For over a century Gatlinburg has been home to Pi Beta Phi Elementary, founded in 1912 by the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity (of women) as the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School.  The school, though simple in its beginnings, was an attempt to give the mountain people of this area something better than the three-month school that had been available.  During the 1940s, Sevier County gradually took over the administration of the school, constructing a new building for the elementary grades in 1949. Today Sevier County School System operates Pi Beta Phi Elementary School and it will continue to serve students in the heart of Gatlinburg for many years to come.  

Multiple resources exist in the community to provide enriching opportunities for PBP students’ well-rounded education.  The school is less than 2 miles away to the entrance to the National Park which houses a remarkable collection of natural and cultural resources that enrich and reinforce our school curricula. The partnership project with the Park for almost 30 years has fostered a primary mission of PBP to engage students in the responsible stewardship of the land and its vast resources.  Located next to PBP is the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts which provides our students with multiple occasions to observe and work with professional artists in a variety of media. Across the street is Ripley’s Aquarium which houses a huge collection of marine life in the mountains. The school is blessed with many attractions and services in the community.

I welcome you to Pi Beta Phi Elementary and the unique opportunity it provides. Join us in honoring the past, treasuring the present, and shaping the future. 

If I can ever be of service to you, please contact me at 865-436-5076 or careywoods@sevier.org.

Carey Woods

Principal

Chronic absenteeism is considered missing 10% of the academic school year. School years last for 180 days. Thus, 10% would be 18 school days. This measure is regardless of absence reason. Both excused and unexcused are used in this calculation. Chronic absenteeism has been deemed a measure of school quality and success.

Chronically absent or chronically out of school is a new accountability measure adopted by the state of Tennessee under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This is not only an indicator of absence but also lost instructional opportunity. It is also a piece of data used in the calculation of Pi Beta Phi’s report card grade for the school by the state.

• Tennessee students who are chronically absent in Kindergarten are 15 percent points less likely to reach proficiency in either reading or math in third grade.
• Tennessee students who are chronically absent in ninth grade are 30 percentage points less likely to earn an on-time diploma. (62% vs. 92%)
• Each week of school missed in ninth grade reduces the chance of graduation by 10% according to Tennessee data.
• Chronic absenteeism accounts for 10% of a school’s grade on the state report card.

Please help us reduce our chronic absenteeism rate by ensuring that your student is in school as much as possible. We are trying to track, adjust, and monitor this throughout the year. We will try our best to keep you informed of your student’s progress, just like we would academically, of chronic absenteeism. If 10% of a 180 school year results in 18 days as the cutoff, then 3 days per 6 weeks would be a good indicator of those who are projected to be chronically absent. Therefore, if you are in the 2^nd 6 weeks and you have 6 absences or more, then you would be projected to be chronically absent. If your student is projected to be chronically absent, we will send a note home to inform you.

Perfect attendance awards are given every year at the grade level awards ceremonies. To qualify, students must have zero absences, zero unexcused tardies or checkouts, and less than three excused tardies or checkouts for the year. Awards are also given out throughout the year thanks to the support of our PTA and the hard work of our attendance assistant, Michelle Johnson.

Please contact me with any questions at andyjackson@sevier.org. Thank you,

Dr. Andrew Jackson

Assistant Principal  

Mission

Building a foundation for life-long learning and stewardship is the mission of Pi Beta Phi Elementary.

Vision

Pi Beta Phi envisions a place where students will learn to respect and care for the world that they inherit, where students are provided with the tools they need to be successful in a global society, and where students are living examples of stewardship, aesthetic appreciation, scholarship, and inquiry. 

Belief Statements

We believe that the education of each child is the shared responsibility of the student, school, family, caregivers, and community.

We believe that the school should be sensitive to the needs of all stakeholders in creating an equal learning environment.

We believe that some assessments are necessary to meet varied academic, physical, emotional, and social needs of every student.

We believe that students should embrace cultural diversity and respect the rights and responsibilities of being a U. S citizen.

We believe that effective decision-making skills are essential for fostering lifelong wellbeing of all students.

We believe each student is responsible for his/her learning, attitude and the stewardship of our community and environment.