Better Together

CCSD students, staff members, families, and community members celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Day of Service events around the county – including distributing food boxes to those in need at Cedar Shoals High School and outdoor space improvement projects at J.J. Harris Elementary. Thanks to all who volunteered their time in honor of Dr. King's legacy to make our community Better Together!

CCSD continues to promote a love of reading and emphasis on literacy as the foundation toward all we do in our mission of creating educational journeys that empower all students to fulfill their potential. Activities over the past week included third-graders spending time and reading with kindergarteners at Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary, Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dr. Garrick Askew reading to pre-K students at Whit Davis Elementary, and sixth-graders at Clarke Middle playing a game of "Dewey Decimal Musical Chairs" to find nonfiction books and help complete their independent reading goal of reading from several different genres. Continue to follow us on social media (@ClarkeCoSchools) for activities involving reading and literacy, and tag us in your own with the hash tags #CCSDReads and #Literacy4Life!

Pre-K students at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary celebrated the 100th day of school with a reading and writing exercise and other activities including playing dress-up and enjoying a special treat!

State School Superintendent Richard Woods visited Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary on Jan. 17 to present leaders from OAES, Timothy Road Elementary, Cleveland Road Elementary, and Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle with their Math Leader banners! Last fall, these four schools were named Math Leaders by the Georgia Department of Education for having exceptional achievement or growth in state mathematics standardized testing scores during the 2023-24 school year. Check out our full Facebook photo gallery here!

This week's snow caused the rescheduling of a pair of district events.

• The REACH Scholarship informational session for interested families that had been scheduled for Jan. 22 will be rescheduled for February. An official date, time, and location will be announced in a future edition of this newsletter and on our social media platforms (@ClarkeCoSchools) once it is finalized.
• The second of three required Board of Education public hearings on the potential opt-out of the state House Bill 581 property-tax legislation, which had been scheduled for Jan. 21, has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the District Office, 595 Prince Ave. The hearing for 6 p.m. Jan. 28 remains scheduled as is.

The date is quickly approaching! Registration for the Pre-K Lottery and new K-12 student registration for the 2025-26 school year begins Feb. 7! Head over to www.clarke.k12.ga.us/registration for all the information you need to prepare to get your child first-day ready, or check out the graphics below for a quick overview of key information!

Congratulations to Dr. Swade Huff, principal of Clarke Central High School, who has been named Administrator of the Year by the Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA)! This award is given to administrators who have nurtured the principles of scholastic journalism. Dr. Huff was recognized for his continued support of the award-winning ODYSSEY Media Group at Clarke Central.

CCSD emphasizes the importance of reading, especially from a young age, to build a foundation for a lifetime of success and opportunities for our students. The non-profit Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) helps put children on the path to reading proficiency and a better future by sparking the joy of reading. RIF highlights the importance of wellness in this month's Rally to Read feature of authors reading their books aloud, as Camila Alves McConaughey reads her co-authored book: "Just Try One Bite!"

Read along by watching the video below and head to bit.ly/RIFrallytoread to take the Rally to Read pledge of reading 100 books!

CCSD is currently accepting nominations for our Employee of the Month for February! Anyone in the community may nominate any full-time CCSD employee with at least one full year of service to the district for this award.

Head over to bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward to submit your nomination or do so directly in the embedded form below!

Five CCSD students will be participating in the Extra Special People Big Hearts Talent Show next month, and we are asking students, staff, and families around the district to cheer them on! The event will be held Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. at Athens Church Beechwood campus, 196 Alps Rd., Suite 69, Athens.

One of ESP's goals this year is to involve the participants' peers in the event so the participants can feel extra excitement and pride as they hit the stage. Community members are also encouraged to donate $1 to the cause by voting for the People's Choice Award. Click here to vote and view all the participants performing in the talent show. Click here to purchase tickets for the event.

The Athens Community Career Academy provides CCSD high school students with opportunities that foster career readiness – including resume development and building job interview skills. To that end, local business leaders and community members are invited to participate in "Project Yellow Jacket," ACCA's annual student mock interview competition where students participate in 5-to-10-minute mock interviews with employers, community partners, and volunteers who evaluate them and provide feedback on a scoring rubric. Awards are given to students based on their professionalism ratings.

The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19, and volunteers are sought for one or both of two time periods – 10:30 a.m. to noon or 1:15-2:15 p.m. To RSVP, go to bit.ly/accamockinterviews.

The Athens Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is now accepting applications for its 2025 scholarship. Find more information at this link and apply by Feb. 28. The application can be found here.

CCSD will host its annual Science & Engineering Fair for middle and high school students Saturday, Jan. 25, at Clarke Middle School. Following viewing of the projects by judges and student interviews, the public will be invited to view the projects from 11:15 a.m. to noon. An awards presentation is scheduled for 12:15 p.m.

See the full schedule below!

The Future Business Leaders of America chapter at Clarke Central High School will have a fundraiser event Monday, Feb. 10, from 5-9 p.m. at Chipotle, 165 Alps Rd., Athens. The chapter will receive 25% of proceeds from sales during this time. Eat in-person and show the flyer above or order online for pickup with the code YREEX9B.

For more information, contact Jaclyn Brown, Clarke Central FBLA faculty advisor, at brownja@clarke.k12.ga.us.

Join us Saturday, March 1, for a day of fun at the Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary annual Ribbit Run, presented by Fleet Feet! Whether it’s the 5K race, 1K Fun Run, or Tiny Tree Frog Trot, there will be races for all ages and paces. In addition to running, there will be complimentary hot chocolate and coffee from Java Joy, food for purchase from Cafe Racer, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and other children's activities.

All event proceeds will go to the Burks Elementary PTO, which provides support for teacher and school-wide projects. Register at this link by Monday, Feb. 10, to receive a T-shirt.

CCSD students in grades PK-12 are invited to participate in the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Waste Reduction Division's annual Green Life Art Contest. Winning entries will be included in the Green Life Art Exhibition in April.

This year, students are invited to explore and express their unique perspectives on sustainability and nature in the Classic City. Create a work of art that shares how you see Athens embracing the balance between urban life and the natural world, highlighting both its challenges and the beauty that lies in its landscapes and environment. Students are encouraged to create a painting, drawing, sculpture, take a photograph, or write a poem to demonstrate Athens through your eyes.

Visit accgov.com/GreenLife for more information.

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.
• Attend a Meeting: The board's next scheduled meeting is Thursday, Feb. 13, 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.

Aspiring teachers are invited to register for and attend the annual CCSD Educator Career Fair on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the District Office, 595 Prince Ave., Athens! Our Educator Career Fair is the perfect opportunity to speak with many of our current teachers and principals to understand in detail about their school and the positions they are hiring for. At the event, you may be invited to interview with school teams and potentially offered a teaching position on the spot! Representatives from Human Resources will also be there to answer any questions you may have.

Space is limited, so register today to secure your spot at bit.ly/ccsdfair25. You can find additional information and answers to frequently asked questions about the fair at this link.

The Athens Land Trust is offering free housing and financial literacy, workshops housing counseling services, and homebuyer education to Athens-Clarke County residents.

See the flyer below for additional information and click here to sign up.

Registration for youth spring programming at the Athens YMCA is now open. Activities include soccer, track and field, swim lessons, dance, teen fitness and gardening, and STEAM Club. Additional information and the registration links can be found here. See the flyers below for additional information.

Registration is now open for the spring Sirius Athletics track and field season. The program is open to children ages 6-15. The first practice is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9. Go to siriusathletics.org to register or scan the QR code in the flyer above.

Join the Athens Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. at the Athens-Clarke County Library from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 25, for a community forum on human trafficking. Learn from experts and discover ways to combat this issue. Scan the QR code in the flyer above or go to this link to register and secure your spot.

The Athens Farmers Market is now accepting applicants for its FARM (Food as Real Medicine) Rx program. FARM Rx is a proven, evidence-based model of preventative healthcare with a demonstrated impact, resulting in healthier communities, food systems, and local economies. The 2025 FARM Rx program begins in April and runs through early November. For those eight months, participants attend the Saturday farmers markets at Bishop Park (or Wednesday markets at Creature Comforts) to receive fruits and vegetables for themselves and their families, along with attending a series of cooking and wellness classes hosted by the University of Georgia SNAP-Ed program. The FARM Rx program serves both English- and Spanish-speaking families. Transportation is also offered to the market and classes for all those who need it.

To be eligible for the program, people must self-qualify as food-insecure (based on two questions from the USDA) and suffer from a diet-related illness. See the flyer below for additional information and click here to access the waitlist form.

Project Safe's annual Jessica Nowell Memorial "Stomp Out Domestic Violence" step show will be held Saturday, Feb. 16, at Clarke Central High School.

Step teams from CCSD schools will be among those participating in the event. Doors will open at 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students.