RCS celebrates School Board Member Recognition Month

Russellville City School System is joining all the public school systems across the state to celebrate School Board Member Recognition Month and honor local board members for their commitment to the Russellville community and its children.

“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and our board members devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,” RCS Superintendent Heath Grimes said. “They make tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect.”

Grimes said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:

• Supporting the creation of a vision for what the community wants the school system to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
• Reviewing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;
• Helping to ensure progress is measured so the system’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
• Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;
• Reviewing the system’s resources – human and financial – around its improvement goals;
• Encouraging a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;
• Encouraging partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
• Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.

The members of the RCS Board of Education are: Bret Gist, president; Judy Pounders, vice president; Greg Batchelor; Jerry Groce; and Greg Trapp.

“Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in January, their contribution is a year-round commitment,” Grimes said. “Each one of our board members is active in the community through their businesses, jobs and other involvement, which makes them even more of an asset to our school system.

“They are keenly aware of the importance of educating well-rounded students who are prepared to be contributing members of society once they leave our schools. We appreciate all they do for RCS and for the community.”

The RCS Board will be honored at the regularly-scheduled meeting Jan. 25 at 8 a.m. in the board room, located at the RCS Central Office. Those who wish to attend are welcome to do so.