Incoming Hilsman Principal Implores Students to Exceed Standards

Only five weeks into her new job, principal has seen some promising signs that both teachers and students are ready for a new school year.

When teachers reported back for planning sessions, they helped one another set up classrooms and refreshed their lesson plans. Attendance at student and parent orientation sessions days ago was higher than some teachers have seen in years, she said.

“I just felt like I have walked into a little oasis of educational creativity,” Blankenship said. “The teachers here are very committed, they are very much a team. If something needs to be done, there are two or three volunteers to take charge of something or complete a task. I can already tell this is a great place to work and for kids to be because of the collegiality here.”

Blankenship comes to Hilsman with more than 15 years experience in education, ten of which she spent in the . She began her career as a middle school teacher in south Georgia before coming to , where she taught English. In 2008, after completing a masters and doctorate in education at the University of Georgia, she was hired as the assistant principal of Clarke Central High School. In 2010, she became associate principal of Clarke Central High School.

Blankenship replaces former , who left to take on the head principal position at .

Many parents were sad to see Price leave Hilsman, but were glad to find a highly qualified replacement, said Beth Campbell, president of Hilsman's Parent Teacher Organization.

“The teachers are happy, and I'm really exctied,” Campbell said. “I don't know that we could have gotten a better person to replace Dr. Price. She's just been very very excited and coming in with a great attitude about everything.”

Among her accomplishments, Blankenship touted double-digit academic gains that were made this year at Clarke Central on the Georgia High School Graduation Test. Students met this year's bar for adequate yearly progress in every subgroup, but the school fell short of AYP this year because not enough students graduated, she said.

Blankenship also focused on reaching out to students who didn't normally sign up for advanced placement courses, and held informational meetings with both parents and students about the program, she said.

While Hilsman has made strong gains academically over the years, Blankenship plans to build on the school's success by developing a reward system to recognize students with good attendance. She also would like to see more students not just meet academic standards, but also exceed them.

“I don't think anybody here is just satisfied with meeting standards,” Blankenship said. “We have the potential to take our students as far as we possibly can.”

This year Hilsman will participate in two new ventures, operating as an International Baccalaureate candidate school, and running a partnership with the University of Georgia as a Professional Development School, she said.

Under the IB program, teachers will begin this school year teaching under state curriculum guidelines, but will supplement their lessons with the more rigorous teaching philosophy, she said.

“The bigger changes in that (IB) philosophy is the more global perspective, and that's a very exciting piece we will be trying to infuse throughout our curriculum and throughout our culture here at the school,” Blankenship said.

As a professional development school, university faculty will hold in-house classes, giving college students majoring in education more classroom experience before they go out into the real world. Veteran staff may also collaborate with students and faculty on different research projects throughout the year, she said.

Historically, Hilsman has had a large network of volunteers and community support – something Blankenship plans to cultivate throughout the year with several community meetings and events.

“I know in the past there has been community involvement at Hilsman,” Blankenship said. “My hope is that we would continue and grow, and we would continue to have even more parent and community volunteers, because this is a community school and it's only going to be as strong as our community helps us make it be.”