Meet Debra Smith, Hall County's new school board member

Jan. 6—With more than 45 years of experience in education, Debra Smith has nearly done it all.

The next phase of her career begins Tuesday, Jan. 10, at the first Hall County school board meeting of the year.

After winning her election in November, she replaces Sam Chapman, who decided to retire after 16 years on the board.

As the post 1 member, Smith will represent East Hall, an area in which she has deep roots.

"I have the ear of a lot of the community and I feel sure that's why I got elected," she said. "I've had so many experiences and so many opportunities that I think I can share that will help us on decision making, seeing what we need to do with schools."

Smith began her teaching career in 1977 as a biology teacher at East Hall High School. She later served as an assistant principal and principal at East Hall Middle School for a total of 14 years before finishing out her K-12 career as the principal at Riverbend Elementary.

She now works as a professor of education leadership at University of North Georgia where she trains teachers to become administrators.

Throughout her career, she has had a passion for what she calls "rescuing kids." She has taught hundreds, perhaps even thousands of students, over the course of her career. But she had a particular knack for helping students who struggle.

"I've always been mostly in Title I schools, and I have a passion for those kids that struggle," she said. "I've always been in the rescue mode, and I've always worked with teachers in schools that had a heart for rescuing kids."

She recalled helping a student who slept on cardboard.

"I would go out into the community sometimes and visit kids' homes," she said. "I can remember one home I went to, they had no floor. It was a house with a dirt floor and they slept on cardboard. Well, you know me, I'm now scrambling trying to find beds and furniture and whatever I can do to help."

And while that level of impoverishment might be extreme, she said many families are still struggling mightily in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. And before teachers can work on improving academic performance, she said, they have to ensure that students' basic needs are met.

"We have so many families that are struggling and have so much need," she said. "And we may not view that as part of our job — or a lot of people don't, I do — but the truth is, until you meet kids' needs — their real needs of food, clothing and shelter — we're not going to make much headway with them on education."

Hall County Schools has a poverty rate of 52%, with more half of all students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. And 21% of all students are English learners.

Smith's philosophy as a teacher is one that combines compassion and high standards. She has ideas for improving literacy scores in the school district, which have lagged behind statewide scores in recent years.

She believes extrinsic rewards are a good way of getting young students to read. As the principal at Riverbend Elementary, she developed a point-based system of incentives. If students completed their reading, they could earn enough points to attend the pizza party or spend a day swimming at the YMCA.

"Sometimes we'd bring in a juggler," she said. "We were a Title I school, but in my last year there, we were the highest performing elementary school in Hall County. We had the top test scores."

Smith was born in Gainesville and grew up in East Hall. Both of her parents were educators, and three of her four siblings were as well.

As the only woman on the school board, Smith believes she can offer a different perspective.

"I do think a woman brings a different perspective to a school board from the standpoint of not just school, but children in general," she said. "My philosophy over the years very much was, if I really had to make a tough decision on something, I would remind myself, 'OK, I have children, I would never do something to somebody else's child that I wouldn't want done to mine.'"

"But I think my biggest strength will be the fact that I've been an educator," she added. "That's all I know. That's been my whole life."

She said she has spoken with board members, central office staff, principals and parents to prepare for her new role. And even at this stage, she's already thinking about a second term.

"If at the end of four years I feel like I have helped to improve Hall County Schools, I might want to go again," she said. "It's just all about, can I help Hall County Schools grow? So at the end, I'll have to look at myself in the mirror and say, 'Did I really make a difference?'"