Pierce County High School (PCHS) has a new elective class this school year — the first of its kind in Georgia. Environmental Science teacher Jason Bradley is now also the instructor for PCHS’s new Fundamentals of Officiating.
Principal Kelly Murray says a course such as this had been talked about for a couple of years, but it wasn’t until last year they began reaching out via email to students who might be interested. Mostly the emails targeted juniors and seniors with extra time in their schedules for a new elective.
The response was almost immediate. Seven young men, all student athletes, signed up for Fundamentals of Officiating. The course combines classwork with on the field training. A special online training program called RefReps is also used to supplement the curriculum, but Murray says the most important ingredient of this new class is the instructor.
