Last week, the Troup County Board of Education received an update on the school system’s efforts to recruit and retain good teachers for the school system.

According to information released during the meeting, the Troup County School System’s retention rate is on par with the state overall, but compared to other nearby counties, the school system’s figures look less flattering. Human Resources Director Chip Medders said that he hopes to turn those numbers around though and we wish him luck.

This is Medders’ first year over the TCSS human resources department, and we have watched with interest to see what the former principal who taught students, teachers and parents to “believe in THS” would do in his new role.

After listening to him talk about meetings with education majors at local colleges to fill some of the school system’s most crucial vacancies, it seems that he has a plan to meet the first part of the school system’s needs.

We hope to see the second part — retention of some of the school system’s great teachers that are already in the classrooms — addressed with equal thought and passion.

It will take more than one man to create an environment that encourages teachers to stay for years, however.

We hope in future meetings, especially as the school board decides on a new superintendent, to hear more about what is being done to retain these educators that are shaping minds and futures.