Newspaper Page Text
Page 4B
July 27, 2022
^Reporter
K.B. Sutton Elementary School
Whitney Bum-
gardner will teach 4th
grade writing, science and
social studies. She taught
in Alabama for three and
a half years. She is excited
to come home and teach in
a high achieving environ
ment. Something special
she brings to her classroom
is the ability to connect
with students of all back
grounds. Away from work,
she loves to spend time
with her family, read and
play tennis. Her message
to the community is that
she was born and raised
in Monroe County and is
excited to be coming back
home.
Angela Byrd will be
a kindergarten paraprofes-
sional. She has worked in
school nutrition for five
years and has the experi
ence of being a Cub Scout
assistant den leader. She
wants to learn classroom
practices and procedures
from Monroe County
teachers. Something special
she brings to her classroom
is creativity, teamwork and
a desire to help children.
Away from work she enjoys
crafts, movies, family time
and camping. Her mes
sage to the community is
that she is excited to be
part of the Monroe County
Schools family.
Valerie Cook will
teach 3rd grade English
language arts and social
studies. She worked as an
instructional paraprofes-
sional for the last two years
in Monroe County Schools
and earned her Bach
elors degree in Education
through the Paraprofes-
sional to Teacher program.
The program let her gain
knowledge of the classroom
while attending college. She
is glad to be a supportive
part of the school system
that she attended.
Something special
that she brings to
her classroom is a
value for real-world
learning and a desire
to foster a love for
life-long learning.
Outside of work, it is
important to her to
spend time with her
family and to find
new places to hike
and explore with her
husband and their
three girls. She is
excited to begin a
new journey that she
has worked hard to
achieve.
Natalie Phil
lips will work with
Pre-kindergarteners.
She taught at a
church preschool
for three years,
worked at Geor
gia Network for
Educational and
Therapeutic Sup
port for 10 years
and worked in mental
health services for six years.
Something special she
brings to her classroom is
excitement for different
ways of learning. Outside
of work, family and animals
are important to her, and
she enjoys taking pictures.
Her message to the com
munity is she can’t wait to
start teaching and learning
with the children.
Carley Raffield will
be a 1st grade paraprofes-
sional. She has worked as
an administrative assis
tant over the past 12-plus
years, including at Layson,
CPA, Mable White Bap
tist Church and JEVAC
Machine in Magnolia, Ark.
She was attracted to Mon
roe County Schools for its
academic achievement and
inviting and conservative
environment, and she has
to be a part of a
county known for
successfully helping
children reach their
full potential and
hiring only the
best. Something
special she brings
to her classroom is
empathy, inclusion
and compassion.
Away from work,
it is important to
her to spend time
with her husband
and two children;
she enjoys camp
ing, reading and
crafting. She wants
the community to
know she is excited
to be a part of the
Monroe County
Schools family and
looks forward to
leaving a positive
impression on every
child that crosses her
path.
Katrina Young
will teach 2nd
grade special education.
She is a recent graduate
of Middle Georgia State
University with a degree in
Early Childhood/Special
Education. She grew up
in Monroe County and
graduated from Mary Per
sons. She wants to be part
of upcoming generations
through education. Some
thing special she brings to
her classroom is familiar
ity with new technologies
and teaching strategies
and an eagerness to share
that knowledge. Outside
of teaching, family and
friends are the biggest parts
of her life, especially the
people who surround her
with joy. Her message to
the community is that she
will not only help students
learn and grow but also fill
them with love to spread to
others.
Pictured are Back row-Eva Murphy, Carley Raffield, Tara Phillips, Whitney Bumgardner, Assistant Princi
pal Douglas Fletcher, McKenzi Walker, Katrina Young, Jordan Sager
Front row-Assistant Principal Thiago Alexio, Valerie Cook, Angela Byrd, April Lopez, Kristen Welsch,
Miranda Reid, Principal Christina Chapman. (Photo/Kari Buckindail)
chosen it for her four chil
dren as well as for herself.
Something special that she
brings to her classroom is a
friendly and familiar face.
Having children at K.B.
Sutton let her begin build
ing relationships with some
children and parents and
she looks forward to getting
to know more families this
year. Outside of work, she
loves spending time with
her family and exploring
new places, like the beach
and amusement parks and
other places they discover.
Her message to the com
munity is that almost 20
years after graduating with
a degree in Child & Family
development, she’s excited
to use it. Proverbs 16:9 In
their hearts humans plan
their course, but the Lord
establishes their steps.
Miranda Reid will be
a Pre-K paraprofessional.
She has professional experi
ence at a Youth Center.
She is moving to Monroe
County to put her children
in Monroe County Schools.
Something special that she
brings to her classroom is
her creativity. Outside of
work, her family and her
small business are impor
tant to her. Her message
to the community is that
she is excited for this new
adventure.
Jordan Sager will be
teaching 5th grade read
ing and social studies. She
taught in Henry County
for seven years. She came
to Monroe County Schools
because she heard wonder
ful things about it. Some
thing special she brings to
her classroom is a genuine
belief that it doesn’t matter
where a child comes from.
Outside of school she
enjoys family, friends and
her dogs. Her message to
the community is that she
is excited to be here.
Mckenzi Walker
will be a Pre-K teacher.
She graduated from Mary
Persons and student taught
at K.B. Sutton last year.
Something special she
brings to her classroom is
a passion to make school
enjoyable for all students.
Away from her job, she
enjoys spending time with
family, friends and her dog,
Paisley, and going to the
lake and shopping. Her
message to the community
is that she looks forward to
building relationships with
all of her students and their
families.
Kirsten Welsch will
be a kindergarten instruc
tional paraprofessional.
She has worked in retail
management and has been
a senior litigation claims
examiner. She comes to
Monroe County Schools
Monroe County’s new teachers get T.I.P.’s
At the Teacher Induction Program, as Central Office staff introduced themselves assistant principal Jackson Daniel, third
from left, said he was handing the microphone to Dr. Jim French both literally and figuratively. Daniel is retiring, and Finch
has moved from Mary Persons principal to assistant superintendent. Pictured left to right, are Becky Brown, Pat Napier,
Daniel, Finch, Jake Davis, Chris Johnson, Joshua Griffis, Jenny Rooks.
New teachers and paraprofessionals have breakfast at the Monroe County Fine Arts
Center on July 1 8 at the start of the Teacher Induction Program (TIP). To the left are new
staff from Mary Person, Monroe County Middle School and Monroe County Achievement
Center. Above are the new staff from the three elementary schools.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
The largest group of new
personnel ever, 57 teachers
and 22 paraprofessionals,
officially began their ca
reers with Monroe County
Schools on July 18 with the
annual Teacher Induction
Program (TIP). After a
buffet breakfast served by
nutrition services director
Lisa Budd and her staff at
Monroe County Fine Arts
Center lobby, the group
moved to the auditorium
for a welcome from Board
of Education chair Dr.
Priscilla Doster and Super
intendent Dr. Mike Hick
man. Hickman introduced
the system administrators
and central office staff.
“We are support person
nel, hired to help you be
successful,” said Hickman.
After the six principals,
two of whom are new to
their positions this year
and two of whom were
new last year, introduced
their new team members,
Hickman talked about the
culture of Monroe County
Schools. He said the school
system needs to give stu
dents the skills to be what
ever they want to be, which
starts with pre-K and con
tinues through graduation.
He emphasized the Board
of Education’s motto and
vision of being committed
to excellence and focusing
on success.
“We’re in a very tumul
tuous time politically; we
need to keep it to teaching
children,” said Hickman.
“We believe every kid can
learn. It may look different,
but we believe every kid
has value.”
He said that many of the
standards for the curricula
have remained the same,
but the methods for teach
ing them have changed.
He said that partnerships
are important, including
partnerships with parents
and the community.
“The more people you
have pushing in the same
direction, the better off you
will be,” he said.
He said the schools owe
it to taxpayers to be very
efficient. He said said that
safety comes before any
thing else, however, and
noted that classrooms are
always locked. He said staff
should always be aware of
multiple ways to get out of
any part of their buildings.
The TIP participants broke
into school groups and
began the first of the week-
long training and activities.
One particular highlight
of TIP was the Tuesday
morning hour-long school
bus tour of the county.
Transportation director
Jake Davis planned the
route and facilitated the
tour, with Dr. Dick Baze-
more and Patricia Napier
acting as tour guides.
The new personnel got
to see all of the schools in
Monroe County and saw
the variety of neighbor
hoods from which their
students come. They also
got insight into how much
time some of their students
spend on a bus each morn
ing before they officially
start their school day. Even
some of the native Mon
roe Countians among the
new personnel said the
tour took them to places
in Monroe County they
hadn’t seen before.
In a “debriefing” after
the tour, Hickman said the
school system runs a lot
of bus routes to keep the
ride time down as much
as possible. He said that
indications from build
ing permits and septic
permits are that there is
historical growth in the
county, which means more
students.
Napier said the tour in
cluded homes on the verge
of being demolished and
neighborhoods like River
Forest that left many of
those on the tour in awe of
their expense.
“Kids don’t come in with
signs on them that say
‘Forsyth Gardens’, trailer
or ‘River Forest’,” said
Napier. “Kids will make
their judgments whether to
trust you.”
She said there are
families staying in hotels
because they can’t get into
other housing, but they
may pay $1,000/month
to stay in the hotel. She
encouraged the new staff to
get to know their students
well enough to realize what
they need.
“We want to make sure
every child comes to school
and has a positive experi
ence,” said Hickman.