GUEST COLUMNIST

RCS Supt. Heath Grimes

January is always an exciting month for our school system as our students and faculty return from Christmas break refreshed and ready to start the spring semester. From Pre-K through 12^th grade, our students and teachers have already been working hard in the classroom on activities and lessons that are challenging, engaging and exciting! Our teachers and administrators do such a great job planning these kinds of lessons so students can see the real-life value of their education through hands-on application and personal growth that can be seen each day.

Our student athletes have also been hard at work, and we are so proud of their accomplishments so far. These students are making headlines while also learning daily about things like teamwork, hard work, dedication and commitment. We appreciate those of you in the community who continue to support our athletes by coming to their games and events and cheering them on. We love our Golden Tiger community!

This month one of our biggest events was the kick-off to the Liberty Learning Foundation’s Super Citizen Program for our second and third grade students. This program is a ten-week civic, character, financial literacy and social studies program sponsored by Franklin County Community Alliance, Alfa, CB&S Bank, G&G Steel, Inc., AlaTrade, ScreenTech and BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama. We are so thankful for community partners like these who make sure our students are able to participate in this program that will have far-reaching benefits.

This month we also celebrated School Board Recognition Month, where we had the opportunity to recognize each of our school board members during our regularly-scheduled January meeting. Our school board works hard to make the best decisions for our school system, which is something I’ve had the privilege of seeing first-hand. Our members – Judy Pounders, Bret Gist, Greg Trapp, Jerry Groce and Greg Batchelor – don’t make decisions lightly and weigh each decision based on how it will affect students, teachers, faculty and the system as a whole. Our school board is composed of former educators, alumni, community leaders and parents of both current and former Russellville City Schools students. They are truly invested in this system, and the decisions they make reflect that. We appreciate all they do!

We are grateful for a wonderful first month back and are looking forward to what the coming month will bring for our system! If you aren’t already, follow the district and each of our schools on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the exciting things going on every day inside and outside the classroom!

As always, it’s GREAT to be a Golden Tiger!

Grimes is superintendent of Russellville City Schools.