All students will receive free school supplies at DuPont Tyler Middle School

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Many parents are taking advantage of Tennessee’s annual sales tax holiday weekend for back-to-school supplies, but one Hermitage middle school is taking away the hassle altogether.

This year, all students will receive free school supplies at DuPont Tyler Middle School.

“Not every family has the schedule to be able to get out on Tax-Free Weekend,” Fred Hewitt, executive principal at Dupont Tyler Middle School, said.

Hewitt said through partnerships and leftover funds from the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has focused on putting more technology in the classroom, as well as supplying students this year.

“We have taken care of everything that the students will need, except for the backpack,” Hewitt said.

It’s just one way the school is giving back after some students struggled to get supplies in years past.

“We are about 57% economically disadvantaged here at DuPont Tyler, so what we were finding was they were showing up to schools and not having those supplies,” Hewitt said.

While the school supply room is stocked for the next two years, Hewitt is also focusing on improving attendance through various incentives, such as the Community Achieves program .

“Parents are able to come in and pick up household items based on earning points for their child being in school,” Hewitt said.

He said DuPont Tyler has seen a drastic drop in absenteeism, from 44% around the pandemic to under 19% last year.

Offering free school supplies is just one method school officials are approving as they plan to provide extra support to students this year.

“We had a lot of comments from single mothers, single parents out there that are relieved to see that they don’t have to be running around this weekend, trying to take care of getting those school supplies,” Hewitt said.

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