Cumberland County Schools setting students up for post-high school success

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Cumberland County School System is a medium-sized system with 12 schools and roughly 7,000 students. It prides itself on being innovative and allowing students to prepare themselves for their future whether it be college or entering the workforce.

“They’ve always had that career focus here and they work very hard to make sure the kids are aware,” Director of Schools William Stepp said. “Before they get out of high school we get them out doing internships and work-based learning so they know if that’s the right career for them or not and they can try out different things.”

It’s not all about grades and figuring out what the students want to do after they graduate. A big emphasis is put on giving back to Cumberland County and neighboring communities.

“I think so much of education gets lost in testing and data, we lose sight of things that are more important,” Cumberland County High School teacher and coach Aaron Daenell said. “Being able to bring that in through clubs like FBLA, HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), and Beta Club stuff like that, it’s really important for the kids to give them a purpose other than a test score.”

The school system prides itself on staying tied in with the Cumberland County community by way of giving back.

“I mean that’s part of having great relationships that help us to be a successful school system. You’ve got to stay connected to the community and each of our elementary schools is in a certain community within Cumberland County,” Stepp said. “You want to stay connected with those people so we can help the students understand where they are and where they can go if they do go and maintain those relationships with each school.”

Aaron Daenell said last December his FBLA students switched on the fly when tornadoes ripped through Clarksville. The group quickly gathered donations to send to the town. He added it’s great to see their interest in lending a helping hand.

“They love it,” Daenell said. “It’s surprising you know you hear so much bad publicity about teenagers these days but when you give them the opportunity to do something like that it’s unbelievable the amount of work and effort and how much they want to be a part of things like that.”

He said the high school fishing team found out about two siblings with special needs who had a love for fishing. The team donated whatever fundraiser money they had from the season to get the kids fishing gear of their own. A true testament to the school’s work of giving back to the community.

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