Dawson County added several new certified teaching personnel to its staff for the 2015-16 school year.
There are roughly 40 new certified personnel in Dawson County, Lisa Perry said. We are thrilled to have them.
The new hires gathered for orientation Friday and received gift bags from local businesses including Northside Hospital.
Frank Nott, a new special education teacher at the high school has been an educator for 23 years.
Im really excited to be teaching closer to home, Nott said. Its an honor to be here. Dawson County has the nicest people in the world.
Todd Henry, DCHS assistant principal joins Nott as a new DCHS Tiger and the two have been friends for quite a while. Henry worked in Gainesville, Ga. and is looking forward to working with the high school faculty and staff.
Im delighted to be here, he said. Mr. Crumley and Dr. Gibbs are great folks.
Henry has been in education for 25 years, he said.
Also joining the high school staff is Andy LeBlanc, whose seventeen years of teaching experience is heavily based in nearby Forsyth County. LeBlanc will teach social studies and be a part of the Tiger football coaching staff.
Im excited to teach and be a part of the Dawson County teaching community, the seven-year-county resident said.
Lori McPherson, another county resident will join the staff of Dawson County Middle School. McPherson, like LeBlanc and several others look forward to working within their hometown.
Kimberly DeRose, another DCMS new-hire returns to the classroom after being the Title I Parent Engagement Coordinator at Little Mill Middle School in Forsyth County for five years.
I wanted to come back to the classroom so I could have a direct impact on students, DeRose said. Knowing what I know about involving parents helped me to understand how important it is to incorporate the whole world of the child as part of a childs success going forward.
Not all new hires were veteran educators. This will be the first time teaching experience for Lindsey Ray, an alumna of the University of North Georgia who will teach fourth grade at Kilough Elementary.
Im very, very excited, she said. I did my student teaching there and fell in love with it. Its an amazing school. I cant say enough great things about it.
Dawson County Superintendent, Dr. Damon Gibbs, shares the enthusiasm of the new faculty members.
We are very excited to have a great group of new employees this year in Dawson County, he said. The group has a variety of experience levels and backgrounds but they all have one thing in common ... a desire to educate the children of Dawson County.
A certified teacher in the state of Georgia has met certain requirements including a college degree, experience, passing a criminal background check and received an appropriate score on the GACE Basic Skills Test, according to Georgia Department of Education website.