6th – 8th
• Westview – 9th – 12th
Personal Development Center in
Dresden houses alternative school, adult
education & TCAT courses.
Shar
on• Pre K – 8th

4. Dresd
en
Gleas
on
Greenfield
Sharo
n
Marti
n
• Elementary – 34
• Middle – 27
• High – 28
• Pre K – 12th – 38
• Pre K – 12th – 39
• Pre K – 8th – 21
• Primary – 33
• Elementary – 30
• Middle – 28
• Westview – 43
345 total
teachers &
administra
tors

5. Dresd
en
Gleas
on
Greenfield
Sharo
n
Marti
n
• Elementary – 34
• Middle – 27
• High – 28
• Pre K – 12th – 38
• Pre K – 12th – 39
• Pre K – 8th – 21
• Primary – 33
• Elementary – 30
• Middle – 28
• Westview – 43

6. Dresd
en
Gleas
on
Greenfield
Sharo
n
Marti
n
• Elementary – 34
• Middle – 27
• High – 28
• Pre K – 12th – 38
• Pre K – 12th – 39
• Pre K – 8th – 21
• Primary – 33
• Elementary – 30
• Middle – 28
• Westview – 43

7. Dresd
en
Gleas
on
Greenfield
Sharo
n
Marti
n
• Elementary – 34
• Middle – 27
• High – 28
• Pre K – 12th – 38
• Pre K – 12th – 39
• Pre K – 8th – 21
• Primary – 33
• Elementary – 30
• Middle – 28
• Westview – 43

8. Dresd
en
Gleas
on
Greenfield
Sharo
n
Marti
n
• Elementary – 34
• Middle – 27
• High – 28
• Pre K – 12th – 38
• Pre K – 12th – 39
• Pre K – 8th – 21
• Primary – 33
• Elementary – 30
• Middle – 28
• Westview – 43

10. System profile …
• Racial Ethnic Minority – 13%
• Limited English Proficient – 0.5%
• Students with Disabilities – 14%
• Economically Disadvantaged
 Directly certified – 39%
 Free/reduced lunch – 64%

11. “Unemployment is not the issue in
Weakley County as much as
underemployment. Most of our
families work but still qualify for
free lunch.
“
Betsi Foster
director of Federal Programs

12. “TN schools are not fully funded by
the Basic Education Program. In
Weakley County, we have 30-45
positions each year that are not
covered by the BEP. Local resources
must be used to give the students
the quality education they deserve.
“
Randy Frazier
Weakley County Schools director

13. “Since rural areas are faced with less financial resources to cover positions
considered necessary but not covered by the BEP -- including community
members drawing lower median household incomes -- rural districts must
be creative when leveraging resources. Local fundraising and community
partnerships are critical. We have excellent relationships with our
community partners. My only fear is we may overburden them.
Randy Frazier
Weakley County Schools director
“

14. Addressing absenteeism …

15. Impact on
absenteeism

16. In 2019, the Tennessee Higher Education
Commission reported that 46% of Tennessee
graduates entering postsecondary education
required remedial coursework in
mathematics, and 33% in reading.
Williamson County was #1 and Weakley
County was #2 in having the higher
percentage of students prepared and not
needing remediation.
Leading the way …

17. Studies show Weakley County traditionally among the
top systems in West Tennessee, ranking in the top ten
in the following areas:
• 3rd-5th grade math
• 3rd- 5th grade English Language Arts (ELA)
• High school ELA
• High school U.S. history
To ensure that teachers have the tools needed the
county has initiated programs such as Read to Be
Ready for grades Pre-K through 3rd, reading and math
interventions, ACT Prep, college readiness, and a
mentor program for teachers.
Leading the way …

18. “ In 2018, the county finished
23rd out of 131 public school
systems across the state with
a composite ACT score of 21.1.
In 2019, that rose to 21.3.
• High school teachers
receive overview of ACT
• Team in each high school
work on strategies
• ACT Boot Camp offers tips
on test-taking
TN Top 10% in ACT

19. Weakley County TN Promise Student
Progress

22. Weakley County – Advancing District

26. State champions
Sports to science

27. In 2019, Weakley County’s 284 graduates earned a
total of $5,622,488 in scholarships.
• Dresden High School -- 78 graduates,
$2,430,406 in scholarships
• Gleason School -- 30 graduates, $482,895
• Greenfield School -- 47 graduates, $1,076,950
• Westview High School -- 129 graduates,
$1,632,237
Earning scholarships …

28. • Only fully-functioning high
school farm in the state at
Dresden High School
• Currently supplying Dresden
High School's cafeteria with
sausage
• Next year’s goal -- supply
every cafeteria in the district
with sausage
Weakley County
Farm

29. • 18 CTE teachers across 4 high schools
• 4 shops, 2 greenhouses with head houses
(containing a classroom, bathroom, storage and
a shop), 1 large animal farm, 2 nursing science
labs, 3 Family and Consumer Science labs, 4
business computer labs, and 1 advanced
manufacturing lab
• Current focus -- Agriculture, Health Science,
Family and Consumer Science, Business and
Marketing and Advanced Manufacturing
Career Technical Education
(CTE)

31. Partner with TCAT McKenzie to offer a welding
program at Personal Development Center

32. • FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America)
• FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America)
• DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America )
• HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America)
• Skills USA (Advanced Manufacturing)
• FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America)
Career & Technical Student
Organizations

35. • New countywide music
teacher for middle schools
• New countywide drama
program for high school
students
• Martin Elementary to present
Seussical the Musical
• Planned student-curated art
show in spring
The Arts

36. • 25 teachers
• 8 Weakley County staff
• 35 EAs
• 7 buses
• 7 riders
• New bus with built-in car
seats, seat belts, back-up
camera
Special Needs

37. *Every Weakley County School has a full-time nurse.
Beth Kempton,
Weakley County Nurse
Supervisor and 2018
Tennessee Association
of School Nurses’
Nurse of the Year,
started the county’s
school nurse program
21 years ago.
School
Nurses

38. Many school nurses have also assumed the
sponsor role for Weakley County Youth Coalition,
addressing drug and alcohol prevention.

39. School safety
• School Resource Officers
allocated for every school
• ALICE training
• Awarded Student Support &
Academic Enrichment Grant for
additional social worker 2
days/week and Youth Mental
Health First Aid training for staff
and youth-serving agency
partners
• Received Second Round of Grant
funding for “LifeSkills” --
expanded modules include info
on vaping and opioids

40. School counselors

41. • Reversed a multi-year budget deficit to a continuing
budget surplus
• Launching bar code meal accounting w/ID badges
• Overseeing cafeteria facelifts
• Converting bus to pizza food truck
• Incorporating school farm sausage into meals
• Promoting farm-to-school initiative
School Nutrition

43. • 41 school route buses
• 7 used for special needs
• Received grants from TN Clean Cities
for first 5 propane buses
• New grants provide $330,000
towards purchase of 7 new propane
buses over next 2 years
• Estimated savings over the life of the
propane bus -- $24,285.71 per bus
School
transportation

44. Communicatin
g the message
…

45. “Weakley County is made up of a
diverse group of towns and
communities, each with a reason to be
celebrated. As a district, our strength is
creatively resourcing what’s needed
from buses to classrooms, from stages
to stadiums, to ensure our students
have the foundation needed for a
successful future.
“
Randy Frazier
Weakley County Schools director