With the opening episode of this season. Hydea Collins had a wonderful discussion regarding the teacher shortage, life lessons, and teacher recruiting with our chief human resources officer, Ms. Jill Addison, and one of our partners, Ed Learning Connections.

Talk about exciting! We have a new team member! Please welcome Hydea Collins to the DCSS Community Relations team! A native of Albany, Collins is returning home after 10 years in Augusta honing her video and photo skills. Listen to what the former Monroe Golden Tornado has been up to in this week's Ed Chat. 

Are you ready to have a career where you can really make an impact? Is something missing in your professional life? Well, come work for the Dougherty County School System where you can help change lives every day! Listen to former teacher and administrator Jill Addison talk about why she's so excited to be part of the team here at the DCSS and how you can come join our team.

Tobias Brown never had much interest in the legal profession, but one fateful encounter with a teacher and mock trial coach changed all of that. In this episode of Ed Chat, the Dougherty High junior talks about his recent experience at a state law event where he got to network with judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys across Georgia. 

Helping Hands, Ending Hunger: Kids Helping Kids has literally diverted tons of uneaten food from cafeterias across the Dougherty County School System into the hands of the people who need it the most. Listen how Cathy Revell describes how this program gets kids involved in eradicating food insecurity in our communities.

A hot topic right now is whether those who are 12-18 should get the COVID-19 vaccines that are now available to them. Today, we talk to a student who has some interesting insight on that topic as well as a district official who has helped plan a COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic in partnership with Phoebe Putney Health System and Albany Area Primary Health Care.

Former Albany High basketball player Catharyn Clyde may be living 1,000 miles away on another continent, but she is busting through gender norms right here at home thanks to her work in the U.S. Air Force. Hear how her "attitude of gratitude," and competitive spirit, have helped make her and her team (the Bouncing Bettys) some of the best at what they do.

With more than 17 years of experience in education, Bishonna Jones has more than her fair share of success stories, but most, if not all, have one thing in common, parents and the community had a hand in it. Today, she's the Family and Community Engagement, or FACE, Director for the Dougherty County School System where she works daily to ensure that parents and community stakeholders stay informed, engaged and involved in schools throughout the district so students have the tools they need to be successful.

Spelling Bee's are surprisingly complicated affairs to pull off, even in normal years. Add a pandemic into the mix and they get especially tricky. Listen in as Donna Gleaton, the bee coordinator for the Dougherty County School System, talks about the challenges of virtual spelling bees and reveals what word cost her a spelling bee crown when she was in elementary school. Here's a hint: she ain't no dummy. 

Andrea Hall's firefighter boots got a little scuffed up recently from walking on all the glass she's been shattering; busting through glass ceilings at every turn. First as Albany, Ga's first female fire fighter and now as an honored guest during President Joe Biden's inaugural ceremonies. She's a proud product of Dougherty Comprehensive High School's Trojan Nation and is this week's guest on Ed Chat.