Editor’s note: The following is 20th in a series of articles previewing the upcoming school year at each public and private school in Athens and Limestone County.

School name: Elkmont Elementary School

Principal: Haley James

Amount of time as principal: 2 years

Grades: Pre-K through 5

Total number of students: 378

Total number of teachers: 29

Total number of support staff: 20

New programs: “This year, our big focus schoolwide is on building relationships and a school community. Our teachers are using class meetings throughout the week to build teacher-to-student and student-to-student relationships. Our second- and third-graders will participate in the Liberty’s Legacy 10-week Super Citizen program, where they will learn about what it takes to be a good citizen while also looking to identify community heroes. We are continuing to partner with AMSTI and ARI for training in the areas of reading and math for all grade levels and implementation of Phonics First in our K-2 reading instruction.”

What makes Elkmont Elementary special: “The community of Elkmont fully supports our school, and this makes our school special. We have a great parent group that collaborates through our TEAM EES Facebook page on how our school can be supported through volunteers and contributions. We also have a strong supportive relationship with Elkmont High School. Our schools work hand-in-hand on a daily basis to build a community on our campus. The EHS team frequently volunteers at our elementary events, such as our Back-to-School Bash, to interact with our students and build relationships.”

Primary objectives for 2019-2020: “Aside from building relationships and community within our school, we will continue to focus on improving our reading, math and attendance. When parents partner with schools to improve student attendance, achievement in all areas improves. We cannot teach students when they aren’t at school. Last year, more than 30% of our students were considered ‘chronically absent’ by the Alabama State Department of Education. We would like to drastically reduce this number, but we can only do this with the help of our parents.”

What the principal is looking forward to: “Each day, I look forward to just being at school. I love interacting with the students and teachers on a daily basis in the hallways and in the classroom.”