Better Together

CCSD wishes all of our students in grades 3-8 good luck next week on the Georgia Milestones testing. We are so proud of our students and teachers and staff for the hard work they have put in this year and can't wait for them to rock the test. Remember: Come to school each day. Arrive on time. Eat a good breakfast. Get plenty of rest. And let's show the state the progress we have made this year!

Voting in the 2025 Local School Governance Team elections for each school will take place April 21-25 with results to be announced by Monday, April 28.

The district will again use the online, mobile-friendly Election Runner software to engage families and teachers in the LSGTeam election process. Once posted, all of each school’s eligible voters will receive an email with a unique individualized login and password they’ll use to access the ballot and cast their vote. Schools that have the same number of candidates as vacancies or less candidates than vacancies will not hold elections.

If you do not receive an email with the link to vote, please contact your school's principal.

For more information about LSGT elections, click here.

The deadline to submit a nomination for the 2025 Foundation for Excellence in Public Education in Clarke County teaching and staff awards has been extended through today, Friday, April 18. Get your nomination in at athensffe.org!

Out of the 21 CCSD middle school students who qualified for the 2025 Georgia Science and Engineering Fair earlier this month, 10 walked away with honors.

Jonah Toon of Clarke Middle School received First Honors — meaning his project ranked at or above the 90th percentile of all projects — for his project, which explored the positive effects reducing carbohydrate intake can have in improving blood sugar control. The project also received the Inspiring Excellence Award and was nominated to be entered in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, a national competition, which will be held in Washington, D.C. in October.

Other CCSD students who received honors at the state fair included:

• Second Honors (80th-90th percentile in rankings) - Piper Card (Hilsman Middle) and Jessie Salas Estrada (Hilsman Middle)
• Third Honors (70th-80th percentile in rankings) - Alex Call (Clarke Middle), Omar Ghareeb (Clarke Middle), Ezra Irwin (Clarke Middle), Mason Malec (Clarke Middle), and Ian McCracken (Clarke Middle)
• Fourth Honors (60th-70th percentile in rankings) - Abby Green (Hilsman Middle) and Lillian Shaw (Hilsman Middle).

Congratulations to First Sergeant Antione Clark, JROTC instructor at Clarke Central High School, on being named the CCSD Employee of the Month for April! 1SG Clark was nominated by two parents who praised him for his ability to meet each student where they are and support and encourage them on their respective journeys. He was surprised at the school by Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker and was recognized at the Thursday, April 17 Board of Education meeting.

As a reminder, anyone in the community may nominate any full-time CCSD employee with at least one full year of service for this award. We have one more award to give out this school year so get those nominations in at bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward or directly in the embedded form below!

CCSD now has seven students who have been selected to attend the 2025 Governor's Honors Program after Cedar Shoals High School junior Lilly Cohen, who previously was announced as an alternate, received her formal invitation recently!

Lilly joins fellow Cedar Shoals student Eli Stone and Clarke Central students Max Burnham, Andréas Dillies, Cara Flath, Quinn Pendley, and Waylon Vaughn as GHP finalists who have been invited to attend the monthlong residential program this summer. In case you missed last month's announcement, read more here!

Congratulations to the Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary girls and Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary boys for winning the 2025 CCSD elementary soccer league championships! The Tree Frogs defeated Whitehead Road Elementary 3-0 in the girls' championship, while the Wildcats prevailed over Timothy Road Elementary 4-1 in the boys' finals. A job well done by the winners, runners-up, and all the teams on a successful season. Click here for a full photo gallery of the championship matches!

At its Thursday, April 17 meeting, the Clarke County Board of Education approved three school and district administrative appointments. Barnett Shoals Elementary School assistant principal Sabrina Lumpkin will become the school's next principal, effective July 1, while Whitehead Road Elementary School interim principal Bylan Swift has been promoted to principal effective immediately. In addition, Dan Swartz has been named the district's Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources after having held that position in an interim capacity since November.

Read more about these leaders here!

CCSD's Department of Student and Family Support will hold a pair of community town halls on mental health later this month to answer questions and provide information about the support available in our schools.

The two town halls will be held:

• Monday, April 28, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Clarke Middle School, 1235 Baxter St.
• Tuesday, April 29, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Hilsman Middle School, 870 Gaines School Rd.

See the above flyers for additional information. Spanish-language interpreters will be present at the town halls.

The Athens Community Career Academy still has openings in a few of its free summer camps for rising ninth-grade students. Camps that still have openings include Firefighting, Biotechnology, Teaching as a Profession, and Entertainment and Events Management.

The weeklong camps are from June 9-12 and will run from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day. Breakfast, lunch, and transportation will be provided upon request. Spots in each pathway camp are limited and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. The deadline to apply is April 22. Go to bit.ly/ccsdsummerprograms to select the camp you are interested in attending and select whether your student will need breakfast, lunch, and transportation. For more information, contact Halo Smart, ACCA Workforce Development Coordinator, at smarth@clarke.k12.ga.us or 706-357-5244.

The Dual Language Immersion Program enrollment period at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School for the 2025-26 school year is now open! The application and more information can be found at www.clarke.k12.ga.us/dli.

CCSD offers a Dual Language Immersion Program in Spanish for zoned students at OAES in grades PK-5. As early as pre-K, students zoned for OAES can enroll in the program and receive half of their daily instruction in English and the other in Spanish. Students who go through the program in elementary school can continue it at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School through eighth grade and eventually be able to take AP Spanish classes earlier in high school and receive the Seal of Biliteracy from the Georgia Department of Education. Check out the video below, which highlights the program and takes a look at how our elementary and middle school students enrolled in it are thriving and benefitting from a bilingual education.

The Athens-Clarke County Library is once again partnering with Quintet Athens this year on a kids' story writing contest. Children of all ages are invited to send a short story, and 10 stories will be selected to be composed into a piece of music that will be performed by the quintet in a concert at the library this summer. Click here for more information about entering the contest!

The Clarke Central High School Athletic Department will offer numerous youth sports camps this summer. The camps are open to students ages 6-14. Scholarship opportunities are available. Click here for more information!

CCSD's 21st Century after-school program will hold free, grant-funded summer enrichment camps open to all middle school students as well as students at Fowler Drive, Gaines, and J.J. Harris elementary schools.

All camps will be held June 2-18, Monday through Thursday each week and ending on Wednesday, June 18. Transportation and meals will be provided free of charge.

• The middle school camps are open to all students entering grades 6-8 and will include STEM activities, culinary classes, and field trips and will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. West side students (Clarke Middle and Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle) will attend camp at Clarke Middle. East side students (Hilsman Middle and Coile Middle) will attend camp at Hilsman.
• The elementary camps are open to students entering grades 1-5 at either Fowler Drive, Gaines, or J.J. Harris. The camps will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and will also include culinary classes, S.T.E.A.M. activities, and field trips. Students at Fowler Drive and J.J. Harris will attend camp at J.J. Harris, while Gaines students will be at Gaines.

Click here or on the button below to register now!

Each year, CCSD partners with the Athens YWCO to offer a monthlong Summer Girls Club for elementary and middle school students. Registration is now open for this year's program, which will be open to girls entering grades K-7 and will be held June 2 through July 11 at Bettye H. Holston Elementary School.

The program focuses on educational and recreational activities that build self-confidence, encourage educational achievement, and promote healthy lifestyles. To accomplish this, the Girls Club curriculum includes reading lessons, career discovery, job training skills, nutrition education, financial literacy, and traditional camp activities.

The camp will run Monday through Friday each week, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, with an extended-day option lasting until 5:30 p.m. Tuition is $50 weekly ($60 for extended-day), and there is a one-time registration fee of $25 (which includes a camp T-shirt). There are financial scholarships available for those in need. Lunch will be provided each day, and transportation options are available.

Click here for more information and to register!

CCSD's Department of Special Education will host a transition fair for students and their families on Friday, April 25, from 9 a.m. to noon at the District Office. There will be more than 30 local and areas resource providers in attendance to share information in the areas of community access programs, job support, financial support, trusts planning, guardianship, social opportunities, and more. There will be snacks, games, and plenty of information. We look forward to seeing you!

For more information about the fair, email Liza Burnsed, CCSD Transition Specialist, at burnsedl@clarke.k12.ga.us. You can also find more information CCSD Special Education transition services at this link.

Each year, CCSD invites students, staff, families, and other community stakeholders to comment on an updated version of the district’s Code of Student Conduct for the following school year prior to adoption of the code by the Board of Education.

The proposed 2025-26 Code of Student Conduct (Spanish version begins on page 37) is now available for review, and the district is accepting feedback responses through April 30. Please use this form (available in English and Spanish) to submit your feedback. Review the proposed code and then select which sections you would like to comment on. All comments will be submitted to the Board of Education for review and may be used for additional revisions to the code before it is presented to the board for consideration at its monthly meeting on May 8.

The Clarke County Board of Education will hold a called meeting on Tuesday, April 22, to receive an initial presentation on the Clarke County School District Superintendent’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 (July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026). The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at the District Office, 595 Prince Ave., Athens. Board meetings are open to the public and are livestreamed and available for on-demand viewing on the CCSD YouTube channel.

Click here for additional 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, May 8, 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.

The Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton St., Athens, will host its monthly free Family Day event Saturday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to noon. The exhibition “Waffle House Vistas” invites us to remember to look up and recognize the beauty all around us. Artist Micah Cash took photographs focusing on landscapes of the South as seen through the windows of Waffle House restaurants. Families can explore Cash’s perspective alongside Southern works of art from the museum's collection with interactive art cart activities and an art project inspired by the exhibition.

For those who cannot attend in person, Family Day to-go kits will be available for pick-up starting at 1 p.m. Saturday through the end of day Sunday, April 20, while supplies last.

The annual Athens Twilight Festival is downtown next weekend and will once again feature the Kids' Zone with numerous fun activities for children of all ages. See more information in the flyer above or at athenstwilight.com.

Advantage Behavioral Health Systems will host a community 5K Walk/Run fundraiser on Sunday, April 27, to raise awareness about mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities. There will also be a free community event with tabling resources and activities for children. The event will be held from 3-5 p.m. at Southeast Clarke Park, 4440 Lexington Rd. Registration for the 5K is $25 prior to the day of the event and $30 the day of the event. Register at classicraceservices.com.

The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government will host a series of public drop-in meetings throughout April, allowing residents to review and comment on the county's future land-use map. The locations for these meetings were selected to provide at least one nearby meeting opportunity for all ACC residents.

At these drop-in style events, county planning staff and Future Land Use Steering Committee members will be present to talk about the map, answer questions, receive suggested map changes, and assist residents with filling out the feedback survey. In addition to the 10 community meetings, planning staff will also set up an informational table during April at several community events and public locations. A list of the 10 scheduled public meeting events is provided below, and more information is available at www.accgov.com/compplan.

Meeting Schedule

• Monday, April 21, 5:30-7 p.m. - Chapelwood Methodist Church, 100 Janice Dr.
• Wednesday, April 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m. - Fowler Drive Elementary School, 400 Fowler Dr. CCSD will have a Spanish-language interpreter in attendance.
• Wednesday, April 30, 5:30-8 p.m. - Athens-Clarke County Library, 2025 Baxter St.

The Athens Area Association of Realtors invites everyone in the community to a free Family Fun Day event Saturday, May 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1720 Meriweather Dr., Watkinsville. See the flyer above for more information.