Congratulations to FIVE schools in the Cocke County School District who have been recently distinguished as Reward Schools by the Tennessee Department of Education! Bridgeport Elementary, Cosby Elementary, Del Rio Elementary, Grassy Fork Elementary and Smoky Mountain Elementary were identified as Reward Schools for 2025. “What an achievement in such an especially hard year where we faced unprecedented challenges with Hurricane Helene” states Dr. Amanda Waits, Instructional Supervisor for Cocke County Schools.

Schools serving K-8 students are evaluated on four indicators, including achievement on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) assessments, TCAP assessment growth over time, rates at which students are Chronically Out of School, and performance on the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA). High schools, in addition to these four indicators, are also evaluated on Graduation Rate and Ready Graduate Rate, or the rate at which students graduate while also having achieved milestones associated with college and career readiness.

Schools are recognized as a Reward School when they demonstrate high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance by meeting their annual measurable objectives across performance indicators and student groups. Schools that earn an overall rating of 3.1 or higher and are not identified as Priority, TSI, or ATSI schools are recognized as Reward schools. Schools receiving this designation typically demonstrate high levels of performance and/or growth across all indicators.