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DCSS Update Pg. 2<br />

In times of crisis, old adage rings true<br />

J.D. Sumner<br />

DCSS Public Information Office<br />

No one, and I mean NO ONE,<br />

could’ve imagined that our system, our<br />

community and our county would’ve<br />

been rocked the way it was thanks to two<br />

severe storm systems that moved through<br />

the area in <strong>January</strong>.<br />

Millions upon millions of dollars in<br />

damages; thousands of people left without<br />

power, hundreds homeless or precariously<br />

housed -- including our students<br />

-- and five dead.<br />

The tornadoes of <strong>January</strong> reminded<br />

us all really quickly how fast life can<br />

change and how we, as role models and<br />

leaders, must adapt and help, if we are to<br />

continue on.<br />

As I write this, our community<br />

continues to recover from those storms.<br />

Some people likely will never fully recover<br />

-- chills any time a crack of thunder<br />

booms or lightning lights up the sky.<br />

Even neighborhoods that we thought<br />

were some of our most treasured -- Rawson<br />

Circle and Radium Springs -- have<br />

witnessed their landscape change indelibly;<br />

picturesque Live Oaks and Longleaf<br />

Pines plucked from the ground as if feathers<br />

from a bird.<br />

But a remarkable thing happened<br />

in the wake of such sorrow and tragedy:<br />

people came together.<br />

Neighborhoods who just days before<br />

were bitter cross-town rivals on the basketball<br />

courts, picked up chainsaws and<br />

hatchets to begin clean up.<br />

Young and old; volunteer and professional;<br />

came together to do whatever they<br />

could -- pack lunches, knock on doors,<br />

deliver water and blankets -- all in the<br />

name of humanity.<br />

And even while we in the system<br />

have had to make tough decisions about<br />

closing down school and finally re-opening<br />

(12 instructional days lost because of<br />

the storm), I’m reminded of an old adage<br />

that, for me, has never rang more true.<br />

It’s not how you get knocked down,<br />

but how you get up, that matters.<br />

And so, we rise.<br />

We rise with a renewed spirit in our<br />

community and our collective humanity.<br />

We rise with our focus pointed<br />

squarely on the time we have left in this<br />

school year to make a difference.<br />

We rise with our brothers and sisters<br />

determined to rebuild what can be rebuilt<br />

and remember that which cannot.<br />

For our friends in the community,<br />

now’s the perfect time to for us to come<br />

together and finish this school year strong.<br />

Our students and teachers are working<br />

hard to make sure that they use every<br />

remaining day to its fullest because they<br />

know that, working together, we rise.<br />

About the Cover<br />

It hasn’t been hard to see the impact that the two storm<br />

systems that moved through the area in <strong>January</strong> had on our<br />

community. Trees leveled. Powerlines hanging like some macbre<br />

puppet string left behind. Homes literally missing in some<br />

neighborhoods because of the sheer force of the winds.<br />

But inside, you’ll see how your community schools responded.<br />

Whether it was a basketball team going out as a unit<br />

into communities to help with debris cleanup or elementary<br />

schools joining forces and resources to provide lunches to<br />

their neighborhoods; the response from the system has been<br />

impressive.


Pg. 3<br />

DCSS Update<br />

DCSS Leadership Team<br />

Dr. David C. Mosely<br />

Superintendent<br />

Mr. Jack Willis<br />

Assistant Superintendent<br />

for Support Services<br />

Dr. Ufot Inyang<br />

Associate Superintendent for<br />

Academic Services<br />

Mr. Kenneth Dyer<br />

Associate Superintendent & Chief<br />

Financial Officer<br />

Dr. Kim Ezekiel<br />

Director of Federal Programs<br />

Mrs. Sonya Spillers &<br />

Mr. J.D. Sumner<br />

Public Information Office<br />

Dougherty County<br />

Board of Education<br />

Ms. Velvet Riggins<br />

Board Chair, District 3<br />

Mr. Robert Youngblood<br />

Vice Chair, District 1<br />

Mr. Milton Griffin<br />

District 2<br />

Mrs. Melissa Strother<br />

District 4<br />

Reverend James Bush<br />

District 5<br />

Dr. Dean Phinazee<br />

District 6<br />

Mrs. Geraldine West Hudley<br />

At-Large<br />

About our District...<br />

The Dougherty County School System is the local education agency for Albany<br />

and Dougherty County in Southwestern Georgia. At the end of the 2015-2016 school<br />

year, enrollment was 15,001 students with nearly 2,600 teachers and staff members.<br />

Our Schools:<br />

Albany High School<br />

431-3300<br />

801 W. Residence Ave.<br />

Grades 9-12<br />

Principal: Rodney Bullard<br />

Dougherty Comprehensive<br />

High School<br />

431-3310<br />

1800 Pearce Ave.<br />

Grades 9-12<br />

Principal: Eddie Johnson<br />

Monroe Comprehensive High<br />

School<br />

431-3316<br />

900 Lippitt Dr.<br />

Grades 9-12<br />

Principal: Vinson Davis<br />

Westover Comprehensive High<br />

School<br />

431-3320<br />

2600 Partridge Lane<br />

Grades 9-12<br />

Principal: William Chunn<br />

Albany Middle School<br />

431-3325<br />

1700 Cordell Rd.<br />

Grades 6-8<br />

Principal: Eddie Johnson<br />

Merry Acres Middle School<br />

431-3338<br />

1601 Florence Dr.<br />

Grades 6-8<br />

Principal: Dr. Gail Griffin<br />

Radium Springs Middle Magnet<br />

School of the Arts<br />

431-3346<br />

2600 Radium Springs Rd.<br />

Grades 6-8<br />

Principal: Dr. Valerie Williams<br />

Robert A. Cross Middle Magnet<br />

School<br />

431-3362<br />

324 Lockett Station Rd.<br />

Grades 6-8<br />

Principal: Thelma Chunn<br />

Southside Middle School<br />

431-3351<br />

1615 Newton Rd.<br />

Grades 6-8<br />

Principal: Dr. Frederick Polite<br />

Alice Coachman Elementary<br />

School<br />

431-3488<br />

1425 Oakridge Dr.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Melissa Brubaker<br />

International Studies Elementary<br />

Charter School<br />

431-3384<br />

2237 Cutts Dr.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Dr. Zeda George<br />

Lake Park Elementary School<br />

431-3370<br />

605 Meadowlark Dr.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Kenosha Coleman<br />

Lamar Reese Magnet School of<br />

the Arts<br />

431-3495<br />

1215 Lily Pond Rd.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Dr. Angela Shumate<br />

Lincoln Elementary Magnet<br />

School<br />

431-3373<br />

518 W. Society Ave.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Dr. Todd Deariso<br />

Live Oak Elementary School<br />

431-1209<br />

4529 Gillionville Rd.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Laytona Stephenson<br />

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary<br />

School<br />

438-3502<br />

3125 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Vontressa Childs<br />

Morningside Elementary<br />

School<br />

431-3387<br />

120 Sunset Lane<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Christine Ford<br />

Northside Elementary School<br />

431-3390<br />

901 14th Ave.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Katina Allen<br />

Radium Springs Elementary<br />

School<br />

431-3395<br />

2400 Roxanna Rd.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Bruce Bowles<br />

Robert H. Harvey Elementary<br />

School<br />

431-3367<br />

1305 E. Second Ave.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Dr. John I. Davis<br />

Sherwood Acres Elementary<br />

School<br />

431-3397<br />

2201 Doncaster Way<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Yvette Simmons<br />

Turner Elementary School<br />

431-3406<br />

2001 Leonard Ave.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Dr. Deborah Jones<br />

West Town Elementary School<br />

431-3409<br />

1113 University Ave.<br />

Grades K-5<br />

Principal: Steven Dudley


LOST<br />

P a r a d i s e<br />

From Rawson Circle to Paradise Village, learn how<br />

two storms transformed Albany’s landscape and<br />

brought solidarity to a community.


On <strong>January</strong> 2, just as<br />

teachers and school staff were<br />

preparing to coming back to<br />

school following the Christmas<br />

and New Year break, a<br />

strong line of thunderstorms<br />

moved into the area unleashing<br />

70 to 85 mph winds;<br />

downing trees and tearing<br />

apart homes throughout<br />

central Albany.<br />

Neighborhoods that<br />

were known for their beautiful<br />

Live Oak trees; ones<br />

that had literally been the<br />

backdrop for movies and<br />

precious life moments, were<br />

gone. Snapped into pieces<br />

and uprooted as if they were<br />

toothpicks casually tossed on<br />

a table.<br />

For DCSS staff, leadership<br />

quickly emerged.<br />

System leaders spent the<br />

following days canvassing<br />

neighborhoods, evaluating<br />

schools, touching base with<br />

employees and working to see<br />

when school might re-open.<br />

Even students -- many of<br />

whom expressed a surprising<br />

eagerness to return to school<br />

following the nearly monthlong<br />

break -- banded together<br />

in groups and took rakes<br />

and wheelbarrows into the<br />

impacted neighborhoods.<br />

In the midst of the chaos,<br />

students and teachers, administrators<br />

and staff workers<br />

volunteered side-by-side in<br />

some cases to restore a sense<br />

of normalcy.<br />

After days of shuttering<br />

schools due to a lack of<br />

power, the system elected to<br />

restart school on Jan. 17.<br />

After four days of instruction,<br />

storms again laid<br />

seige to the area, pushing<br />

through Southwest Georgia<br />

spawning tornadoes that<br />

killed 5 people in Albany and<br />

Dougherty County alone --<br />

15 across Georgia.<br />

In a bizarre repeat of<br />

what had happened just two<br />

weeks before, DCSS staff<br />

mobilized -- this time on an<br />

even larger scale -- to assist in<br />

any way they could.<br />

The DCSS Police Department<br />

lept into action not<br />

long after the tornado moved<br />

through, assisting with search<br />

and rescue and supporting<br />

recovery operations with the<br />

Dougherty County Police<br />

Department.<br />

DCSS Transportation<br />

rolled into the neighborhoods<br />

impacted with buses<br />

to evacuate those stranded by<br />

the storm.<br />

Spanish-speaking teachers<br />

flocked to shelters to assist<br />

with translating; elementary<br />

school principals and staff<br />

made thousands of sack<br />

lunches for those still stuck<br />

in their neighborhoods; some<br />

folks, armed only with chainsaws<br />

and true grit, flocked<br />

into neighborhoods to assist<br />

in the recovery efforts.<br />

In the next few pages,<br />

you’ll see some of these stories<br />

played out from schools across<br />

the district. There are undoubtedly<br />

hundreds more that<br />

we may never know about.<br />

The rebuilding and<br />

recovery effort will take weeks<br />

and months before any true<br />

sense of normalcy will return<br />

for our staff and students. But<br />

it’s in these community service<br />

efforts that we live our creed:<br />

Building a better community,<br />

one student at a time.


7<br />

DCSS Update


Around the district:<br />

Check out the latest news and<br />

information from our schools<br />

Westover DECA students take firsts in<br />

region competition<br />

Westover Comprehensive High School DECA members participated in Region<br />

Competition in Americus, GA on December 1st. DECA members placed in the following<br />

areas in the competition:<br />

Caitlyn Gordon – 1st Place – Food Marketing Series<br />

Danielle Keith – 1st Place – Job Interview - Qualified for State competition<br />

Jalen Robinson – 1st Place – Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series<br />

Ta’nijha Wimes – 1st Place Business Speech - Qualified for State competition<br />

DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing,<br />

finance, hospitality and management in high schools around the world. Mrs. Rasheda<br />

Haines is the DECA Advisor at Westover High School.<br />

Lincoln students earn trophies<br />

On <strong>January</strong> 13th, three Lincoln students participated<br />

in the District Hoop Shoot Contest.<br />

Braylon Chaney took first place in the 8-9<br />

year old boys division. In the 10-11 year old<br />

girls division, Joy Hubbard earned the 2nd<br />

place trophy. First place in the 10-11 year<br />

old boys division was taken by Justin Burns.<br />

Justin and Braylon continued to compete in<br />

the second round of the District Hoop Shoot,<br />

which took place at Covenant Presbyterian<br />

Church.<br />

Volunteers<br />

help<br />

Northside<br />

students<br />

with reading<br />

The staff of Northside<br />

Elementary School were<br />

excited to see volunteers<br />

come in to work with students<br />

during their reading<br />

block.<br />

All volunteers were<br />

trained by a Governor<br />

Office of Student Achievement<br />

(GOSA) representative<br />

earlier last week<br />

and now the plan is being<br />

implemented with fidelity.<br />

One of the volunteers<br />

pictured, Mr. Greene,<br />

stated that failure is not an<br />

option and that students<br />

will be successful.<br />

The Dougherty County<br />

School System is making<br />

literacy and reading<br />

improvement one of its<br />

main focus areas in the<br />

coming years.


Video:<br />

SB&T, Posey donate 600<br />

backpacks to relief effort<br />

SB&T, a Synovus Bank, has been a longtime partner<br />

in excellence with Radium Springs Elementary. When<br />

bank leaders saw the devastation that was brought by<br />

the storms to the community surrounding the school,<br />

they enlisted the help of San Francisco Giants MVP and<br />

Leesburg native Buster Posey to help.<br />

Posey and the bank provided nearly 600 bookbags<br />

for the students of the school; stuffed with school supplies,<br />

hygiene kits and a teddy bear.<br />

Click here to watch the video.<br />

King Day Committee to<br />

split proceeds with DCSS<br />

Student Disaster Fund<br />

Organizers of the annual King Day Celebration announced<br />

recently that they will donate half of the proceeds<br />

generated by the event to the Dougherty County School<br />

System’s Student Disaster Relief Fund.<br />

Two storm systems moved through the area in <strong>January</strong>,<br />

spawning tornadoes that ripped killed five people, injured<br />

nearly 30 more, and caused millions in damages across the<br />

county.<br />

The King Day Event pays homage to the life and legacy<br />

of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who once famously marched<br />

with local civil rights organizers in Albany during the 1960’s.<br />

“We thought that if we’re going to be doing things in<br />

the name of M.L. King, we thought that one of the most<br />

humane things we could do was to split the proceeds from<br />

the dinner that usually comes to us, because we understand<br />

that there are several families, several children displaced,” W.<br />

Frank Wilson, executive director of the Albany Civil Rights<br />

Institute said. “So I petitioned my board and my board unanimously<br />

agreed to approach the King Celebration committee<br />

about making that gesture.”<br />

Dougherty County Board of Education Chair Velvet<br />

Riggins graciously accepted the news of the donation and<br />

thanked the committee members for their generosity.<br />

If you’d like to donate to the DCSS Student Disaster<br />

Relief Fund, you can give here: http://bit.ly/DCSSStormReliefFund<br />

L.I.F.E. Lab teachers help<br />

with storm cleanup<br />

Teachers from L.I.F.E. Lab Gifted Center dedicated time and muscle<br />

to help the Samaritan’s Purse organization clean debris from<br />

local victims of the <strong>January</strong> storms. The destruction has devastated<br />

our community, but thankfully many people have banded<br />

together to help each other, one person at a time.


Westover Comprehensive High School Concert Choir<br />

receives Superior Ratings at Festival<br />

On Tuesday November 8, 2016,<br />

The Westover Comprehensive High<br />

School Concert Choir performed in<br />

The Cultural Arts Center Fall Choral<br />

& Theater Festival in Dothan, Ala.<br />

The chorus performed two selections<br />

and received Superior ratings by all<br />

three judges. The superior scores<br />

were 93, 97, and 98.<br />

The Cultural Arts Center Fall<br />

Choral & Theater Festival is an<br />

evaluation process for musical performance<br />

for performing groups. A<br />

panel of judges in the field of music<br />

education critique the participation<br />

of each performance and provide<br />

written and/or oral opinions. The<br />

choir performs two selections for<br />

a panel of judges. The judges rate<br />

the quality of the performance by<br />

awarding a grade of superior (A),<br />

excellent (B), fair (C), or poor (D).<br />

The Westover Comprehensive High<br />

School Concert Choir is under the<br />

direction of Samuel McPhee, Jr. and<br />

accompanied by Justin Miller.<br />

Westover student wins<br />

Christopher Columbus<br />

writing competition;<br />

named best in state<br />

Westover Comprehensive High School senior,<br />

Molly Martin, won the 2016/2017 Christopher Columbus<br />

Essay Contest for high school students. This<br />

contest is sponsored by the Daughters of The American<br />

Revolution ( DAR ) and open to all districts<br />

across the State. Molly was the local winner, the SW<br />

District winner and State winner.<br />

Molly also won this Georgia State award in<br />

2014/2015. She will now participate in the National<br />

competition.


Alice Coachman named 5-Star school; 7 DCSS schools<br />

join 4-Star list<br />

Alice Coachman<br />

Elementary School is the<br />

Dougherty County School<br />

System’s newest five-star<br />

school, according to the<br />

Georgia Department of<br />

Education’s 2016 School<br />

Climate Star Ratings.<br />

The ratings, which<br />

attempt to show the quality<br />

and character of school life<br />

and are influenced by things<br />

like school safety, student<br />

and parent engagement,<br />

instructional practices and<br />

organization; are released<br />

annually by the GaDOE.<br />

Alice Coachman joins<br />

Robert A. Cross Middle<br />

Magnet<br />

School<br />

as a<br />

five-star<br />

school<br />

in the<br />

district.<br />

Seven<br />

other<br />

schools<br />

– Albany<br />

Middle,<br />

Lake<br />

Park<br />

Elementary, Lamar Reese<br />

Elementary, Live Oak Elementary,<br />

Morningside<br />

Elementary,<br />

Radium<br />

Springs<br />

Middle<br />

and<br />

West<br />

Town<br />

Elementary<br />

– climbed into the four-star<br />

tier. In total, the DCSS had<br />

14 schools that are either a 4<br />

or 5-star school according to<br />

the GaDOE.<br />

The other 4-star schools<br />

are International Studies<br />

Elementary Charter, Lincoln<br />

Elementary Magnet,<br />

Sherwood Acres Elementary<br />

and Westover High School.<br />

The biggest improvements<br />

were made by Alice<br />

Coachman, which jumped<br />

two stars, and Turner Elementary,<br />

which also jumped<br />

two stars going from 2-Stars<br />

last year to 4-stars this year.<br />

Westover names new assistant principal<br />

On Monday, November<br />

14, 2016, Dr. LaToyia<br />

Jackson was named new<br />

assistant principal at Westover<br />

Comprehensive High<br />

School. Dr. Jackson has<br />

13 years of educational<br />

experience with Booker T.<br />

Washington High School<br />

in Tuskegee, Ala., Terrell<br />

Middle / High School in<br />

Dawson, Westover Comprehensive<br />

High School and<br />

Dougherty Comprehensive<br />

High School.<br />

Dr. Jackson was serving<br />

as Instructional Specialist at<br />

Westover before her promotion<br />

to assistant principal.<br />

In her 10 years at<br />

Westover, she was also a<br />

classroom literature teacher,<br />

mentor to first year teachers,<br />

literacy coach, cheerleader<br />

coach, student council advisor<br />

and part time professor<br />

at Albany State University.<br />

She served as Westover’s<br />

Teacher Of The Year, 2010<br />

– 2011 and a Finalist for<br />

Dougherty County Teacher<br />

Of The Year.<br />

She received her B.S.<br />

Degree in Secondary<br />

Education, English Language<br />

Arts from Alabama<br />

Agricultural & Mechanical<br />

University in Normal,<br />

Ala.; her M.A. Degree in<br />

Reading Education from<br />

Georgia Southwestern State<br />

University in Americus; her<br />

Ed.S Degree in Curriculum<br />

/ Instruction Management<br />

and Administration from<br />

Nova Southeastern University<br />

in Fort Lauderdale,<br />

Fla.; and her Ed. D Degree<br />

in Instructional Leadership<br />

from Nova Southeastern<br />

University.<br />

Dr. Jackson is married<br />

to Mr. Jesse Jackson II and<br />

they have two children,<br />

Jaliya, 7 years old and Jesse<br />

Jackson III, 5 years old.<br />

She attends the Eastside<br />

Church Of Christ, where<br />

Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr.<br />

is Pastor.<br />

Principal Chunn stated<br />

he is very excited to have<br />

Dr. Jackson on Westover’s<br />

Leadership Team and he<br />

congratulates her on a Job<br />

Well Done!!!


AHS seniors bring home<br />

$700k in scholarships<br />

during from event<br />

Albany High School took 22 seniors to Jacksonville,<br />

Florida to participate in the Infinite Scholars Scholarship<br />

Fair <strong>January</strong> 21, 2017.<br />

This was the second year in which AHS took seniors<br />

to the fair, and once again the students represented<br />

themselves and the school well.<br />

Each of the seniors attended the fair well prepared by<br />

having a portfolio that included their SAT and/or ACT<br />

scores, their resume, two letters of recommendations, a<br />

college essay, and an unofficial transcript.<br />

The students were interview ready by dressing professionally<br />

and were ready to respond to and ask questions<br />

of the various college and university representatives.<br />

Based upon their responses, interaction with the<br />

post-secondary schools, and their overall readiness, Albany<br />

High School’s Infinite Scholar participants collectively<br />

earned $706,667 in scholarship awards.<br />

D


West Town elementary commits to storm recovery<br />

When the storms hit<br />

Albany it was clear people<br />

would be needing support<br />

for many weeks to come<br />

and that it would take the<br />

efforts of all of us to help<br />

with the recovery. The<br />

team of teachers and staff<br />

at West Town<br />

Elementary<br />

met, entertained<br />

suggestions,<br />

and rallied<br />

to support<br />

the community<br />

with a special<br />

outreach initiative<br />

to help<br />

those in immediate<br />

need.<br />

Principal<br />

Dudley had this to say,<br />

“We have been encouraging<br />

our West Town<br />

Team all school year<br />

to be responsive to the<br />

needs of our children and<br />

their families so, I was<br />

not surprised when staff<br />

and teachers expressed a<br />

desire to do something<br />

to help. Our Team has a<br />

huge heart and think it<br />

not robbery to give. Even<br />

though many staff experienced<br />

loss, those who<br />

could donated money and<br />

others gave of<br />

their time to<br />

help assemble<br />

over a 100 care<br />

packages with<br />

basic necessities<br />

for those<br />

affected by the<br />

storm.”<br />

Special<br />

thanks and<br />

appreciation<br />

to Trumpet of<br />

God Ministries & Training<br />

Center for their monetary<br />

donation toward the<br />

care packages.<br />

The Parent & Family<br />

Resource Center joined<br />

the school-wide initiative<br />

to reach out to support<br />

our students and their<br />

families by donating<br />

dozens of pairs of shoes<br />

and clothing items they<br />

collected for elementary<br />

school aged youth.<br />

Among the pictures<br />

you’ll see staff gathered<br />

in the school cafeteria to<br />

assemble care packages<br />

which were then delivered<br />

for distribution throughout<br />

the community. Also<br />

pictured are teams of<br />

teachers and staff who<br />

rallied together to sort<br />

and box donated clothing<br />

items which were delivered<br />

to Friendship Missionary<br />

Baptist Church.<br />

Video: Elementary schools<br />

join forces to help storm<br />

victims<br />

The neighborhoods around Turner Elementary<br />

School, Radium Elementary School and International<br />

Studies were particularly hard-hit by the<br />

<strong>January</strong> storms. Administrators from those three<br />

schools got together with a host of others from<br />

Robert Harvey Elementary, Lake Park and business<br />

and community leaders to pack meals for those<br />

impacted by the storms.<br />

CSS Video<br />

Click here to learn more.


Lake Park staff helps with<br />

cleanup<br />

Teachers, staff and students at Lake Park Elementary<br />

flocked to help those suffering with storm damage in<br />

<strong>January</strong>. Whether by raking, picking up limbs, packing<br />

bag lunches or by just giving kind words to those<br />

in need, the staff spent several days in neighborhoods<br />

impacted by the storms.<br />

Lincoln staff rallies<br />

community to provide<br />

meals<br />

Video:<br />

Click here to see how staff and volunteers<br />

at Lincoln Elementary Charter School came<br />

together to make meals for those who were<br />

displaced in the wake of the storm.


Members of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce pose with Westover’s Health Science’s staff one of the stops. The tour program<br />

is designed to get business leaders into schools to foster collaboration and change perception.<br />

‘Go See’ Tour spotlights Westover<br />

Members of the Albany<br />

Area Chamber of Commerce’s<br />

Education Committee<br />

toured the campus<br />

of Westover Comprehensive<br />

High School for the<br />

month of December.<br />

The leaders were<br />

shown various elements of<br />

the school including it’s<br />

award-winning student<br />

culinary department, it’s<br />

ROTC unit, a concert<br />

from its various performing<br />

arts groups and it’s<br />

Medical Arts Academy.<br />

The “Go See” Touring<br />

program was designed<br />

through a collaboration<br />

between the DCSS and<br />

the Chamber to allow<br />

business and community<br />

leaders to learn more about<br />

area schools and to build<br />

relationships between the<br />

schools and the businesses<br />

that will ultimately benefit<br />

students.<br />

Schools are selected<br />

monthly by committee<br />

members but principals aren’t<br />

contacted to set up the<br />

tour until just a few weeks<br />

out so that the tour-takers<br />

get to school life as it really<br />

is and not some show put<br />

on by school administrators<br />

to make the school<br />

look better than it might<br />

otherwise be.<br />

At Westover, tour takers<br />

were treated to lunch<br />

cooked by the school’s<br />

culinary arts team and<br />

listened to a Christmas<br />

concert put on by the<br />

schools’ various performing<br />

arts groups including<br />

the Westover Chorus and<br />

band.<br />

The Go See Tour for<br />

February is Lake Park<br />

Elementary.

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