Student Support Center announces restructure, new leadership roles
Published 12:45 pm Thursday, October 12, 2017
Darren Yaden
Tracy Griffin
Dr. Anita Coffey
Jeannie Cooper
Jackie Risden-Smith
Claudia Godbey
NEWS RELEASE
The Lincoln County Board of Education proudly announces the restructure of the Student Support Center resulting in a decrease of positions and personnel costs.
The personnel changes follow:
* Jackie Risden-Smith has been hired as the Chief Academic Officer.
Smith is relatively new to Lincoln County School District and brings with her experiences working as a Director of Exceptional Child Services, preschool principal, middle school principal, instructional coach and exceptional child teacher in grades 6-12. She has experiences serving on boards and commissions for the state of Kentucky. She has just recently been appointed to the Read to Achieve Council. She has also served two terms on the State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children where she was elected as vice-chair her second term.
She is currently serving on the Kentucky Department of Education Dyslexia Task Force and served last year on the Commissioner’s Assessment and Accountability Work Group for Kentucky’s new accountability system.
As Chief Academic Officer, Mrs. Smith provides support to the academic division which includes the following departments: Community and Public Relations, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Early Childhood Services, Exceptional Child Services, Federal Programs, Instructional Technology, and Student Support Services.
* Darren Yaden has been hired as the Chief Operations Officer for Lincoln County Schools.
Yaden brings vast knowledge from his many experiences in the field of education. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, as well as a Master’s degree and Rank I in Instructional Leadership from Eastern Kentucky University. Yaden began his educational career at Lincoln County Middle School where he taught technology integration for nine years. He then became principal of Highland Elementary School, a position he held for 11 years.
Yaden became a part of the Student Support Center in 2012 when he was named Director of Technology & Facilities. As Chief Operations Officer, Yaden provides support to the operations division which includes the following departments: Facilities, Finance, Food Service, Personnel and Human Resources, Pupil Personnel, Technology, and Transportation and Safety.
* Claudia Godbey was hired as the new Director of Exceptional Child Services.
Godbey is a native of Lether County Kentucky. She has a Bachelors, Master’s and Rank I, in Special Education from Eastern Kentucky University. She has previously been employed a Director of Special Education in the Danville Schools for 10 years, Kentucky School for the Deaf and Kentucky School for the Blind for two years, and as the Director of Special Education for the Woodford County Schools.
* We welcome Dr. Anita Coffey and Tracy Griffin as our Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Coordinators.
Coffey comes to us from McCreary County to serve as the Elementary Coordinator. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Union College. She also completed both her Master’s degree and her Rank I in Principalship and Supervisor Instruction at Union College. She has recently received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands.
Coffey started her career as a fourth and fifth grade teacher for seven years. She then began her service as assistant principal and then as principal at the elementary level, positions she held for the past 16 years.
Griffin is a Lincoln County native and serves as the Secondary Coordinator. Griffin completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Kentucky. She also holds a Master’s degree and Rank I from Eastern Kentucky University.
Griffin has served in the Lincoln County School District for 17 years as a teacher and counselor at Fort Logan School and then LCHS.
* Jeannie Cooper has been hired as the Personnel & Human Resources Coordinator.
Cooper has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Arts in Education in School Counseling from Eastern Kentucky University. She began her career in the Lincoln County School District as the Wrap Around/Drug Free Communities Coordinator.
Cooper has served as a counselor at Lincoln County Middle and High Schools for the past nine years.
