Assistant principals and SROs to be at every school in Morgan County district

Wes Tomlinson, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·4 min read

Jul. 31—Families of students at Morgan County Schools can expect assistant principals and school resource officers at every school this year, Superintendent Tracie Turrentine said during the district's annual state of schools' address at the Cook Museum of Natural Science on Tuesday.

The school district has hired 40 teachers and administrators since January and also recognized them at the event. Turrentine said the district has 1,026 employees total this year and an enrollment of 7,328 students.

Turrentine told the audience in her address that Morgan County Schools currently receives $19 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, funds. ESSER funds are federal funds to help schools recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and were distributed in three different rounds, with Alabama receiving over $3 billion. School districts must budget the final round of funds, or ESSER III, by September or they will expire.

Turrentine said her district has spent ESSER funds on projects like the new HVAC system at Danville-Neel Elementary School and the new two story, 10-classroom standalone structure being constructed at Union Hill School.

"We spent $2.2 million at Danville-Neel and $1.7 million at Union Hill," Turrentine said.

Turrentine said beginning this year, there will be an SRO officer on every campus along with a substitute SRO officer to assist them. She said the district will be hiring a district safety coordinator this year.

Turrentine lauded the success of her district's career and technical education program, the Morgan County Schools Technology Park, and discussed Rural Development Park, the district's second career and technical education facility slated to open for the 2025-26 school year.

"Our career tech programs have expanded, offering more hands-on learning opportunities, positioning Morgan County Schools as the top career tech school district among all school systems in Alabama," Turrentine said.

Morgan County Schools Technology Park offers advertising design, Army JROTC, business administrative services, automotive, collision repair, cosmetology, drafting/design, the Jobs for Alabama's Graduates program, early childhood teacher program, electronics, health science, HVAC, culinary arts, robotics and welding.

Turrentine said Rural Development Park, located in the former Sparkman Elementary building, will be geared toward health-related fields and both students and adults in the community can learn nursing, dentistry and undergo emergency medical technician training. The school district received a grant from the state Legislature and is partnering with Calhoun Community College to provide the classes.

"The plan is to bridge the gap for rural citizens and their families by providing access to co-secondary education that leads to high paying, in-demand occupations," Turrentine said. "The Rural Development Park will focus on preparing students for essential local jobs."

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New teachers

Career Technical Director Jeremy Childers said the school district began steadily hiring even before January, putting it in a suitable position to begin the school year. With Danville-Neel Elementary and Priceville Elementary being fully staffed, no new teachers were announced from their schools on Tuesday.

Third grade teacher Meagan Robinson will begin her first teaching job at Cotaco School, having recently graduated from the University of North Alabama.

Robinson said becoming a teacher is something she has thought about for quite some time and her mother was the perfect role model.

"My mother is a third grade teacher at Lacey's Spring Elementary," Robinson said. "She has really inspired me and I've grown up around schools and education and just developed a passion for it."

It will also be the first time for Rebecca Nix to step into the classroom as a full-time pre-kindergarten teacher at Cotaco School. Nix, a graduate of Athens State University, said she can remember tutoring her sisters when they were all children.

"I always knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was little because I would force my sisters to sit down while I taught them lessons," Nix said. "I went to Brewer High which had the child care program and I got to work with kids and found that's what I really wanted to do."

Hartselle High and University of North Alabama graduate Savannah Morgan comes back to Morgan County from Sheffield City Schools where she taught kindergarten at Threadgill Elementary.

"Ten years later, I felt like it was time to move home because my family was here and I just bought a house in Hartselle, so just coming back is very exciting," Morgan said.

Morgan will teach fifth grade English at Priceville Junior High.

Jessica Tucker will continue her teaching career as a first grade teacher at Cotaco this year, coming from Riverton Elementary in Madison County where she was a kindergarten teacher for two years. Also raised in Morgan County, Tucker graduated from Brewer High and Athens State University.

"It's exciting to get to move back home and see a lot of familiar faces who I haven't seen in 10 years," Tucker said.

— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.