From the Executive

During my career, I have been in thousands of schools and one thing that stands out—when you are in a great school, everyone in it is dedicated to making that school successful; and not just the principal or the teachers, but the housekeeping and lunchroom staffs, bus drivers and paraprofessionals. They all work together to create a positive learning environment for their students. I know when I am in such a school: the grounds are immaculate, the halls clean and the restrooms spotless. The lunchroom is also efficiently and effectively run, buses are on time and behavior concerns are relatively rare. Everyone is committed to the mission, and it makes all the difference.

Because we understand that it takes the entire team to make a school successful, we recently wrote to legislative leaders to share our concerns regarding the governor’s budgetary proposal that would take healthcare benefits away from non-certificated school district employees working less than 30 hours per week.

We stated that: “Educators comprise the primary workforce that makes schools places of teaching and learning. But their efforts would be in vain if there were not school bus drivers to bring the children to school; food service staffs to provide breakfast, lunch and after-school snacks; and housekeeping staffs to assure that students have clean, safe buildings and classrooms in which to learn. Any school leader will tell you that these non-certificated staff members are critical parts of the education team.”

Our letters, and similar legislator contacts from countless other individuals and groups, have had an impact. We think that they will find a way to continue these benefits.

While the salaries and retirement benefits for these staff members have never been lavish, a great many of them endure those lower pay levels because their employment includes health benefits for themselves and their families. Taking away these benefits would place a real hardship on many thousands of hardworking Georgians who contribute each day to the safety, well-being, teaching and learning of our students throughout the state.

Instead of trying to cut benefits for these dedicated individuals, we’d like to see more effort on the part of our elected officials to recognize and reward them for the vital role they play in our schools every day. I know educators deeply appreciate the help they get from noncertificated staff, and they wouldn’t want to face their jobs without them. We know these men and women are integral to the success of our schools. Let’s engage and involve them in our plans to transform schools and let’s celebrate them every chance we get. n Dr. Allene Magill

Educators comprise the primary workforce that makes schools places of teaching and learning. But their efforts would be in vain if there were not school bus drivers to bring the children to school; food service staff to provide breakfast, lunch and after-school snacks; and housekeeping staff to assure that students have clean, safe buildings and classrooms in which to learn.

By Christine Van Dusen

The smell of hot dogs was like a siren song for many of the teenagers who gathered at Mitchell County’s EveningTime Eagle Express when the decommissioned school bus made its maiden voyage, stopping by some of the south Georgia county’s poorest neighborhoods in December.

But the promise of a free snack wasn’t what drew Autumn Roupe to the Eagle Express. The 15-year-old Mitchell County High School student wanted to see for herself the bus that held 24 laptops, a Promethean board, an overhead projector, lightning-fast Internet service—and the promise of something often hard to find in a low-income school district: a chance to get ahead. “It’s an amazing resource,” Roupe says. “I love the bus.”

It’s like a bookmobile but tricked out with the latest technology, and it’s the brainchild of Mitchell County High Principal Robert Adams. He came up with the idea about five years ago while brainstorming creative ways to meet the needs of his school’s students in this rural county of about 23,000 people, where 90% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. “In order to

reach our population, we have to do school differently,” Adams says. “We’re doing everything we can to give our students and their parents the opportunity to reach their potential.”

The bus is unique. Some Georgia students may have access to a rolling library, or, like in Alpharetta, the Science Academy Mobile Lab, which travels to summer camps to pique kids’ Continued on page 10 Photos by Joe Bellacomo

– Willene Randell Mitchell County High Parent

interest in science, but it’s difficult to find another such mobile classroom anywhere in the country. Imaginative initiatives—such as career-focused courses, eight class periods per day and intersession school for kids who need extra help—are nothing new for Mitchell County, where four schools serve 2,400 students. And the creativity is paying off. The graduation rate from the high school and Baconton Community Charter School has hovered between about 80–87.2 % since 2013, according to the Georgia Department of Education. “We’re offering more opportunities to students, and as they become more engaged, they do better,” says Ruth Lee, a business and computer science teacher at Mitchell County High. “But we’re still not quite reaching all the kids in the rural areas, especially those who don’t have Internet access. There are kids in town with no transportation for getting tutoring. We want to reach them.”

So every year at budget time, Adams would talk about his idea for a mobile classroom—the first, it seems, of its kind—and in 2014, his wish for a bus was granted. The district found itself with seven “surplus busses,” which were still in good shape but were replaced with better vehicles and therefore taken off the daily transportation routes. “We picked out the bus in the best condition and looked into retrofitting it,” says Victor Hill, superintendent of the Mitchell County School System.

And then came a stroke of luck: the state’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program grant that the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mitchell County had received for three years and used to purchase 24 laptops was not renewed. So the club was required to turn the equipment over to the district. “Suddenly we had a bus and 24 laptops fall into our lap,” Hill says.

From there, the district found about $1,500 in budgetary funds and concession stand profits to spend on wiring, a generator, air conditioning and supplies for the bus. Students did the grunt work. The wireless access is part of the county’s unlimited plan and costs about $20 per month, which comes from the district’s technology budget.

Surround Sound, Speedy Internet and Hands-On Help

The first night that the Eagle Express took a tour of the county, the bus made about eight one-hour stops at different locations in Mitchell County and drew nearly 300 fami-

– Autumn Roupe Mitchell County High Student

lies for hot dogs and a tour of the vehicle, Hill recalls. Students and parents were particularly impressed by the surround-sound system and speedy Internet service.

“When I first saw the bus, I thought it was just amazing,” says Willene Randell, whose daughter is a 17-year-old junior at Mitchell County High. “It’s a good thing for the community. Not only does it supply the Internet and the computer, but it supplies you with someone to help. I do have a computer and Internet but sometimes the Internet is not acting right. This is so much better.”

Since then, the bus has gone out from 5 to 8 p.m. twice a week for about a month, staffed by teachers and faculty members who are on flexible schedules and therefore can start their workdays later and end later. “We do whatever it takes. We think outside the box,” Lee says. “We want our students to excel, and we’re not going to make any excuses.”

The goal is to run the bus every weeknight and on weekends, parking in neighborhoods where there is the most need or where students have requested its presence. Staffers will offer tutoring, test preparation, college-level courses and extra credit work. “My daughter can get tutoring, and she can do online classes without the interruptions she’d have at home,” Randell says. “She’ll be able to finish school early. I think it’s a wonderful program.”

Eventually the district hopes to serve the elementary and middle school populations and, perhaps, encourage other districts to set up mobile classrooms of their own. Parents and caregivers will also have access to the bus and will be encouraged to use the computers for whatever they need, whether it is online shopping or continuing education.

“I’ll use the bus most often for research and projects and other academic stuff,” Roupe says. “My Internet sometimes doesn’t work correctly and shuts down. The bus is awesome. Other students have said they’ve done so much work there that they have tons of extra credit. They just love the bus.”

They call it The Magic Bus, Adams adds. “Students that really need help often don’t or can’t stay after school, or don’t ask for help,” he says. “This way we can take help to them, and have some fun doing it.” n