Back to School Guide 2024-25

Welcome to another year of the "Better Together" newsletter, produced in English and Spanish by CCSD's Department of Public Relations and Communications. This weekly digital newsletter will be published every Friday throughout the school year, and the links will be emailed and texted to all families through the district's mass notification system. You can also go to www.clarke.k12.ga.us/newsletter to read the current edition and archived editions for the school year.

Links are emailed and texted using the contact information we have on hand through our Parent Portal, so be sure to sign up for an account or make sure your contact information is up to date.

We are thrilled to announce our new app for mobile phones! Stay up to date with access to event information, documents, school news, student stories, and even emergency notifications. See the video below for a tutorial on downloading and customizing the app to your preferred settings.

You can download the app for free on Google Play or Apple App Store.

Download for Android: https://aptg.co/xQ_qX1

Download for iPhone: https://aptg.co/zCh8gX

As a reminder, parents/guardians of new CCSD students or students returning to CCSD from another school district must register their student for them to be able to attend school.

Registration is fully online. Go to www.clarke.k12.ga.us/registration for a list of information you'll need to register your child as well as the registration application (available in English and Spanish). If you need in-person assistance, you must schedule an appointment by clicking here.

Address Changes

Have you moved or are you moving this summer to an address that places your student in another school zone? Please make sure you update your address with the district as soon as possible by following this link.

A street-by-street index of our school zones can be found here. Any families that received an out-of-zone letter must update their address with the district office in order for their students to be enrolled for the 2024-25 school year.

See the graphic below for a list of school open-house dates and times, along with an explanation for schools with different time frames for different families. Contact your student's school for additional information.

The 2024-25 school year starts Thursday, Aug. 1, and ends Wednesday, May 21. Click here to view the full academic calendar for the year.

Students at all grade levels will be out of school on the following days during the year:

• Sept. 2-3 (Labor Day and district professional learning day)
• Oct. 10-11, Oct. 14 (Conference day and student/staff holidays)
• Nov. 5 (Teacher planning day)
• Nov. 25-29 (Thanksgiving Break)
• Dec. 20 - Jan. 5 (Winter Break; students return Jan. 6)
• Jan. 20 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
• Feb. 14, Feb. 17 (Student/staff holidays)
• March 13-14 (Conference day and student/staff holiday)
• April 7-11 (Spring Break).

School daily start and end times will remain the same for the 2024-25 school year as shown below. You can find individual school contact information here.

Elementary Schools/ELCs: 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.

Middle Schools: 8:35 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

High Schools: 8:45 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.

Classic City High School and ACCA: 8:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.

For the past several years, CCSD has used federal Covid recovery funds to purchase school supplies for all students. Starting with this coming school year, those funds have expired, and families at most schools will need to purchase supplies. See below for links to each school's supply lists by grade level. Each of these links can also be found on school websites on the menu, under the "For Families" tab.

Please note the following exceptions:

• Bettye H. Holston Elementary, Cleveland Road Elementary, and Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle will be providing all supplies, which were purchased and received by those schools through other means.
• Barnett Shoals Elementary is only requiring families to supply a backpack and headphones and will supply the rest. The school is accepting donations of all other supplies.
• For Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central high schools, individual supply lists will be provided by each teacher as needed.

Supply Lists

These lists will also be provided to local retailers, where families will be able to go and print off the lists if they so wish. Lists are available in English and Spanish.

• Barnett Shoals Elementary
• Barrow Elementary
• Fowler Drive Elementary
• Gaines Elementary
• Howard B. Stroud Elementary
• J.J. Harris Elementary
• Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary
• Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary
• Timothy Road Elementary
• Whit Davis Elementary
• Whitehead Road Elementary
• Winterville Elementary
• Clarke Middle
• Coile Middle
• Hilsman Middle
• Classic City High

At a minimum, all CCSD students must follow the district dress code, outlined in the Code of Student Conduct (page 24). Individual schools, at their discretion and with the approval of the Superintendent and the Board of Education, are allowed to adopt more stringent dress codes, including uniform requirements.

The following schools listed below will have uniform requirements in place for the 2024-25 school year. Click on the links for additional information. All elementary and middle schools have their dress codes posted to their websites under the "For Families" tab. High schools and all other campuses refer families to the dress code portion of the Code of Student Conduct.

School uniforms are available locally in stores — typically at Walmart, Target, Dollar General, Old Navy, and Academy Sports. If your student attends a school where uniforms are required but you

are experiencing a hardship, please contact your school’s principal and/or family engagement specialist.

Schools with Uniform Requirements

• Bettye H. Holston Elementary
• Fowler Drive Elementary
• Gaines Elementary
• Howard B. Stroud Elementary
• J.J. Harris Elementary
• Timothy Road Elementary
• Whitehead Road Elementary
• Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle
• Clarke Middle
• Coile Middle
• Hilsman Middle
• CCSD Learning Center: All students (middle and high school) are required to wear purple, gray, white, or black polo shirts. Middle school students must wear khaki or black pants. Pants for high school students may be any color, but adhere to CCSD’s dress code regulations in the Code of Student Conduct.

Every school year, CCSD publishes an updated Code of Student Conduct, in English and Spanish, which includes behavioral expectations for students, detailed explanations of specific behaviors that are not permitted and their associated consequences, and information on proactive approaches that schools will utilize while handling conflict.

As part of an effort to increase student engagement and reduce distractions during instructional periods, CCSD will continue to enforce a rule this school year prohibiting the use of cell phones in middle and high school classrooms. Middle school students will be asked to leave phones in their lockers during instructional time, while high school students will be asked to either keep their phones in their backpacks or place them in pouches inside their classrooms.

Parents/guardians of students who ride a bus to and/or from school can use the Edulog page on the district website or download the Edulog app to find the student’s bus stop.

Click here for more information on the CCSD Transportation Department. For questions, you can call the Transportation Department at 706-548-6971 anytime from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

As we prepare for the start of school on Aug. 1, we are asking parents/guardians of students who are new to CCSD and/or are in need of transportation this coming school year to complete this short form (directly below or by clicking this link) to help us with planning for the year. For families with multiple students, please complete one form per student.

This coming school year, CCSD has been approved for and will continue to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which has allowed us to provide all Clarke County students breakfast and lunch at no cost since 2015.

All students enrolled in CCSD, regardless of household income, will have access to free meals while at school. It is our hope that by continuing to participate in CEP, we not only provide all students with access to nutritious meals, but that we also eliminate the financial burden of paying for school meals for the families in our community.

Monthly breakfast and lunch menus are uploaded every month to this page for your convenience. Menus are uploaded for the elementary, middle, and high school levels, as well as for the early learning centers. You can also find daily updates on the new CCSD app.

While breakfast and lunch meals are free for students, students wishing to purchase single items, such as milk or juice, from the menu must have cash on hand or money in their student meal account. These purchases are considered to be a la carte, and they cannot be charged. Please make sure your student has money in their account for these types of purchases. Parents are encouraged to use MyPaymentsPlus to make payments online to their child's meal account using a credit card or debit card. Visa, Mastercard, and Discover are accepted.

Visiting adults, including substitute teachers, can purchase meals in the school cafeteria at a price of $4.75 for lunch and $2.50 for breakfast. Only cash payment is accepted, and exact change is preferred.

Click here for more information about CCSD Nutrition.

The After-School Program (ASP) is designed to provide a safe, relaxed, and enjoyable environment for elementary school students who might otherwise be left at home unsupervised during the afternoon. The program operates at all 14 CCSD elementary schools from school dismissal until 6 p.m. on the days school is in session. Activities include sports, recreation, arts and crafts, study and homework time, and a snack.

The cost of the program is $8 per day per child and $6 per day for each additional child in a family. There is also a $10 registration fee for ASP, with a family maximum of $20. Schools typically have an ASP registration table set up at their back-to-school open-house event.

Click here for more information on ASP, including a list of school site coordinators and their contact information.

Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) offer middle and elementary school students a broad array of services, programs, and activities designed to complement the regular academic program.

Activities include youth development activities, counseling programs, arts, music, physical fitness, wellness, financial literacy, environmental literacy, and career and technical programs. 21st CCLC programs also offer families opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their child’s education, including literacy and related educational development opportunities.

Click here for more information on 21st CCLC, including registration forms, program handbooks, and a list of site coordinators and their contact information.

CCSD is requesting that families provide updated health information for every student — new and returning — for the 2024-25 school year. Please click here or scan the QR code to access and complete the required form (available in English and Spanish). Please complete one form per student.

For more information, contact your school nurse.

CCSD employs a team of school nurses — at least one dedicated to every school site — to assist with meeting the medical needs of our students. Our goal is to increase student achievement by promoting and advocating for the health, wellness, and safety of all students. Click here for information on CCSD Nursing Services, including contact information for every school nurse.

The Hilsman Health Center, the first school-based health clinic to open in northeast Georgia, is a partnership between CCSD and the Athens Neighborhood Health Center and is a comprehensive medical office. It is staffed by a nurse practitioner, dentist, and support staff. Located behind the Hilsman Middle School gymnasium, between Hilsman Middle and Gaines Elementary schools, the center provides a range of services to meet the needs of CCSD faculty, staff, and students.

Click here for a list of services provided, hours, contact information, and more.

Located between the campuses of Clarke Middle and Alps Road Elementary schools, the Clarke Middle Health Center (CMHC) is a free clinic that serves students and staff and is an extension of the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership’s mobile clinic. In addition to medical services, the clinic also offers free legal and counseling services through partnerships with UGA’s Aspire Clinic, the Community Health Law Partnership Clinic through UGA's School of Law, and La Clínica in LaK’ech at UGA's Mary Frances Early College of Education.

Click here for hours, contact information, and more.

Under state law, all students who attend school must have a correct and up-to-date immunization form in their file at school. Students without up-to-date immunizations and records may be at risk of being unenrolled from school.

Click here for more information.

The State of Georgia allows school districts to bill Medicaid for different services, including nursing. Families will receive information on this process at the beginning of the school year and can direct any questions to their school nurse.

With a new school year quickly approaching, it's a great time for parents and guardians to make sure all of their contact information is up to date in Infinite Campus, CCSD's student information system. This will help ensure that CCSD and our schools send out communication notices to the correct home addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.

Follow these directions for updating the contact information in your Parent Portal account.

Don't have an account yet? Follow these directions to set one up. Having a Parent Portal account allows parents and guardians to access attendance records, class schedules, grades, and assignment information for their students.

If you already have an account but forgot your password and need a reset, use the links on the login page to reset your password or username or to request help. You may also email campus@clarke.k12.ga.us for additional assistance.

Remember: If you have moved, you must update your address with CCSD. Click here for more information.

CCSD considers the safety and security of our students and staff our highest priority, and utilizes the CCSD Tip Line as a critical tool for us to help ensure that our schools remain safe and promote a welcoming environment for learning. It is also another mechanism for us to celebrate good deeds or achievements by our staff members and students that may have gone unreported but deserve recognition and celebration.

Tips can be submitted online at www.clarke.k12.ga.us/tipline or by phone by dialing 706-353-1737. All tips are anonymous by default, but you do have the option of including your name and contact information. Once received, your tip will be investigated by the CCSD response team. The Tip Line can also be accessed online from the home page of the district website and all school websites.

Have a question or concern that you'd like to address? CCSD has put together a matrix of who to reach out to depending on the situation. Please click here to view this information. You can also go to CCSD's main site at clarke.k12.ga.us, go to the "I Want To" tab from the menu at the top of the page, and select “Ask a Question/Submit a Concern.”

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, Aug. 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.

CCSD is pleased to support and be part of the Clarke County Sheriff's Office's fourth annual Back to School Haircut Bash, set for Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the CCSO Training Center, 2900 County Farm Rd., Athens.

School-aged children will be able to take advantage of free haircuts before the start of school and pick up school supplies. Please note: Registration for haircuts and school supplies is required. Registration opens Monday, July 15. See the Sheriff's Office Facebook page for details.

CCSD will be partnering with the Department of Public Health to provide vaccines to students, and district representatives will be on hand to provide other school-related information.

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.