Fifth Grade Academy Principal Retiring

Current Fifth Grade Academy Principal Tammy Whitworth is retiring later this year.

Her retirement was approved by the Stephens County Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday.

It will take effect on April 1.

Before serving as the first principal for the Fifth Grade Academy, Whitworth was Principal at Toccoa Elementary and an assistant principal at Eastanollee Elementary.

Taking over as Interim Fifth Grade Academy Principal will be Ron Rudd.

He is currently an Assistant Principal, working for both the Fifth Grade Academy and Stephens County Middle School, which covers 6th through 8th grades.

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said that the system will advertise the position then to be filled for the 2016-2017 school year.

This year marks the first year for the Stephens County Fifth Grade Academy.

It was created when the school system made shifts at the elementary schools, putting two grade levels in each of the county’s three elementary schools.

When that was done, the fifth grade was moved to the middle school building and the Fifth Grade Academy was created.

While it is in the same building as 6th through 8th grades, it is considered a separate school in the eyes of the state.