TIFT COUNTY SCHOOLS NEWSLETTER

Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, Tift County Schools established the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council to ensure that teachers have a direct voice in district-level decisions. Comprised of the Teacher of the Year from each school, this group met regularly with Superintendent Natalie Gore to discuss a variety of district topics and issues.

The council provided an opportunity for teachers to share insights from their schools, highlight successes, and voice concerns or challenges faced at the building level. Mrs. Gore valued the honest and thoughtful feedback from this group, which helped shape decisions and initiatives to better meet the needs of students and staff.

“This council ensured that teachers have a seat at the table and that their input is a valuable part of our decision-making process,” said Mrs. Gore. “Our teachers are on the front lines every day, and their perspective is essential as we work to improve and grow as a district.”

By fostering open communication and collaboration, the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council strengthened the connection between classroom experiences and district leadership, reinforcing the district’s commitment to supporting teachers and enhancing student outcomes. Teachers of the Year will continue to serve as each school's representative on the council. The next council will kick off in the fall.

Pictured above (l-r): Jonathan Jones, Laura Pritchett, Terri Bee, Annette Brown, Janean McShan, Ashly Webster, Trisha Bridges, Heather Denham, Paige Bennett, Brittany Kicklighter, Pennie Williams, Stan Parker, Natalie Gore (not pictured: Barbara Wells)

This year the district created the Superintendent's Classified Staff Advisory Council, which included the True Blue winner from each school or department. This council gave classified staff members—such as paraprofessionals, office staff, and support personnel—a platform to share their insights and address concerns from their unique perspectives. This group met throughout the year to provide valuable feedback and raise issues on behalf of their colleagues.

“Hearing directly from those who are working with our students and supporting our schools each day has been invaluable in improving our district,” said Mrs. Gore.

By fostering open dialogue and collaboration through these councils, Tift County Schools continues to build a culture where every voice matters and every perspective is valued. Further, it has provided our staff with insights into the work occurring at the district level and an opportunity to influence work as it is in the design phase.

Pictured (l-r): Jonathan Jones, Tiffany Crews, Sarah Mayberry, Lisa Hill, Patty Burdette, Carrie Bowyer, Maria Jacobs, Michael Johnson, Jeanette Rhodes, Pam Jones, Natalie Gore. (not pictured: Katrina Godwin, Amber Sauls, Charmeka Black, Betsy Hudgins Freda Bateman, Kindall Eubanks)

March 10–14 was School Board Appreciation Week, a time to recognize and honor the hard work and dedication of the Tift County Board of Education. During the recent board meeting, the seven members of the board were presented with a certificate to thank them for their service to the students and families of Tift County.

Our board members play a crucial role in guiding the vision and direction of Tift County Schools. Their leadership ensures that our students have access to quality education and the resources they need to succeed. They are committed to the success of every student and their dedication makes a difference in the lives of our students, staff, and the entire Tift County community.

We are thankful for the service and commitment of our school board members. Your leadership and support are truly #4theT!

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.

Three staff members from Sixth Street Academy were recognized for the care and concern shown to a student following an altercation that occured at the alternative school a few weeks ago. These staff members rallied around the student to ensure his health and safety were managed.

Those staff members are (l-r) Honey Rollock, Michael Johnson and Kenneth Goodwin. They are pictured below along with Chairman, Jonathan Jones and Superintendent, Natalie Gore.

Tift County Schools will implement new school start and end times beginning with the 2025-2026 school year to increase the amount of daily instructional time for students.  This change is being made in direct response to feedback received from school system stakeholders, specifically teachers and school leaders.  Specifically, the school start time will be 10 minutes earlier and 15 minutes later adding 25 minutes to the instructional day for all three grade levels.

In the 2023-2024 school year, Tift County Schools moved to a two-tiered bus route system, separating elementary students from middle and high school students. This shift resulted in schools losing approximately 30 minutes of instructional time each day. While this new schedule is not fully restoring Tift’s Instructional time to what it was in 2022-2023, an additional 25 minutes a day will provide teachers and students with 75 additional hours of instructional time over the course of the school year.  That is the equivalent of adding nearly 2 additional weeks to the school year; 25 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but it adds up!

Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, teachers, members of school leadership teams, and building-level leaders have indicated there is not enough time in the instructional day pointing to the lost instructional time that occurred when we moved to a two tiered bus route. School staff reported a return to the previous school day length in Tift is needed to meet instructional demands, especially in light of new science of reading expectations and the number of students who need additional supportive services.

In addition to increasing instructional time for teachers, the changes will ensure consistency across all grade levels, allowing elementary, middle, and high school teachers to have the same length of the instructional day. The adjusted schedule also reflects best practices by continuing to start elementary schools earlier and secondary schools later, which is supported by research showing that later start times benefit adolescent learning and well-being.

We are communicating this early to ensure our families and community agencies that align their services and schedules to the school system’s calendar and schedule have time to plan and adjust to these changes. 

New Start and End Times for 2025-2026

Why the Change?

Being Responsive to our Employees: Many of Tift’s Teacher-leaders, School Leadership Teams, and School Administrative Teams have advocated for the system to examine the length of the school day and return to a length of day similar to what was in place prior to 2023-2024.  Our teachers are feeling a crunch of time trying to get everything in, particularly at the elementary level with the implementation of the new Science of Reading approach and to ensure students who need additional instructional support receive it.  Time is a resource, just like textbooks; our school system must provide teachers with the resources they need to fulfil their responsibilities and educate our students to their fullest potential.

Increased Instructional Time: The new schedule restores instructional time lost when the two tiered bus approach was implemented.  We know minutes matter when it comes to the amount of instructional time teachers have to teach, and students have to learn across a school year.  This change will provide our students with approximately 25 minutes of additional instructional time daily, which over the course of a school year is 75 additional hours of instruction or the equivalent of nearly two additional weeks of instruction.

Consistency: All Tift County teachers and students will have a comparable length of the school day, ensuring consistent expectations of instructional staff across elementary, middle and high schools.

This change reflects Tift County Schools’ commitment to providing high-quality learning experiences and ensuring that teachers and students have the time and resources needed to succeed.

How did research inform this plan?

Tift will continue to operate with elementary school students starting first and secondary students starting later. This is aligned with research and best practices; specifically research indicates later start times benefit the academic outcomes of secondary students and are better aligned with the biology behind adolescent sleep.

• Research Base:

  • Later School Start Times More Popular, But What Are the Drawbacks? | NEA

  • Early School Start Times | National Association of School Nurses

  • What new research tells us about elementary and middle school start times | Brookings

  • Sleep in Middle and HIgh School Students CDC

  • A’s from Zzzz’s? The Causal Effect of School Start Time on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents | American Economic Journal

  • Later school times promote adolescent well-being

  • Teenagers and Sleep: How Much Sleep Is Enough? | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Tift County Schools are currently in the review process for Cognia Accreditation and are seeking valuable input from families and the community. Cognia is a global, nonprofit improvement organization dedicated to helping schools and educational institutions grow learners, teachers, and leaders. Through a framework of continuous improvement, Cognia provides accreditation, certification, assessment, and improvement services to schools worldwide.

To earn accreditation from the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission, schools must meet rigorous standards focused on productive learning environments, equitable resource allocation, and effective leadership. This process includes both internal and external reviews to evaluate how well the district meets these performance standards. The accreditation must be renewed every 6 years.

As part of this process, Tift County Schools is conducting a Family and Community Survey. Your feedback is essential in helping us improve our schools and provide the best possible experience for our students.

“We value the voices of our families and community members,” said Superintendent Natalie Gore. “Your input will help guide our efforts to enhance student learning and maintain a high standard of excellence.”

The survey is open now, and all responses are confidential. Thank you for partnering with us to make Tift County Schools even better!

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY

At the March 2025 Board meeting, the Board of Education Approved an Amended Budget for FY2025.  The budget amended is the result of increased local revenue due to the recent county-wide reassessment of property values. Specifically, Tift’s amended budget provided an opportunity for an additional investment of 2.5 million dollars into Tift’s infrastructure. In deciding priorities for the amended budget, Tift County Schools solicited input from a variety of stakeholders including district and school leaders, teachers, classified staff, and students at the middle and high school levels.

In all, the district focused spending on one time cost items rather than items with a recurring cost. “The Tift County Schools amended budget includes many items that have reached end of life and are in need of significant repair and/or replacement”, explains Natalie Gore, as well as items that ensures our staff have all the resources and training needed to be as effective as they can in their roles. 

The amended budget included $1,288,000 of spending in the category of classroom instruction to include the following:

• Funding for Summer School for Summer of 2025, which was in the federal budget but was reduced when Tift’s Federal funds were unexpectedly reduced in July of 2024

• Math Core Resources

• Math Intervention Resources for Middle and HIgh Schools

• ELA Core Curriculum Resources and PD for 6-12 ELA teachers

• Professional Services to support the continued development of common summative assessments in Milestones tested grades/courses

• Social/Emotional Learning Curriculum Resources (additional sets of existing resource)

The amended budget included $119,000 of spending in the category of pupil services to include the following:

• Counseling Crisis Kits to support counselors in responding to crisis situations at schools

• Behavior Intervention Kits with activities for schools to use when responding to behaviors

• Professional Development for Tift’s Student Services Staff to support Mental Health and Wellness of students

• Crisis Therapy Training for Counselors and Social Workers

The amended budget included $75,000 of spending in the category of instructional staff training to include the following:

• Science of Reading training for all Reading Intervention Teachers (i.e., LETRS)

The amended budget included $1,018,000 of spending in the category of Maintenance and Operations to include the following:

• New HS Softball Scoreboard

• Intercoms to IP system at TCHS so each classroom phone will be able to call outside of the building

• Extended 2 year warranty of the Jumbotron at Brodie Field and 8th Street Billboard

• New south end scoreboard at Brodie Field

• Replacement of the Curtain Track at the PAC and repair of the curtain that was damaged in recent years

• Interior painting at 4 elementary schools (NS, GOB, JTR, and ABC)

• Enhanced Security via FirstNet Communication Solution

Deputy Superintendents Jennifer Howell and Klinton Guess express, “We appreciate the input of our stakeholders that informed these priorities and led to these additional investments in our staff, resources, and infrastructure, and we look forward to the 2025-2026 school year with these new resources, trainings, and capital projects completed.”