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On Thursday, the Troup County School Board recognized four staff members of the school system for their achievements.

Among the staff members recognized were Melanie Bastien, Tiffany Gibson, Jamie Bozeman and Dr. Jennifer Pike.

Bastien was recognized for her anticipated contributions to the Troup County school system as the new principal of Callaway Elementary.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity. I am excited to be joining the Troup County school system. Dr. Ellison and I have been at the school and boy it’s boots on the ground!” Bastien said. “We’re meeting with our leadership team tomorrow. I’m really excited for this opportunity and I’m ready to get in and get to work.”

Gibson, a counselor at The HOPE Academy, was recognized for recent selection as the Region 4 Liaison or the Georgia School Counselor Association. Earlier in June, Gibson attended the GSCA Leadership Development Institute to receive training for the liaison position. She will now be responsible for working with all the counselors in Region 4 to identify concerns and needs of students and parents in the community.

Bozeman, the newly appointed LaGrange High School principal, was recognized for his accomplishments as the former assistant principal. According to the board, under Bozeman’s leadership LHS is anticipating new programs for students.

“It’s been an awesome opportunity to get to know our leadership team, our teachers and some of our community members in a different capacity. I’ve spent 22 years in the Troup County School System, where I’ve been a classroom teacher and assistant principal,” Bozeman said. “We had a meet and greet last night at our school and it was a phenomenal turnout. We’re super excited about the upcoming school year.”

Earlier in June, Pike was named the new principal of THINC College and Career Academy. As of June 20, Pike successfully defended and completed her dissertation from Liberty University. Her dissertation for her doctorate was, “Recommendations for Solving the Problem of Poor Soft Skills for Students at THINC College and Career Academy.”

Superintendent Brian Shumate closed out the staff recognitions with a few words.

“COVID-19 obviously threw us off in many ways. We were able to have school but we weren’t doing as good as we wanted to do,” Shumate said. “We’ve got to make sure that our focus is on student achievement and great instructional programs. I think we’re heading the right direction. We got a lot of great new and young leaders to help lead the charge, and we’re very glad to have you all.”