Dear Editor,

One of the most exciting moments of the year for an educator is the beginning of a new school year. The 2009-2010 academic year is within reach, and we are ready. The School of Discovery Genesis Center will open its doors for students on Monday, August 10, 2009. The school’s primary goal for this year is to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on state mandated student assessments.

Many of school’s education professors have attended summer workshops/conferences to improve their knowledge and skills.

They do it every year! The Selma City Board of Education has assigned an outstanding group of educators and support personnel to guide instruction and to provide support services to pupils at the School of Discovery. The faculty and staff members for the 2009-2010 school year are Andrea Jean Gilmore Curtis, Rebecca Nichols, Barbara Jean Robinson, Demisha Stough, Lisa Baker, Ann S. Thomas, James Allen Bearden, Joy Hobson, Ivery Williams, Cynthia Perkins, Phyllis Parks, Beth Watters, Jacqueline Walker, Becky Blaylock, Brenda Jefferson, Erika Smitherman, Lillie Gray Watkins Terry, Kimberly Stewart, John Henry Hunter, Mary Helen Jackson (Jackie) Stokes, Cynthia Burnett, Geneva Moore, Paris Solomon, Stella Pettway, Wanda Harris-Martin, Jacqueline Lucy, Chandra Toney, Quenisha Jackson, Wanda Young-Lowe, and Tihonia Hinton.

We anticipate a good start and highly productive school year.

Gerald Shirley

Principal

School of Discovery

Selma, Alabama