Georgia's former first lady and champion of literacy has school named in her honor

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A northeast Georgia school is now known as the Sandra Dunagan Deal Elementary School in honor of the state’s former first lady who died in 2022.

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held Monday for the school in Gainesville, replacing both White Sulphur and Riverbend Elementary Schools, which were phased out of service.

Deal, who died of cancer at the age of 80, served as first lady from 2011 to 2019 alongside her husband, former Gov. Nathan Deal.

“Mrs. Deal’s advocacy for childhood literacy, her servant’s heart, and her compassion for all, is a legacy that will live on in the halls of the new school and in the hearts of the students and families of the community,” the Hall County School District wrote in a post on its Facebook page.

Deal, who was a teacher in Hall County for more than 15 years, achieved a goal while first lady of reading to schoolchildren in all 159 counties, all 181 Georgia school districts and numerous prekindergarten classes — ultimately visiting more than 1,000 schools.