Two weeks into the new school year, excitement was still in the air at Hixson Elementary School.
Friends waved and hugged as they exited the school bus, then joined the singe-file line leading to the school entrance, high-fiving teachers as they passed through the door and headed toward the cafeteria for breakfast before class.
But it wasn't just a typical day at Hixson Elementary: On Aug. 20, volunteers from Abba's House delivered backpacks for every student, each filled with paper, colored pencils, glue sticks, crayons and more. The students also had the option to take a Bible.
Abba's House has partnered with Bethlehem Center's The Nehemiah Project to provide backpacks for Title I schools since the project's inception in 2001. Hundreds of the Hixson church's members have helped to pack and provide backpacks over the last 19 years.
In addition to the students at Hixson Elementary, this year the church also donated and delivered backpacks to all the students of Clifton Hills Elementary.
"We feel it's important to give kids the tools they need for a successful year," the Rev. Ronnie Phillips told the students before the backpacks were distributed.
Phillips also took the opportunity to congratulate the Hixson Elementary students on the school's recently announced Reward School status and for earning the top tier on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System.
Identified annually by the state, Reward Schools are generally those that are improving in terms of achievement and growth for all students as well as all student groups.
Level 5 is the highest designation for schools in the state on the TVAAS, which measures student growth year over year regardless of whether the student is proficient on the state assessment. In calculating a TVAAS score, a student's performance is compared relative to the performance of his or her peers who have performed similarly on past assessments. Schools are listed from Level 1 (lowest growth) to Level 5.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.