For the second year in a row, the Lumpkin County School System has received the Georgia School Board Association’s (GSBA) Leading Edge Award. In 2019, LCSS won the award for Communications and Messaging. This year, LCSS was recognized for Best Practices in Human and Organizational Capital.
The Award
According to GSBA, this award recognizes innovative and “out of the box” practices by governance teams and school districts. By highlighting school districts that ensure students can compete in an ever-changing global market, the GSBA Leading Edge Award recognizes the design and implementation of projects and programs that accomplish this goal.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this new award, a school system must:
promote and advance public education through integrated and coordinated advocacy action
engage partners to address critical issues
provide needed services to support the local community
LCSS Best Practices
The Lumpkin County School System was recognized for Teacher Recruitment, Induction, and Retention. With the goal of building staff skill capacity to maximize student learning (and with awareness that almost fifty percent of educators leave the profession within five years of starting their careers), LCSS designed and implemented a comprehensive induction model. This structured multi-year program was designed to promote collaboration and teamwork among new educators. In addition, the district’s partnerships with the University of North Georgia, Piedmont College, Pioneer RESA, and the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement have been instrumental in helping educators of all experience levels continue to grow professionally.
Comments
“Our work to establish a structured support program for educators began four years ago. This project has been a team effort, and I cannot overlook the significant contributions of Mrs. Kerri Whitmire (Director of Student Services), Mrs. Jennifer Moss (Curriculum Director/Coordinator of Professional Learning), and Mrs. Sharon Head (Associate Superintendent/Director of Human Resources). These system leaders work each day to ensure our educators have the support they need to be successful with our students. The Leading Edge award is certainly not the only award LCSS has earned and received this year, but it is one of which we are most proud. Our gifted educators are among the best of the best, and their efforts enhance the stellar reputation of our schools. More importantly, our teachers impact the success of our students and our community.”
-Superintendent Rob Brown