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n Effingham native and community leader, Effingham County High School principal Yancy Ford believes the education system does more than empower students. It strengthens the community as a whole. “We want to serve our students, their families and our community to the best of our ability,” he said. “If we help kids be successful, we’re helping their families and that in turn gives back to the community. ECHS has been successful in all of this because of the work of our teachers and staff. The classroom is truly where the rubber meets the road.” While he always had the desire to become a teacher and a coach, Ford decided to pursue Sports Marketing and Management at Georgia Southern. He even landed a job in Atlanta with the company Cable and Wireless. “But I wasn’t happy. So I made the decision to go back to school and do what I would actually enjoy doing,” Ford said. He quit his job and went back to school, earning his certificate in Business Education from Georgia Southern in 1998. Despite his lack of experience in education system, superintendent Michael Moore and Effingham County Middle School principal Beth Helmey saw Ford’s potential and hired him in 1999. “They took a chance on me, and I’m very fortunate that they did,” he said. Ford taught computer classes to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at ECMS for a year before transferring to Effingham County High School. There, Ford coached football, baseball and golf. He joined the administration staff in 2004 as ECHS’s assistant principal and athletic director. Two short years later, he earned the position of principal of the school and has held that title for nearly 10 years. Ford says he looks forward to the 2015-2016 school year and all the opportunities that lie ahead. “The beginning of a new school year always excites me because it’s an opportunity to see the students we haven’t seen all summer,” he said. “I’m excited to see our incoming freshmen, because they’re excited about all the new opportunities and it’s something new for them. We look forward to having an impact on these kids and watching them reach their goals.” Among those goals, earning a high school diploma is a top priority at ECHS. To better work toward higher graduation rates, last year the faculty and staff adopted the motto, “One Team, One Dream.” “The dream of many families is for their children to get their high school diploma so they can move on the college, the military, the work force, whatever the case may be,” Ford said. “That high school diploma can open up so many more doors. We can’t help these kids achieve that unless we’re one team and all on the same page. So we’ll continue reminding ourselves every day that we’re one team, and we’re all working toward that one dream.”
Yancy Fo rd
Effingham County High 1589 Hwy 119 South, Springfield, GA 31329 912-754-6404 Fax 912-754-6893 Mascot: Effingham Rebels Year opened: Current campus opened 1989 Mission statement: As a community of learners, in cooperation with stakeholders, our mission is to provide rigorous and relevant instruction in a safe environment to enable all students to obtain a high school diploma as a foundation for post secondary success.
www.Effingham
Magazine.com | August/September 2015 45