I hope everyone was able to stay safe and warm over the last few days and enjoyed some quality time with family and friends during the break. School will resume on Monday the 7th of January 2019. That’s right, 2019! Another new year, filled with new beginnings, new resolutions, and opportunities.
Regarding new opportunities, I am excited to share on behalf of our entire district and our board of education, news and information regarding an upcoming bond election in February. This is an opportunity that will benefit Am-Po students for generations to come. The recent economic development within Grady County, and specifically within our school district has made this opportunity possible with limited impact on the residents of our community. This bond issue will allow us to make major improvements to both sites, with the driving factor behind the planned improvements revolving around security. We are all too aware of the changes in our society that, unfortunately, have made security measures essential for school districts throughout the country. While we believe in our community and have faith that “it will never happen here,” we have a responsibility to ensure we are doing all that we can to provide our students with the safest possible educational environment.
Both campuses will be equipped with the following:
- State of the art surveillance systems
- Controlled access entry points
- One touch emergency lockdown procedure
- Immediate notification with both local and county law enforcement
- Law enforcement access to the video surveillance system
The recent construction projects at the elementary have made that campus ready for the upgrades without additional major construction needed. The current JH/HS building, however, has several security issues, the biggest of which are the 11 exterior entry points with no designated entry or supervision. Therefore, we are planning the construction of a new JH/HS building that will feature a designated entry point for visitors and will be monitored and controlled by staff inside. The building will be completed in phases and will be constructed on the site of the existing building.
Complete renderings and additional information will be available at each site and in the superintendent’s office. We will also have the information available at all home basketball games along with a slide show presentation. As I mentioned earlier, security is the number one issue with this proposition, but there are several other enhancements as well that I will be sharing over the next few weeks. If you have additional questions or would simply like to drop by and discuss the projects, I invite you to come by my office anytime. I would love to visit with you.
Jerime Parker
Superintendent