Senator Gresham visits HCS  

Senator Delores Gresham, Senator for District 26 including Haywood County, came to Brownsville on Friday, March 2, to visit several local schools. Senator Gresham is Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. To begin her visit, she met with Superintendent of Schools Joey Hassell, Associate Superintendents Yvette Blue and Chris Davis, and Anderson Principal Charles Byrum.

Principal Byrum took the group on a tour of the school and talked with Senator Gresham about the PreK and Kindergarten curricula at the school. The group visited a number of classrooms, watching the teachers and students in action. Senator Gresham shared with the group about State Education Committee actions and that they are working on legislation to benefit the schools.

After Anderson, Superintendent Hassell and the others went to Haywood Elementary School. This visit included discussion with the Principal Anna Roberts, Assistant Principal Edith Williams, and School Counselor Franklin Davenport about literacy and numeracy growth and the Leader in Me. Members of the Leader in Me Student Lighthouse Team were selected by their peers and excitement is in the air. The students in Mrs. Jacklyn Eubanks’ third-grade class sang “There’s a Leader in Me.”

Their final destination was the Haywood High School Career and Technical Division (CTE). Here, Senator Gresham met with Principal Latonya Jackson and CTE Director Pam Diebold. The tour included classroom visits that focused on various areas of career readiness: advanced manufacturing, health sciences, and culinary arts. Principal Jackson and Director Diebold are making plans to offer students multiple opportunities for career exploration and readiness.

“I have one thing to say about my visit …‘Impressive,’” said Senator Gresham. “No doubt there are exciting things happening in Haywood County classrooms! I had reason to see Dale Lynch, Executive Director of the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents, this morning and sang Haywood County Schools praises. I also had a word with Ben Torres, Executive Director of the Tennessee School Boards Association. I spoke highly of the work of the Haywood County School Board.”

“The Tennessee Department of Education has placed a large emphasis on early literacy and postsecondary readiness. Haywood County Schools was pleased to host Senate Education Chair, Dolores Gresham, at AECC, HES, and HHS to observe our continuous improvement in these areas,” Superintendent Hassell said. “We were also able to highlight our work with The Leader in Me. It is an exciting time to be in HCS, and we were glad Senator Gresham was able to spend time with us.”