KSES rolls out red carpet for first day of classes

School started back up for students in Cheatham County on Aug. 7, and Kingston Springs Elementary School (KSES) rolled out the red carpet.

Football players and cheerleaders from Harpeth High School welcomed the elementary school students back for the 2023-2024 school year.

Miss Candy is starting her 50th year at KSES / Cheatham County School District

First through ninth grade had an early dismissal on Monday, Aug. 7, and first through twelfth grade attended their first full day of classes on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Pre-Kindergarten and kindergarten students will have their first full day on Monday, Aug. 14.

The school district made a major change this year in an effort to prioritize student and staff safety. The new policy mandates that all middle and high school students store their backpacks, lunch boxes, and sports bags in their lockers each morning, and these items will no longer be allowed to be carried from room to room throughout the day.

“We are excited as a school district to get the school year going,” Wendy Cox, the human resources director for the school district and resident of Pegram, told WSMV. “Our students will be using backpacks and placing them in lockers this year, but it’s just another safety measure that we are putting in place, and we are pretty positive that it would be a good safety measure.”

Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck said in her welcome back letter that “one of our priorities this year is to make sure our students and staff are safe when they are on our campuses, and that this safety is maintained at all times.”

“Thanks to the support of the Cheatham County School Board and Cheatham County Commission, you will see improved safety protocols on our campuses this year,” she continued. “Specifically, we are adding two additional School Resource Officers to ensure that all of our schools are covered every day, replacing interior locks in all of our schools, and upgrading our camera systems.”

You can find the Cheatham County School District’s full academic calendar here. Families can keep up with the individual South Cheatham School’s events by following their social media accounts.