Columbia School District welcomes teachers back with convocation
Believe. Achieve. Succeed.
That’s the mantra of the Columbia School District and it was the theme of Wednesday’s convocation to welcome the teachers back for the school year. New Superintendent Jason Harris and others, including Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie, spoke with teachers and staff who assembled in the Columbia High School gymnasium.
Columbia School District Board of Trustees President Marie Shepard opened the event by welcoming the teachers and staff. Students from Columbia Primary School joined CPS Principal Heather Singley in saying the Pledge of Allegiance before members of the CHS Choir sang the National Anthem.
McKenzie then addressed the group.
“I want to say thank you to you all for what you do,” McKenzie told the group. “I know there are days that you may feel frustrated, tired and unappreciated. Just know that that is not true. You are appreciated. You’re in the thoughts and prayers of so many citizens throughout this town and so many families.”
McKenzie described the teachers as leaders.
“They’re the ones that will take charge of their classes,” he said. “They will assess the situation; they prepare a plan and implement it.”
During his speech, McKenzie spoke about the link between the city and its schools. A point Harris made as he addressed the group.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here today,” Harris said. “My time here thus far has been outstanding. We have an outstanding school Board. They have the best thoughts and visions for the school District. I can’t wait to implement them and can’t wait to get the students here on Monday and get started.”
Though there is great anticipation for the new school year, there are concerns, according to Harris.
“I would be remiss if I did not talk about the budget,” he said. “The budget has been somewhat a hamper for us as we begin the school year. I appreciate everything that our District office has done and everything our school Board has done. For those of you who don’t know, we had to trim $1.3 million from our budget here in Columbia. $1.3 million is a lot of money whether you are in Columbia or New York City. We’re going to have some larger class sizes and we’re going to work a little harder, but we’re going to get it done.”
Harris thanked McKenzie for attending and spoke of the connection between the city and its schools.
“Part of what makes a great community is having that interaction together,” he said. “I’m excited to be working with the mayor and Board as we work to not only improve our school District, but to improve our community as well. The bond issue sums up the support for our school system here. I’m excited for everyone to get into the buildings. Our Board meetings starting in September at Jefferson Middle School will be held in each of the buildings. A lot of support, a lot prayers and a lot of thanks need to go to the principals. They had a rough summer trying to get things done.”
Harris said there were several items that would be discussed with the teachers and in the community.
“The P, the R and the C,” he said. “The first is the ‘P’ for pride. There is a lot of pride in the Columbia School District and we’re going to capitalize on it and continue to improve on it, and build more pride within our school district and within our schools. That spills out into our community. The second things is the ‘R” and that is for relationships. As the mayor said, on any given day, you may be one child’s only hope. What you do in those classrooms every day impacts students. The final thing is the ‘C’ and that’s the commitment. We’re going to make a commitment to do the best that we can every day for our students. When we make that commitment, good things are going to happen.”
Harris said he is looking forward to the school year and to the District’s future success.
“I told the Board there is no doubt about it, we can be an ‘A’ school district,” he said. “I know that testing sometimes becomes our world. Unfortunately, that’s the rules we have to play by sometimes. I do know that testing and the things that we do can get us to be an ‘A’ school district. When you believe it, you achieve it. When you achieve it, you will see the success and success breeds more success.”
Harris said the District was going to do everything it could to ensure the success of its students.
“When you inspect what you expect, great things will happen,” he concluded. “That starts with me and goes down through the teachers. When we do that, we’ll be competitive in everything that we do. We’ll have a great school year and a tremendous amount of student success.”
Pictured Above: Columbia Primary School Principal Heather Singley and several students lead the Pledge of Allegiance. | Photo by Mark Rogers
