8B — The Newnan Times-Herald — Sunday, March 24, 2013
Education
Board to re-establish Communities in Schools By REBECCA LEFTWICH rebecca@newnan.com Communities In Schools has helped prevent thousands of students nationwide from dropping out, meeting needs that can have little to do with academics. A group of local volunteers is working to re-establish the program – which went dormant after the 2010 death of executive director Bonnie Ga rrison – in the Coweta County School System . Largely through the efforts of Central Educational Center CEO Ma rk W h it lock , CIS has maintained all necessary paperwork as well as its 501(c)3 status in Coweta County, leaving open the door for re-implementation of student services. “We deserve to have this bac k i n t he com mu n it y,” said Kristy Lilly of Southern Company, who along with Lisa Smith of Georgia Power, Arthur “Skin” Edge of GeorgiaLink and Carole Ann Fields of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce are serving on a newly formed board of directors. L i l ly a nd Sm it h joi ne d Georgia Communities In Schools Community Development Specialist Nancy Stone at the March meeting of the Coweta County Board of
Steve Barker
Education. The trio outlined plans to recruit 11 additional community leaders to serve on the board, identify funding and begin the process of hiring an executive director and a site coordinator. Communities In Schools advocates have spent nine months studying the feasibility of re-establishing the program, Lilly said, and laying groundwork which will allow CIS to begin serving Coweta students at some point during the 2013-14 school year. A comprehensive resource assessment of Coweta County also is being conducted by Leadership Coweta’s Education Team, which includes Brad Binion of Newnan Utilities, Anna Ivory of Piedmont-Newnan Hospital, Wanda Norris of Coweta Water & Sewerage and
Garnet Reynolds of BB&T. Coweta Schools Superintendent Steve Barker has expressed his full support for the project. “Communities In Schools is truly one of the purest forms of community partnership,” Barker said. “It will be a great addition to our school system.” CIS helps counter challenges and risk factors which can be barriers to student success, Stone said. “A lot of kids walk into a school building with issues that have nothing to do with education,” she said. “We are able to wrap all partners and community resources around and support that child.” Dropout rates and behaviora l refer ra ls decrea se while attendance and academics improve for students whose risk factors are identified and addressed through CIS, according to Stone, who emphasized the importance of appointing a strong board with resource development as its main directive. Barker said he is working to identify an appropriate school setting for the Communities In Schools site coordinator. “We have a lot of interested principals,” he said. “This is a great resource and Photo by Rebecca Leftwich a very committed group, and A group of local volunteers is working to re-implement the Coweta Communities In Schools program we’re looking forward to this for county students. “We deserve to have this back in the community,” said Kristy Lilly, who along partnership.” with Lisa Smith and Nancy Stone updated the Coweta school board earlier in March.
A-B-C, 1-2-3 ... history Unity Elementary School student perform a tribute to music legend Berry Gordy as part of their Black History program for fellow students on March 1. The students also presented the program on the evening of Feb. 28 for attendees at the Luthersville school’s annual CRCT Night. The “ABC, 123” hit by the Jackson Five was recreated on the school’s stage.
Todd new head of Governor’s Office of Student Achievement From STAFF REPORTS education@newnan.com Meriwether County resid e n t M a r t h a A n n To d d h a s been n a med d i rec tor of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement by Gov. Nathan Deal. To d d , w h o l i v e s i n Greenville, was named to the post – along with several other appointments – on Ma rch 8. Prior to joining GOSA, Todd was the associate superintendent of teacher and leader effectiveness at the Georgia Department of Education. In 2011, Todd visited Coweta County when she gave a presentation at West Georgia RESA in Grantville. She has more than 30 years of experience in education, in both public and private schools, serving kindergarten through 12th grade. Her teaching experiences range from instructing a kindergarten class to teaching high school algebra. Todd has also served in a wide range of leadership roles throughout her career at the school, district and state lev-
els. In Meriwether County, she served as assistant superintendent for school improvement. Todd holds a bachelor’s in elementary education from Emory University, a master’s in educational leadership from Columbus State University and a specialist in education degree in educational leadership from Georgia College and State University. She lives in Greenville with her husband, Robert Lee Todd IV. She is the mother of two grown children and has two grandchildren. A l so on M a rc h 8 , D e a l appointed Tracy A. Ireland as interim president of the G e or g i a St udent Fi n a nce Commission. The governor also nominated Christopher Tomlinson to serve as director of the State Road and Tollway Authority and Diana Pope as director of the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission. The appointments of Pope a n d To m l i n s o n r e q u i r e approval by their respective boards.
Newnan
I-85 at Bullsboro Drive 770-253-3995