MATTHEW BURNETTE

Staff Writer

As his first 12 months on the job wraps up, Coffee County Director of Schools Scott Hargrove is looking back on the school year with gratitude.

“I tried to meet as many people as I could within our district and build as many positive relationships to include teachers, educational assistants, administration, maintenance, transportation, our cafeteria workers and as many parents as I possibly could,” he explained.

“We are so blessed in Coffee County. We have an awesome group of people that are leading and teaching and supporting our learners. This first year has really been a blessing and exciting for me.”

In addition to meeting employees of the school system, Hargrove has spent considerable time in school cafeterias eating lunch with students to meet them as well, specifically at the elementary level, though he hopes to work his way through the secondary level next year.

Hargrove, who previously worked in the Tullahoma School District as the principal of East Lincoln Elementary, was hired as Director of Schools by the Coffee County School Board with a 6-3 vote.

While there have been many things that have stood out to Hargrove so far in his tenure in Coffee County, one that immediately comes to mind is the support that the schools receive from community partners.

He also noted Coffee County joining the Community Eligibility Provision program to ensure all students received free breakfast and lunch throughout the year as a highlight.

“The CEP program is definitely a great thing for our school district and our students as well as our parents knowing that our children are fed breakfast every day,” said Hargrove. “As a parent, not having that on your plate hopefully has been a big bright spot. Mrs. Cotten does an absolutely great job, and our cafeteria workers do such a great job of feeding.”

Coffee County Central High School’s recent graduation and the sense of accomplishment from all of the students were also a highlight for Hargrove.

“I sleep well graduation night,” he said. “It’s not Christmas, but it’s close.”

Though there have been a lot of highlights in the past year, Hargrove also acknowledges that there have been things that have not gone as well as they should, a natural part of life.

“We’re never going to have a perfect school year,” he admitted. “You’re dealing with human beings, and our Creator created us imperfectly. We just try to make sure that when we encounter problems, we just try to get past them and grow and learn from them, and that’s from our learners all the way up to me.”

“We all make mistakes and hopefully we learn from those and grow from those. Then, next time we cross that bridge, we do it in a little better manner.”

As with any new position, there were some adjustments that needed to be made, and Hargrove says one of the biggest was the number of schools in Coffee County.

“I served as the interim director in the Tullahoma School System for nine months, but we have 11 schools, so just the sheer size was an adjustment,” he said. “I’ve tried to spend a day in each school just meeting people and talking about families and their likes and just trying to be a person and build that positive relationship with folks.”

“It was well worth the investment, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. We have some really good people in our district that have a huge heart for children and a servant’s heart.”

Despite the school year just ending, Hargrove says that he is already thinking about next year and how the school system can grow and improve.

“You know what keeps me up at night? Trying to find ways to get better, and I guess that’s the old coach in me,” he shared. “I wake up in the middle of the night and wonder how we can make certain processes better and what we can do to improve instruction or support our children and their families and our teachers and our staff in better ways.”

Mostly, Hargrove says he feels blessed to be in his position and to work with the people that he has gotten to.

“My biggest surprise has been that everyone is as advertised,” he emphasized. “Just good people who want good things for their children. We have a ton of support here and I find a lot of solace in that. We want to be the best version of Coffee County Schools that we can be.”