Recently, five students and teachers were honored during the 2020 Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) luncheon hosted by the Rotary Club. Before the event ended, Laegan Anseligh Smith from LaGrange High School, was named Troup County’s STAR Student.

Smith said, “This is quite a surprise and really exciting. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to talk about Coach Moore because of the way he teaches. It has had an impact on me. He has a way to teach lessons that will grab you and that helps the material be relatable to the students.”

The five students were:

1. Jared Nation - Callaway High (Mrs. Barbara Murphy, Teacher)

2. Baker Davis - LaFayette Christian (Mrs. Vikki Stringham, Teacher)

3. Lily Kamat - LaGrange Academy (Mrs. Janice Ingram, Teacher)

4. Laegan Smith (winner) - LaGrange High (Mr. Kenny Moore, Teacher)

5. Todd Sandiford - Troup High (Ms. Kayla Yeargin, Teacher)

Students at West Point Elementary School were recently treated to special guest readers in their classrooms. Community volunteers took time out of their busy schedules to read as part of the fourth annual Real Men Read initiative.

This initiative brings community members into the school while promoting the benefits of reading. Each man was assigned to a classroom where they read a story and shared with the students their own personal reading history. The men also told the students how reading impacts them now and how they utilize reading in their careers. A special thank you goes out to all the Troup County men who supported this event!

*Pictured is Troup County School System Superintendent Brian Shumate reading to Mrs. Colquett's first grade class.

Hollis Hand Elementary raised $5,200 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) through their Pennies for Patients campaign. 


LLS is a nonprofit organization fighting blood cancer. Their mission is to cure blood cancers and improve the lives of patients and their families. LLS recently launched a new Children’s Initiative which seeks to accelerate treatments with fewer harmful side effects so that young patients with cancer not only survive, but thrive for generations to come. 


By donating toward this worthy cause, students learned valuable pro-social skills like kindness, sharing, and empathy. Five homeroom classrooms earned a pizza party for bringing in the most donations. Last year, Hollis Hand also raised over $5,000 for LLS. Pictured with Mrs. Natalie Doerr, the school counselor, are students Cameriyan Hutchinson, Mae Lemmo and Leighton Shelnutt.