Jayme Davis and Gary Conner hired for roles with Springville Community Academy
SPRINGVILLE — Springville Community Academy has announced the first two members of its administrative staff.
Former Springville Elementary teacher Jayme Davis will lead the school as the academy administrator, while former North Lawrence Community Schools superintendent Gary Conner will help the school on a part-time basis, as an academic adviser.
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Davis, who is currently a teacher for Eastern Greene Elementary School, was motivated by her ties to Springville to join up with the new charter.
"My history is here, the roots are deep, and the ties are strong. My family, my kids are the fifth generation in my family to to be in this community, and I love this community. The people here are like, well, a lot of them are family, but they all feel like family to me. So, I'm dedicated to this community and I'm dedicated to this school and what we're doing, and I'm excited, really excited," Davis said.
"It's almost like I wouldn't think of not being here, because this is home. And I'm passionate about education. And I'm passionate about this community. And this ties it all together," she would go on to add.
The role of academy administrator will be similar to what other schools might list as a headmaster, or the lead administrator.
Davis, an educator for 17 years, has taught at Lincoln, Springville, Eastern Greene and Dollens Elementary Schools.
Conner spoke positively of Davis and her fit for the role.
"I know Jamie, and I have known her for several years. I've known her family, it's a very good family. She's a very good person. She's an outstanding role model. She's one who is dependable, reliable, trustworthy. She has a caring heart and helping hands and she truly represents Springville," Conner said.
Conner previously spent more than 40 years with NLCS in various roles including teaching, principal of Bedford North Lawrence High School and eventually superintendent until his departure in 2019.
Additionally, Conner has assisted in the creation of both Lawrence County Independent Schools and now SCA.
He believes that the rural school closings during the 2020 NLCS consolidation efforts, which saw operations ceased in five NLCS facilities including Springville Elementary, left a hole in their respective communities, someone he has sought to help restore since.
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"I think this is a fantastic opportunity for the community of Springville. As you know, the school is a heart of a community and when a school is closed, you take that heart of the community out. And, there were a group of people that came together, who wanted to establish an ongoing learning opportunity within the community, a group of volunteers, I might add, and they've devoted countless hours to get this done," Conner said.
"I feel very fortunate to be able to be a part of it because their intent is to help kids and with some of the things that are planned, that are in the planning process I should say with curriculum, I think kids will definitely benefit from it and there's community pride and all of the good things that you would want to say about a school or embedded here. I feel very good to be a part of it," he continued.
Although a part-time hire, Conner wants to be available to help the school whenever his years of experience are requested by Davis or the SCA board of trustees.
"I would say up front in the summer, I'd like to be involved quite a bit, if permissible. And then I'm going to say check in frequently during the week and be used as needed, and possibly, I may even be intrusive, sometimes. It's, it's where I have full confidence in Jamie. In fact, I fully support her and I want to be available to help her. And, I want to be available for anything that the members of the board would like for me to do," he said.
A different approach to education
One aspect of what both Conner and Davis mentioned drew them to SCA was the school's unique approach to curriculum and education, which will be visible in a few key ways, perhaps the most visible being the house system.
SCA board President Albert Cross explained that each student and educator in all grade levels will be randomly divided into separate "houses" or groups.
The houses will come together for projects and work with each other to compete with the school's other houses in competitions over the course of the school year for points, with a winner ultimately being crowned.
"That is intended to also break down the bullying instinct of kids where they're picking on the weaker kids in their class. So in this system, the house, kids, everybody supports everybody," he explained.
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This was inspired by teacher Ron Clark, who opened the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, which operated under a similar system, according to Cross.
Additionally, the K-6 school plans to offer unique courses for students, including an outdoor education course that will teach students skills that can help them in the outdoors such as fishing and camping.
With smaller expected class sizes, SCA will look to offer an optimized education for students at all levels, including high ability students and those with special needs, Davis, who is also the chair of the school's education committee said.
Those smaller classes, as well as the small overall size of the school, will help them keep their students involved in the local community, Cross believes.
"It's not just about class size, it's also about overall school size, because with a smaller school that tends to stimulate a greater amount of community involvement and engagement. And that's one of the areas that we really see ourselves working to excel in," Cross said.
Noah Dalton is a reporter in Bedford, IN. He can be reached at ndalton@tmnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Springville Community Academy hires Jayme Davis and Gary Conner
