Articles by the Superintendent
Last month, my wife and I were honored to attend an awards banquet at the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga. The celebration was in honor of an outstanding group of educators from around the region who were completing a year-long education fellowship at the Center. Northwest High School history teacher David Veve received the inaugural General B.B. Bell Teacher Fellowship Award for his exemplary work and leadership as a fellow in the program. General Bell, whom we had the pleasure of sitting and talking with at dinner, demonstrated both gratitude and humility as he seemed equally surprised and honored by the inaugural award being named for him and his contributions to the Center's programs.
Behind every successful school is a principal who leads with compassion and determination. October is National Principals Month and a perfect time to celebrate these leaders for all they do. Those of us in the education field fully understand and appreciate the numerous tasks and responsibilities that principals eagerly undertake to support student success. Today’s principals have far-reaching responsibilities that consistently require more hours than the workday provides.
Our mission at Whitfield County Schools is to maximize student growth and achievement by providing challenging and engaging educational experiences in safe and supportive environments. For learning to take place, we must support the whole child. Classroom teachers cannot provide the broad range of needed support alone. Whole-child supports include safe and healthy schools, as well as a multi-tiered system of supports.
What does student success look like? From our own school experience, most of us understand and remember the feeling of satisfaction that accompanies an “A” or the disappointment and lump in our throat when a dreaded “F” is revealed on our completed assignment. Grades are a mainstay of American public schools. Classroom grades help identify student growth and performance over time in a given subject area. Report cards communicate a student’s academic progress and performance based on descriptions of state curriculum standards. While report cards have long served as the primary measure of student progress, growing research reminds us that education encompasses the development of the whole child.