Teacher is happy to be among new educators

Shannon Coleman considers herself fortunate to have landed a teaching position in Columbia County.

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Coleman, who recently completed her graduate studies at Auburn University, will be a first-year special needs teacher working with autistic pupils at Riverside Elementary when classes start Aug. 10.

Coleman not only landed a position in her field of expertise, but she also did so in Columbia County, in a year in which school officials have hired fewer than half the typical number of new educators employed in previous years.

"I'm very lucky to have been accepted here," she said. "I'm not taking it for granted. I know how lucky I am."

Coleman wanted to move to the area to live closer to her fiancee. After researching jobs and speaking with friends, she learned about the county's reputation for excellence.

"Everyone said, 'You need to be in Columbia County,' " she said. "It's such a great, well-respected school system."

During the past four years, the school system has hired, on average, about 200 new teachers each year, said Human Resources Director Anthony Wright.

Because of the struggling economy and more teachers postponing retirement, the system hired only about 70 teachers this year. Of those, about 30 are first-year teachers.

Many of the new hires were needed to fill positions created by the opening of Grovetown High School.

In all, 41 teachers were hired to work at the high-school level. Just eight new teachers were needed in the middle schools, with the remaining working at the elementary level.

Among the new hires at Grovetown High School was Athletic Director Todd Booker.

A Columbia County resident, Booker once had taught and coached at Greenbrier High School. He also was an athletic director at Hephzibah High School. Until recently, he was an assistant principal and coach at Burke County High School.

"I'm really looking forward to coming in there (Grovetown High) and creating a new athletic program," said Booker, who also teaches physical education and health. "It's a chance for us to create some new traditions without having to follow in anyone's footsteps."

Though he is once again new to the county this year, Booker said he thinks of it as a homecoming.

"I feel like this is where I was meant to be," he said. "This is what I was meant to do."