Thomas County Central High School

Thomas County Central High School is a high school in Thomasville, Georgia. It is the home to the Yellow Jackets, the 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997 AAA state champion football team.

Thomas County Central High School
File:Jacket2.png
Address
4686 US Hwy 84 Bypass Georgia South Georgia Thomasville , Thomas , Georgia 31792 United States
Information
Established	1958
Status	open
School board	Thomas County
Superintendent	Dr. Jean Quigg
Principal	Mr. Joseph D. Sharp
Staff	25
Faculty	95
Grades	9-12
Athletics conference	GHSA
Newspaper	"The Swarm"
Website	http://www.thomas.k12.ga.us/Content/Default/37/55

Administrators

Currently TCCHS is staffed by a number of administrators. The principal for 08-09 is Mr. Joe Sharp, a replacement for the retiring longtime principal of TCCHS, Mr. Frank Delaney, Jr. . He will be assisted by the following assistant principals: Mr. Lee Bailey, Mr. Ken Harper, Ms. Trista Jones, Dr. Elaine Reichert and Dr. Veronica Glee.

Departments

TCCHS is made up of numerous departments, including: Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and the Tech/Career Prep area. Tech/Career Prep includes many different areas, such as: Agriculture, Broadcasting, Health Occupations, and Business (Computers).

The mathematics department offers numerous courses including Algebra I & II, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, and Basic Math. The math department is made up of the following people: Ms. Constance Hudson (Chair), Ms. Beverly Benton, Mr. Ross Brooks, Mr. Bily Esra, Mr. Wandell Hargraves, Mr. Matt Morgan, Mr. Tezz Niemeyer, Ms. Louise Phillips, Mr. Bill Shaver, Ms. Rachel Stewart, Ms. Chrissy Taylor, and Ms. Amanda Woodell.

The science department for TCCHS consists of numerous teachers which specialize in courses such as Biology, Earth Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, and many more. The chair for 2008-2009 is Ms. Michelle McCorkle who oversees the following teachers: Mr. Jonathan Ariail, Ms. Michelle Baugh, Ms. Meagan Bradshaw, Ms. Valerie Davis, Mr. Richard Faucett, Ms. Andrea Gonzalez, Mr. Allen Harden, Ms. Jamie Judson, Ms. Stacy Mims, Ms. Tammy Simmons, and Mr. Scott Sweeting.

The language arts department consists of: Ms. Laura Parkerson (Chair), Ms. Elizabeth Briones, Ms. Kimsey Hodge, Ms. Carrie Lasseter, Ms. Stacey Mitchell, Ms. Renae Moore, Mr. Ray Powell, Ms. Erin Rehberg, Ms. Alacia Reynolds, Ms. Nancy Rogers, Ms. Pam Simpson, Ms. Christina Smith, Ms. Kristi Sparkman, and Ms. CeCe Wager.

The social studies department teaches all history classes. The department is chaired by Ms. Leigh Barwick. The other teachers in the department are: Mr. Johnathon Carroll, Ms. Teresa Carver, Ms. Laurel Desaulniers, Mr. Joseph Dollar, Mr. Al Hicks, Ms. Christine Patton, Mr. Samuel Pickett, Ms. Amy Ponder, Mr. Johnathon Tarin, Mr. Matt Weaver, and Mr. Chris Wilson.

The agricultural department is very large, consisting of three teachers: Mr. Donald Dalton, Mr. Jerry Stone, and Ms. Robbie Harrison. The department has access to two John Deere Tractors, one John Deere "Gator", three "mobile classrooms"(trailors), and numerous implements. Some of the current courses offered in the agricultural department include: Ag Mech Tech I, Ag Mech Tech II, Ag Crop Production and Management, Forestry, and many more.

The business department is mainly made up of computer classes housed in computer labs throughout the school. The teachers in the business department include: Mr. Nick Haskin, Ms. Martha Winter, Mr. Will Lewis, Ms. Beth Adams, and Ms. Rhonda Parrish (Ms. Parrish teaches accounting, which is not considered a "computer course").

The health occupation department is taught by Mrs. Brittaney Mills. Her classes involve the training of students who have an interest in the medical field. She also helps run the CNA-Certified Nursing Assistants program. These students will learn to be nurses in the future.

The construction department at TCCHS teaches all construction related courses. Mr. Chuck Mitchell is the teacher for the construction department.

The broadcasting and video production department is headed up by Mr. Randy Young, and is generally considered to be one of the top programs of its type in the state of Georgia. Over 160 students daily learn how to produce television programs, as well as dozens of other experience based outlets, including operation of the 13x9 foot instant replay screen at the Jackets Nest stadium, being a part of the daily "News 4 You" program, or being a part of the hour long "Yellow Jacket Tailgate Show" on the radio in the fall before broadcasts of TCCHS football. Mr. Young is known as "The Voice of the Yellow Jackets," and has called Central football games since 1986. He is also a weekly columnist with the Thomasville-Times Enterprise newspaper, and is often mentioned in the "rant and rave" section of the paper as well.

Family & consumer sciences continues to expand at TCCHS. Ms. Gale Stewart is Chair of the Career & Technology department along with her duties as a teacher. Ms. Katie Eidson and Ms. Amy Smith round out the Family & Consumer sciences department. In this department, classes such as home economics, interior design, and early childhood education dominate the curriculum.

The fine arts department at TCCHS contains all band, music, drama, and art classes. Teachers include Mr. Michial Mayhall (chair), Mr. Michael Davis, Ms. Katherine Chenez, Mr. Joshua Mimbs, and Ms. Jocelyn Rivard.

The physical education department handles all athletic and health classes at TCCHS. Department chair is Bill Wilhelem. Other teachers include Ms. Jenny Johnson, Mr. Reginald Knight, Mr. Chad Parkerson, Mr. Kelly Payne, and Mr. Mike Singletary.

The foreign education department teaches all French and Spanish classes at TCCHS. Mr. Anthony Paulino chairs the department, with other teachers including Ms. Linda Gillings, Ms. Barbara Rice, and Ms. Ashley Keiffer.

Special Education staff at TCCHS include: Ms. Sheila Moon and Ms. Susan Blackburn (Co-Chairs of the Special Education Department), Ms. Regina Beasley, Mr. Coleman Bennett, Mr. Kyle Burton, Ms. Brenda Cromer, Ms. Lindsey Crumley, Ms. Beverly Hightower, Ms. Christina Jacobs, Mr. Feraby Moye, Ms. Katrena Reynolds, Mr. Todd Wilson, Ms. Lillie Witherspone, Ms. Betty Worthington, and Mr. Pete Reeves.

Other Staff and Faculty

Thomas County Central High School includes many staff memembers who are not coaches or administators. These staff members work diligently to keep the school running smoothly and make school life as fun of an experience as is possible. Clerical staff include Ms. Lori Carnahan (Records Clerk), Ms. Janice Gatlin (Discipline Clerk), Ms. Lusendy Horne (FOCUS Secretary), Ms. Lorie Lawing (Principal's Secretary), Ms. Jajala Jayne (Guidance Clerk), Ms. Nancy Pickett (Bookkeeper), Ms. Tonya Prince (Attendance Clerk) and Ms. Lisa Robertson (Receptionist).

Guidance counselors and graduation coaches provide numerous services to the student body. Along with counseling, they help students succeed in school and plan out the continuation of their school career. Counselors at TCCHS include Ms. Melissa Rodgers (12th grade), Mr. Jamie Thompson (11th grade), Ms. Judy Harden (10th), and Ms. Sharon Harris (9th). The graduation coach at TCCHS is Ms. Karen Jones.

The media specialists at TCCHS assist students with the checkout of written materials, use of the catalog system, and usage of other tools such as computers which are housed in the media center. The current media center specialists include Mr. Jim Rehberg and Ms. Selina Bell.

Other staff members include Ms. Christine Santos (Nurse), Jack Waterbury (Technology Supervisor), and Mr. Harold Skipper (In-School-Suspension Coordinator).

9th Grade Academy

Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, all incoming freshmen were housed in the FOCUS Academy. This allows the new students to get familiar with their new surroundings and obtain a better focus on their academics while using the main building for their electives. For the 2009-2010 school year, the FOCUS Academy will begin implementing an AVID Program.

Library Expansion

In early 2008, it was announced that TCCHS would be adding a new library to its campus. The new library would more than double the available space for materials, and would also allow for expansion of the cafeteria. The project was expected to be completed in time for the 2008-2009 school year, but was not finished until midway in the 2009 school year due to constrution delays. The grand opening was held in mid-January 2009.

Seniors

The class of 2009 is the current class of seniors at TCCHS. Graduation will be May 23, 2009.

Sports

TCCHS has a top-rated football team, who has been ranked numerous times in the #1 position in the GAHSA standings. They have also attended the Georgia Dome playoffs on numerous occasions, with the two most recent trips coming in 2003 and 2007.

As stated before, TCCHS has five state championships in football, with the last one coming in 1997. Currently, they also hold 11 region championships and have sent 2 players to the National Football League, Joe Burns and Danny Copeland. In addition, Heisman Trophy Award Winner Charlie Ward also attended TCCHS.

The TCCHS tennis team has also done well in recent years. The girls' tennis team won region in 2007, and was runner-up in 2008. The boys' team was runner-up in region in both 2007 and 2008. Under recently retired head coach John Booth, each tennis team has excelled over the past few decades. They have carried home a long list of region titles and a respectable number of final four appearances. In fact, during the 90's, they held more region titles than any other team in the region.

References

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