Note: This is the second in a series profiling the principals of Athens ISD’s five main campuses. … Tuesday: Rosalie Dennis/BAE
By Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist
Kelye Garcie likes to laugh. While she takes her job very seriously, she also includes cartoons in otherwise routine staff emails and is quick to joke. At the beginning of most school days, you’ll find the South Athens Elementary principal greeting children as they enter the building.
“I want to put a smile on their faces,” said Garcie. “I met them at the door all last year, and they walked up immediately for a hug or a high-five. They love it.”
Last year was Garcie’s first at Athens ISD, when she served as assistant principal. This year, she has taken over leadership of the campus and is excited to be starting back on a wave of good news. The Texas Education Agency released its accountability ratings this month. South Athens received distinction designations in four areas: academic achievement in mathematics, postsecondary readiness, top 25 percent in student progress, and top 25 percent in closing performance gaps.
“It’s an amazing thing to see the dedication of teachers, day after day, working hard,” said Garcie. “And the students just did so well.”
Garcie’s path to becoming a school administrator began as a social worker. She worked for a time in a domestic violence/sexual assault shelter with children and realized she was not suited for the “nightmares” of the job. So she took her mom’s advice.
“I babysat special needs kids and started a special needs program at my church as a teenager,” said Garcie. “My mom was a special ed teacher in Arlington, and she said, ‘You should be a special ed teacher.’”
Garcie earned her teaching certification and did just that for the next several years. She went on to initiate a program for working with autistic children, then went back to school to become an administrator. Garcie spent five years total as an assistant principal in the Frisco school district before moving to Athens last year.
“I was ready to get back to a small community,” she said.
Garcie said she intends to be supportive, visible and approachable for her teaching staff, the students and the public, citing examples she has had over the years from excellent campus leaders.
More about Kelye Garcie
She loves to paint and do arts and crafts. “Not portraits or landscapes. I like whimsical things.”
She has adopted two dogs since moving to Athens: Scarlett, an English bulldog named for her cherry-colored eyes, and Shyla Buford, a shy mutt adopted from retired principal Eugene Buford.
She is an avid traveler, having been to Germany, France and Costa Rica. A trip to Egypt is on her bucket list.