The Talladega City Schools Foundation Banquet Tuesday night at the high school should help lay to rest — hopefully once and for all — the idea that schools here are not up to the task of educating our children.
In fact, if the awards and recognitions given out are any indication, the exact opposite is true.
From the 19 students from Talladega city schools who placed in the state and regional science fair, to the Zora Ellis Junior High “Ellis Emeralds” color guard grabbing a state title and runner-up in Southeastern regionals, to the THS Lady Tigers basketball team earning the runner-up position in the state, students in Talladega are not only doing well, they are setting the bar higher for other children in the state to follow.
Teachers, like THS band director David McDaniel, who has taken the music program at his school to new heights and earned national recognition for the school, and Anita Foy and Shana Webb, who started the first Science Olympiad Team at Zora Ellis, and many more — including the five who are nationally board certified — are also setting the benchmark when it comes to providing quality education and finding new ways to help students get ahead.
Equally, the community is supporting schools here. The Education Foundation was able to hand out more than $12,000 in grants to teachers this year alone as a result of local donations.
As positive as all this is, though, it’s not to say Talladega city schools don’t have their problems.
But those issues do not stem from the dedicated teachers, administrators or staff at the schools or from our students.
When the foundation president asked for school board members to stand and be recognized at the banquet, nobody stood up. Not a single member of the Talladega City Board of Education was present at the banquet to honor educators and students in the system they run.
THAT kind of elected representation is the root of most of what’s wrong with Talladega city schools.
But thanks to the Schools Foundation and its supporters, everyone Tuesday got to see all that is right with our schools in Talladega.
And it’s a very long list.
In fact, if the awards and recognitions given out are any indication, the exact opposite is true.
From the 19 students from Talladega city schools who placed in the state and regional science fair, to the Zora Ellis Junior High “Ellis Emeralds” color guard grabbing a state title and runner-up in Southeastern regionals, to the THS Lady Tigers basketball team earning the runner-up position in the state, students in Talladega are not only doing well, they are setting the bar higher for other children in the state to follow.
Teachers, like THS band director David McDaniel, who has taken the music program at his school to new heights and earned national recognition for the school, and Anita Foy and Shana Webb, who started the first Science Olympiad Team at Zora Ellis, and many more — including the five who are nationally board certified — are also setting the benchmark when it comes to providing quality education and finding new ways to help students get ahead.
Equally, the community is supporting schools here. The Education Foundation was able to hand out more than $12,000 in grants to teachers this year alone as a result of local donations.
As positive as all this is, though, it’s not to say Talladega city schools don’t have their problems.
But those issues do not stem from the dedicated teachers, administrators or staff at the schools or from our students.
When the foundation president asked for school board members to stand and be recognized at the banquet, nobody stood up. Not a single member of the Talladega City Board of Education was present at the banquet to honor educators and students in the system they run.
THAT kind of elected representation is the root of most of what’s wrong with Talladega city schools.
But thanks to the Schools Foundation and its supporters, everyone Tuesday got to see all that is right with our schools in Talladega.
And it’s a very long list.
