Better Together

CCSD recognizes the importance and benefits of arts and music education in public schools and takes great pride in offering many opportunities for students to grow and showcase their talents and creativity through the arts. We have been honored to receive the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for 13 consecutive years for outstanding commitment to music education and are proud of the many community partnerships and events in Athens-Clarke County that support art education and expression for our youth. We are also grateful to our wonderful team of art and music educators throughout the district who inspire and encourage our students in their creative pursuits in the classroom every day. Enjoy these recent photo galleries of our students in action!

The annual CCSD Youth Art Month Student Exhibition is on display this month at the University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art, 270 River Rd., Athens, and a celebration reception is planned for Sunday, March 29, from 1-3 p.m.

See the attached PDF below for the full invitation and driving and parking directions (available in English and Spanish).

This week, the Clarke County Board of Education provided its latest update on the ongoing Clarke County School District Superintendent search process.

A total of 32 people applied for the position during the application period, and the board will review all applications in March and determine the top candidates for in-person interviews.

The board plans to interview all finalists for the position during executive sessions in mid-April and will publicly announce the finalists in May.

A vote on the final candidate would be held at the board's May or June meeting. At least 14 calendar days prior to the meeting at which the final action or vote is to be taken on the position of Superintendent, all documents concerning as many as three persons under consideration whom the board has determined to be the best qualified for the position shall be subject to inspection and copying. The board can vote on the appointment at any time after the 14-day period.

The board also released the results of the recent community input survey conducted in conjunction with the Georgia School Boards Association to identify the qualifications, skills, and traits most desired in the next person selected to fill the role. The results of the survey are posted on the special CCSD Superintendent Search page.

Click here for a list of participating colleges and universities!

Congratulations to Ellis Garrett, senior at Cedar Shoals High School, who placed third recently in the Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair competition at the state SkillsUSA championships! Competitors were tasked with demonstrating their ability to perform tasks selected from National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) standards.

A big congratulations to Clarke Central High School Agricultural Education teacher Anthony Brooks, who has been named Agricultural Education Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education (GACTE)! Mr. Brooks has been teaching horticulture, floral design, nursery landscape, and basic agriculture at Central since 2024. With this recognition, he is now in the running for Georgia CTAE Teacher of the Year, an award which will be announced by GACTE this summer.

Congratulations to Lauren Knowlton, media specialist at Whit Davis Elementary, who recently was awarded a $9,710 EmPOWERment grant by Walton EMC! The grants support teachers in Walton EMC's multi-county service area whose creativity, dedication, and innovative projects inspire students and strengthen classroom success.

As part of her project, "Coding Robots," Ms. Knowlton will be purchasing two class sets of mini Spheros with coding mats and activity cards including themes such as outer space, soccer, golf, and the city.

"Spheros and robotics, in general, are an exciting way for our students to learn a number of complex concepts in an engaging, hands-on way such as problem-solving, engineering, spatial reasoning, coding/computer programming, artificial intelligence, and more," said Ms. Knowlton. "I design many of the activities in my media center around the concept that 'play is the highest form of research,' and these robots naturally fall in line with this philosophy."

The Classic City Dawgs, CCSD’s AdaptED Athletic Program, will host the GHSA AdaptED Wheelchair JV Basketball State Championship this Saturday, March 7, at Clarke Middle School. As the No. 1 overall seed, the Dawgs will play their semifinal game at 11 a.m., and, if they win, they will play in the championship game at 3 p.m. Admission is free!

The monthly Parent Institute newsletter, available in English and Spanish with early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school versions, is intended to:

• help families effectively support their children's education at home
• provide practical, proven information families can act on right away
• offer guidance on a comprehensive array of school success topics
• reinforce the importance of the school-home partnership.

Click the buttons below to access each version!

Students and families are encouraged to check out this free webinar from Varsity Tutors, which introduces high-impact reading strategies students can apply across subjects, along with tips for parents to reinforce them at home. The webinar covers annotation techniques, how to navigate texts using structural language, reading with purpose, and managing unfamiliar vocabulary without losing momentum.

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, March 12, 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 will be hosting its next "Find Your Fit Friday" event on Friday, March 20, specifically for special education teachers. The event will run from 3-4:30 p.m. at the District Office, 595 Prince Ave., and contingent contracts will be offered on the spot!

At CCSD, we are committed to student success, meaningful collaboration, positive school culture, and continued professional development. We offer competitive salaries and benefits packages and outstanding professional support.

Register for this event at bit.ly/sped-teachers.

CCSD will hold an information session on Monday, March 23, for the third cohort (fall 2026) of its Residency-based Teacher Apprenticeship program for aspiring special education teachers.

The apprenticeship program allows participants to earn a bachelor's degree in special education in as little as three years with financial support from CCSD, gain direct classroom experience as a SPED paraprofessional in CCSD classrooms while completing coursework, and eventually become a certified SPED teacher in the district.

This opportunity is ideal for:

• Current CCSD employees seeking teacher certification
• Paraprofessionals and interventionists
• Graduating high school seniors with an interest in teaching
• Students completing the Teaching as a Profession (TAP) pathway at the Athens Community Career Academy
• Individuals interested in joining CCSD and serving as a SPED parapro
• Anyone who is passionate about supporting students with disabilities.

The session will be held from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the District Office, 595 Prince Ave., Athens. Complete the initial form and register at bit.ly/ccsd-sped-apprenticeship by March 20. For more information, email careers@clarke.k12.ga.us.

Did you know that children seated in a booster seat in the back seat of a car are 45% less likely to be injured in a crash than children using a seat belt alone? And, on average, 359 children ages 4 to 10 years die as occupants in motor vehicle collisions every year, at least half of which are unrestrained.

It is generally recommended that children use booster seats until they are between 8-12 years old. Safe Kids Athens offers these general safety tips for families below. Click here for more car seat safety tips and resources.

Safety Tips

• When your child is seated in the booster seat, make sure the lap and shoulder seat belt fit. The lap belt should fit low across the hips and the shoulder belt across the shoulder.
• Do not place the shoulder belt under the child’s arm or behind the child’s back.
• Older kids get weighed and measured less often than babies, so check your child’s growth a few times a year. Generally, kids need to use a booster until they are between 8 – 12 years old.
• Talk with the drivers who transport your big kids so they understand that booster seat use is a must when your child is in their vehicles.
• Use a booster seat with the vehicle lap and shoulder seat belt until your child passes the following Seat Belt Fit Test:
• Your children’s knees should bend at the edge of the vehicle seat when their backs and bottoms are against the vehicle seat back; and
• The vehicle lap belt should fit across the upper thighs; and
• The shoulder belt should fit across the shoulder and chest. Children are usually between 8 – 12 years old when the seat belt fits them properly.

The Table UGA, 1250 South Lumpkin St., and RAWToolsSouth will host a "Guns to Garden" event from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 28. Anyone may anonymously bring unwanted (and unloaded and working) guns to be dismantled and transformed into garden tools and art. Those donating guns will be celebrated with a gift card for local grocery stores or gas after that gun has been disabled as a thank you for your donation. Click here for more information on the event.

Run Athens is a University of Georgia student-athlete led program, which offers a fun, FREE experience to expose kids kindergarten through eighth grade to track and field. The group meets on Sundays for one-hour practice sessions that include character building lessons, track and field exercises, and fun games.

Sessions will be held every Sunday, March 1 through April 12, at Clarke Central High School, 350 South Milledge Ave., Athens, from 1-2 p.m. Click here for more information and to sign up. For questions, email athens@runyourcity.org.

Children ages 4-18 are invited to tryout for the Classic City Reign Majorette Dance Team from 4:30-6:30 p.m. March 18-20 at 3701 Atlanta Hwy., Athens. Children should wear black bottoms and a white top for tryouts. Contact 803--989-1593 for additional information and the link to the tryout form. You can also follow Classic City Reign on Instagram (@classiccityreign.majorette).

Athens-based nonprofit Chess and Community invites students, families, and community members to participate in its 13th annual tournament and conference on Saturday, March 28, in downtown Athens at The Classic Center, 300 North Thomas St. Register today at this link.

The University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries, 300 South Hull St., Athens, will host a free family day event from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 28, centered around the new museum exhibition on the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The event will include crafts and storytime activities and a scavenger hunt. Click here for more information.

CCSD students in grades 4-12 and their families are invited to participate in the free "Beyond the Bars" program, hosted by the Athens-Clarke County Corrections Department, 2825 County Farm Rd., Athens, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on the third Saturday of every month.

"Beyond the Bars" is an early-intervention and empowerment program designed to reach at-risk youth before they become involved, or further involved, in the juvenile justice system. The program exposes students to the real-life consequences of crime, violence, and poor decision-making while also providing them with tools, mentorship, and motivation to make positive life choices.

Find more information and sign up here.

The Athens Area Association of Realtors will host a free Family Fun Day event on Saturday, March 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at its board office (1720 Meriweather Dr.) There will be numerous educational, fun, and family-friendly activities for children to take part in. For more information, email leslie@athensarearealtors.com or call 706-353-1126.

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 March, 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.