September 19, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County High School has found a new way to promote student achievement with help from two local sponsor partners, FirstBank and Wilson Bank & Trust.
New signs are now prominently displayed on the wall in the hallway of the school near the office to highlight the names of students who have met various academic and vocational benchmarks.
“Our goal at DCHS is to find more ways to promote the amazing things our kids do each and every day,” said Assistant Principal Thomas Cagle. “We have some really bright students and those that work really hard in many different facets and any way we can promote those students and show that we want to take advantage of it. This summer I worked with FirstBank and Wilson Bank & Trust along with Kathy Bates who helped me with the design of these metal signs on which we will post the students names to recognize them. We wanted it to be done in a little more professional way rather than simply posting a list on the board,” Cagle continued.
“We will be able to have students names up there who are TN Ready Graduates and students who have met their benchmarks and are graduating with honors. Their names will be posted on the board throughout the year as we get those scores in from the ACT results. We will also have boards that will focus on students’ overall ACT scores as well as industry certifications for those on a vocational path, our Advanced Placement (AP) students, and those doing dual credit classes. There will be lots of different avenues in which we can recognize students academically and vocationally here on these boards at the front office,” he added.
“We want to thank both FirstBank and Wilson Bank & Trust for their donations as a sponsor for us to be able to get these signs made to put them up on the wall,” said Cagle.
“We are excited for what the youth of DeKalb County is working toward in bettering themselves and what the staff has done here at DCHS to help recognize students for their achievements. We are proud to be a sponsor and partner with this,” said Alex Woodward of Wilson Bank & Trust in Smithville.
“We are thankful for the staff out here at DCHS as well as the parents and students. Anything we can do as a bank or community to support the good things here we want to be part of that. This is just one way to recognize some really great achievements out here,” said Casey Midgett of FirstBank in Smithville.
“I appreciate both banks for their generous donations. We do this to recognize our students for their hard work and dedication,” explained DCHS Principal Bruce Curtis.