School Is A Community Family
By Bonita Wilborn
According to locals and school’s alumni, Henagar School is a community family.
In 1901, Henagar’s first school was constructed by citizens and Masons with donated labor. The parents of each student had to pay a fee for their children to attend. Those who could not afford to pay furnished the school with wood for the fire, like any good community family would do.
Approximately 20 years later the first school, a two-story building with 4 rooms, was torn down and a larger building with ten classrooms and an auditorium was built where the present school stands at 85 Woodview Road. That building was destroyed by fire in 1937.
Skip Wilson, a current supporter of Henagar School, commented, “I do a lot of volunteer work there, mainly because that’s the school I went to when I was younger, and it means a lot to me. I work with the Beta Club, I’ve worked with the basketball team, and I do anything I can to help. Henagar School is really important to the community, and I feel like any time I can spend helping the school, helps the community and the students. Since it is a small community, we have a lot of parental involvement there at the school. One of the biggest things about Henagar School is it’s like a family. The teachers and parents work together to get things done. We’re very excited about our new principal, Mr. Timmons. He’s come in and is adding a lot of new things that excite the students. We love Henagar School and want to see it continue to grow and prosper.”
Henagar’s current principal, Scott Timmons, has 18 years experience in the DeKalb County School System and has experience in administration at Crossville Middle as well as Ruhama Junior High School. He said, “We’ve started the basketball and cheerleading back and are hoping to start volleyball next year, we have an after school program starting in October, and we do breakfast in the classrooms where every student gets free breakfast.”
Starr Mitchell, President of Henagar’s Parent Teacher Organization, commented, “We’ve just finished our biggest fundraiser. We do the program for the Sand Mountain Potato Festival and sell ads for that. Also, on the first Saturday in November, we do the Harvest Festival. It’s been a tradition for many years. It was a huge fundraiser when I was in school, then they stopped having it, so when my children started to Henagar, and I got involved with the PTO, it was one of my goals to start the Harvest Festival back and bring back other traditions and things the people who went to Henagar remembered and enjoyed. Our goal for this year is to build an outdoor classroom for the school. Last year the PTO helped provide the means for the entire school to see Disney on Ice. We also help with Beta Club and other projects that benefit the entire school. We’re excited about the year. It just seemed to be a different vibe at the open house. I think it’s going to be a good year. When I was attending Henagar School, the community was very involved, and I feel like there had been a ‘disconnect’ over the years, but we’re hoping it will get back to the way it used to be. The students and parents can tell when the teachers are unhappy, and this year there seems to be a new excitement.”