News
What is happening at the Academy
A record of the school year as the school itself has recorded it — lessons taught, virtues recognized, meals served, and the business of the board.
01 — The Year So Far
Since the first day of school
These are counts from the school's own systems, year to date: 10 August to 2 November 2026.
- 3,966
- lessons planned — and every one of them taught
- 553
- distinct Tennessee academic standards covered
- 674
- student wins logged by teachers
- 264
- different children recognized for their virtues at school
- 5,558
- breakfasts and lunches served
A student win is what a teacher logs when a child does something worth noticing. Six hundred and seventy-four of them have been recorded since August, recognizing 264 different children — nearly two thirds of the school. The virtues behind them, most often recognized first: courage, 163 times; responsibility, 152; moderation, 128; prudence, 87; wisdom, 77; friendship, 64; and justice, 3.
In the kitchen, breakfast and lunch service has grown roughly two and a half times over since the start of the year: 51 meals on an average day in the first fortnight of August, and 129 a day over the last three weeks.
02 — Recent News
Lately
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2 November 2026
The Rutherford Weekly, and an archive of every issue
The school now writes to families every Monday morning. Each issue carries what every grade is studying that week, what is happening on which day, the virtue the school is practicing, and what is coming next.
It goes out by email, and every issue is kept on this page so that a family who lost the email — or joined the school after it was sent — can still read it.
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October 2026
Every board agenda and set of minutes since the school opened is now online, and searchable
The board's public record now runs back to the Academy's founding: agendas, minutes and board packets in one place, searchable word by word rather than only by filename. Seventeen of the documents were scans that no search could previously read inside; those were read by optical character recognition so that they can be.
Three agendas from the spring of 2025 are still outstanding and are being tracked down. They will be added as they are found.
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October 2026
You can now sign up to speak at a board meeting before you arrive
Public comment has always been an item on every board agenda. Until now the only way onto the list was the paper sheet in the room, which meant deciding to speak required already being there.
The board page now carries a form. Any member of the public can put their name down in advance and say what they would like to speak about. You are sent a confirmation, and a link to withdraw if your plans change. The paper sheet stays where it is for anyone who would rather use it.
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1 October 2026
The ACAR Account reaches every family
An invitation to The ACAR Account went out to 441 families on 1 October, and every one of them was delivered.
Families use the Account to keep their child's photograph current, to manage the list of adults authorised to collect them, to arrange a carpool for a single afternoon, and to pay for meals. The dismissal screens at the curb and in the classrooms read from it, which is why a photograph kept up to date there is a child handed to the right car.
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October 2026
Seats are open now in grades 1 through 7
The Academy has places available this year in grades 1 through 7. Kindergarten is full for this year, and applications for it join a waiting list in the order they arrive.
There is no lottery to wait for and no entrance exam. Students are seated in the order applications are completed, so a family that finishes an application today is placed today.
03 — The Rutherford Weekly
Every issue, from the first
The school's weekly letter to families: what each grade is studying, what is happening that week, and what is coming. Sent by email every Monday morning and kept here.
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