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-ATOKA ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL-
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| (Atoka Elementary School is newest school in Tipton County) |
Charlotte Fisher, the principal
of Atoka Elementary School, which opened its doors last August, wants Tipton County's newest school to be something people
from all over the south end of the county can utlilize.
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| (Teachers Sheri Thomas and Meghan Moses talk with principal Charlotte Fisher at Atoka Elementary) |
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| (Guidance counselor Georgette Harris and librarian Angela Christopher take a break in the library) |
The school, which drew students
from Brighton, Munford and Austin Peay elementary schools, and teachers from all around the county, is just that. “We truly are a community
school,” says Fisher. “It can be utlized by the whole community. The police, the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts
have used it for meetings. We encourage that.” The school serves approximiately 845 students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Architects of the school used a
design that allows people to see down all the school highways from one spot, which is helpful in many ways. The school's nickname, the Atoka
Express, is unique as well and is reflected throughout the school. Trains can be found everywhere, staying in line with the
train theme of Atoka. Green tiles can be found on the floor where students are encouraged to “stay on the track.”
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| (Trains are a theme ulitilzed througout Atoka Elementary School) |
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| (AES students are hard at work in the computer lab) |
The school has
every educational service a school could want, including special education, speech services, music, art and a modern computer
lab. Atoka Elementary is the first school in the county to have a fully wireless computer network, allowing teachers to access
the Internet on their laptops.
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| (AES students watch television in the libary) |
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| (Art teacher Angela Christopher talks to her students) |
Atoka Elementary offers after (3-6 p.m.) and before (6-7:30 a.m.) school child care which is
also open during school breaks and holidays. The school's parent pick up and drop off system, located behind the school for easy access,
is also unique. For
security there's a police officer who regularly works in the school.
While the school has all the bells and whistles an educational facility could want, the focus
of Fisher, her assistant principals Rob Dawson and Rebecca Byrd is on the students and staff. “We're trying to build a collaborative environment
for the parents, teachers and students,” says Fisher. “We have very high expectations for all of our students.”
(By Jeff Ireland, Freelance Reporter)
Atoka Elementary School Official Web Page Link
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