Local resident Sherie Petty announced her candidacy for Coffee County School Board. Her announcement follows as summited   

Dear Coffee County, Districts 1, 3, & 4,

I’m Sherie Petty, and I’m a current candidate for the Coffee County School Board.  The last 30 years of my life have revolved around education.  I hold a Master’s Degree in education and I just recently completed a year and a half study to become Level 1 certified as a Wilson Reading System Instructor.  This training is specifically for working with children and adults struggling with dyslexia. 

I am a teacher and although most of my experience has been in public schools, I have worked in private school settings as well.  I was a Title-I public school teacher for seven years.  During that time, I oversaw an annual budget of $250,000+, implemented parent involvement initiatives for a school of 800, as well as taught a full daily schedule.  Since the population was 60% Hispanic in that area, I often hired an interpreter to help with parent involvement and searched for ways to reach out to minority populations.

My husband is a minister and we have been pastoring at the Manchester Church of God for nearly 17 years.  We have four children.  Through the years, I have volunteered at different schools throughout the county while my children were attending the schools.  I also have worked as an interim substitute teacher for the county.  Currently, our youngest child is a sixth grader at Coffee County Middle School where he’s involved in several sports. 

Over the years, we have had the experience as parents to struggle with a child who was dealing with a life-threatening illness as well as a child with a learning disability.  We know how these different situations affect their education and what it means to advocate for them as parents. 

As a parent, teacher and leader, I have experienced firsthand the challenges and joys that come with every aspect of these positions.  I believe that perseverance is what leads to victory.  I believe all these qualifications have  equipped me for the position of Coffee County School Board. 

If I am elected, the following are the specific issues I will be advocating for:

• PARENT COLLABORATION:   I want to be a part of creating stronger partnerships between teachers and parents by making the school board more accessible.  I want parents to feel HEARD at the school board meetings.

• HIGH EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS:  I want to ensure excellence and integrity in the education put forth by Coffee County. We need to look at peer schools that are preforming at a higher levels and look for ways to improve our schools overall performances. 

• BUDGET STEWARDSHIP:  I will collaborate with all stakeholders to see conservative financial stewardship of our school system’s budget.  

• SAFETY:  Currently the county is doing a good job with school safety, but I would love to see an additional SRO be assigned to the middle school.  I would like to work with the board to combat school bullying and implement programs such as Dads In School program, which is a parent involvement program to help with bullying issues. 

Residents of Districts 1, 3, and 4 – I humbly ask for your support. Let’s work together to bring positive change to our local education system because, together, we make a difference. 

                                                                                    Thank you,