May 8-12 is National Teacher Appreciation Week, but Bulloch County Schools are celebrating their educators all month.
We began Monday with a salute to our school district's 48 retirees, who have devoted their lives to serving children and families for a total of 1,062 years.
Earlier this week, at Julia P. Bryant Elementary School, two of their educators were honored for serving 40 and 50 years. Reaching these major milestones are Mittie Sue Huff and Mary Sue Smith. Superintendent Charles Wilson, district leaders, and their families all gathered to celebrate with all of the Bear Nation faculty, staff, and students. The school had prepared congratulatory videos for each of them with well wishes from past administrators, co-workers, and current and former students.
Mittie Sue Huff served 40 years as a special education paraprofessional first at Langston Chapel Elementary School and then JPBES.
Mary Sue Smith has served 50 years. She began her career in Twin City at Emanuel County Institute in 1972, after graduating from Georgia Southern in only three years with degrees in Home Economics and Elementary Education. "I was only 21 - just three years older than the high school students in my home economics class," she said.
She went on to become a quadruple Eagle, earning her master's, specialist, and doctorate degrees in education from Georgia Southern. In 1973 she came to Bulloch County Schools and served 26 years at JPBES, one year at William James Middle School, and three years at Mill Creek Elementary School. She retired for the first time in 2002, with 30 full years of service. She later returned to serve 20 more years as a grant director for the Georgia Reads Grant and with the 21st Century Community program's afterschool tutoring. She has also continued to serve as a retired, 49% employee with LCES and JPBES.
Thank you to these amazing educators for their service.