The Thomasville City Schools District has received a $400,000.00 Alabama School Connections Grant.
Nicole Knight, director of Federal Programs for the school district, spoke July 11 to the monthly meeting of the Thomasville City Board of Education in the Thomasville High School Library.
The purpose of the grant is “to create relationships and a bridge between our community, our families, our schools, our administrators and our teachers,” she said. “We are all working together…for the purpose of helping our students be as safe as they can.”
The grant will provide funding for the next three years, she said, and will pay for the position of a Safety and Family/Community Outreach Coordinator for the school district.
Adam Elliott, who has recently served as a teacher and coach at THS, was chosen for the new position. “He will be working with our parents in training sessions to explain to them preventative and safety measures they can take in their homes,” Knight said. Elliott will help make parents aware of the dangers such as child trafficking and suicide - “anything that puts our students at risk.”
He will inform parents of the numerous community resources that are already available, and Elliott will also train students, teachers, administrators and school staff.
“We’ve got to get our community back to the place where we are all looking out for each other’s children,” she said.
Elliott will also be in charge of implementing the school system’s safety plans “and securing our campuses at all times.”
The grant will also fund an additional School Resource Officer. The school system plans to have an SRO at each of the three Thomasville campuses, Knight said.
In other action from the July 11 school board meeting, Anjelica Gibson, Chief School Financial Officer, gave the financial report for June 2023. The payroll totaled $930,967.41, and accounts payable totaled $319,547.13.
• The board approved the 2023-24 Parent/Student Handbook.
• The board approved membership in the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) for the 2023-24 school year ($3,774.27).
• Admission passes for school events were approved for various groups/organizations for the 2023-24 school year.
• There will be a special called board meeting at 5 p.m. on July 26 in the THS library.