After one year on the job, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System Superintendent Dr. Denise Watts took time on Wednesday, June 26 to reflect on lessons learned, personal growth, and more. Her comments came during a press conference held at Woodville-Tompkins and organized by SCCPSS communications.

It's been an exciting year. I continue to be honored and extremely privileged to serve as the 25th Superintendent of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, said Watts in her opening statement. Almost a year ago, I stood in a boardroom before the ink was dry on my contract. I said that I was uniquely prepared and ready to serve as a catalyst for change. And today, I'm even more convinced of this.

I'm very thankful to the Board of Education for providing the support and guidance to do my job. I'm confident that we will continue this work to reach our joint aspirations and inevitable success in the district. I've also had the opportunity to work with a world class staff. I have met and observed employees across every employee group. The blood, sweat, and tears are real. Their dedication is unmatched.

Being able to have the Davis-Edwards-Harris Educational Complex open under my leadership is something that I'm very proud of, Watts said.

She also addressed transportation of students as a priority, as well as literacy and teacher retention. The school district, under Watts, has already approved raises for district staff members to include teachers. SCCPSS partnered with Chatham Area Transit (CAT) this year for a trial program where students ride for free. It was an effort to increase attendance numbers in Savannahs public schools and it could continue next school year.

[TRAVIS JAUDON]

Dr. Denise Watts speaks to media at Woodville-Tompkins on June 26, 2024

Teacher burnout was one of the things that I heard loud and clear when I got here. Teacher burnout is real, she said. It's real not only here, but it is real all across the nation. To be able to have some immediate solutions to resolving teacher burnout that included the voices of our teachers has been very productive work.

[SCCPSS]

Dr. Denise Watts

Sometimes the opportunities to hear from teachers can come in the most unexpected of places.

When I go out to eat on the weekends, or when Im in an Uber, 70 percent of the time I am encountering a teacher that is working a second job to sustain or supplement their income, Watts said. And that saddens me a great deal. I really use it as an opportunity to learn and ask questions and to gain insight and perspective. I don't use it as an opportunity to share much. It really is just a continued learning opportunity for me.

Those teachers are the same ones standing in classrooms the next morning in front of our students. So, the cost of living adjustment provided by the Governorand we are supplementing that in our districtis just a small signal that we have to reform teacher compensation.

Watts came to Savannah after serving as the Chief of Schools for Houstons Independent School District. That district included more than 194,000 students across 274 schools. While there,she supervised principals, managed magnet schools and led innovation and strategy efforts for the district. It was a big undertaking, but it was more of a background role.

Now, she says her job has put her squarely in the spotlight.

The community has certainly noticed.

I was just in Kroger on Saturday with my ball cap on doing grocery shopping and this little boy comes up to me and he's like, are you our superintendent? Just getting used to some people recognizing me when I am out just being a mom or wife has been something that I've learned this year and something that I'm willing to accept. I'm on the clock 24/7, if I want to be or not, and that's just part of the job.

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Dr. Denise Watts reflects on personal growth in first year as SCCPSS Superintendent - Connect Savannah.com

Hindus feel that it is fine to display the Ten Commandments in Louisiana public school classrooms, as long as posters carrying verses from the ancient Sanskrit scripture Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord) are also displayed.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada Today, said that Bhagavad-Gita was a historically significant document, recognized throughout the world and was a treasure that should be displayed in public school classrooms in Louisiana in the form of posters carrying its verses. This sacred text was plainly the word of God spoken by Lord Krishna himself.

The Hindu community would cover all the costs of creating, printing and mounting these easily readable posters (11-by-14-inches), and no funding from the state or school districts or schools would be required, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said.

Various well-known Americans, including essayist-philosopher Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), theoretical physicist credited with being the father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), novelist-philosopher Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), essayist-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), etc. were reportedly influenced by Bhagavad-Gita. It has inspired, fascinated, touched and impacted millions of readers worldwide over the centuries; Zed noted.

This philosophical and intensely spiritual poem Bhagavad-Gita considers the nature of action, the religious and social duty, the human relationship to God, the means of liberation and the nature of sacrifice, Zed added.

Zed further said that awareness about other religions thus created by such displays of verses from Bhagavad-Gita in religiously-diverse Louisiana public school classrooms would make students of the state well-nurtured, well-balanced and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.

Moreover, it would infuse morality and ethics in Louisiana classrooms.

Hinduism is the oldest and third-largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents, and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about 3 million Hindus in the U.S.

Louisiana is reportedly the first U.S. state to require display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.

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Hindus seek display of Gita verses along with Ten Commandments in Louisiana schools - Hammond Daily Star online

CBSE Board Exam 2024 Live Updates: Students' reaction on Class 12 Hindi paper

Malika Arora, a student of Lucknow Public School South City said, Overall, it was a balanced paper and more or less based on concept application of the theory, and options were very close. Aparna Singh, another student of LPS South City felt that the paper was moderate.

She said, Objective questions were a bit confusing so it took a lot of time to figure out the correct answer but the writing section was very easy. Sangeeta and Nidhi, again from LPS, South City said, Overall the paper was average with only 2 or 3 tough questions and a bit lengthy.

Manisha Tiwari, Hindi teacher of LPS South City said, The overall quality of the board question paper was satisfactory. The writing and the comprehension sections were easy to attempt. In a nutshell, it was a moderate and scoring paper.

Falak Faroouqui and Astha Omar of St Anjani's Public School Rajajipuram found the Hindi Class 12 Question paper unnecessarily lengthy. They said, Questions did not follow the pattern of sample papers on the Board website and we were really under pressure in certain tricky ones. But overall it went smoothly because we were well prepared."

(HT Correspondent, Lucknow)

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CBSE 10th, 12th boards 2024 Live: Class 10 Hindi papers underway, analysis soon - Hindustan Times