Better Together

CCSD is off and running on a great school year! Check out the full gallery of first-day photos and enjoy your weekend ahead of the first full week of the year!

Ready to lead.

Ready to serve.

Ready to understand.

Applications are now open for CCSD's 2026-27 Volunteer Instructional Leadership Learning Academy (VILLA). Created by the Georgia School Boards Association and tailored to individual public school districts across the state, VILLA seeks to educate communities about their district’s operations and goals and empowers them to become more engaged with their schools.

The CCSD VILLA program is open to all Clarke County residents and will include seven monthly sessions beginning in September. Selected participants will learn about the different areas of school district operations and the role of school board members, visit schools and district offices, participate in question-and-answer sessions with school board members, the Superintendent, and senior staff, and attend a school board meeting.

Anyone interested in developing a better understanding of how the district functions and its role in the community is encouraged to apply by August 31, at bit.ly/CCSDVILLA. This includes parents, caregivers, community members, business owners and leaders, teachers and other school employees, local school governance team (LSGT) members, Board of Education members, and other elected officials.

Fifteen CCSD teachers and staff members got a pleasant surprise right before the start of school as they were surprised with various awards from the Foundation for Excellence in Public Education in Clarke County!

The FFE is a non-profit organization whose mission is to recognize and award excellence in CCSD through various awards and classroom grants. This spring, the FFE received more than 200 nominations. Thank you to all in the community who nominated these great teachers and staff members, and thank you to the FFE for your continued support of public education in our community!

The Employee of the Month program recognizes and rewards staff members for their service and dedication to CCSD students and families. Parents/guardians, staff, students, and community members may nominate any full-time employee with at least one full year of service for the award. The program is sponsored by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, and many local businesses contribute gifts to the monthly Employee of the Month gift basket.

An Employee of the Month will be selected each month from September through May, and nominations for the September award are now open! Nominate someone at bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward or go to www.clarke.k12.ga.us/eom for more information!

Is there a teacher at your or your child's school who goes above and beyond? Who inspires their students and their colleagues? Who "Raises the Bar" in everything they do? Now it's your turn to elevate them!

CCSD is now accepting nominations for our 2026-27 school-level teachers of the year! Complete the short form at bit.ly/ccsdteachernomination to spotlight the teacher or teachers you think deserve the title! Complete a separate form for each teacher you're nominating.

Nominations will be accepted through August 9, and after staff voting at each school, school winners will be announced in early September and featured individually on CCSD social media in the lead-up to the announcement of the district winner in late October. So let's get those nominations going, and tell us why your nominee is the best of the best!

At CCSD, we're continuing to build on the momentum of making Athens the first community in America where every student has the opportunity to graduate high school as an investor, and we need your help!

After a strong week, we now have approximately $45,000 left to raise by Monday, August 10, to meet our $400,000 goal of fully funding real $1,000 investment portfolios for every member of the Class of 2027 at Cedar Shoals High School, Clarke Central High School, and Classic City High School through the Gifted Savings financial education and literacy program!

Help us cross the finish line by Monday, August 10! Donate to the CCSD Gifted Savings Fund through the Athens Area Community Foundation at bit.ly/GSCCSD.

Learn more about the life-changing impact of Gifted Savings on CCSD students in year one, and get inspired by this video to be a part of creating brighter futures for our youth!

CCSD Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Scott will be hosting three public sessions in the final week of August focusing on her first official 90 days in the full-time position and to answer questions from the community! Sessions are scheduled for the following dates, times, and locations:

• 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 25 - Heard Park, McKinley Gym, 400 McKinley Drive
• 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, August 27 - Athens-Clarke County Library Community Room, 2025 Baxter Street
• 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, August 31 - Rhema Christian Fellowship, 1850 Danielsville Road.

Submit questions in advance by emailing feedback@clarke.k12.ga.us or filling out the anonymous form at bit.ly/AskDrScott.

Learn more on the district website.

Youth LEAD Georgia is a statewide youth leadership program for high school students run through the University of Georgia's Fanning Institute for Leadership and is now accepting nominations for the 2027 cohort. Selected participants will have the opportunity for extensive leadership skills development while building a statewide network of peer and professional connections, exploring Georgia industries and businesses, and visiting various colleges, universities, and technical schools around the state.

To be eligible for Youth LEAD Georgia 2027, a student must be in 10th or 11th grade in the 2026-27 school year in the state of Georgia. Interested students must be nominated by an adult and complete an application to be considered for the program. A limited number of students will be chosen by a selection committee based on review of the applications.

Nominations are due Friday, August 14, and students who are nominated must apply by Friday, September 4.

Athens-Clarke County Government (ACCGov) is seeking applications by Sunday, August 16, from high school students in grades 10-12 who are interested in taking part in the Mayor's 2026 Youth Council. Eligible students can attend public or private schools or be homeschooled, but must be Athens-Clarke County residents.

Council members attend bi-monthly meetings and participate in periodic service activities, adding up to a time commitment of around six hours/month from September through December.

Selected applicants will be interviewed in late August, with the first meeting in early September.

High school students: Make your voice heard and be a voice for your peers!

State School Superintendent Richard Woods is seeking students in grades 10-12 to serve on his 2026-27 Student Advisory Council. These students will meet with Superintendent Woods four times throughout the school year to discuss the impact of state policies in the classroom and other education-related issues.

Students must apply by Friday, September 4, at 5 p.m. Late applications will not be accepted.

Registration for the fall Sirius Athletics cross country season is now open for ages 6-15. The first team practice will be held Monday, August 10. Go to siriusathletics.org for more information and to register.

Through Jaguar and Gladiator Youth Football, the Athens Youth Development Initiative is excited to offer a positive, exciting tackle football and cheerleading experience for the youth of Clarke County. There will be teams at the 6U, 7U, 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, and 7th grade (12 and 13) levels coached by skilled and knowledgeable individuals. The teams are members of the North Georgia Youth Football Association and play their home games in Cedar Shoals’ Waters-Wilkins Stadium and Clarke Central’s Billy Henderson Stadium, respectively. Registration is open through Friday, August 21, and is $50 per family for football and $35 per family for cheer. Needs-based scholarships are available.

For more information, email gladiatoryouthfootball@gmail.com or athensjaguarsfootball@gmail.com.

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, August 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 to access board meeting agendas.
• Board Briefs: 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 holds a monthly free Family Day event with activities centered around an exhibit and theme. These events typically take place on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Upcoming dates include:

• August 22
• September 19
• October 10
• November 7
• December 12
• January 23.

Learn more on the Georgia Museum of Art website.

This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the U.S. women's national soccer team's victory over China in the Summer Olympics gold medal match on Aug. 1, 1996, at Sanford Stadium on the University of Georgia campus, and the Georgia women's team will host a commemorative match in the stadium against James Madison on Thursday, August 20, at 7 p.m. A fireworks show will follow the conclusion of the match. The first 3,000 students will receive a free T-shirt and Chick-fil-A, while the first 4,000 fans will receive a free poster.

Learn more about "Soccer in Sanford," and claim your tickets!

The Georgia Public Library Service is pleased to announce no-cost access to Google Career Certificates and the Google AI Professional Certificate to Georgia public library cardholders. These courses will help Georgians build essential job skills in high-growth fields, including flexible, online training to support career advancement and business growth.

Learn more about Google Career Certificates.

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 August, 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.