Superintendent, Dr. Yancy Ford entered the field of education in 1999 as a Business Education teacher at Effingham County Middle School and assistant football coach at Effingham County High School. Across the next five years, he transferred to Effingham County High School where he earned the positions of Assistant Principal and Athletic Director. In 2006, he began his successful ten-year stint as Principal of Effingham County High School. It was during this period that he earned both his Educational Specialist and Doctorate of Education degrees from Georgia Southern University. His combination of successful leadership and education earned him the position of Assistant Superintendent for the Effingham County School System in 2016. Dr. Ford assumed the role of ECSD Superintendent effective July 1, 2020 as the successor to Superintendent Dr. Randy Shearouse.
Welcome Back! I hope each of you is as excited as I am to kick off Effingham County School District’s 2023-2024 school year! While this year promises to be a chapter filled with exciting new changes, we are also grateful to return to the people and traditions we have always held dear. As the Superintendent of our thriving district, I am honored to be a part of all that ECSD has to offer, and I am eager to serve the needs of stakeholders within our community. Together, we will prepare students for a bright, successful future.
As we move forward, our district will continue to make decisions that meet the criteria set forth in our Strategic Plan: Engage 2025. Our decisions must be meaningful, provide a positive outcome for all stakeholders, and show evidence of support for our mission statement to: Make every moment count, because every student matters! Whether we are enhancing communication efforts between home and school, adopting new learning strategies and materials, expanding our safety measures, or preparing to break ground for new facilities, our focus will always be to make each decision count towards the betterment of our students. Every student deserves access to a world-class education that equips them with the knowledge, skills, and values required to succeed in our ever-changing society. Additionally, every student, educator and staff member deserves to learn and work in an inclusive, nurturing and safe environment.
The mission statement outlined above serves to support the vision of our Strategic Plan to: Engage students for future success. It is through this vision that students are guided to move beyond the classroom to further develop appropriate critical thinking, problem solving, and social skills for success in real-world settings. Students benefit from access to hands-on experiences in actual work settings made available through our district’s partnerships with local businesses and organizations. These opportunities not only give students access to cutting-edge technology, but they also expose them to professional environments that model teamwork, respect for diversity, and an appreciation for differing perspectives.
As a result of a clear mission and vision, and through the combined efforts from each of our stakeholders, Effingham County School District has experienced tremendous success in recent years! Our academic and CTAE programs, designed to meet the varying needs and interests of our students, have been very successful in ensuring our graduates are prepared for future opportunities. Graduation rates have reached all-time highs exceeding 90%, and our students are successfully pursuing higher education, CTAE training, military opportunities, and rewarding careers. As our community’s population grows at a seemingly exponential rate, we anticipate increased enrollments and are preparing through new construction, additions and improvements to current facilities, approval of new teaching positions, expansion of educational programs, and continued access to comprehensive resources to support students, staff, and teachers.
The continued success of our school district depends heavily on your ongoing trust and support. Together, we can inspire, empower, and transform the lives of students and maintain ECSD’s reputation as a beacon of educational excellence. As we start a new year, I invite you to celebrate our achievements, embrace new challenges, and continue our legacy of educational excellence so it may endure for generations to come.
