District salutes freshmen for improvement
Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, May 13, 2010
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Students' families and teachers turned out to support this year's Ninth-Grade Improvement Award winners. The dinner and celebration were May 11 in Immanuel Baptist Church's fellowship hall.
The Ninth-Grade Improvement Award encourages students who might have had a rough start to high school but have turned the corner and found the path to success.
Each spring, Fayette County Public Schools invites the five high schools to select as many as 20 freshmen apiece for this recognition. The awards dinner and program were May 11 at Immanuel Baptist Church.
“To be at this ceremony tonight means you’re going in the right direction,” Superintendent Stu Silberman told the students. “You’re here tonight because somebody has seen potential in you,” added Becky Sagan, chair of the school board.
(Both spoke via recorded messages because of scheduling conflicts.)
The Ninth-Grade Improvement Award, which the PTA initiated more than 10 years ago, honors determination, effort and resiliency. The recipients didn’t let obstacles keep them from completing their freshman year, and they are expected to display that same heart and courage throughout high school.
Five of this year’s winners were deemed by their schools to be the most improved freshmen overall. Each received an MP3 player, courtesy of Dell Inc.:
Tamera Glover, Bryan Station High School;
Brittany Snowden, Henry Clay High School;
Thomas Condra, Lafayette High School;
Chase Jones, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School;
Kayla Denton, Tates Creek High School.