Culture Excellence Award

On September 26, the Heard County School System announced that it has received two additional awards from a 2022 statewide research effort into identifying the best places to work. The two awards are the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top Workplace Culture Award in the Area of Employee Appreciation and Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top Workplace Culture Award in the Area of Professional Development. Both awards are tied to research and survey data collected during the past school year. “We are truly proud of this honor and what it means for our students and community,” stated Heard County School System Superintendent Rodney Kay. “Having a faculty and staff that feels appreciated and respected by our leaders and our community means we will be able to attract and keep the best educators for our students.” 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Energage Research/Marketing firm have been investigating and researching to find the best places to work in the Greater Atlanta area over the last two years. After compiling the results of the research, the Heard County School System not only won the coveted Atlanta Journal-Constitution 2022 Top Workplace Award this past spring, but finished ranked twenty-first out of the thousands of midsize employers (150 to 499 employees) that were part of the study.

According to Energage, the job satisfaction of Heard County School System employees rated in the 99th percentile. These employees feel genuinely appreciated and well-informed, while also believing in the school system’s direction and vision. “When there is already a tremendous teacher shortage and when the average teacher leaves the profession in their first few years, it is critical that we build strong connections with our new teachers,” stated Heard County School System Associate Superintendent Mike Roberts. “Our school system has made that a priority and it is paying huge dividends.”