Clarksville-Montgomery County honors valedictorians, salutatorians and achieves 100% Purple Star school designation
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Summary
The Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education recognized high school valedictorians and salutatorians and announced that the district’s schools have all earned the Purple Star designation for support of military-connected students; officials cited more than 12,000 military-connected students and 26 awarded schools.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education recognized the district’s high school valedictorians and salutatorians and celebrated a milestone Tuesday: every school in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System has earned the Purple Star designation for supporting military-connected students.
The board and district staff honored valedictorians and salutatorians from multiple high schools, including Clarksville High, Kenwood High, Kirkwood High, Montgomery Central, Northeast, Northwest, Rossview and West Creek, and invited school representatives forward to be photographed. The recognition preceded a larger announcement that the district had reached 100% Purple Star status, district staff said.
The Purple Star program, administered through the Tennessee Military Interstate Children’s Compact and local partners, recognizes schools that maintain a designated point of contact for military families, post resources on their websites, provide training for employees and otherwise demonstrate sustained support for military-connected students. The district said it has more than 12,000 military-connected students and that 26 schools were being honored in the most recent round of awards; some of those were first-time awardees and others were renewals.
District communications chief Anthony Johnson introduced the Points of Pride segment and asked school representatives to join students for photos. He also announced that Northwest High School cadet Teyonjah Hines won the national JROTC essay contest for the Seventh Brigade and will join the JROTC academic team in Washington, D.C., this summer.
Johnson received a special presentation tied to Gov. Bill Lee; after the presentation he said he felt “a little embarrassed” by the attention and added the award “really goes to our community.”
Dr. Shanda Dowdy, chief academic officer, and members of the Tennessee Military Interstate Compact and Fort Campbell school liaison officers joined district leaders and school staff for the recognition photos.
The district said the Purple Star criteria are reviewed and renewed every two years. Officials listed examples of first-time award recipients and renewals during the ceremony and thanked the Tennessee Military Interstate Compact for its work with schools.
The celebration came amid reminders that graduation season is approaching: district staff noted multiple upcoming graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2025 and other end-of-year recognition events.
School leaders asked the public to join upcoming community events that support military families and to watch for ceremony and scholarship announcements in the coming weeks.
