CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Director of Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools, Millard House II, spoke to the Clarksville Rotary Club Wednesday outlining his first 120 days as director and some of his plans for the future of the school system.

House said one of the most important things is to be sure that our schools are growing students at a high level. Data shows CMCSS falls in the top tier as one of the top three school districts in the state when it comes to growth and also in the top three across the state when it comes to overall performance.

“That shows that we are one of the best school districts in the state, but we look forward to going above and beyond that and continuing our overall growth and overall performance,” said House. House also pointed to the 95.1 percent graduation rate and said it’s important to stay focused on student performance.

House added that in student growth, the school system has averaged close to 2,500 students over the last two years, saying when you think of the size of the high schools and middle schools it means the school system has essentially grown the population of two schools in the past two years.

One of the terms the school system uses for students’ education is for them to be “college and career ready.” House said he wants students to be both, but also have a choice. If they want to go to college they can, but if they want to move straight into industry they can do that as well.

He said he wanted students to be able to go into the work force at a high level and walk into jobs making significant wages that will improve the quality of life of many other students in the community.

House also talked about the Rise Report which is the findings his entry plan put together over his paste few months at Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools. He said he has looked at exactly what the district does well, where the opportunities are, what can be done differently and how to be innovative.

House plans to present the Rise Report to the school board in the near future and then take it throughout the community speaking to civic organizations and businesses, along with other opportunities at public venues.

Also at the Clarksville Rotary meeting, Rich Holladay with Waterdogs Scuba & Safety, was inducted by Kimberly Wiggins as new club member.