DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND TRUE BLUE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Congratulations to our 2025-2026 Tift County Teacher of the Year, Lia Taylor and our 2025-2026 Tift County True Blue Award Winner, Haley Dillard.

BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Board of Education Develops Core Belief Statements

As part of the district's Strategic Planning Process, the Tift County Board of Education has redeveloped their Core Belief Statements, which were unveiled at the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES:

A facility committee meeting was held on Tuesday, August 14th to discuss the construction of the new 7/8 Middle School and the Multi-Purpose Facility.

7/8 Middle School:

We have the 50% architectural plans for the construction project.
Ground breaking is expected either the end of September or beginning of October; we will have a ceremony for this.
We are discussing with GMC and Tift County Civil Engineers the road improvements that will be needed to support the flow of traffic at both the Old Ocilla entrance to the school and the New River Church entrance to the school site.

Multi-Purpose Facility:

Final decisions were made to inform finalization of the pavilion architectural plans.
Land disturbance permits have been filed.
Work will begin after the end of football season.

OTHER INFORMATION:

We have not received the current tax digest from the Tax Assessor's office. This is needed to be able to set the millage rate for this school year. We hope to have this in the next few weeks, so the Board can convene to discuss setting a millage rate.

DISTRICT CELEBRATIONS

ELA : TESTED IN 3RD - 8TH GRADES & AMERICAN LITERATURE

Gains in 6th grade, 7th grade, and American Lit

LITERACY (Reading on Grade Level) : TESTED IN 3RD - 8TH GRADES & AMERICAN LITERATURE

Gains realized in every tested grade and American Lit after retests

MATH: TESTED IN 3RD - 8TH GRADES & ALGEBRA

Gains in 5th - 8th grade, and Algebra

SCIENCE: TESTED IN 5TH, 8TH GRADES & BIOLOGY

Gains in every grade level and Biology

SOCIAL STUDIES: TESTED IN 8TH GRADES & U S HISTORY

Gains in 8th grade

ELEMENTARY CELEBRATIONS

SECONDARY CELEBRATIONS

In early August, secondary students were emailed information about the application process and window for the 2025-2026 Superintendent's Advisory Council. Applicants were to submit their interest along with two letters of recommendation by August 18, 2025.

Below is a list of the students who were selected to participate in this year's Superintendent Student Advisory Council.

The Superintendent's Student Advisory Council will hold their first meeting on Wednesday, September 10th at 4:15pm at the Administrative Office.

SUPERINTENDENT RELEASES 2024-2025 YEAR END REVIEW REPORT

As we begin the 2025–2026 school year, we pause to celebrate the accomplishments of 2024–2025. Thanks to the hard work of our students, staff, families, and community, Tift County Schools is Fueled by Momentum: Collaborating for Success!

Click here to access the report.

STUDENT AND STAFF RECOGNITION

Gorgia Movie Academy Competition

A 7-student team in Coach Brian Saturday's Video Broadcast/A/V Technology class competed in the Georgia Movie Academy Annual Competition for the second consecutive year. The competition is a digital storytelling competition sponsored by the Chattahoochee-Flint RESA and recognizes student work in the areas of video production, scriptwriting, video editing, and storytelling. It is a project-based learning opportunity that allows students to work in teams to produce a theme-based, standards-based, three-minute video on a topic of their choice. The competition is for student teams in grades K-12. Each team that wins region competes for state.

Congratulations to Gracie Harsey, Shaniah Johnson, Emily Wiley, Miley Wheeler, Elayna Goodman, Cheyenne Gray, and Presley Vice for winning the GMA region award 2 years in a row and State runner up this year.

Tift County School Nutrition Program Receives United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service’s Turnip the Beet Award

The Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition Division recently announced that eighteen Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program operators in Georgia have been awarded the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service’s Turnip the Beet Award for 2024. We are proud that our Tift County School Nutrition Program is one of these recipients.

The Turnip the Beet Award recognizes outstanding summer meal program school food authorities and sponsors across the nation who work hard to offer high quality meals to children that are appetizing, appealing, and nutritious during the summer months.

Dr. Donald Gilman

Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Administrator of the Year (Business & Computer Science Division)

Mrs. Hope Vance

Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Carl Perkins Community Service Award (Special Populations Division)

Dr. Carl Nichols

Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Lifetime Achievement Award (Special Populations Division)

Mr. Caleb Smith

Completed an Externship with Georgia Power representing Tift County Schools

Dr. Melissa Busbin

Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year (Computer Science Division) and the 2025 Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year

The Beyond the T Award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the success of our students, staff and community.

Do you know someone who deserves recognition for going 'Beyond the T'? Click here to submit a nomination.

ADAMA EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZED FOR PARTNERSHIPS WITH SCHOOL NUTRITION AND MIDDLE SCHOOL AG CLASSES

We are proud to recognize a company that has gone above and beyond to support our students and community. For the second year in a row, ADAMA has been an outstanding partner—most notably showing up every single week at G.O. Bailey Elementary, in the heat of summer, to help pass out meals to our students through the Summer Feeding Program.

Their support doesn’t stop there. They’ve invested in our middle school agriculture classes by donating garden beds, helping plant vegetables, and even teaching students how to make butter from heavy whipping cream. Their team’s commitment, energy, and willingness to work alongside our staff and students is truly inspiring.

From meal lines in the summer sun to hands-on learning in the classroom, ADAMA has shown what it means to be a true community partner. We can’t wait to see them again at the next Children’s Day at the Farm as well as next summer helping to pass out meals. Thank you, ADAMA, for your outstanding dedication to our schools.

Stacey Henderson, Ronda Porter, Esmerelda Reyes, LaBarron McMillan, Brian Villarreal, Rod Barber, Terry Williams, Dan Spell, Jose Prada, Mack Klingenberg, Sal Cardoso, Shelley Paddock, David Faulkner, Elizabeth Hill, Sharon Weldon, Nick Garcia, Steve Botton, Shrya Griner and Cristina Gutierrez

Will McAllister, CTAE Ag teacher at Tift County High School not only demonstrated exceptional support during the summer but also led his CTSO team to win the state Junior Livestock Judging competition earlier in the year. This summer he stepped up when we were in critical need of volunteers to help with a large and important field trip for our Migrant Summer School students in grades PreK-8. With over two busloads of students—many of them very young—and a full day planned at the Challenger Learning Center in Tallahassee, we needed extra hands to ensure a safe and smooth experience. Without hesitation, he volunteered his time and energy to support our students. He spent the entire day closely supervising primary, elementary, and middle school Migrant students, making sure each child was safe, engaged, and accounted for throughout the trip. He also provided additional support by driving two of our School Resource Officers to Tallahassee, following the buses down and back. This level of selflessness and commitment speaks volumes about his character. His leadership, dedication, and heart for students make him an outstanding recipient of the "Beyond the T" award.

Going Beyond the T: Will McAllister’s Leadership and Heart for Students Shine

Dedicated to Every Child: CTAE Teacher Hope Vance Honored for Going Above and Beyond

Hope Vance, CTAE teacher for Early Childhood Education (ECE) at Tift County High School, is a shining example of dedication, service, and professionalism. She consistently goes above and beyond, not only for the students in her program but for children and families across our district. During the school year, Ms. Vance and her ECE students provided invaluable childcare and engaging activities for children during our well-attended Migrant Parent meetings in the board room, allowing parents to fully focus on important information while knowing their children were safe, active, and learning. She also played a key role in preparing bags for our summer feeding program, which included books and reading activities to help combat summer literacy loss—demonstrating her commitment to student success beyond the classroom. When we faced a last-minute need for a Reader’s Theatre teacher in our K–5 summer enrichment program, Ms. Vance immediately stepped in, once again proving she is willing to help wherever she is needed. Her leadership and skill are equally evident in her own program, where 100% of her students passed the End of Pathway Assessment in Early Childhood Education this year. A seasoned veteran of our school system, Ms. Vance is not only an outstanding educator but also a genuinely kind and selfless individual, making her a model teacher and an ideal recipient of this "Beyond the T" recognition.

Honoring the Tifton Art Council’s Dedication to Arts Education

The Tifton Art Council has been an invaluable partner to Tift County Schools, supporting arts education throughout the year with meaningful and engaging opportunities for our students. Their work began during the school year by providing direct art instruction at both Omega Elementary and Matt Wilson Elementary, giving students at those schools access to enriching creative experiences.

In February, they played a key role in our district-wide art initiative, where every school submitted student artwork for display. The Council curated and exhibited these pieces at The Syd Building, creating a wonderful community event where parents and families could view the students’ work. Many of these pieces are now proudly displayed in the hallways of the board office. Later in the spring, the Council supported the Fine Arts again by attending the preview night of Beauty and the Beast, joining the pre-show meal at the high school, meeting cast members, and serving as the audience for a final rehearsal performance—providing our students with valuable practice and encouragement.

During the summer, the Tifton Art Council continued their support by offering a two-week Art Camp as part of our Migrant Summer School program. Migrant students were transported to The Syd Building where they participated in a wide range of art activities, and each student left with a bag of art supplies to continue creating at home. From classroom instruction to community exhibitions and summer programming, the Tifton Art Council has gone above and beyond in its support of the arts in Tift County Schools.