GREENE COUNTY
Fresh on the heels of a favorable ESPLOST vote for county schools, the Greene County Board of Education last week thanked the public for its support of the referendum and pledged to continue to improve the quality of education now and in the future.
According to Board Chair Mike Lynch, the BOE is pleased with its passage and confirmation of support.
“Its passage proves that initiatives started just two years ago have proved to be successful,” he said.
Principal reports were presented for both the middle school and primary schools.
Principal DeAndra Lanier of Carson Middle School gave an update on the middle school and named several students of the month. She stated that math teachers continue conversations about traditional versus transformational teaching. Math teachers are encouraged to allow for student exploration and conceptual learning and understanding.
Additionally, a peer observation schedule has continued throughout November, allowing teachers to observe and review teaching methods in the school. Reading teachers met with consultants for the system on focusing on student-centered learning in the classroom and Hispanic Heritage month was celebrated throughout the grades. Attendance continues to grow for the school and disciplinary action is trending downward.
Other key activities for the middle school included students publishing fictional narratives, eighth-grade math students exploring geometric theorems in a real-world application, and fourth graders learning cause and effect through an experiment.
Principal Ashlie Miller of the Primary School informed that several programs initiated included a session on content integration that provided students with reading and research skills. Others included a learning module in kindergarten that promoted the application of knowledge to make predictions through reading various books.
First graders are reading informational texts and discovering facts about certain topics; second graders have been reading various genres to identify story lessons and promoting math skills designed to help students add and subtract numerals. Third graders have concentrated on the uses of nouns and verbs in math and learning to recognize the area of shapes.
The BOE continues to apply strategic planning initiatives through its recently established Parent University, which fosters and supports teacher efforts in the school and attendance continues to grow with parents.
An economic retreat is planned for the end of the month, which will concentrate on assessing the role of education and its impact to economic development.