January 22-28, 2023 is School Board Appreciation Week in Tennessee. This week helps build awareness and understanding of the vital functions our locally elected boards of education play in our community. Lauderdale County is joining public school districts from across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week and honor local board members for their commitment to Lauderdale County and its children.
“Our school system is the cornerstone of our community and these men and women devote their time to making sure our schools are helping every child,” Superintendent Shawn Kimble said. “Our board members spend time studying important issues like budgets, policies, and procedures. They are willing to make tough decisions when called upon to ensure the type of accountability people expect and our students deserve.”
Kimble said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:
· Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
· Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
· Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;
· Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
· Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to serving ALL students.
“Our local school board is a strong group of dedicated individuals and it has been my honor to work as their superintendent for more than a decade. Board members serve a vital function and most people don’t see the effort they put into serving our students, parents, employees, and the community as a whole. Please join me in showing your appreciation for our elected school board members.”
The members serving our community are as follows:
· Ms. Linda Jennings, Board Chair
· Mrs. Jenny McWilliams, Vice-Chair
· Mr. Bradley Adams
· Mrs. Cynthia Glenn
· Mr. Josh Hicks
· Mr. Austin Thompson, Jr.
· Mrs. Amanda Rhodes
· Mr. Chris Rose