I. History of Cornersville High School

Formal education in Cornersville, Tennessee, has a history of more than 140 years. One of the first schools was in a building constructed of logs with a puncheon floor and hewn logs for seats. In 1854, Cornersville Institute was housed in a one-room building where parents supplied the financial support. A building erected in 1856, on the site of the present school, housed the Institute on the lower floor and the Odd Fellows Hall on the upper. The Presbyterian Church ran the school as a denominational institution from 1893 to 1896 when it was turned back to the people of Cornersville. In 1919, the school was deeded to Marshall County, and a series of buildings followed.

The school that most of today's residents remember was built in 1936 and stood nearly fifty years before its destruction in 1982. Additions to that building included a gymnasium in 1958, the science and agricultural building in 1965, and the cafeteria in 1980. There were additions made in 1981 and 1987. In 1995, there were nine additional classrooms built to house the high school program. Also, a field house, which includes a weight room, was built for the use of all sports programs along with an adjoining playroom for elementary P.E.

Construction was completed on a new high school gymnasium on the present campus in January of 2002. An elementary school (K-5) was constructed approximately two miles north of our current campus. The new school opened in August 2002. The new facility alleviated the overcrowded conditions and will accommodate future growth and development. The present Cornersville School building houses grades 6 - 12.

II. Staff and Student Demographics

Cornersville School is located in the ninth District of Marshall County and primarily serves the population including the city of Cornersville and the southern part of the county. Enrollment, based on K-12 education, for the 2001-2002 school year was 838. The ethnic make-up includes 97.4% White, 0.8% African American, 1.3% Hispanic children who are offered ESL classes as determined necessary, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Native American. There were 33.5% students eligible for free/reduced price meals. There were 12.6% of students tested for Special Education. During this school year, there were no expulsions, and there were seventeen suspensions. The school rate for promotion was 96.0%, and the state rate was 97.1%. The attendance rate was exemplary as compared to the state levels and the dropout rate was average as compared to the state. Per pupil expenditure for Marshall County Schools was $5,945 per student.

Highly motivated and well-qualified individuals staff grades 6-12 at the Cornersville High School building. One principal, one part-time assistant principal, two administrative assistants, and one accounting clerk make up the administrative staff. The administrator to teacher ratio is 1.5:28. The administrator to student ratio is 1.5:434.

There are twenty-three full-time teachers, one school counselor, and one media specialist. One teacher holds a master's plus forty-five degree, one teacher holds a master's plus thirty degree, and the principal and assistant principal, along with ten other teachers, hold master's degrees. The counselor and the media specialist hold master's degrees. The remaining full-time teachers hold bachelor's degrees. There are two part-time support teachers, one part-time art teacher, and one part-time music teacher.

The school counseling department consists of one secondary counselor and one part-time assistant. She is certified in guidance and counseling and is responsible for students in grades 6-12. The concern for more help in the areas of personal and social growth is being addressed through individualized, small group sessions and one-on-one counseling sessions. The secondary school counselor is involved in academic advising, educational and career planning, and personal and social concerns of students. Using a proactive approach, the counselor is implementing classroom guidance sessions in the middle school on the topics of study skills, conflict resolution, violence prevention, substance-abuse education, career awareness and character education. Curriculum implemented in 2001 year was a conflict resolution program entitled "A Peaceable Place." In the 2002/03 school year, the following curriculums are being added: Project Alert; The Real Game and various sources for character education and study skills. The high school students are receiving drug education and violence prevention education infused into their regular classes, primarily through expanded guidance lessons taught in the state-required Lifetime Wellness course. Skill-building in the areas of goal-setting, decision-making, problem-solving, and communication are the counseling objectives. Other topics include suicide prevention education, mental health awareness and stress management. The counselor also serves as the school test coordinator and is responsible for registration of new students and the maintenance and transfer of student records. The counselor arranges parent conferences and provides consultation for parents who have concerns about their students' progress and success in school and other pertinent concerns. Students have access to the guidance office at any time during school hours. The counselor also serves as the school test coordinator. The secondary counselor to student ratio is 1:434.

The media learning center is staffed by one full-time certified, master's level media specialist. The media specialist serves all grade levels 6-12 and oversees the acquisition and circulation of library materials as well as teaching library skills to all students. The middle school and high school teachers must request specific times for their classes to use the media center. The media center has one part-time assistant. The media specialist to student ratio is 1:434. The library subscribes to 35 periodicals and has the electronic library on computer. There are 4,564 books in the library at a ratio of 10.5 books per student.
There are two special education teachers for grades 6-12 with two assistants to implement the inclusion program into regular classrooms. The counselor serves as the 504 coordinator.

Sixth through eighth grade students who qualify for gifted education services receive instruction weekly by two certified teachers. In addition to weekly instructions, the Minds-in-Motion students participate in field trips and enrichment, which complement their curriculum.
The high school students are offered credits for art and music courses. Music and art credits are offered both semesters in high school; however, there are no art and music classes offered for middle school students. There is one School Resource Officer. He serves students in grades 6 - 12. The 6 cafeteria staff prepares and serves breakfast and lunch. The other support staff include 8 paraprofessionals and 3 custodial staff.

III. Curriculum and Extracurricular Activities

Cornersville school students are offered 180 days of academic instruction. The school day is seven hours. Grades 6-12 are on block scheduling. Each block is eighty-seven minutes of instructional time for two nine-week grading sessions per semester. Students can select four classes per semester for a total of eight classes per year. A progress report is sent home every four and one-half weeks.
All special education students are served in the least restrictive environment as mandated by federal law. There are two special education classrooms that provide resource support and consultation. Academic modifications under P.L. 504 are available to identified students.
Alternative School is offered for students who have been suspended from their home school. A licensed clinical social worker is available one day per week to counsel students who are served under the special education umbrella.

The core curriculum includes courses in mathematics, science, social studies, and English. Students may choose from a variety of other courses. Some courses are designed to prepare students for college and technical schools while others are designed to prepare students for work. High school students are transported to Spot Lowe Vocational Center for vocational courses not offered at Cornersville School. At Cornersville HIgh School Agriculture and Family and Consumer Sciences are among vocational electives offered on campus. Vocational clusters in the following areas are available through Spot Lowe Vocational: Health and Science Technology; Marketing Education; Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning, Electrical; Transportation Service Technology; Construction Technology; Arts and Communications; and Manufacturing and Welding. Since 2002 school year, honors English classes are offered at grades 9 - 12; however, student, parent, and teacher surveys all indicate a desire for more honors and collegebound courses.
Junior and senior students who meet Columbia State Community College's admission requirements and who are currently meeting credit requirements for graduation are eligible to enroll in Dual Enrollment classes at the Lewisburg or Columbia State campus. Early Admission is also available for qualifying students. No students participated in 2001-2002 due to scheduling conflicts.

The Duke University Talent Identification Program is made available to qualifying seventh grade students who score in the top 25% and higher on the ACT assessment. Participation in the program is optional but is made available to all Marshall County students who scored at the ninety-fifth percentile in one of their core subject areas.

Athletic and club programs exist to further enhance student involvement. The Leo Club, Student Council, Beta Club, Future Teachers of America, FFA and FCCLA, the Environmental Club, Middle School Beta, Middle School Leo, FCA, and Middle School Student Council are the school-sponsored programs offered to middle school and secondary students. The athletic program consists of high school and middle school football teams, high school and middle school cheerleading squads, boys' and girls' high school and middle school basketball teams, a boys' high school baseball team, a high school girls' softball team, and boys' and girls' high school soccer teams and a boys' and girls' golf team. Middle School students may participate in the Middle School Writing Club and the "CMS Chatterbox," which is a middle school newspaper. The school yearbook is published by the journalism class.

IV. Community Characteristics, Participation and School Climate

The Cornersville community has a population of 962, with 96% being white, .4% African-American, .1% Asian and other race, .1% other race and .4% two or more races. When population is represented as Hispanic or non-Hispanic, the percentage of Hispanic is .2% and non-Hispanic is 96.8%. The overall average economic level for Marshall County is $20,000. There are no private schools in the area. Major employers in the county are International Comfort Products, Kantus Corporation, Cosmolab, Sanford, Inc., Walker Die-Casting, and Marshall County Board of Education.

Each school within the Marshall County system has a network of corporate and business adopters. The adopters for Cornersville School are Glenn Hardison, CPA,; Mead Inc.; Farmer's Bank; and Ledford Employee Exchange. The adopters have provided field trip money, equipment for the classrooms, materials for a parent library, prizes for achievement, money for instructional supplies, and support for Junior Achievement. Community businesses also provide goal cards for honor-roll students and most-improved students. The goal cards offer reduced or free food or merchandise.

Parent volunteers are a large part of our community interaction. Trained parents are involved in teaching personal safety and drug awareness lessons in K-2 for twenty-minute sessions over a sixteen-week period. The Cornersville Action Team (CAT) is the PTO for the school. This organization works diligently to meet the needs of both students and staff. They provide a teachers' appreciation brunch at the beginning of the school year, offer teachers $100 for classroom use, work at fund-raising activities to help provide school supplies for teachers such as laminating paper and copy paper, host and fund a senior brunch for graduating seniors and families, provide prizes for the science fair, creative writing, read and roll, and spirit day. Parents are used for assistance in the classroom for AR tests, field trip chaperones, reading to the classrooms, homecoming activities and support for sports and special events.
There are three foster grandparents who are actively involved in our school. They serve as mentors to children needing extra assistance for success in the classroom.

The Booster Club serves as a support for sports activities. They provide plaques, trophies, awards, sports banquets, sports equipment, money for tournament trips and maintenance on the football and baseball fields. The Lion's Club sponsors a Boy's State Delegate and the Leo Club. A Junior Leo Club has recently been established. They provide vision services including examination and eyeglasses for children. Local eye clinics provide reduced cost for students who utilize the Lion's Club services. The VFW Ladies Auxiliary sponsors a Girls' State delegate. The Rotary Club sponsors Student of the Month. First Farmer's Bank has established a student advisory board with three high school student representatives from Cornersville School. United Giver's Fund provides a betterment of school children fund that provides food, clothing, and field trip money for students with need. The Good Samaritan Center provides donated clothes and food for families in need. The school conducts various food drives during the year and donates to The Good Samaritan Center.

The 4-H club is provided for all fourth and fifth grade students and for any student above those grade levels who choose to continue to participate. DARE is provided for fifth grade by the Marshall County Sheriff's Department. The Cornersville Student Council sponsored a Christmas Angel Tree for 95 elementary students. The angel trees were placed within the school and at Farmer's Bank. Over 500 Christmas shoeboxes have been collected each year to be distributed through Samaritan's Purse, International Relief Organization.

The Marshall County Ambulance Service teaches first responder classes, certifies staff and students in CPR, and sponsors Fire Safety Week activities. The Cornersville Fire Department provides a fireman to teach fire safety classes. They have also provided curriculum to the counseling program.
Leadership Marshall sponsors a junior program. In 2001/02, Cornersville School had few students who were active in the Junior Leadership Marshall program; however, beginning with school year 2002/03, many more students are active in the program.

Cornersville students are also asked each year to serve on local bank advisory boards to discuss community issues from their unique vantage-points.

Mental health services for children are scarce within our community. There is a mental health center that is used for parent referrals and limited student referral. A licensed clinical social worker is contracted with the school system for seriously emotionally disturbed students. Juvenile services will provide professional counseling for students who are involved with the court system. Once per week a licensed clinical social worker is available for clients at a local physician's office. For parents with insurance and transportation, mental health referrals are sent to Columbia or Nashville.

The local newspaper and radio are used to keep the community informed of school events. The school sign is also used to inform parents of upcoming events. Cornersville middle school students have begun the publication of a school newspaper entitled "CMS Chatterbox." The Voice , the school yearbook, covers school and community events.