Lakeside principal chosen

The Columbia County school board hired a new principal for Lakeside High School on Tuesday.

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Steve Rhodes, the principal of Thomson-McDuffie Junior High School, was among eight finalists for the job.

"It's just a tremendous opportunity to be going to such a school," Rhodes said.

Rhodes previously served as principal of Norris Elementary School in Thomson. He was selected in 2008 by Gov. Sonny Perdue as a Georgia High Performance Principal.

He will replace Jeff Carney, who will replace the retiring Lauren Williams as an assistant superintendent.

The 2010 valedictorians and salutatorians were recognized by the school board during the Tuesday meeting.

Valedictorians are Steven Francis Hubbard of Evans High, Jordan Marie Welch of Greenbrier High, Trinity Bass of Grovetown High, Amber Colquitt of Harlem High and Corley Rachelle Price of Lakeside High.

Salutatorians are Troy Griffith of Evans High, Emily Anne Herndon of Greenbrier High, Bianca LaTia Stewart of Grovetown High, Zidisha Malkia Dambuza of Harlem High and Pramodh Kesavan Ganapathy of Lakeside High.

Also during the meeting, school officials released the results of the Criterion-Reference Competency Test, showing more students passing the exam than did last school year.

About 30 fewer third-graders failed the reading portion of the test this year than did in 2009.

Fewer fifth-graders failed the test in both reading and math. Last year, 125 fifth-graders failed reading and 205 failed math.

Eighth-graders also performed better, with just 43 failing reading and 306 failing math.

"We asked our teachers to roll up their sleeves and really focus on reading this year," said Michele Sherman, the school system's director of elementary learning. "It paid off."

Administered in April, the CRCT primarily tests pupils' reading and math skills. It is used to determine a school's adequate yearly progress as set by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. Third-graders must pass reading, and fifth- and eighth-graders must pass reading and math to advance to the next grade.

Pupils who failed may retake the test following summer CRCT remediation courses.

Evans High School: 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Grovetown Middle School: 4 p.m. Thursday.

Grovetown High School: May 24.