Dear Dade County Parents and Students,
We have two big announcements:
- We will start delivering seven (7) meals a week for our students beginning on Wednesday. This week, we will deliver two days of meals on Monday as we have been doing. On Wednesday, we will deliver seven (7) days of meals. The following week, we will deliver on Wednesday only. Parents may drive-through at DES or DAVIS from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. also. Thank you, Dr. Cleta Long and SNP Staff for your hard work and leadership!
- DCHS Principal James Fahrney, Jr., Board Chair Carolyn Bradford and I met with the Senior Class Officers and Sponsors virtually to plan the graduation events. We are pleased to announce there will be a Drive-In Graduation Celebration on May 22nd at 9:00 p.m. at the Wilderness Drive-In Theater. Dates for a traditional Commencement and Prom are tentatively set for June 26th and June 19th.
As I stated
in my last letter, the only constant is change.
We are making good use of our time at our facilities. We accelerated our capital project work at
Dade Middle School (LED lighting, new HVAC and roof, and a remodeled library media center).
Also,
LED lights were installed at Dade Elementary School. And, Principal Barton and Team Members are cleaning out the Rock Building at Davis Elementary.
As you know, we are updating our
Strategic Plan
with the help of the Georgia School Boards Association. The results from our Community Engagement survey yielded the following Conclusion.
A
ccording to feedback from stakeholders,
several consistent themes emerged in our SWOT Analysis:
S
TRENGTHS:
- Focus on Academic Achievement, and variety of programs available to students
- Communication methods to keep parents informed and having caring and compassionate teachers
- Providing students and staff a safe learning environment
AREAS TO IMPROVE (
W
eaknesses):
- Get parents more involved
- Create policies to recruit and retain staff
- Improve the gifted program
- Students need to be more accountable
- Address mental health issues
O
PPORTUNITIES:
- Support SPLOST
- Nurture relationships with business partners to increase partnerships and the work-based learning program
- Seek grant projects to create even more opportunities
T
HREATS
- Effects of poverty
- Mental health needs
- Find revenue sources.
- Athletic facilities need to be upgraded
- Behavior on the buses can be improved
- Lack of wifi - Find alternative ways to communicate with parents who do not have wifi and/or social media and assist students who can't access the online curriculum.
In closing, even though most of our team members are not in their normal classrooms and offices, rest assured that we are here – in our homes or at our work stations doing the very best we can for your deserving students. May God bless each of you and keep you healthy and safe. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need us.
May God bless you and keep you and your family safe,
Dr. Jan Irons Harris
