VBOE Honors Blanks and Fletcher
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The Vidalia Board of Education honored a high school student and a longtime school volunteer during the Board’s regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 13.
Vidalia High School Student Jahvion Blanks was the first honoree during the meeting, as he was presented with the month- ly SPEAR Award by Super – intendent Sandy Reid. She explained that Banks exemplifies the character traits of service, participation, excellence, and achievement, which the award honors.
“He has done so since he walked through the doors as a student at J.R. Trippe Middle School,” she remarked.
Reid continued, "Jah vion is a distinguished member of the Young Gentleman’s Club, a gold star honor roll recipient, an active participant in the school’s choral program, and an esteemed manager of the track team. He courageously embraces what it means to be a Chief, and now, an Indian, and he looks to lead not only in the school system, but also in the community. Jahvion was recognized as the Boys and Girls Club Mem- ber of the Year for Toombs County at the state conference in Atlanta this year.
We are eternally grateful for his dedication and determination to be a light in our school and the community these last few years.
We know he will continue to do incredible things as he moves forward, and it is truly an honor to recognize Jahvion Blanks as the SPEAR Recipient for this month.” Several employees from J.R. Trippe Middle School also attended the recognition and spoke about Blanks’s excellence as a student. “I have the pleasure of speaking about a very important person in my life and the lives of many others. He’s impacted us all with his kindness, respect, and work ethic. If you were a staff member at J.R. Trippe Middle School for the last three years, you didn’t need to know his name to know who he was.
You could overhear conver sations with colleagues that talked about ‘the tall kid that’s skinny and so polite and always smiling.' Yes, that’s Jahvion,” Assistant Principal Lee McLeod told the attendees with a laugh.
“It is truly impossible for one person to articulate the impact he had at our school.”
Coach RheG Carter added to these remarks, explaining that Blanks had first approached him about joining the Young Gentleman’s Club when in his class in 6th grade, but Carter told the student he would have to speak with the Club’s leadership, as it required an invitation to join. “Before two days were up, he had already memorized the entire pledge on his own before any of our other members who had been in the club for almost a month,” Carter explained.
The coach shared that Blanks not only joined the club, but was the group’s Distinguished Gentleman of the Year for two years. “He has unbelievable character, is not afraid of hard work, and always has a smile. He’s going to give the best effort every time he goes to do something.
I’m proud of you, buddy,” Carter told Blanks.
J.R. Trippe Middle School Assistant Principal McLeod also read several messages from teachers, including: "Jahvion is the kind of student that makes being a teacher really fun. He carries such joy and enthusiasm for life and learning that it’s hard not to catch just a little bit of his good spirit.”
"Jahvion Banks has been a light that shines bright in every way imaginable. His work ethic, positive attitude, and desire to please others are all characteristics he possesses, and he makes sure to leave a lasting impression everywhere that he goes. He is worthy of all recognition and even more.”
"Jahvion is one of the hardest-working students that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His dedication to studies is unparalleled. He consistently goes above and beyond to master his coursework and meet expectations. Beyond his academic achievements, Jahvion takes great pride in embodying the values and traditions of being a Vidalia Indian, and he represents our institutions with integrity and enthusiasm.”
McLeod concluded, “Jahvion, I could have gone to every teacher in the building and they would have something nice to say about you. If anyone has the joy of being a parent, it's quite all right for them to want their child to dem- onstrate the qualities you possess in whatever they choose to do in their lives.”
The student was presented with a certificate and applauded by the Board for his excellence of character.
In addition to recognizing Blanks, the Board also honored volunteer Joe Fletcher for the time and help which he has given to the district by presenting him with the Indian Star Award, which has been given to individuals who work to help make all schools within the district better.
“Mr. Joe Fletcher is a community member who is an invaluable part of our school community.
Through his unwavering dedication and kindness, he embodies the true spirit of service, consistently going above and beyond to support our students, teachers, and staff in mul- tiple ways," Reid em phasized. “There is not a school or person within Vidalia City Schools that has not been impacted by Mr.
Joe at some point, whether they know it or not.”
J.R. Trippe Middle School Principal Eric Mc-Donald also commented on Fletcher’s service, explaining that Fletcher led a team of individuals to paint the district’s middle and high school football fields throughout the season. “There’s no telling how much he has donated over the years in cooking hamburgers, hot dogs, and even steaks back in the day, for multiple sports teams, student groups, teachers, and more. He even still brings water to teachers on [car line] duty in the summer heat,” he remarked.
McDonald continued, “He is the epitome of selflessness and servitude. Mr.
Joe has served this school for many years, way before my time, but I know that the nine years that I have been here, I have been strongly affected by this man. Thank you, Mr. Joe.”
Fletcher thanked the Board for the kind words, and shared that he is proud to be able to continue to serving the Vidalia City School System.
During the business portion of the meeting, the Board completed the first reading of several policy revisions and creations, which will be available for public review online at the Board’s website or by re- quest by calling the Board. These first readings included: VBOE Policy CEI: Superintendent Evaluation – aligns the district’s superintendent evaluation with the outlined district goals and improvement plan VBOE Policy GARH: Employee Leaves and Absences (Revision) – increases paid parental leave from 120 hours per year to 240 hours per year VBOE Policy JCEB: Student Hearing Proce- dure (Revision) limits student hearing extensions to less than 15 days after the beginning of the student’s suspension unless a parent has submitted a written re- quest to the school system and states that the school will provide school-appropriate work for the student while the student waits for the scheduled hearing VBOE Policy JK: Solicitations – limits fundraising opportunities to the control of the school and district, and states that the Donors Choose online crowdfunding (placement of needs online in order to secure donations to meet those needs) website will be allowed VBOE Policy DFK: Gi:s and Regulations — deletes the former guidelines for gifts; states that all donations to further operating or upkeep costs for the district must be approved by the Board of Education; allows each school principal to accept or deny gifts or donations made to individual schools from any source, including booster clubs; requires all monetary donations made through crowdfunding to come to school in the form of a check addressed to the school rather than an in- dividual person; requires all online fundraising to be approved by the Board; requires a le to be main tained for online fundraisers The Board also approved a $42,274 budget for the school’s Career, Technological, and Agricultural Education program.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the school system and Gardens of Hope Re covery Community Orga- nization (RCO) for peer support specialists to work with high school students.
These specialists will meet with select students for two hours per week, and in a group setting for two hours per month. These meetings will be under the principal’s stewardship.
The Board also approved creating a committee to review the option of hiring a private security agency to provide officers for the schools until more school resource officers are available. Superintendent Reid stated that she has been in discussion with the Vidalia Police Department regarding more officers for the school, but so far, only a single officer had been secured. She clarified that the creation of this committee does not mean that a private security company would be contracted, but merely that the option would be explored for temporary usage until more school resource officers are available.
INDIAN STAR AWARD – Longtime Volunteer Joe Fletcher (right) was thanked for his service to the school system, as Superintendent Sandy Reid (left) presented him with the monthly Indian Star Award on August 13.Photo by Makaylee Randolph
