Team South News

Corbin Independent Schools      

Striving To Be Our Best       

Volume 5 Issue 6       South Elementary               January, 2008

Annual State of South Address

     Last night President Bush delivered his State of the Union address. This can only mean one thing . . . it is time for my annual State of South address. Mine will be considerably shorter.

     It is my pleasure to report that once again we are exceeding many of our goals. Discipline referrals are down, test scores are up, and the positive culture of our school is often mentioned to me when speaking with parents and community leaders. We all have much to be proud of when we look at the many accomplishments our school has achieved. Our Academic Team won both the district and regional Governor’s Cup Championship. We have three teachers who have achieved National Board Certification:  Mrs. Cynthia Smith, Mrs. Karen Smith and Mrs. Angela Williamson. We are fortunate this year to have the Amgen Kentucky Science Teacher of the Year on our staff, Mrs. Andrea Broyles, 4^th Grade. Mrs. Jennie Watkins, one of our 5^th Grade teachers was named as one of five finalist for the Kentucky Social Studies Teacher of the Year. I was humbled this year to be named as Kentucky’s National Distinguished Elementary Principal of the Year. It was a great honor to represent our state in Washington D.C. along with all the other state winners.

     The question is:   Where do we go from here? It is easy to rest on past successes. The true challenge is to continue to move forward. It does not get easier. We are seeing an increasing number of students with some type of learning disability or home environment that makes learning nearly impossible. It would be easy to offer excuses and say there is no hope. Fortunately, that is not the attitude I see at South Elementary. Everyday I witness teachers and staff working together to do what is best for students. I think it is this attitude that people in our community are speaking of when they complement us on our school culture.

     We have established a culture of “striving to be our best”. It is this attitude that compels us to go above and beyond the norm. This is why we constantly stress positive behavior throughout our building. This is why we do whatever it takes to set up small reading groups for struggling readers. This is why we celebrate everything from birthdays and youth basketball wins to academic achievement. “Striving to be our best” is more than a slogan, it permeates our building in every aspect of our school life.

     We are faced with another challenge. It is the challenge of change. Beginning next year our 3^rd and 4^th grades will be moving to a new location with a new name: Corbin Elementary and a new principal, Mrs. Sharon Ball. South will become Corbin Intermediate as we add 6^th grade to become a 5^th and 6^th grade school.

     Again, the easy thing to do would be to go our separate ways and act independently of each other. However, as you know, the easy thing is not always the right thing. The challenge for us is to take the best of both schools and operate them as one school in two locations. We must work together to create a seamless transition on the road to success.

     The future of our school is promising. As good as things have been, I believe greatness lies just ahead.                                                   
 

Member, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools