Five seniors from Bulloch County Schools’ three high schools were honored on May 11, at a special Future Georgia Educators Signing Day event. Held during Teacher Appreciation Week, the students publicly acknowledged their decisions to become teachers.
“This is an important decision that our students are making,” said Bethany Gilliam, the school district’s director of Career, Technical & Agricultural Education. “We know this is not all of our students who will become educators, but these are our ones who wanted to be part of this event tonight and share this experience with you.”The students participated in the signing ceremony and afterwards remained to be recognized by the Board of Education during its regular session. Each of the board members individually shared their well wishes to the students.
“At the beginning of the week we celebrated our outgoing educators who are retiring and now our incoming future educators as they begin their career journey,” said District 6 Board Member Jay Cook.
Hailey Dyches, a senior at Statesboro High School, will attend Ogeechee Technical College and study early childhood care and education.
She plans to become a childcare provider, a field in which she is already working.
Olivia Grady, a senior at Southeast Bulloch High School, will also attend Ogeechee Technical College. She wants to one day become an elementary school teacher.
Caitlin Nadeau, a senior at Statesboro High School, will attend Georgia Southern University and major in early childhood education. She plans to become an elementary school teacher.
Camille Saunders, a senior at Portal Middle High School, will attend Georgia Southern University. She plans to be a music teacher and band director.
Emma Yates, a senior at Portal Middle High School, will attend Georgia Southern University. She wants to become a high school history teacher and return to her alma mater as an educator.”These students’ commitment to become teachers is vitally important to our community,” said Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson, who also thanked parents, faculty members, and local post-secondary partners for their support in guiding these students.The Future Georgia Educator program is a statewide initiative sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education. It highlights graduating seniors who plan to major in education. It is meant to celebrate education as a career choice and encourage talented young people to help fill the needs of Georgia’s school systems.
Bulloch County Schools has two career pathways within its Career, Technical & Agricultural Education program for students interested in education careers: Early Childhood Education and Teaching as a Profession. These pathways as well as work-based learning opportunities at local education-related sites are some of the ways the district helps develop a workforce of teaching professionals.
