SPRINGFIELD — Thursday's Effingham County Board of Education meeting yielded three big news stories.

First, Amie Dickerson, currently principal of Ebenezer Middle School, was named the next principal of Effingham County High School. 

Second, Dickerson is replacing Billy Hughes, the current ECHS principal, because he has accepted a position as the Georgia Department of Education’s agricultural education program manager. 

Finally, the board announced that the county’s 2017-18 graduation rates were the best they have ever been for the district.

Dickerson is scheduled to move to the high school after fall break on Oct.10. 

Superintendent Dr. Randy Shearouse said he thinks it’s great to have someone with Dickerson's background with the local system taking the top spot at the high school. He remarked that Ebenezer Middle School has always been a high performing school in the district and he expects that kind of result to follow her.

Dickerson said that she is "very excited" about the move but that its bittersweet.

“I’ve been at Ebenezer for 16 years since we opened and so it’s sad in the manner of leaving, but I’m very excited at the thought of going," she said.

Dickerson said she would be excited to see her current students at a different level at the high school soon. 

She has been employed in the county school system for more than 16 years, rising from paraprofessional to teacher to principal.

Shearouse noted that she will go from a school of about 900 students to one with about 1,800. He said hers is a "great story of hard work and perseverance."

The superintendent said that the board plans are to hire an interim principal for Ebenezer, although that decision won’t be made until the October meeting. The full-time position will be opened for applications and interviews at the close of this school year.

Hughes will step into his new job on Oct. 15. 

See the Sept. 26 edition of the Effingham Herald for more details.