Brooks Named District Teacher Of The Year, Nine-Year-Old Reportedly Choked By Fellow Student

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The Sept. 23 meeting of the Dade County Board of Education was relatively light on business matters, focusing instead on Teachers of the Year and a speech from a student’s mother during Public Input.

Josh Ingle (superintendent) gave several quick updates, noting that Georgia Reads Day (Monday, Sept. 30) would feature a livestream reading rally with Malcolm Mitchell, reading coach with Georgia Reads.

Mitchell, known for his football success with the University of Georgia Bulldogs and the New England Patriots, had to work hard to improve his reading in college. Now, he loves reading, has published a couple of children’s books, and encourages students to read.

Ingle also showed photos from recent safety drills with local law enforcement. Per state law, safety drills must be completed each year at all schools before Oct. 1. Ingle noted that law enforcement will also practice active threat situations in January before students return for the spring semester. The schools continue to use the Centegix badge and Sielox lockdown technology.

The school system announced the 2024 Teachers of the Year back in the spring, but at this meeting, Ingle presented each with a $1,500 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) voucher to use for their classrooms, departments, or grades. The teachers are:

• Davis Elementary School: Grace Brown (special education teacher)
• Dade Elementary School: Janet Brooks (first grade teacher)
• Dade Middle School: David Lyons (seventh grade English language arts teacher, girls basketball coach)
• Dade County High School: Dr. Sandra Spivey (mathematics teacher)

Charity Barton (Davis principal) noted that the Davis staff described Brown as compassionate, dedicated, understanding, and patient. Barton said Brown greets students in Breakfast Bunch each morning, goes from classroom to classroom supporting teachers and students throughout the day, works with aftercare, tutors at the library through Time with Teacher, and works with the summertime extended school year.

Of Brooks’ 23-year career as a first grade teacher, Melissa Valtierra (DES principal) noted that Brooks originally never imagined becoming a teacher. Valtierra said, “She is the most patient person…To watch her in action is amazing. Her husband shared with me that she prays every single morning to help touch these children.”

Michelle Beeler (DMS principal) said Lyons is very present and attends many extracurricular activities to support students. “I asked a few kids what they thought makes him special. Here’s what they had to say: ‘He’s funny, he makes class fun, he allows us breaks when we need them, he can be nice but he’s stern when he has to be, he’s very laid back, and he’s calm about everything.’”

Of Spivey, Brent Cooper (DCHS principal) said, “The integrity that she has, her attention to detail, the organization, it really is inspiring…During the transition from one class to the next, she’s out in the hallway greeting every single kid with love and a smile.”

Then, Ingle announced Brooks as the District Teacher of the Year. As Dade’s representative, she will advance in the Georgia Teacher of the Year program.

During Public Input, Pamela Burr addressed the board about a physical attack against her son by another student. The incident occurred on a bus ride home in the second week of September, and Burr feels that it was not adequately handled by the school.

She said, “This was not a case of bullying where we could have predicted or prevented the event. This is the case of a boy doing things to my son that were likely done to him in his home. My son and this child were friends, and this older child thought that they were playing, but they were not playing. My son was not a willing participant.”

She explained that John Smith (director of transportation) reviewed the video footage from the bus and gave a recommendation to the school (Burr did not say which of the elementary schools) for disciplinary action. However, according to Burr, the school did not review the video and did not appropriately discipline the child.

Burr noted that she is not allowed to see the video due to privacy concerns, but she has been told the incident was over three minutes long and is “disturbing. She said her son came home silent that day and curled up in the fetal position on his bed. “He was only able to give me a brief description of being choked. He didn’t have the words to describe what happened to him…I still don’t know what happened on the bus that day. I do know my son has changed.”

Her appeal is that each member of the school board, all school administrators, all bus drivers, and all school counselors watch the video. “This is a teachable moment, an opportunity to effect change for the betterment of our community. I’m asking for policy changes to make sure that what happened to my son doesn’t happen to another child.”

The board did not discuss the topic further at the meeting. The Sentinel briefly touched base with Burr after the meeting. She said that she asked the school what actions had been taken but the school could not release that information. However, according to Burr, the only action taken was moving the student to a different seat on the bus.

The Sentinel also followed up with Ingle who said that the school principal had watched the video footage. He noted that when situations are reported, the administration investigates, follows discipline protocols, and communicates with the parents.

During the Monthly Financials, Loran Grasham (business services director) noted that the main difference from FY24 to FY25’s grant allocations is the end of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund program. Also, decrease in Title I, II, and IV allocations (see the July 31 issue of the Sentinel) impact the nearly $1.8 million decrease from FY24 grant allocations.

Due to finding, applying for, and receiving other grants, the school system recouped about $200,000 of the deficit and will continue hunting down additional grant funding.

The board then approved the BOE Annual Training Plan, replacement of a set of double doors at Dade Middle School, and replacement of 50 desks for a Dade County High School math classroom.

The personnel report is as follows:

• Resignations: Brittany Koger, Misty Stone
• Hire: Janet Greene
• Substitute Teachers: Summer Wallin, Molly Trantham, Theresa Nichols, Penney Nelson, Moira Kaitlin Green, Macy Franks, Susan Wood, Hayle Townley, Alvis Negron, Shana Ledger