At the end of this past semester, we said goodbye to Dee Walker, leader of the attendance office and a staple of Cherokee High School. Although she is welcoming the world of retirement, she leaves a legacy that will remain with us.
Every day, over 2,543 students enter the doors of CHS, and our school is only growing! As you can probably imagine, keeping up with every single student in the largest high school in the county must be quite a task! Luckily, we have the delightful Mrs. Walker in charge of it all!
After years of volunteering at Canton Elementary, and later Cherokee while her children were in school, Mrs. Walker’s husband kiddingly said, “Is there like anything you can do to get paid?” for all of the time she spent helping out around the schools. She ended up looking for an opening, and after a week of substitute work in the front office, Mrs. Walker took the job!
The attendance office is truly the heart of the hustle and bustle of CHS. Mrs. Walker, along with the other office employees oversee not only general attendance for the entire school, including students at Cherokee North, but also any doctor’s excuses, check-outs, along with student messages, lunchboxes, transportation changes, etc. Additionally, new student drivers must see Mrs. Walker for required ADAP forms.
Despite all of those important duties, one of Mrs. Walker’s most important roles at CHS is being a friendly face to all. Mrs. Walker is often the first staff members students encounter in the morning, and her bright smile and cheery voice is just enough to start a student’s day off right.
Mrs. Walker is not only a light to students, but also to her fellow teachers and staff. Here is what some of our administrators had to say about Mrs. Walker’s influence around Cherokee;
“Mrs. Dee Walker has been a fixture in our attendance office for many years, Mrs. Walker is the true meaning of a Cherokee Warrior, she always works hard and is dedicated to Cherokee High school and our students. We will truly miss Mrs. Walker, Thank you for the many years of service.”
-CHS Principal, Mr. Miller
“To anyone who has walked through the CHS Attendance Office throughout her time here, Ms. Walker is family. For some, it’s because they’re related to her (her family goes way back); for others, its because they’ve had kids at CHS forever; and for the rest, it’s because that’s how she treats you, like you belong and are always welcome at this building. There are few people with that kind of influence, few who go the extra mile just because they want you to know you matter. She’s taken care of all of us throughout her time here for just that reason. Because we’re family. That the way she keeps CHS, the way she told me we have always been and need to always be.”
-CHS Assistant Principal, Mr. Ingham
When asked about her favorite thing about being a part of the Warrior Nation, Mrs. Walker responded with this;
“I get to meet all the students, it’s not like a teacher that just knows the students in their classroom, because at any given moment somebody’s gonna have to go to the dentist or check out or come in late or whatever so I get to see all of the kids.”
-Mrs. Walker
At the end of the semester, the school honored Ms. Walker with a retirement party. Among other expressions of gratitude, she was gifted with Adirondack chairs, which she had greatly wanted.
The Warrior Nation is so excited for what the future holds for Mrs. Walker. Thank you for all of your time and service to Cherokee High School!
THE WARRIOR WORD 
Thank you Laney and Cherokee Warrior Word. This is a very humbly article. Thank you for all of the kind words!
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