Better Together

Barnett Shoals Elementary School third-grade teacher and CCSD 2025-26 Teacher of the Year Timothy Pritchett has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2026-27 Georgia Teacher of the Year award by the Georgia Department of Education!

State School Superintendent Richard Woods surprised Mr. Pritchett with the announcement in his class on Thursday, March 19, part of a statewide tour this month to congratulate each of the 10 finalists. Mr. Pritchett, who would be the first Clarke County teacher to win the award in its more than 50-year history, will be honored with the other finalists at a reception in May, where the statewide winner will be announced.

See more photos from Thursday's surprise visit here!

Students in Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School’s Performing Arts program — including the BHL Orchestra and Band — along with a handful of Clarke Central High School orchestra students recently returned from an incredible educational trip to New York City, where they performed on the historic stage of Carnegie Hall.

Students delivered an outstanding performance — under the direction of BHL String Programs Director Matthew Rubenstein, BHL Director of Bands Amanda Irby, and Clarke Central String Programs Director Dr. Eunice Kang — as part of the prestigious WorldStrides Honors Performance Series.

Students and families described the experience as truly transformative. As 8th-grade violinist Allison Cortez proudly shared, “We are middle schoolers who performed at Carnegie Hall! It was the best opportunity ever, and I am forever grateful to have had the chance to do this.”

Read more about the trip — including testimonies from students, educators, and parents and a full list of community partners and stakeholders who made this incredible trip possible!

See more photos here!

And check out some videos from the performance rehearsals and the final applause here!

The Hilsman Middle School Student Council continued its proud tradition of outstanding achievement last month, winning five statewide awards at the Georgia Association of Student Councils (GASC) annual convention. The convention, held at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, gives student leaders across the state the opportunity to connect, share their experiences, and learn from each other. Twenty-six Hilsman students were in attendance.

For the second consecutive school year, Hilsman was recognized by GASC as a Council of Excellence. This award is given to middle and high school student councils that demonstrate integrity in their work throughout the year and commitment in serving their fellow students, school community, and the community at large.

Read more here about the awards received by the council!

Congratulations to the Cedar Shoals High School Rifle Team on finishing 10th overall in the GHSA state competition last weekend in Waycross! The Jaguars became the first team in school and CCSD history to qualify for the state finals and shot their highest-scoring round of the season for a strong finish to the year.

Cedar Shoals qualified for the state finals after winning the semifinals against St. Vincent’s Academy. The match ended in a 1119–1119 tie, coming down to a tiebreaker of centers (bullseyes). Cedar Shoals secured the win with 49 centers to St. Vincent’s 43.

Pictured above, from left to right, are MSgt. Ricky Keller, Ellis Garrett, Kaylee Mellin, Selynne Pez, Aleiah La Trace, and Dadafne Reyna.

Way to go, Jags!

Fresh off their strong showing in the Southern Interscholastic Press Association awards, Clarke Central High School's ODYSSEY Media Group got some more fantastic news, bringing in the Georgia Scholastic Press Association's top individual honors.

Managing Editor Peter Atchley, a senior, was named the Georgia Champion Journalist by GSPA; Sports Editor Liya Taylor, a junior, was named the Georgia Junior Champion Journalist; and fellow junior and Digital Editor-in-Chief Lea D’Angelo was named the Georgia Junior Champion Journalist runner-up.

This was the third consecutive year the ODYSSEY has swept GSPA's top individual honors. Atchley, who won the Junior Champion Journalist award last year, follows in the footsteps of Wyatt Meyer, who won both awards in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Central alum Molly Harwell was Georgia Champion Journalist in 2024.

Read more about the ODYSSEY's awards on their website.

Cedar Shoals High School's team of student journalists from BluePrints Magazine and cedarblueprints.com also had a strong showing in the GSPA awards contest, including an All-Georgia rating for the website and individual All-Georgia ratings for Aislynn Chau, Maggie Gillan, Eva Lucero, and Sophie Meile. Click the link below for a full list of awards won by Cedar!

At its Thursday, March 12 meeting, the Clarke County Board of Education approved the appointment of Dr. Katie Hanks as principal of Whit Davis Elementary School, a position she had held in an interim capacity since July 2025.

"We have seen tremendous student progress at Whit Davis Elementary under Dr. Hanks’ leadership as Assistant Principal and Interim Principal," said Interim Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Scott. "We are very excited to have her in place as Principal for the upcoming school year to continue leading the great work being done there by staff, students, and parents."

Read more about Dr. Hanks' appointment!

Nominations are open for CCSD's Employee of the Month award for April! Anyone in the community may nominate any full-time CCSD employee with at least one full year of service for the award. The winner will be surprised at their school or building, publicly recognized at the April 2 Clarke County Board of Education meeting, and presented with a gift bag from the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce with contributions from several local businesses.

Submit a nomination at bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward or fill the form out directly below!

The Foundation for Excellence in Public Education in Clarke County has opened nominations for its 2026 Teaching and Staff awards and is accepting nominations until April 15 at 11 p.m. Nominate a teacher or support staff member who has made an incredible impact on students. Click here for more information on the awards and to get started on your nomination! Award winners will be announced this summer.

The Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals soccer varsity soccer teams will square off Saturday, March 21, at Cedar Shoals, with the girls' match beginning at 1 p.m. and the boys' match at 3 p.m.

As part of Youth Day, Cedar Shoals is offering free admission to all elementary and middle school students in the district and encourages students to wear their school or favorite soccer jersey. Come out and support your team in action!

Students must be accompanied by an adult the entire time on campus. Adult tickets are available for purchase on the GoFan app either in advance or at the gate. Good luck to all of our teams!

CCSD invites the Athens-Clarke County community to participate in a public design charrette for the West Broad School Complex revitalization project on Tuesday, March 31, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Vernon Payne Meeting Hall at the District Office, 595 Prince Avenue, Athens. Read more about the meeting and the project at www.clarke.k12.ga.us/westbroadschool.

CCSD invites the Athens-Clarke County community to the official dedication ceremony for the Cedar Shoals High School baseball field, which has been renamed in honor of the late James Holston, the school's first baseball coach and a longtime member of the Cedar Science Department faculty who worked there from the school's opening in 1972 until his retirement in 1994.

The dedication ceremony will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, leading up to the Jaguars' home game against Greene County at 6 p.m. Read more about Coach Holston's remarkable legacy at this link, and enjoy this post with more photos from the past!

CCSD is proud to once again partner with the Athens YWCO on its Summer Girls Club, which will be held June 1 through July 10 at Howard B. Stroud Elementary School!

Registration is now open for girls who will be entering grades K-7 for the 2026-27 school year. The camp will offer S.T.E.M., reading, swimming, music and dance, sports and games, arts and craft, and career exploration activities as well as educational field trips. lt will be held every weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.. The cost is $50 per week ($60 for extended care before or after hours) with a $25 registration fee.

Click here for more information and to register! A full PDF flyer is also attached below in English and Spanish.

Registration is now open for the Athens Community Career Academy's Summer Career Exploration Program for rising ninth-grade students. Students will have the opportunity to participate in one of the following three-day camps (June 15-17) introducing several of the CTAE pathways they can begin taking courses in as early as 10th grade:

• Advanced Manufacturing and Welding
• Entertainment, Sports, and Event Management
• Cosmetology
• Culinary Arts
• Film and Broadcast Production
• Healthcare
• Fire/EMT
• Teaching as a Profession.

Transportation, breakfast, and lunch will be provided. Apply by May 1 at bit.ly/ccsdsummerprograms. The form is available in English and Spanish. For more information, contact Halo Smart, CCSD Workforce Development Coordinator, at smarth@clarke.k12.ga.us.

Athens-based nonprofit Chess and Community is launching the Clarke County Youth Mural Art Program, a four-week creative opportunity designed for high school students to explore public art, collaboration, and creative expression while contributing to a community mural project.

Sessions will begin April 13. Participation does not require prior art experience, though an interest in art is encouraged. The goal of the program is to provide students with a supportive environment where they can learn about mural design, teamwork, and the impact of public art in their community.

Register here!

The annual CCSD Youth Art Month Student Exhibition is on display this month at the University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art, 270 River Rd., Athens, and a celebration reception is planned for Sunday, March 29, from 1-3 p.m.

See the attached PDF below for the full invitation and driving and parking directions (available in English and Spanish).

March is Apply to College Month in Georgia, and numerous colleges and universities throughout the state are waiving their application fee for the entire month through an ongoing initiative with the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

Click here for a list of participating colleges and universities!

As we celebrate March as National Reading Month, CCSD emphasizes reading and literacy as the cornerstone of a successful educational journey and encourages our families to join us in promoting a lifelong love of reading among our students so that we can continue building and strengthening our Culture of Literacy across the district!

Check out the Reading is Fundamental website for a great set of online reading resources to help you get into a regular habit of reading with your child, and give them a follow on social media!

It's easy for anyone to fall for a phishing scam, especially children. Sign up for a *FREE* Parent ProTech account through CCSD, and get access to help articles and videos on tips for tech safety for families and children of all ages — including how to identify fake ads, pop-ups, and text scams. You can also check out the monthly Parent ProTech newsletter here.

All CCSD families with a Parent Portal account are required to complete the annual information update to be able to continue to access all features. Click the links below for more instructions on doing so.

• Annual update instructions (Mandatory)
• Address change instructions
• Password/username recovery instructions
• (For new users) Setting up an account - With an activation key / Without an activation key

The Clarke County Board of Education welcomes community feedback. Here are ways you can share your voice:

• Contact BOE Members: Click here to view a list of the BOE members and their contact information.
• Find Your Board Member: Use Athens-Clarke County's online voter information tool at www.accgov.com/voterinfo to enter your address and find your BOE member and your other elected representatives.
• Attend a Meeting: The board's next scheduled meeting is Thursday, April 2, with the work session beginning at 5 p.m., followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m. All meetings are held in the Vernon Payne Meeting Hall at the CCSD administrative offices building, located at 595 Prince Ave. in Athens. The public is invited to attend meetings in person. Meetings are also streamed live and are available for on-demand viewing on the CCSD YouTube channel. Click here for the board meeting schedule.
• Agendas: Click here to access board meeting agendas.
• Board Briefs: Click to read the "Board Briefs" overview from meetings.
  
• Public Comments: Click here for information on how to sign up to speak at a BOE meeting.
• Review Policies for Review: View and comment on district policies pending public review.

Fill out the short Google form below or here, and a CCSD Human Resources representative will follow up with you.

Join the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government for its next "Coffee Together" session on March 26: "Lead-safe and Healthy Homes," featuring Philip Elliot from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

The event will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Lyndon House Arts Center, 211 Hoyt St., Athens. Families will learn about the health impacts of lead exposure and practical steps to help keep homes safe for children.

There are two easy ways to register.

• Option 1: Visit our program webpage: accgov.com/leadhazard
• Option 2: Register directly here.

The Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton St., will host its monthly free Family Day event on from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 28.

This month's theme is "No Place Like Home." Experience the vibrant sculptures and drawings of artist Beverly Buchanan. Discover how Buchanan captured the spirit of place through bold color and found materials with hands-on Art Cart activities and a take-home project inspired by the show.

For more information on the Georgia Museum of Arts and its programs and upcoming events, go to georgiamuseum.org.

Athens-based nonprofit Chess and Community invites students, families, and community members to participate in its 13th annual tournament and conference on Saturday, March 28, in downtown Athens at The Classic Center, 300 North Thomas St. Register today at this link.

The University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries, 300 South Hull St., Athens, will host a free family day event from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 28, centered around the new museum exhibition on the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The event will include crafts and storytime activities and a scavenger hunt. Click here for more information.

The Athens Area Association of Realtors will host a free Family Fun Day event on Saturday, March 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at its board office (1720 Meriweather Dr.) There will be numerous educational, fun, and family-friendly activities for children to take part in. For more information, email leslie@athensarearealtors.com or call 706-353-1126.

As part of a collaboration between CCSD and the Athens Regional Library System, the PLAY Card account provides each CCSD student with free materials (books, magazines, etc.) and online resources from the public library to help your child succeed in school, along with fun resources to support a lifelong love of reading. You and your child can check out materials at the libraries by entering their student ID number.

Click the links to view the Leisure Pursuits newsletter for March, which contains information about upcoming events and programs in Athens-Clarke County:

• English
• Español

Anyone in the community may sign up for email and/or text notifications from the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government in a wide variety of categories with more than 100 different options. Visit accgov.com/notifyme and select the list you'd like to sign up for.

211 is United Way of Northeast Georgia’s health and human service helpline – a free and confidential program accessible to anyone. Call 211, text your zip code to 898-211, or visit the online database.