| Sources |
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 4 Apr 2006.
Floyd Garver obituary
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 20 Nov 2008.
Juddy Lee Cody obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 3 Aug 2009.
Cody named as new principal of Bridgeport Elementary School
April Cody
NEWPORT-The Cocke County Board of Education named April Cody as the new principal of Bridgeport Elementary School on Sept 7.
"I waited patiently for an attractive position and when this one came available, I knew it was what I had been waiting for," said Cody. "I've had my administrator license for the past five years, but I really wanted to wait until my children were a little older before I changed positions."
"I've always felt like I wanted to be an administrator, not just a counselor, even though that is an administrative position. So, when this position became available, I wanted to take advantage of it by putting my training to work," added Cody.
Cody has been the counselor at Cosby High School for the past 10 years. She also served as eighth- and ninth-grade counselor for all the county's schools the year before taking the fulltime counseling position at Cosby.
"I enjoyed working at Cosby very much and I will miss the students and the faculty," said Cody.
Cody is married to Cocke County Emergency Management Director David Cody and the couple has two children, Kenny, 8, and Kurry, 5.
"My husband and I decided to leave them at Cosby for the rest of the school year because we didn't want to disrupt their school year," added Cody.
Cody graduated from Cosby High School in 1986 after attending Cosby from kindergarten through the 12th grade.
Before taking a position with the Cocke County School System, she was a crisis intervention counselor with Cherokee Health Systems from 1993 to 1994.
After graduating from Cosby, she enrolled in Kings College where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and Secondary Education. Cody then attended East Tennessee State University where she received her Master's Degree in Education with emphasis in counseling. She continued her education at Lincoln Memorial University and received an education specialist degree in administration and supervision.
Cody said she went back to school in hopes that she might someday be able to advance in the Cocke County School System.
Cody said there were six candidates for the position and she feels very fortunate that Cocke County Director of Schools Larry Blazer and the Cocke County Board of Education selected her to fill this important position in the school system.
"I appreciate their support and confidence in me and I will do the very best I can to prove they made the correct decision," said Cody.
Cody said she has no plans at this time to change any of the school's operations because she feels it will take her a little while to become acclimated at the school.
"Bridgeport has more than 300 students and I need to sit back and observe the school for a while," said Cody. "I don't want to make any abrupt changes because our test scores have been very good."
"I do hope to continue to improving the school in as many areas as I can, but first, I need to observe the teachers teaching and the students learning to see what would be the best way to proceed," added Cody.
Cody said from what she has seen so far the teachers and students are doing just great.
"We have some experienced teachers and some that are not as experienced, so we'll get them to help each other and make sure we meet the 'No Child Left Behind' standards," said Cody. "We want all our students to learn to the best of their ability and be sure they are learning what they need to learn to develop into well educated, outstanding citizens."
Cody said she greatly appreciates the support the community has given her and the way they have welcomed her with open arms.
"I definitely appreciate their patience in allowing me to learn my new job," said Cody. "It is a different set of responsibilities than I'm used to and I'm certain we will learn to grow together. A new face is difficult to accept sometimes, but I believe it will be a good thing for the school and me."
Steve Davidson was the former principal of Bridgeport and he held that position for about 19 years.
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