Civil Municipal - Feb 2024

The Hancock County School District knows that embracing challenges and providing opportunities is the key to educational success. This progressive and hard-working school district comprises 210 employees -- teachers, custodial staff, food service workers, bus drivers, para-professionals, administrators, and office personnel and serves about 850 students from early Head Start through 12th grade in the Marvin E. Lewis Elementary School, Hancock Central Middle School, and Hancock Central High School. The district is led by its Superintendent, Dr. Alma D. Harper, who began her teaching career in Hancock County in 1998, and two of her chief administrators: Dr. LaTrasha Palmer, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Dr. Mesha Mathis, Federal Programs and Special Education Director. Their mission is to make sure that each student in the district can read, write, and think- three basic educational necessities for successful learning and successful living in later life. THE SCHOOL DAY “We start our day at 7:15 or 7:30,” says Harper.“That’s when the first buses arrive.They have their breakfast, and around 8 o’clock (all Hancock County students are eligible for free breakfast and lunch) they’re heading to their classrooms. At the elementary school, everyone has their routine. Some teachers may start the day with a writing exercise, while others may focus on mathematics. The middle and high schools are different because the kids are older.” “Each school has a different instructional framework, where we’re mandated to follow the curriculum of instruction that guides us from the State of Georgia,” explains Palmer.“And since we put a lot of attention on students being able to read, write, and think in all the curriculums, those principles are included in each of the areas – whether it’s social studies, science, or CTAE (Career Technical & Agricultural Education). For example, within that instructional framework, at the elementary level, we use the i-Ready curriculum in math and reading.” (i-Ready is an online program, created by CurriculumAssociates, for reading and/or mathematics that helps teachers determine, diagnose, and assess their students’ needs, personalize their learning, and monitor their 181 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 02 HANCOCK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, GA