The mission of Cummings Elementary School is to ensure measurable success for all students as determined by state and national standards by educating them to read with comprehension, write clearly, compute accurately, think, reason, use technological means to solve problems, and have an awareness of ethical standards that promote justice, peace, and social concern.  By the end of the fifth grade, all students will meet or exceed the Tennessee standards and be ready to enter middle school prepared to do grade level work without need for remediation.

Through the collaboration of students, parents, the community and staff, all children can recognize and achieve their fullest potential.

• We believe all students have the ability to learn, achieve, and be successful.
• We believe teachers, staff, administrators, parents, students, and community members are responsible for providing a safe and caring environment.
• We believe cultural diversity should be valued and appreciated and multicultural integration will heighten student awareness of of diverse cultures.
• We believe individualized instruction is necessary and should be guided by on-going, authentic assessment as well as research-based best practices.
• We believe setting and modeling high expectations for responsible decision-making and respect for self and others is vital to a positive high expectations.
• We believe each student is a valued individual with unique physical, social, emotional, and intellectual needs.
• We believe positive relationships and mutual respect among and between students and staff will enhance student self-esteem.
• We believe safe and structured environment promotes student learning.
• We believe a variety of instructional practices incorporated in an integrated curriculum will address the diverse learning styles of our students.
• We believe a supportive and challenging learning environment will foster critical thinking skills.
• We believe students learn to make appropriate decisions given a supportive and challenging learning environment.
• We believe stakeholders (school staff, parents, and the community) share the responsibility for the support of the school's mission and upholding school policy.
• We believe the needs of exceptional students will be addressed by specially designed instruction and services.
• We believe students will be assessed through of opportunities to demonstrate their achievement of the expectations for their learning.