Putnam County Schools consists of 18 schools spread throughout the county. Three schools, Uffelman Elementary, Burks Middle School, and Monterey High School are located in the City of Monterey just off I-40 on top of the Cumberland Plateau. The high school and elementary school were just joined by a new middle school, "Burks Middle School", which is named after the late Senator Tommy Burks, and his wife Senator Charlotte Burks. The ground breaking was on May 26th, 2000. The school opened on August 1st.
Three more schools, Upperman High, Cornerstone Middle, and Baxter Elementary are located in the town of Baxter. Construction of a new Upperman High School is now completed, and it opened on schedule January 6, 2003. The existing Upperman High building is being renovated to create the new Cornerstone Middle School.
The remainder of the schools, Cookeville High School, Jere Whitson Elementary, Prescott Middle School, Northeast Elementary, Capshaw Elementary, Dry Valley School, Parkview Elementary, Sycamore Elementary, Cane Creek Elementary, Avery Trace Middle, and the Adult High School are located in the City of Cookeville. Capshaw Elementary is also undergoing a major renovation! Construction began in the summer of 2002. This is really a new construction project. Only one section of the current school will be left. It will receive a remodel, and the old sections will be torn down.
The remaining school is Algood School, which is located in Cookeville's Sister City of Algood. It is one of the oldest schools in the county, with a very rich heritage. The Old Algood School is now the S.T.A.R. (Service, Training,and Resource) Center for Putnam County Schools. The S.T.A.R. Center has the Teacher Center and the systems computer training lab now located there. A new K-8 Algood School is now open across town near the Algood Industrial Park.