Contributed

Tiffany Funderburg knows reading, literacy, and writing is important for young learners. As a matter of fact, she teaches it all day long at Ethel W. Kight Elementary School to fourth graders. As an English Language Arts and Read 180 instructor, she understands why one of the three priority goals for Troup County School System is Literacy, with the other two being Rigorous and Relevant Learning and Creating a Culture of Success.

Funderburg believes literacy taps into a world of success, especially for young learners, “I am a believer in preparing students for the real world even at a young age. In my classroom, we often discuss being successful beyond the fourth grade. The students and I have weekly quotes that we make relevant in our learning for that week. Our favorite one so far is ‘Someone has to be a champion, it might as well be you’. It is good to have the children still quoting that because they believe it.”

Building relationships is high on the priority list for the Columbus native, she says it the one thing she likes best about her career choice, “I get to impact children’s lives in a positive way, but I also can have a positive impact on their family’s lives as well. The connection with the student and their family means the most to me.”

As a first year TCSS teacher, she says she chose TCSS as her career home because of the family environment and teamwork. Funderburg witnesses first-hand how student success is a priority for the staff, “we set high expectations from the administrative and leadership team to the teachers.”

The military spouse continued, “I made the choice to apply here because I was told about the camaraderie among educators.” Funderburg’s husband, Shandale, is the Army National Guard recruiter for Troup County. They have two children, Trinity and Skyler, who both attend school in Troup County.

Troup County School System is an accredited educational system with over 11,900 students in grades K-12. TCSS does offer a free Pre-K program at each elementary school. The system is comprised of eleven elementary schools, three middle schools, three high schools, one college and career academy, and one alternative learning center. Students within the school system are taught a rigorous and relevant curriculum that helps them make college and career choices beyond graduation and succeed in life. The system 2017 graduation rate rose 6.6 percentage points in three years to 78.0 percent. To learn more about Troup County School System, visit troup.org and the Troup County School System Facebook page.