By Michael Butler

With a week of work in, all is well at Tallassee Elementary School. Shanikka Beacher enters her 17th year at TES, the last eight as principal.

“Each year brings new opportunities, and this one is no different,” Beacher said. “We’ve had a great start. Students are smiling and excited about coming to school.”

Beacher began her work in the classroom at the kindergarten and first-grade levels.

“We’ve grown,” Beacher said of the changes over the years. “We have five electives: STEM, computer, library and music. We’ve recently obtained an additional first-class pre-k unit.”

Parents of elementary school students will notice some other changes next Monday as work will begin on a new track on the campus.

“Ms. Beacher’s going to get word out to the parents,” Tallassee City Schools superintendent Dr. Brock Nolin said. “There’ll be some growing pains because there’s only one entrance to the school. They’re going to set up a perimeter fence around the existing playground. The track will be built on the existing track.”

The contract is for a 120-day build and opening it up for TES students and high school competitions by next school year.

Tallassee Elementary has 543 students from pre-k to fourth grade. The school scored a system-high 88 on the Alabama State Department of Education report card during the last grading cycle.

“She’s right on the cusp of having an A,” Nolin stated of Beacher and her supporting cast.

“That is a goal of mine,” Beacher added. “The entire faculty and staff have done such a phenomenal job with the new state initiatives. We were also recognized as a Science and Reading Spotlight School.”