Stephens County Board of Education honors students, staff and faculty

The Stephens County Board of Education kicked off their board meeting Tuesday, May 16, by honoring a number of individuals, including staff, faculty members and students.

First up for recognition were the recipients of the “Spirit of Stephens” awards for classified and certified employees of the month for May. 

 A tie in the selection process resulted in two winners for the classified “Spirit of Stephens” Employee of the Month – Delecia Folsom and Kaylee Adams. Folsom is a 7th-grade social studies teacher and girls’ basketball coach at Stephens County Middle School, and Adams is the assistant principal and pre-k director at Big A Elementary. 

Judi St. Clair, a nurse for the school system, was announced as the certified “Spirit of Stephens” Employee of the Month.

The award recipients are nominated each month by fellow employees. The criteria for nomination state that the nominee must demonstrate a strong commitment to student success, encourage teamwork and assist other staff members, inspire others with a positive outlook and attitude, and perform job responsibilities consistently and professionally.

The Board then recognized Ellis Young, a student at Big A Elementary, for being named as the Pioneer RESA regional kindergarten winner in the Young Georgia Author competition. Young’s essay, “Kade & Bella,” earned her this recognition as the top author in her age group out of students from a 15-school system region that includes Banks, Rabun, White, Dawson, Union, Hall, Gainesville and Habersham schools, among others. 

Also, during last night’s meeting, bus drivers Mark Akridge and Patrticia Caudell were recognized for their actions during the April 28 shooting incident in Toccoa. Aridge and Caudell were awarded the newly-created Safe Stephens award for their bravery and heroism.

“You probably heard about the shooting incident that occurred on Friday, April 28 during our normal afternoon bus route in the Valley Drive area near downtown Toccoa. What you may not know is how two of our bus drivers kept our students away from potential harm during this time,” Stephens COunty School Superintendent Dr. Connie Franklin said during the presentation.

“Upon seeing the potential danger, bus driver Mark Akridge drove his bus to a safe distance to keep his busload of approximately 60 students out of harm’s way.  He alerted school officials who called our school resource officers and returned the students to the school.  Their parents were notified that they could pick up their children or the students would be transported by bus after the all-clear was given by local law enforcement.”

Franklin also spoke of Caudell’s actions during the April 28 incident. 

“Bus driver Patricia Caudell also handled a situation with a student that afternoon and when she was radioed about the potential danger along her normal bus route, she also turned her bus around and drove back to Big A Elementary. Some parents picked up their children there and for those who were not able to pick up their children, Ms. Caudell drove those students home; later than normal but they were most importantly safe,” Franklin said. 

Six employees of the Stephens County School System recently completed the School Financial Accounting Personnel certificate program offered by the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government and were presented with the certificates at Tuesday’s meeting. 

The certificate program is designed for K-12 finance personnel who are responsible for day-to-day operation of school accounting and funds, budgets, purchasing, payroll processing, and compliance with local board policies as well as state and federal laws.

The requirement for certificate completion includes 24 hours of instruction and the successful completion of two assessments and a project demonstration. 

Those recognized for completing the certification in 2023 included:

April Stowe, Bookkeeper, Big A Elementary;

Nicci Batson, Bookkeeper, Toccoa Elementary;

Jennifer Johnson, Bookkeeper, Liberty Elementary;

Sarah Coleman, Bookkeeper, Stephens County High School;

Keisha Phillips, Bookkeeper, 5th Grade Academy and Stephens COunty Middle School;

Lisa Bell, Administrative Assistant, Transportation Department

Tangie Burks, School Nutrition Bookkeeper, completed the Accounting Certification in 2022.

High School Class of 2023 salutatorian Abigail Brown and valedictorian Tina Vu were recognized by SCHS principal Michael Keown during his presentation to the Board on the high school’s successes and achievements during the past school year. The highlight video below, created by the Audio Video class, was played for the board members at Tuesday’s meeting.