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On behalf of the Andalusia City School System, I would like to take this opportunity to express my extreme gratitude to the community, for without this community’s support, ACS would not have had the opportunities to accomplish the many things we did in the 2022-2023 school year. Our successes are the community’s successes, and ACS will forever be grateful for this incredible community.

I would like to highlight a few of the accomplishments from the past year that would not have been possible without the aid of this community. The Andalusia City School system works by the motto of One Team: One Goal. Over the past two years, we have implemented many changes to better our school system by focusing on the three schools as one entity.

This past year, ACS scored a 91 on our state report card. While the faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to achieve this feat, this community also deserves thanks. We have had so much involvement from our community, and it is truly reflected in this score. Our students know they are a part of something bigger than ACS because of our town’s involvement. I would like to thank parents, businesses, and other stakeholders for being a part of this monumental achievement.

The 2022-2023 Andalusia High School football team also won the AHSAA 4A State Championship. As most know, this is the first time this has happened in over 40 years. Without a doubt, I know this would not have been possible without the community’s involvement and our outstanding Band and Football Booster Clubs. So many people joined forces to help make this win happen, and our players knew the community supported them. They won this championship for the town of Andalusia and its legacy through the Andalusia City School system.

The Andalusia High School cheerleaders also won the AHSAA 4A State Championship in Gameday. Again, the community and our Booster club rallied behind the cheerleaders, which pushed them to achieve this incredible goal. They are the first AHS cheer team to win a state championship, and I would like to extend my continued gratitude to the town of Andalusia, businesses, and other stakeholders for backing ACS and celebrating its many successes.

I also put together a team of teachers and administrators to form the Superintendent’s Leadership Team. These staff members worked through the summer and the school year to create a new and improved Strategic Plan for ACS. This plan includes working closely with our community and stakeholders to better all three of our schools. These things include academics, STEM program, common assessment, classroom management, student engagement, college and career readiness, and overall preparing our students to become productive members of society. We look forward to working with our community as we implement this new plan.

I would also like to recognize and thank the board members of the Andalusia City School system. Amy Dugger, Sammy Glover, David Bryant, Dr. David McCalman and Dr. Parrish King.

They do this job voluntarily, and their dedication is another reason ACS has achieved so much through the years. All of the members have poured so much of their personal time into this system, and they have made an abundance of decisions to better our schools in all aspects.

Another vital part of the success of ACS is the Andalusia City Council and Mayor Earl Johnson. The relationship we have with the city of Andalusia is invaluable, and I would be remiss if I did not extend my extensive thanks to each of them and all that they do for our students and schools. Without their dedication and commitment to ACS, there are many opportunities our students would not have access to, and these opportunities are what make ACS such a successful school system.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge and give my deepest gratitude to the four teachers who retired from ACS this past year: Dianne Chavers (AES), Ann Pugh (AES), Denise Pearce (AJHS), and Anthony Mikel (AHS). These four individuals dedicated so much of their lives to positively impact all of the students in their path, contributing to the success of this system over the years. They will be deeply missed, but I wish them all the best in this new chapter of their lives.

So, to our community, thank you for your continued and dedicated support to the Andalusia City School system. Without this support, ACS would not be where it is today and would not have the ability to continue to elevate our system to be one of the top performing school district in the state. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve as your superintendent. Go Bulldogs!!

— Dr. Daniel Shakespeare is the superintendent of Andalusia City Schools.