State Superintendent Richard Woods visits Tolbert Elementary School
Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods visited Tolbert Elementary on Thursday to observe the school’s classroom environments and learn more about its policies and curriculum.
For a well-rounded perspective and a handson experience, Tolbert Principal Sket Angland and Gordon County Schools Superintendent Susan Remillard met with Woods and led him on an informative tour through the school’s hallways while highlighting some of the programs and goals.
The tour featured stops in multiple classrooms, which allowed Woods to personally interact with teachers and students.
“I really enjoy these visits where I get to actually go inside classrooms, and the school has the opportunity to showcase their program,” Woods said. “I like to learn about all of their creative innovations and observe their focus.”
On the walk-through, Woods made stops at Jason Etheridge’s and Stacy Calvert’s kindergarten classrooms first, where students were actively engaged in reading and vocabulary practice. He also had the chance to enter Kelly Macks’ first grade class as she was teaching her students a cultural lesson about igloos and the importance of insulation.
Next was the second grade hallway, where Woods peeked into the classrooms of Amy Padgett and Madison Burns, who were both working with their students on an opinionated writing assignment. Woods was then introduced to Belinda Smith’s third grade students, who were learning about the geometric principles of area and perimeter.
Woods also received a glimpse into Tolbert’s fourth grade program with a visit to Jennifer Culpepper’s classroom while she was instructing students about word and sentence structure.
“I observed today that this school has very focused instruction, especially when it comes to math and reading,” Woods said. “There was a lot of excitement in the classroom from both the teachers and students, and it lightened my heart to see that.”
He was also shown the Pre-K building and spent some time with Shannon Whittenburg’s and Jean Nation’s students, who were split up and receiving concentrated instruction in groups. He also introduced himself to Tammy Bennett’s and Charmain Serritt’s Pre-K class, who were also busy with interactive stations and small groups.
Angland then showed Woods some of the locations of Tolbert’s “Specials” courses, which incorporate subjects such as music, physical education and technology. The group made a stop