“I expect excellence in of the schools,” said Vickie Morris, Thomasville City School Superintendent. “I expect that out of all areas.”
Morris spoke Aug. 3 at the employee “Institute” program for the Thomasville City Schools District in the Thomasville Civic Center.
“…In the classroom, in our academic areas, I expect excellence from the teachers and the students,” she said. “On the field, on the court, all athletics, I expect excellence, from the coaches and the athletes. Participation in clubs, band, drama, anything that students choose to do, I expect excellence.
“…When they’re on campus, I expect excellence. When they are off campus, you’re still representing Thomasville. …Any time or any place…you are representing our school system. All administrators, staff and teachers, coaches, students and parents, I expect excellence.”
Morris recognized the first-time teachers in the faculty for the 2022-2023 school year. “We are going to make a promise, because teachers are hard to find, we are a dying art. We want to revive that – so we are going to promise that we are going to help you.
“It’s my 34th year,” the superintendent said. “I’m not finished yet.” She recognized the teachers in the school district, who had 25-plus years in education.
“Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence. …Excellence is when we do ordinary things extraordinarily well.
“…Perfection is not obtainable,” she said, “…but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence. Just like, if we shoot for the moon, we can get some stars.
“…Average will not be our legacy at Thomasville City Schools.” The goal of the school system is to earn an A grade on the state report card.
Morris asked the teachers and coaches to challenge students. “Coach me, and I will learn,” she said. “Challenge me, and I will grow. Believe in me, and I will win. …Tell us we can’t do something, and we will grow. We will meet the challenge. If we believe in one another, we will win. We will have an A (on that state report card). We will be the best of the best.
“Remember, ‘Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger!” Morris asked employees to “check their attitude. …We are all on the same team. We are a school system – not a system of schools. …We are all in in this together. We help each other. We build each other up. …We’re not working against each other.
“At the end of the day, it is not about any of us anyway,” the superintendent said. “…It’s about what’s best for students. …In the end, if we didn’t have students, none of us would be here.”