Byrns Darden Elementary School

What an incredible experience for our Darden Dolphins! Thank you to the Nashville Opera and our amazing music teacher, Ms. Lawson for this opportunity.

Help us celebrate a love of reading during Read Across America week!

So proud to honor our teachers of the year! Ms. Howard and Ms. Kovach!

We are so excited to share that Ms. Zahra Delis-Luna has been chosen as this years classified staff of the year for BDES! Ms. Z pours positivity and love into everyone she crosses paths with each and every day! We love you Ms. Z and we are so fortunate to have you as part of our team! 🐬💙

We are so blessed to have Ms. kovach as a teacher and now our librarian! She has revitalized our students love for reading and impacts every student every day! We love you!

🍎 2025-2026 Teachers of the Year Celebrations 📚
✏ Featuring: Angela Kovach, Byrns Darden Elementary

Our Teachers of the Year represent the very best of our schools. Our educators pour their hearts into every lesson, every conversation, and every student. Their impact reaches far beyond the classroom, as they mentor, encourage, and uplift our school community each day. We are proud to celebrate their dedication, their creativity, and the countless ways they go above and beyond to help students grow and thrive.

Angela Kovach spent two decades in the classroom, and this year she moved her talents into the school library at Byrns Darden Elementary! "It’s an honor to help them find the right book to foster the love of reading," said Ms. Kovach.

"My favorite thing about being a librarian is that I get to work with all the students and families," she shared. "Watching and hearing students browse for books, engaging with them during checkout, and having conversations with them about what they are reading are some of my favorite moments. Hearing kids say they “love library” is the sweetest sound. It keeps me motivated to continue to find different ways to engage a variety of learners with great stories, valuable life lessons, and interesting information."

We had a wonderful family reading night! Thank you to our staff and families that made this such a joyful evening. We loved seeing all our students reading and creating!

We hope to see you tonight

The Administrative Team showed the staff how much we love them with personalized Valentines and a sweet treat! Thank you for all that you do for our Dolphins! We love you! ♥️

Today we celebrated being 100 days smarter!

We sure miss our Darden dolphins and hope to see you all soon! Would love to see any snow fun pictures with our students and families! Please drop them in the comments! We will be rescheduling our family reading night originally scheduled for Thursday, February 5th. Please stay tuned for a new date!

We are so proud of Mrs. Howard! Congratulations

🍎 2025-2026 Teachers of the Year Celebrations 📚
✏ Featuring: Joana Howard, Byrns Darden Elementary

Our Teachers of the Year represent the very best of our schools. Our educators pour their hearts into every lesson, every conversation, and every student. Their impact reaches far beyond the classroom, as they mentor, encourage, and uplift our school community each day. We are proud to celebrate their dedication, their creativity, and the countless ways they go above and beyond to help students grow and thrive.

"Teaching kindergarten is truly my passion," said Ms. Howard, who has been a kindergarten teacher for the past 11 years. "I believe that every child deserves to be loved, valued, and supported, and I strive to build strong, meaningful relationships with each of my students." Ms. Howard leads her class, modeling patience, kindness, high expectations, and unwavering belief in their potential.

"Some of my greatest joys as a teacher come from witnessing those magical 'aha' moments, when a concept clicks, and a child’s confidence begins to shine. I love watching them apply strategies that they have learned. From the beginning of the year to the end, the growth I see is remarkable, not only in reading, writing, and math, but also in independence, resilience, empathy, and self-confidence."

Stay safe Darden Families.

All CMCSS schools and District offices will be closed Monday, January 26, and Tuesday, January 27. All after-school activities, athletics, and practices are canceled through Tuesday. The School Board meeting will be rescheduled for Thursday, and details will be posted online soon. If mission-essential employees need to report to work, their supervisors will contact them.

The Operations Department and CMCSS leadership will continue to monitor the conditions as the Winter Storm moves through Clarksville-Montgomery County. Governor Lee has declared a State of Emergency, and authorities are encouraging everyone to exercise extreme caution and avoid nonessential travel. The continued frozen precipitation over the next 24 hours and frigid temperatures next week could make clearing roads and campuses more difficult for crews. We will notify families ASAP about the status of school for the remainder of the week. Please have plans in place in case there is an extended closure.

Thank you to our Operations Department, first responders, utilities and road crews, and all mission-essential personnel in the community who are working to keep our community running and safe!

Stay tuned to local news and guidance from local agencies. Please stay safe and warm!