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The Lowndes County Children’s Policy Council selected Jackson-Steele Elementary fourth-grader Kyleigh Hyde as its January Character in Action award recipient. Hyde, who is an eight-year-old scholar, was nominated for the award by her principal, Shana Ervin, exemplifying academic excellence at her school.

“Kyleigh is the epitome of academic excellence,” Ervin wrote in the nomination. “She has strong moral principles and is always honest. Kyleigh is an excellent student who has maintained an extremely high academic standard throughout her time at Jackson-Steele Elementary.”

According to Ervin, Hyde is determined and works to achieve the best results in all her endeavors.

“She is prepared to work extremely hard in order to reach this goal,” Ervin explained. “She works hard to maintain her grades and strives to be the best all around. Kyleigh’s classroom teacher holds her in high regard and considers her a student leader. She is committed to exceeding expectations on a daily basis.”

Lowndes County District Judge Adrian Johnson said the council began selecting award winners as a means of recognizing students for doing good things in their school. Johnson, who presides over the county’s juvenile court system, sees youth all too often who are in trouble. By acknowledging positive behavior, Johnson said he hopes to inspire Lowndes County youths to stay the course towards a bright future.

“We started this program about 10 years ago,” Johnson said. “In the court system, we spend a lot of time dealing with children who cause problems. We wanted to do something to highlight the positive and show that our students are doing good things.”

Ervin described Hyde as a student leader who is confident, articulate and well respected by her peers and teachers.

“Kyleigh helps other students who are struggling in different subject areas daily,” Ervin said. “Kyleigh is a talented and bright young woman who is determined to succeed in life. She is not afraid of working hard in order to achieve her goals, and she willingly goes beyond what is required of her as a student at Jackson-Steele Elementary.”

Hyde received a certificate, a CIA t-shirt and a Walmart gift card for $50.

“Our goal is highlighting [students’] positive accomplishments,” Johnson said. “We want to set these students as an example to follow.”