CLARKSVILLE, TN – The CMCSS School Board presented the following Points of Pride during the formal board meeting in September.
David Lee | Kirkwood High School
David Lee is a junior at Kirkwood High School who earned 1st Place for Classical Art at the National Junior Classical League Convention at Miami University, Ohio. He was the only delegate from Tennessee who won 1st place on an academic test this year. David studied 100% independently for the NJCL Classical Art written exam, and his efforts paid off when he scored 1st place within his level (Latin 2) and Best in Show for this exam. Best in Show is an additional award given to the highest scorer on each contest across all levels. David earned the single highest score in the nation as a Latin 2 student when the exam was taken by students up to Latin 5 and above.
Ignatius Oelgoetz | Kirkwood High School
Ignatius Oelgoetz is a Kirkwood High School senior who made a perfect score on the ACT exam. The perfect composite score is 36. This score is an average of the four section scores for English, Math, Reading, and Science. Getting a perfect score on the ACT is very rare. Of the nearly 2 million students who take the ACT across America, only around 0.3% of students earn a perfect ACT score. Ignatius is also one of 16,000 semi-finalists for the National Merit Scholarship. The semi-finalists are academically talented high school seniors who have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,800 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. To compete for National Merit Scholarships, Semi-finalists must advance to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several additional requirements.
Brian Hetland | Clarksville High School
Coach Hetland, Head Coach of the Clarksville High School baseball team, was unable to accept his award in person due to an FCA event. However, the district proudly announces that after an exceptional 2025 season, Coach Hetland has been named a 2025 American Baseball Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year! This prestigious award, presented by ATEC Sports, is selected by members of the ABCA All-America & Coach of the Year Committees across all nine divisions.
TSBA Board of Distinction
In addition to the Point of Pride awards, the CMCSS Board of Education was recognized by the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) as a “Board of Distinction,” one of 34 in the state. To qualify as a Board of Distinction, a school board must meet specified requirements in four key areas: planning, policy, promotion, and board development. Members of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board are Kent Griffy, chairman and District 4 representative; Chris Lanier, vice chairman and District 6 representative; Carol Berry, District 1 representative; Kacie Bryant, District 2 representative; Herbert A. Nelson, District 3 representative (not pictured, resigned); Jimmie Garland, District 5 representative; and Aron Maberry, District 7 representative.