State schools chief impressed by CMS visit
Woods learns about student services and sees upgrades to the school’s cafeteria.
Days before the end of the school year, Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods got a firsthand review of how Polk School District is placing emphasis on student well-being.
Woods visited Cedartown Middle School on Tuesday morning, May 16, and gained insight into ways the school helps students through things such as a clothes and food pantry, and a refresh of its cafeteria.
“This has definitely got me thinking about certain things,” Woods said near the conclusion of the whirlwind tour. “I’m very impressed. There are a lot of great things going on here that not only put an emphasis on the kids, but on the teachers as well.”
In less than an hour, Woods was shown around the campus by a group including PSD Superintendent Katie Thomas, CMS Principal Tonia Little, and Dorothy Welch, president of the Polk Association of Educators.
Welch, who retired as an eighthgrade math teacher at CMS last year, was Woods’ guest at Gov. Brain Kemp’s inauguration in January
and talked with him about coming for a visit.
One of the stops for Woods at CMS was the Dawg House, a free student resource center that provides a private space for students to speak with a counselor or faculty member while also providing donated clothes and food for students in need.
The tour also included visits to art teacher Eric Cooper’s classroom as well as the school’s own greenhouse for plants being cared for by agriculture students.
Woods then was shown the school’s
cafeteria, which underwent a facelift recently by adding graphics and new paint to emphasize school spirit with red, silver, and black graphics, and plenty of bulldog faces, Cedartown’s sports mascot.
The space struck Woods as not only an example of establishing school identity, but also providing an environment in which students can feel comfortable.
He went on to learn from Little about the school’s program to nourish students throughout the school
day, and possibly beyond. Students can choose to place uneaten or unopened breakfast items on carts outside of the cafeteria in the mornings before class. The carts are then placed in hallways for students to pick up items like cereal, juice, bananas and apples.
Thomas with Woods about revising the state’s rural school designation to help Polk School District be eligible for certain grants that would increase access to both mental health services and home internet access for students.
The Georgia Department of Education established an Office of Rural Education and Innovation in 2021 using federal stimulus funds to address the needs of rural Georgians and their schools by focusing on improved connectivity, teacher retention and recruitment, resources and funding, and educator development.
Thomas said while a good
portion of district’s students meet the specifics of living in rural areas, PSD falls short of meeting the requirements of being considered for these investments.
Thomas also described the many student safety protocols the district has put in place, such as having a dedicated district police
department including K-9 units and purchasing mobile metal detectors which are used at every school and student event.
“We are grateful for Superintendent Woods’ visit. We welcome any opportunity to showcase the wonderful things going on in Polk School District,” Thomas said. “He has shown great
leadership and is very responsive to suggestions and requests.”