Better Together

CCSD is pleased to announce Mr. Chris Batson of Clarke Middle School as its Teacher of the Year and Mr. Christian Barner of Clarke Central High School as its Support Professional of the Year for the 2024-25 school year. The winners were announced Thursday, Oct. 24, during the CCSD Teacher and Support Professional of the Year awards banquet at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

All of this year’s building-level winners submitted applications for the districtwide awards, and the Support Professional of the Year was chosen by a district committee based on those applications. The pool of Teacher of the Year applications was narrowed down to a field of three finalists — Mr. Batson, Ms. Tymisha Creightney of Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, and Ms. Barbara Gaertig of Hilsman Middle School — who were then evaluated through classroom visits and scored by a panel of judges on a rubric developed by the district. As Teacher of the Year, Mr. Batson will now represent CCSD in the statewide competition.

Read more here and see more photos from last night's celebration here!

Congratulations to Barnett Shoals Elementary for being named one of Georgia's Literacy Leaders by State School Superintendent Richard Woods and the Georgia Department of Education for achievement in reading! Barnett Shoals third-graders had one of the highest growth rates in the state last school year on the Georgia ELA Milestones Assessment with an 18.2% increase in students scoring proficient and above. Superintendent Woods visited the school to present administration and students with their Literacy Leaders banner. See more photos from the Superintendent's visit here!

Two of CCSD's 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) after-school program sites — Burney-Harris-Lyons and Coile middle schools — have been chosen to participate in the 2024-25 NASA Engineering Design Challenge, providing many of our students with the opportunity to interact directly with some of our nation's top scientists and engineers!

The U.S. Department of Education 21st CCLC Program has collaborated with NASA to bring exciting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning opportunities to student participants. Georgia's 21st CCLC was approved for participation in the challenge, and the Georgia Department of Education selected BHL and Coile as two of the 10 sites to take part.

Student teams will be able to engage in design challenges and connect virtually with NASA scientists and engineers to discuss proposed solutions to their designs. NASA will also offer staff training for after-school professionals with their education specialists and continual program or help desk support for the duration of the partnership.

Students in Ms. Isabel Balsamo's Spanish class at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle who are part of the school's dual-language immersion program celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month recently with video projects, three of which are linked below.

CCSD offers a dual-language immersion (DLI) program for students at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary, allowing students to progress throughout elementary school with half of their daily instruction in English and half in Spanish. Zoned students have the opportunity to continue DLI instruction in grades 6-8 at BHL and, upon successful completion of the middle school program, will have earned high school Spanish I and II credits.

Enjoy these samples of these BHL students' work!

• Un día Siendo Maya
• Pupusas del Salvador
• Musica Ranchera

Tickets are now on sale for the Classic City Championship basketball games, which will be held Friday, Dec. 20, at the brand-new Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center in downtown Athens! Come watch the Cedar Shoals High School and Clarke Central High School girls' and boys' junior-varsity and varsity basketball teams do battle in an exciting new venue and support all of our student-athletes! More info, including ticket pricing, is available here! CCSD employees will also have to purchase a ticket unless they have an approved GHSA pass.

The game schedule is as follows:

• 1 p.m. - girls' JV
• 3 p.m. - boys' JV
• 5 p.m. - girls' varsity
• 7 p.m. - boys' varsity

The Clarke Central High School and Cedar Shoals High School marching bands turned in great performances last weekend in the Heart of Georgia Marching Invitational at Warner Robins High School.

The Gladiator Marching Band won second place overall in Class AA, second place for percussion, and third place for color guard while earning Superior ratings for overall band, music performance, visual performance, overall effect, percussion, drum major, and color guard. The Cedar Shoals drum majors won second place in Class AA while earning a Superior rating, while the overall band, percussion, and color guard earned Excellent ratings.

Congratulations to all of these students and staff for their hard work!

This week, Ben Smalley, CCSD's Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, was presented with the Georgia Council for the Social Studies (GCSS) Outstanding Social Studies Supervisor/Leader of the Year award during the council's 60th annual conference and awards luncheon.

We congratulate Mr. Smalley and thank him for his extraordinary work in supporting our school administrators and teachers and helping to promote relevant and engaging educational activities for all of our students.

Every day, CCSD has no shortage of employees behind the scenes making a difference in the lives of children and a positive impact in the community. And we want your help in giving them the recognition they deserve!

The Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI) is hosting its fifth annual

Hidden Heroes campaign, illuminating difference-makers in education across the state. The campaign seeks to create a wave of gratitude for education professionals who serve their community — from bus drivers to teachers, nutritionists to principals, superintendents to coaches, and everyone in between.

Nominations are open through Oct. 31, and voting will run Nov. 1-22. We hope you’ll join us in nominating "Hidden Heroes" in CCSD to celebrate the work they are doing every day for our students. Nominate today here!

As we celebrate National Mentoring Day this weekend, we encourage community members to become a mentor to a CCSD student today by joining the Clarke County Mentor Program.

Mentors act as a role model and friend; they encourage positive choices, promote high self-esteem, and support academic achievement. As part of the program, mentors visit their assigned “mentee” at school, ideally once each week during the school year, for a meal, game, academic help, school program, and conversation.

Learn more about the program requirements and the application process at clarkecountymentorprogram.org.

The Clarke Central High School Drama Department is putting the final touches on its production of “The Diviners." Shows will be held Thursday and Friday, Oct. 24-25, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 26-27, at 2 p.m. in the school auditorium. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for adults and can be purchased on GoFan.

Cedar Shoals High School will host a community trick-or-treat event Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 6-8 p.m. Enjoy games, a haunted room and bus, fire truck, Kona Ice, face-painting, candy, and more! Admission is free. Wear your best costumes!

The school is also accepting donations of individually wrapped Halloween candy. Donations can be dropped off at the school's front office.

The Clarke Central Agriculture Education program and FFA Chapter is currently running a vegetable box fundraiser. Funds generated through the fundraiser will help provide students opportunities to attend leadership events at the area, state, and national levels. Vegetable boxes include 20 pounds of locally grown Georgia produce — such as squash, zucchini, tomatoes, jalapeños, and more — for $30. The boxes make for nice gifts or help provide fresh ingredients for your Thanksgiving meal!

Pick up will be at CCHS on Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 4-6 p.m. Place your order today by going to bit.ly/ffaproduce. CCHS FFA is also providing an opportunity to donate fresh produce directly to those affected by the Apalachee High School shooting by choosing the "donate" button when selecting your quantity.

If you want to get an early start on your Christmas decoration planning and get that tree purchase out of the way, the Clarke Central High School baseball program is holding its annual Christmas Tree and Greenery fundraiser through Sunday, Oct. 27.

Fraser Fir trees ranging from 5 to 11 feet tall, wreaths from 16 to 32 inches, and garlands in both Fraser Fir and White Pine (25 or 75 feet) are available for purchase. Orders will be delivered for free to homes in the Athens area on Sunday, Dec. 1.

Orders can be placed here. For more information and questions, email cchsbaseballtreesale@gmail.com.

At its Thursday, Oct. 17 meeting, the Clarke County Board of Education tabled action on the proposed academic calendars for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years until its Nov. 14 meeting to allow for additional public input.

Following a public input survey on the district's academic calendar this spring, which garnered 863 responses, a district committee was convened in May to craft the calendars for the next two school years. The committee was composed of certified and classified staff, school leadership, representatives from local school governance teams, families, and students. It included representation from each school within the district, as well as the central office, in order to foster inclusivity and equity in the calendar development process.

The calendars and survey responses can be found on this page or by clicking the buttons below. Please submit any comments to feedback@clarke.k12.ga.us.

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, Nov. 14, 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.

Athens-Clarke County Animal Services will hold a Trunk-or-Treat event Saturday, Oct. 26, from 3-6 p.m. at the shelter, 125 Buddy Christian Way, Athens. Come enjoy an afternoon with shelter animals and other fall activities. Check out the shelter on Facebook for updates and more information.