Mitchell

They included:
Brandon A. Mitchell, (EdS ‘09, MEd ’07, BSEd ’04), a physical and environmental science teacher at Winder-Barrow High School in Barrow County;

Pollitz

Shannon Pollitz,  (BSEd ’01, EdS ’00, MEd ’00),  and eighth grade Gifted English Language Arts teacher at Pepperell Middle School in Floyd County; and

Smith

Tanya Smith,   (MS ’06, BSEd ’98) a physical science and gifted/accelerated chemistry teacher in Wayne County High School in Wayne County.

Jemelleh Coes, a special education English language arts and reading teacher from Langston Chapel Middle School in Statesboro, was named the 2014 Georgia Teacher of the Year at the annual Georgia Teacher of the Year banquet held May 3 at the Georgia International Convention Center. As Georgia Teacher of the Year, Ms. Coes will serve as an advocate for public education in Georgia.

“Jemelleh Coes is going to be a wonderful representative of the teaching profession in Georgia,” said State School Superintendent John Barge (EdD ’04). “As the daughter of immigrants from Guyana, Ms. Coes worked hard to become a teacher and make a difference in the life of a child. Now she will have the opportunity to share her story and passion with many others.”

Driven by wanting a career that would help others,  Coes became a teacher at Langston Chapel Middle School after graduating from Georgia Southern University. She has spent her entire career at Langston Chapel and is currently teaching English Language Arts, Resource Language Arts and Remediation English Language Arts.

Cornileus

Tonya Cornileus (PhD ’10, M.Ed. ’04), vice president of learning and organizational development at ESPN, was featured in the March 2013 issue of Chief Learning Officer magazine.

Cornileus is responsible for the global learning, talent management and organizational development strategies for ESPN employees around the world. She also serves as an advisor to senior management at ESPN on all matters pertaining to organizational development.

She earned her doctorate in Adult Education/HR & Organizational Development and her master’s degree  in Human Resources and Organizational Development, both at the University of Georgia.

Cornileus will be doing an interactive video conference at Atlanta’s Organizational Change Alliance on May 18 titled, “Establishing an OD Practice at ESPN.”

Download PDF of CLO article

Upchurch

Chase Street Elementary School gifted education teacher and alumna Elizabeth (Beth) Upchurch has been named a Fountain Award recipient by State School Superintendent John Barge (EdD ’04). Upchurch was surprised with the announcement when Barge was at the school due to its being named a National Blue Ribbon School, reported a story in the April 15 Athens Banner-Herald.

Fountain Awards are given four times per year, and began in fall 2011 when presented to Marty Fountain, a teacher and coach who significantly impacted Superintendent Barge.  Upchurch was nominated for the award by Rachel Kulikoff, Clarke Central High School’s 2011 valedictorian and Clarke County’s STAR Student.

Upchurch received her master’s in education from UGA.

Rome

University of Georgia College of Education graduate Kevin D. Rome has been named the 19th president of Lincoln University in Jefferson, City, Mo.

Rome (MEd ’91), who was chosen after a nine month-long national search process, will begin his term as president on June 1, 2013.

Rome has served as vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management at North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., since 2008.

Rome served as vice president for student services at Morehouse College in Atlanta, from 2005-08; vice president for campus life at Clayton State University in Morrow, from 2004-05; and as assistant vice chancellor for student life and diversity at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana, from 2001-04.

Rome earned his master’s in college student affairs administration from UGA. He earned his bachelor’s from Morehouse College in Atlanta and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Austin.

Lincoln University was founded in 1866 by the men of the 62^nd and 65^th United States Colored infantries and their white officers, for the special benefit of freed African Americans. Today, Lincoln University’s role in the education of Missourians and its service to stakeholders throughout the state, the nation and across the globe is well recognized.

Osborne

University of Georgia College of Education graduate Kimberly Osborne (Ph.D. ’06) will spend the next couple of years working with the United States Department of Defense in Afghanistan.

Osborne began a new position this month as Chief Strategic Communications Advisor, supporting the Afghan Ministry of Defense. She will deploy to Kabul in March 2013 where she will serve as a mentor to a senior minister in the Afghan government.

Osborne received her doctorate in adult education and an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in qualitative research in 2006.

Prior to receiving her doctorate, Osborne worked as a public relations coordinator at UGA Public Affairs for nine years. She also served as assistant to the director in the Institute of Gerontology in the College of Public Health and as a data manager and science specialist in the School of Marine programs in Franklin College at UGA.

Since June 2011, she worked as the head of research communications for the Federal Highway Administration. She is currently living in Arlington, Va.

Erwin

Alumnus Chris Erwin (BSEd ’85), Banks County School Superintendent, has been named State
School Superintendent of the Year, reports a story in the December 4 Athens Banner-Herald.

Erwin, in his 10th year as superintendent, was picked by a committee of past winners of the award, which was announced at last week’s joint annual conference of the Georgia School Boards Association and the Georgia School Superintendents Association.

Erwin earned his bachelors health and physical education at UGA.

Kilgore

Kim Mehaffey Kilgore (BSEd ’79) was honored with the 2012 Dr. Eugene Odum Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia. Kim is the Director of the Arrowhead Environmental Education Center and is the Environmental Education Coordinator for Floyd County Schools in Rome. Kilgore earned her bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from UGA.

Barge

State School Superintendent John Barge (EdD ’04) was elected to The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) 2013-2014 Board of Directors. Elections took place November 17 during the 2012 Annual Policy Forum and Business Meeting in Savannah.

“I am honored to have been elected to serve on such a well-respected board of my counterparts across the country,” said Barge. “We are often told that Georgia is a national leader in education reform, and being selected to serve on this board is a testament to that good work. The initiatives that The Council of Chief State School Officers is engaged in are extremely important for the future of education in our country. One of the most important issues we are working on together is encouraging Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act so it is more flexible for states to develop their own school improvement plans.”

Here’s a quick look at the membership of the board:

CCSSO Board of Directors
President: Mitchell Chester, Commissioner of Education, Massachusetts
President-Elect: Terry Holliday, Commissioner of Education, Kentucky
June Atkinson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina
John Barge, State School Superintendent, Georgia
Tony Bennett, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Indiana*
Michael Flanagan, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan
Jason Glass, Director of Education, Iowa Department of Education
Tom Luna, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Idaho
Pat Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Virginia

*Seat reopens in January 2013 after Bennett completes his term as Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction

Smith

Connie Smith (EdS ’95) was named vice president for adult education at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, reported a story in the November 15 Chattanooga Times-Free Press.

Smith, of Cartersville, joins GNTC from the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) where she served as the regional economic development coordinator for the 13 counties of the Georgia Mountains Region of Northeast Georgia (Region 2) and acted as a liaison for local economic developers by connecting them with resources and programs that were available within the GDOL.

Gray teaching in his Boston, Mass., classroom in 2011

Adam Gray (BSEd ’06), the 2012 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year who earned his bachelor’s in mathematics education from UGA, spoke on many issues relevant to those in a variety of disciplines and across the K-12 grade bands during this special colloquium on November 5 at Aderhold Hall.

During his talk Gray shared anecdotes and strategies that he used to overcome some of the challenges he and his fellow teachers faced daily while working at one of the lowest performing schools in his state. He also shared what he has learned from the unique opportunities afforded him as teacher of the year.

Video of colloquium