Congratulations to the faculty and staff of David Crockett Elementary School on being named a National Title I Distinguished School!  Representatives from the school will be attending a ceremony in Seattle in January to receive this prestigious award. 

Lawrence County Schools Honor Veterans at Individual Schools

The Lawrence County School System is honoring our local Veterans at individual schools this year in hopes of giving every child an opportunity to show his or her respect for those that are serving or have served as well as learn about the importance of such a day.  Each school is sponsoring a program that includes an open invitation to families to attend.

During the spring of 2011 the Lawrence County Board of Education requested for the Calendar Committee to review the calendar for 2011-2012 in an attempt to move the starting of school to a later date in August basically due to high utility costs and extreme heat during this timeframe.  The Committee returned to the Board with a recommended calendar that combined Parent-Teacher Conferences with a school day, took some days from Christmas Vacation, and had students in school on Veterans Day.  The School Board approved the calendar as recommended.

The rationale for this decision is three-fold:

1-     1)  By requiring all schools in Lawrence County to have programs honoring Veterans on Veterans Day, we are assured that all Lawrence County school children will be taught about Veterans Day and the sacrifices our honored veterans have made for our nation.  If school is not in session there is no assurance this actually occurs.

2-      2) After discussions with surrounding counties it was discovered that most counties did attend school on Veterans Day.  Therefore this decision was not out of the norm.  Other school system calendars can be viewed online to verify that these other systems are attending school on Veterans Day.

3-     3) In an attempt to save taxpayer dollars for Lawrence County citizens the Board decided to move the start of school to a later date in August.  Going to school on Veterans Day allowed school to begin one additional day later.

Director of Schools Dr. Bill Heath commented, ”The Lawrence County Board of Education, school system employees, and I want all our veterans to know that we honor and respect them and the service they have provided to our nation.  The decision to be in school on Veterans Day was in no way intended to offend or disrespect anyone.  In fact, the decision was recommended and voted on with the intent to give schools a chance to publicly honor our veterans with all students present.”