Who Has the Right to Be Honored?
A parent of a member of the Vidalia High School Class of 2022 addressed the Vidalia City Schools Board of Education during the regular monthly meeting on June 14 about graduates’ right to wear the regalia, which they earned, at graduation. According to Cynthia Green, her daughter was denied her diploma on graduation night after choosing to wear her Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) sash when receiving her diploma cover during the ceremony. “I stand before you this evening, not only as a proud parent of a 2022 Vidalia High School graduate, but also as a recent graduate myself from Liberty University,” Green told the Board. “As you will notice, I am wearing the sash and cords that I was permitted to wear at my own graduation because I earned the right to wear them at no extra cost.” She continued, “I happened to share my graduation with many individuals earning their Master’s Degrees, and even some earning their PHD’s. You know how many of them had an issue with me not only wearing my regalia, but sharing the stage with someone not as academically superior as themselves? Not a single one. If 1,900 adults can agree to allow graduates to wear what they earn, why can’t the same be awarded to high school students?”
According to Green, her daughter was told prior to the graduation ceremony that she was not permitted to wear the JROTC sash, which she earned, because it was not academic. “As a JROTC parent for the last 9 years, I can assure you that anyone who thinks JROTC is not academic has never spent time in a JROTC classroom. In case no one knows, JROTC is much more than physical training and marching,” she remarked.
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not wear what she earned, my daughter took a stand against an unfair rule, which I supported. She wore the sash when she went to get her diploma cover, and she removed it once she returned to her seat. How many people were hurt by the fact that my daughter wore her sash for two whole minutes on graduation night? Not a single person,” she said. “And no one in future classes will be hurt by allowing students to wear all the regalia they earned without making them pay to keep it.”
Green stated she had learned that honor graduates were required to pay to wear their regalia – a concept which she says is completely unfair. The family went to the school the day following graduation to retrieve the diploma, which the administration threatened to withhold again because of a poster which the student’s sister had made in support of her sibling, according to Green. She shared her experience and discussed the matter with the high school principal. “When discussing the situation with the leader of the school, we were told that Honor’s Night was to honor all students receiving awards, and that Graduation was to recognize honor graduates,” she told the Board. “I attended Honor’s Night, as my daughter received two awards. Guess who else was honored on Honor’s Night? The honor graduates. So if Honor Graduates can be recognized at both Honor’s Night and Graduation, why can’t all students have the honor of wearing the sashes and cords they earned as well?” “Some rules are meant to be broken so that change can occur,” Green emphasized to the Board. “In closing, I ask the board to reconsider their decision and let every student wear what they earned. Every student should have the right to wear all sashes, cords, pins, and medals that they earned when they graduate, and no student should have to pay to keep what they earned.” She also told the Board that if certain classes would not be considered academic, they should not be offered by the school; however, Green said that she felt these classes were important to education, because they prepared the students for life. Per Board Policy, board members did not respond directly to Green’s comments, but will send a letter addressing her concerns privately.
L4GA Update
Assistant Superintendent Ginger Morris informed the Board of Education that the school system had created a partnership with the local Memorial Health Meadows Hospital to provide children, ages 0-5, with literacy supplies.
“We hope that this partnership will really help with our L4GA (Literacy For Georgia) campaign, and will help to give these students a boost in literacy,” she said.
Other Business
The Board tackled several housekeeping items, such as the approval of the FY’23 budget and update to school system policies, as recommended by the State Board of Education. These items may be reviewed online.
Board members authorized the purchase of six new interactive panels for the recently constructed classrooms at J.R. Trippe Middle School. These panels will be purchased for $24,780, and will be funded through the Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) fund.
A 2007 Thomasville 33-Passenger School Bus was declared as surplus to enable the school system to sell the vehicle. Superintendent Garrett Wilcox says this disposal is necessary, as the bus’s value is less than the cost of repairs.
The following personnel resignations were accepted: Savannah Jackson – J.R. Trippe Middle School Teacher, Cynthia Nielsen – Sally D. Meadows Elementary School Special Education Paraprofessional, Fredrick Fondren – Bus Driver, Ann Curtis – ESOL Teacher (49%), Tristin Oliver – Sally D. Meadows Elementary School Teacher, Charlene Darley – Vidalia High School School Nutrition Assistant, and Wanda Sharpe – Bus Driver.
The following hires were approved: Lori Mc-Callum – Sally D. Meadpws Elementary School Special Education Paraprofessional, Alejandra Gonzalez – Sally D. Meadows Elementary School Special Education Paraprofessional, Emmaline Banks – J.D. Dickerson Pre-K Paraprofessional, Caroline Coursey – J.D. Dickerson Pre-K Teacher, and Benji Taylor – Vidalia High School Science Teacher.
