Wayne Henderson, a volunteer firefighter with Walker County Emergency Services and a member of the Walker County Schools Maintenance Department, was recently named Georgia's Firefighter of the Year.

Friends and family from across Walker County gathered at the new Rossville Middle School on November 2nd to dedicate the beautiful, $14 million campus to Rossville students and staff, past and present.  The new school opened for operation August 1st in its scenic location at 316 Bulldog Trail.

A poster proclaiming Rossville Middle School's proud heritage welcomed guests as they entered the lobby.  Superintendent Melissa Mathis told the assembly that this new facility reflects Rossville Middle's spirit and achievement.  The Rossville Middle School chorus performed under the direction of Suzan Bradford.  A reception followed the dedication ceremony. 

Principal Wanda Janeway welcomes the crowd of visitors and special guests, recognizes WACOPEP and school council members, and thanks the Walker County Board of Education and administrative staff for their work in completing the new school.

The Walker County Chamber of Commerce Education Committee hosted seventh through twelfth graders for an all-day leadership seminar at Northwestern Technical College. 

According to Timothy McCarrell, President and CEO, SchoolCast is a "rapid alert and notification system "that enables schools to reach parents, faculty and staff, emergency contacts, guardians, first responders" within moments through use of phones, faxes, email, pagers and PDAs.  "Without SchoolCast it would take several hours to reach all necessary parties," he said.

In addition to construction of more classrooms at Naomi, Rock Spring and Ridgeland this year, the Walker County Board of Education has purchased nearly 97 acres on Highway 27 in the Rock Spring area as the location for a proposed, combined elementary/middle school.  This new facility to alleviate overcrowding in current elementary and middle schools was approved by Walker County voters with an ESPLOST election in September of 2006 and approved by the Georgia Department of Education in the WCS current 5-year facilities plan.

WCS Director of Administrative Services Chris Jones and the Walker County Board of Education worked with the State Facilities Director and Regional Facilities Director, whose professional consultation through GaDOE helps school districts project growth and determine needs.  Preliminary findings show that Walker County, with a 9.4% increase in population in the last five years, is growing faster than surrounding counties. 

According to the study and the consultants' recommendation, Walker County's proposed plan for a combined elementary/middle school in the middle of the county is the best use of state and local ESPLOST dollars and maximizes funding to address Walker County's indicated needs (determined by state formula) for middle grades and elementary classrooms.

The selected site on Highway 27, a major artery, affords many cost-saving features including availability of existing roads and convenient accesses, better use of personnel, more cost effective transportation and efficient bus routing.  "We have been working on this project for several years and are very happy to announce that we are making timely progress toward adding the classrooms we need where we need them," said Superintendent Melissa Mathis. 

Walker County Schools has joined a network of public and private schools across the country in a parental involvement movement called "Be There", a research-based campaign full of tips and strategies to help parents turn ordinary moments into extraordinary learning opportunities by connecting with their children during normal actitivies.

 
"One moment of connecting with your child daily will multiply into a lifetime of benefits," said George Cherry, Coordinator of the Walker County Schools Parent Involvement Program.  "It takes only a minute to make eye contact, to ask a question or to use a bedtime story to connect with a child."

So far this year, three teachers in Walker County Schools have been selected by WDEF-TV and Bi-Lo Supermarkets to receive the Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching. 

The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET), has selected Sandra Jenkins, a veteran teacher at Chattanooga Valley Elementary, as an Outstanding Special Education Teacher for 2008.