ECBOE: Gratitude and graduation rate
By Deanna Ryan
The Emanuel County Board of Education met Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. at the Central Office with Superintendent Scotty Hattaway and board members John Allen Bailey, Del Brown, Phyllis Dixon, Mason Henry, Tanya Lane, Johnny Parker and Sandra Swinney in attendance.
At the beginning of the meeting, Public Relations Specialist Tammy Gray presented awards to members of the Emanuel County School who exemplified serving others. F.A.M.I.L.Y. (Forget About Me, I Love You) award went to Ron Hirst, Principal at Swainsboro Primary School. Gray said members of his staff elected him because he goes “above and beyond to make sure his staff feel valued on a daily basis” and is “very encouraging.” The P.A.U.S.E. (Pupil Acknowledgement Using SAS/FAMILY Examples) award went to Dei'Vion Davis, an 8th Grade student at Swainsboro Middle School. Teachers wrote Dei’Vion is, “the epitome of a model student. With his bubbly personality and good manners he is an example of what we look for in a Swainsboro Tiger. He is an articulate student who causes students and staff to smile while he’s saying the morning announcements.” The S.A.S. (Service Above Self) award went to Teddy Pierce, Head Custodian at Emanuel County Institute (ECI). According to Gray, staff had the following to say about Mr. Pierce, “If anyone understands Mr. Teddy, they understand he’s warm and friendly and cares deeply for all of us. He knows his job is an important one. He knows it brings peace to our whole environment to have things neat and clean.”
Assistant Superintendent Denise Warnock presented the College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) graduation rate for the Emanuel County Schools and both local high schools. A review of the five year data shows the following:
Emanuel County Institute's graduation rate rose from 89.7% in 2018 to 95.5% in 2022.
Swainsboro High School's graduation rose from 79.9% in 2018 and 81.1% in 2022.
Emanuel County School System's overall graduation rate of 85.8% remains above Georgia's overall graduation rate of 84.1%.
Superintendent Hattaway shared he was pleased to see how Emanuel County Schools have shown an improvement over the last five years. Warnock commented that “while we also saw improvements in both 2020 and 2021, we felt it was important to dig a little deeper and compare 2022 data to the pre-pandemic data of 2018 and 2019. Doing so demonstrated an upward trend consistent with what both of our high schools were experiencing prior to the 2020 school closure. Not only does this confirm Emanuel County educators’ commitment to success, but it is also promising to see that we have maintained and/or reestablished practices which have enabled us to exceed the state average for the past eight years.”
In other business, there was an update of the GARH policy to acknowledge the superintendent’s signature on the absence of employees before and after breaks. Director of Finance Molly Smith explained the expenditures and revenues of each of the following areas - general fund, school nutrition, and Head Start.
Finally, Superintendent Hattaway presented a letter to the board requesting “we move forward with the sale of the old Twin City Elementary School property to the highest bid.” Board member Bailey asked if asbestos abatement was a condition of the sale. Superintendent Hattaway said he would find out and report back to the board. Bailey motioned to approve the consent agenda which was passed unanimously. The board moved into executive session.