Tangela D. Kimber
TANGELA D. KIMBER DIRECTOR OF FINE ARTS & WORLD LANGUAGES | VALDOSTA CITY SCHOOLS (DISTRICT 8)
Thanks so much for reaching out to us, here in Valdosta City City Schools! This has been an amazing,yet unprecedented time for all educators across the nation. Although this year served as my first as the Director of Fine Arts & World Languages, the Valdosta City Schools Fine Arts department was well underway! The Valdosta High School bands just completed some excellent & superior ratings for their large group performance evaluations, as well as Valdosta Middle School. Many of the VCS elementary and middle schools had just successfully completed Black History performances, along with the high school chorus. On an inaugural note, after being coordinated by a grant, the Valdosta City Schools Strings program was moving into their fourth practice for students on a middle and high school level. However, this pandemic has set in great heartache for Valdosta City Schools. The Valdosta Middle School Players were just days shy of putting on their annual Spring Performance of We Will Rock You! The Valdosta High School Theater group was steadily preparing to put on a production of Little Shop of Horrors. In essence, to say that this spontaneous school shutdown for the state brought everything to a devastating halt here in Valdosta City Schools, would be a gross understatement. VCS administrators, band, choral, theater, dance and music teachers were shockingly paused for a moment, and then gradually shifted to a new educational technology driven curriculum. In Valdosta City Schools, the district has consistently continued communication about COVID updates including family support and instructional resources with all stakeholders through various calling posts, the school district website, and various social media outlets (FB, twitter, youtube, gmail, etc...). Most VCS teachers are communicating with classroom students through various virtual and social media means like google hangout, zoom, class dojo, and Remind tools. As mentioned, class instruction has carried on through a plethora of curriculum resources listed on the school website, printed instructional packets released by the local schools, as well as various chromebooks allotted to various students.Wifi has been extended throughout the Valdosta community for households. While the Valdosta City School district continues to devise plans socially, instructionally, operationally, and physically, communication is consistently unfolding on every level to keep all stakeholders abreast of the latest updates.I again, graciously appreciate your reaching out to our district, especially the Fine Arts department, at such a tumultuous time. At the beginning of the school year, no one could have ever foreseen the challenges we are currently facing, making our motto this year even more appropriate; "We are All in this Together!"
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G E O RG I A M U S I C N E W S | S P R I N G 2020