At Bulloch Academy, there is one person that everyone from Roy Alexander, the new head of school, to the hundreds of parents, students, and staff go to for the answers to their questions and concerns: Rita Groover. While she has been employed as the secretary for the upper school for some 12 years, Groover has been everything from a concerned parent to a substitute teacher since she first came to BA.
As such, she is eminently capable and qualified to fulfill her range of duties that include everything from directing visitors, to acting as nurse-mother to BA students suffering from a blister on their finger to a scratchy throat, to advising parents on how best to assist their children.
Her parents, Martin and Gwen, raised her and brothers Glenn, Tony and Brian in Statesboro. While at Statesboro High School, she met the man who is now her husband of 31 years, Warren Groover. They have two children: Sommer Groover Shuford, the mother of their granddaughter Grace; and Matthew Groover, who is soon to graduate from the Veterinary School at the University of Georgia.
When Groover was at Georgia Southern working on a degree in Education, she decided it was time to raise a family rather than pursue some other career.
According to Groover, “I really wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and was not career-oriented. Once my children went off to school, however, I thought it would be nice to work part-time, as that would help pay the bills.”
Therefore, she began her substitute teaching at the schools that her children attended: first at Sallie Zetterower, then at Julia P. Bryant, and then at BA.
Groover continued, “I loved the atmosphere at BA, so when a full-time position opened up, I jumped at the opportunity.” She and her husband are also very active in their church, the Statesboro Primitive Baptist Church.
Always one to shy from the limelight, Groover played down her role at the school, saying, “I'm sort of a go-between, at the bottom of the totem pole here. I see myself as the liaison between the teachers and the parents. I just try to make people feel comfortable when they come here, because it is such a really friendly place.”
After a moment's pause, Groover continued, “You know, it's kind of funny because having this job has actually allowed me to continue being a mom. Believe it or not, my daughter has started back to 'subbing' here a couple of days every week. That means not only do I get to see Sommer, but I get to spend time with Grace while her mom's here.”
As such, she is eminently capable and qualified to fulfill her range of duties that include everything from directing visitors, to acting as nurse-mother to BA students suffering from a blister on their finger to a scratchy throat, to advising parents on how best to assist their children.
Her parents, Martin and Gwen, raised her and brothers Glenn, Tony and Brian in Statesboro. While at Statesboro High School, she met the man who is now her husband of 31 years, Warren Groover. They have two children: Sommer Groover Shuford, the mother of their granddaughter Grace; and Matthew Groover, who is soon to graduate from the Veterinary School at the University of Georgia.
When Groover was at Georgia Southern working on a degree in Education, she decided it was time to raise a family rather than pursue some other career.
According to Groover, “I really wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and was not career-oriented. Once my children went off to school, however, I thought it would be nice to work part-time, as that would help pay the bills.”
Therefore, she began her substitute teaching at the schools that her children attended: first at Sallie Zetterower, then at Julia P. Bryant, and then at BA.
Groover continued, “I loved the atmosphere at BA, so when a full-time position opened up, I jumped at the opportunity.” She and her husband are also very active in their church, the Statesboro Primitive Baptist Church.
Always one to shy from the limelight, Groover played down her role at the school, saying, “I'm sort of a go-between, at the bottom of the totem pole here. I see myself as the liaison between the teachers and the parents. I just try to make people feel comfortable when they come here, because it is such a really friendly place.”
After a moment's pause, Groover continued, “You know, it's kind of funny because having this job has actually allowed me to continue being a mom. Believe it or not, my daughter has started back to 'subbing' here a couple of days every week. That means not only do I get to see Sommer, but I get to spend time with Grace while her mom's here.”