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Earlier this week, we reported on Callaway High School Principal Jonathan Laney taking on a new role within the Troup County School System.

Laney was promoted to the director of secondary education, which means he will oversee nine schools, including all three middle and high schools.

Laney is uniquely qualified for the position because he’s either worked at or attended almost all of the Troup County School System’s middle and high schools.

That familiarity should help Laney a lot in this new role, as he’s been around each school and community enough to understand how they operate.

Of course, that is far from the only reason Laney was a good fit for the new position.

His track record speaks for itself. 

This past year Laney led Callaway High School to its highest ever graduation rate at 91.2 percent, according to information shared in a TCSS press release regarding graduation rates in November.

CHS has seen its graduation rates rise 24 percent in the last five years.

That’s an incredible improvement that any school in the state would take.

We’re sure he’s going to be missed at CHS. For the last few years, he’s been a great ambassador for the school and the school system as a whole, always presenting himself well.

He will finish out the school year as principal.

Superintendent Brian Shumate said the plan is to hire a new CHS principal fairly quickly, and the position has already been posted.

TCSS had a special meeting on Wednesday so that the board could approve Laney’s hire, and so the CHS principal job could be posted.

We applaud the school system for moving quickly on getting the job posted and hope qualified candidates are identified quickly as TCSS works toward the upcoming school year, which may or may not be greatly influenced by the ongoing pandemic.

Being a teacher is as difficult as ever at the moment, so finding the right person to lead CHS into the future is incredibly important. But that’s something our school system leaders know very well. Laney did a good job at CHS, and we wish him luck as he moves into his new role.