The council is comprised of dedicated teachers from various grade levels, subjects, and teaching experience, such as special education teachers, fine arts, and academic subjects.
"Their diverse backgrounds will bring many ideas and perspectives to the meetings. We will utilize the council to enable better educational and administrative decisions, ultimately leading to greater student learning and success", added Hopkins.
Assistant Superintendent Joy Edwards also attended the meeting.
Stacey Hobson, a Banks County Primary School teacher for over twenty-three years and council member, shared her thoughts, saying, "It is empowering to know that our Superintendent values our opinions and experiences. This is a great opportunity to have a straight line of communication, and very beneficial".
The first meeting was held on September 13th at 3:30.
Topics discussed were school safety, construction/SPLOST funds, Cognia accreditation, FTE, school calendars, new reading resources, and school climate.
LaRue Borders, also a veteran special education teacher at Banks County Elementary School, expressed her enthusiasm for the great start at her school this year.
"We have a lot of new faces around our campus, but it has been an excellent start. They are enthusiastic and bring positive energy to our school.", she stated.
Banks County Primary School teachers Alisha Landers and Shelly Ledford spoke about the new reading resources available to teachers. The system has launched a rigorous reading initiative.
"We have abundant resources this year and are excited about them. We are eager to implement them," stated Landers and Ledford.
Banks County Middle School teachers Lisa Rylee and first-year Band Director Marcus Shockley attended the meeting representing Banks County Middle School.
Rylee, who has over twenty-five years of teaching, spoke about the school climate at Banks County Middle School.
"The climate and culture at BCMS continues to improve. The changes we experienced last year and this year have been overwhelmingly positive. There is more work to be done, but when you can come to work in a happy environment, doing what needs to be done is much easier", Rylee said.
It is essential for teachers to feel like they have a direct line to the superintendent and to voice concerns openly and honestly. Dr. Hopkins does a wonderful job of making that possible", she added.
The high school representatives chosen were Wendy Collins (In-Service Special Education Coordinator) and veteran math teacher Andy Brown.
The council will meet periodically throughout the school year, with the next meeting scheduled for December 5th.