U-L BOE Meeting Tuesday

At last night's Board of Education meeting, Ms. Jacqueline Hollis, BOE Chairperson, called for a moment of silence to honor the memory of ULHS senior Jer'Mya Eleby. BOE members expressed condolences for the family and for faculty, staff and students at the schools. Board members also thanked Thomaston-Upson faculty and staff for a successful pre-planning and start to the new school year. 

During Superintendent's Comments and Recognition, Dr. Larry Derico gave the following statement: 

"I, too, offer my sincere condolences to the family of Jer’Mya Eleby. We have lost a beautiful and valued member of our UL family and we grieve for this loss. My prayers continue to be with her family and loved ones, most especially her mother, Ms. Jermica Napier, and her sister, Jor’Leyah Little, both of whom are members of our UL family. This loss has reached into the depths of our school district and has affected faculty, staff, and students at all of our schools. Jer’Mya Napier will be missed; she will be remembered; and she will always be an Upson-Lee Knight."

 

In other comments, Dr. Derico stated:

"I want to thank all Thomaston-Upson School System employees for completing the hard work necessary over the past weeks in preparation for the opening of the new school year. We have completed new teacher and staff training, school safety training, behavior intervention training, special education training, CPR certifications, fine arts center equipment training, and more. We held a district-wide meeting to discuss accountability and what it means to be UL, to be united with everyone working toward one mission, which is excellence in education, every individual, every day. I anticipate great things from the students, faculty, and staff of the Thomaston-Upson School System this year."

 

The recognition portion of the meeting focused on Upson-Lee Middle School faculty & staff and their recent state and national accolades. ULMS Principal Mrs. Rhonda Gulley and a group of faculty and staff attended and presented at The National Forum - Advancing Excellence in Middle Schools Conference June 22-24 in Washington, D.C. At the conference, Upson-Lee Middle School received the National School of Distinction Award honoring their sixth redesignation as a Lighthouse School to Watch, a program that identifies schools across the country that are committed to a journey of excellence centered around the four program domains of academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes. Upson-Lee Middle School was the 2nd middle school in Georgia to receive the Lighthouse designation in 2005 and is on a very short list of schools throughout the nation to have maintained this designation for almost 20 years. Presenters at the national conference included: Leigh McDaniel, Lindsey Callahan, Fred Sparks, and Katie Stinchcomb. Other guests representing ULMS were Principal Rhonda Gulley, Kim Phillips, Stephanie Stewart, Crystal Shaw, Tiffany Peoples, Michele McDaniel, Stephanie English, and Maggie Atherton. 

 

Dr. Derico also recognized ULMS Principal Rhonda Gulley, who has been selected to serve on the GA Association for Middle Level Education (GAMLE)  Board of Directors. Mrs. Gulley will be the only public middle school principal on this board, which works directly with the national AMLE Board of Directors. Her tenure begins this year. 

 

During the business portion of the meeting, the Board approved the new Upson-Lee Agriculture Center fee schedule and rental agreement and revisions to the Upson-Lee Fine Arts Center fee schedule and rental agreement. They also approved the replacement of the roofs at two schools: Upson-Lee Primary and Upson-Lee Elementary. Director of Operations Marc Ellington informed the Board that capital outlay funds were available from the state for the reroofing projects.