COVINGTON, Ga. — The City of Covington adopted Clements Middle School as a Partner in Education at its Oct. 6 council meeting, cementing the beginning of a new partnership.

“I went out to their open house and to see this wonderful school, and one of the things that I noticed that they needed more than anything was community support,” said Mayor Fleeta Baggett. “And I felt, ‘What better thing to give them for the City of Covington to jump in and help.’”

Baggett invited Clements Middle School Principal Dr. Veronica Bacote to stand before the room and read and receive a proclamation. Bacote was accompanied by other school staff, including Newton County Schools Executive Director of Learning and Leadership Dr. Takila Curry and Newton County Schools Board of Education Chair Abigail Coggin.

Bacote read the Declaration of Partnership aloud, cementing the adoption.

“[The city and the school shall] determine by what means in and what manner the partner and the school may pursue a mutually enriching relationship with all pleasures and benefits thus derived being assignable ultimately to the primary beneficiary of the partnership, namely the community which both the partner and the school serve,” Bacote read, in part.

It is not immediately clear what the Partner in Education alliance will bring forth. However, proclaiming her love for middle schoolers, Baggett shared her hopes for the students.

“I picked this school because I feel like these children need to understand that just because they live in the county, that those of us in the city are also responsible for them,” Baggett said. “That they come here to do their grocery shopping, to go to Walmart, to go to the bank, and all kinds of other things, to get their McDonald’s and all the fun stuff. So we wanted them to know that they were welcome in the city.”