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Employees of the Lowndes County Public School System gathered at the Renaissance Convention Center in Montgomery on Aug. 1 to celebrate MEGA Institute Day.

The event is an annual celebration put on by the Lowndes County Board of Education to kick off the new school year and is always held on district employees’ first official day of work during the respective school year. Employees of all titles are invited to the festivities, and professional workshops are offered for every position within the district. 

This year’s attendees were welcomed with performances by students of the district before receiving a message from special guest speaker, Dr. Lorenzo Pharrams, founder of LJP Consulting. 

A number of other special guests were also in attendance to speak with district employees and offer well wishes for the 2023-2024 school year. These included Alabama Senator Robert Stewart, Jr. who presented Lowndes County Schools with $150,000 to aid in improving athletic programs within the district.

Lowndes County Interim Superintendent Samita Jeter said this year’s Institute Day was “filled with excitement and new beginnings” as she described the events of the day.

“Staff members were welcomed in by our students from various schools in the district, cheerleaders from Calhoun High School, student leaders from Central High School, and youngsters from our Head Start program,” Jeter said. “They all gave touching performances and showed us why our work is so important.”

The Calhoun School Instructional Assistant Angel DeJarnette expressed her enjoyment in participating in Institute Day, citing the speech from Pharrams as her most favorable moment.

“Overall, it was a really magnificent event,” DeJarnette said. “Institute day is always great. We all really enjoy it. They [the Institute committee] set us up with some awesome professional development opportunities and provide us with everything we need to have a productive school year. The speaker this year, Dr. Lorenzo Pharrams, has a wonderful ability to connect with us all. He gave a dynamic presentation that was very impactful and truly moving.”

Jeter expressed a deep appreciation for her employees, stating that with their help and hard work, the best is yet to come for Lowndes County Public Schools.

“We have a lot of work to do this year as we ‘Build Our Future for Academic Success’,” Jeter said. “Our district is under construction, and I feel confident that we have the perfect crew in place to help build great minds.”