Lowndes School District celebrates student and faculty achievement

Kasmira Smith, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
Updated ·2 min read

Dec. 6—VALDOSTA — Several students and faculty within the Lowndes County Schools district were recognized at the Board of Education's regular meeting Monday evening.

Sandra Wilcher, who was recently named the sole finalist for the superintendent's position for Lowndes County Schools, opened the meeting recognizing Hahira Middle School's FFA leadership.

The student organization was named a 3-Star Chapter in the 2023 National FFA National Chapter award. Students including Chloe Staten, Noelia Hansford, Milly McClain, Harper Graham, Lucy McClain, Lydia Fletcher and FFA Advisor Kristen Thomas received the award at the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo held early November in Indianapolis, Ind.

Thomas announced that she and the officers worked on their Programs of Activities (POA) since the summer of last year. In March, they compiled a document summarizing their activities and completed additional requirements for the awards consideration.

"We submitted form two this year, and we were selected as a 3-star or Gold emblem for Georgia. Then it was submitted to the National FFA for all 50 states and we received the 3-Star National which is the highest rank FFA award for a chapter," Thomas said.

Wilcher continued the recognition portion of the meeting calling LCS District Teacher of the Year Shaina Larson to the forefront. Larson, a teacher at Dewar Elementary School, was presented a ring by Scott Jernigan, compliments of Jostens.

Director of Public Relations Lauren Pope was also recognized with the #OneLowndes Spotlight Award.

"This Spotlight Award is for Lauren Pope. Everyone knows that Lauren is really the brains behind a lot of our operations," Wilcher said. "She truly has a heart for Lowndes County Schools and believes in our students and our teachers. Everyday, everything she does is about promoting the image of the system, showing the strength of our teachers and making sure that the community is informed and that we are very transparent."

The board heard from the attending Y-Lead students from Pine Grove Middle School and the attending Aspiring Leaders before moving to the discussions portion of the meeting.

The next scheduled Lowndes County Schools Board of Education meeting will be a called meeting to vote on the finalist for the position of Superintendent on Monday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. in the boardroom chambers.