GCSS Community Update
Greene County School System News & Notes for the Community
In this Issue
- Update on the New Greene County Elementary School
- STEM Highlight: Student Technology Competition
- CMS 2023-24 Principal Announcement
- GCPS Studies Chemical Changes by Making Rock Candy
- CMS Students Win Big at Regional Engineering & Science Fair
- Staff Mental Health First Aid Training
- Alumni Spotlight
- Career Coach Spotlight
- Announcement from the Greene County BOE and LOA BOG
- How to Get Involved
- Upcoming Events & Important Dates
From the Superintendent: Happy New Year!
The Greene County School System has had a great start to 2023. The second semester has begun, and although the school year is technically half over and we still have a lot of work to do, I am so proud of how the year has gone thus far and the students' successes that have been exhibited. Our students are excelling in the classrooms, in extracurricular activities, in their personal interests, and in the community as a whole.
Thanks to our community partners in education, our students will have the chance to experience many field trips, college visits, and other cultural experiences this semester. In February and March, OPAS will present Arts Education performances at Rock Eagle and The Plaza Arts Center in Eatonton for our students. Each year, OPAS underwrites the transportation costs for our students to attend these programs, thank you! This past Friday, our friends at the Greene County Library hosted our youngest students from CBJ Preschool for story time and a build-your-own windmill craft activity. Our high school students will also be visiting colleges both far and near, from a tour of several large universities in south Georgia and Florida coming up on Spring Break, to an Athens Technical College visit right up the road last week. I am especially excited to announce that we have just received funding for our middle school students in 4H to travel to Jekyll Island this upcoming summer for a STEM trip, and even more of our middle school students will visit Universal Studios and the Kennedy Space Center in March. Every day, we strive to provide our students with the kind of well-rounded, global education that will give them a solid foundation to Start Here and Go Far.
Finally, I am pleased to report that at January’s Board of Education Meeting, the BOE approved a settlement agreement to resolve the court case concerning a funding dispute between Lake Oconee Academy and the BOE. Below in this newsletter you will find a joint statement from both boards regarding the settlement. I’m sure that I speak for all of us when I say we are happy that this lawsuit is over and that we can start the new year with a renewed focus on educating, inspiring, challenging, and supporting all the students of Greene County.
Once again, Happy New Year, and here’s to a great 2023!
Update on the New Greene County Elementary School
The new Greene County Elementary School building on Meadow Crest Road is currently in water/sewer phase of the project. The waterline extension project by the City of Greensboro to the construction site has completed the design and bid phases, and a contractor was approved by the Greensboro City Council in November 2022. The sewer project is in the design phase. At the January Board of Education meeting, the BOE voted to approve $5.5 million for the advance purchase of building materials for the new school. This allows the builder, Evergreen Construction, to proceed with ordering essential items such as roofing, HVAC equipment, joists, door frames, and other items that have lead times ranging from 12 to 60 weeks. Evergreen is expected to break ground on the building in March.
STEM Highlight: GCSS Student Technology Competition
In conjunction with the Georgia State Technology Competition, the Greene County School System held a district-wide Student Technology Competition for all students in Grade 3-12. The students completed a technology project in one of 14 categories and competed against projects in their grade classification. Students could create a project on their own or they could partner with one other student. We had 38 projects submitted and 58 participants in grades 5-9 submit a project for judging.
Winning projects included stop-motion animation, 3-D design, composition of original music using online programs, graphic design, creation of an interactive internet game, and more! The winning projects were invited to the Regional Student Technology Competition on January 21 in Barrow County to compete against winners from other schools in the region. Projects that won at Regional were invited to the State Competition in March at Kennesaw State University.
We would like to thank all of the students for participating and the teachers that embraced this opportunity for their students to use our technology to create and learn something new about technology. A special thanks to our media specialists, instructional coaches, and district office staff for judging the projects.
CMS Principal DeAndra Lanier announces retirement, AP Tanisha Wright to be named Interim Principal
Mrs. Tanisha Wright has been named Associate Principal of Anita White Carson Middle School. Following the upcoming retirement of Principal DeAndra Lanier in May 2023, Mrs. Wright will become the school’s Interim Principal for the 2023-2024 school year.
Please join us in wishing Mrs. Lanier congratulations on her upcoming retirement and her outstanding career in education. Throughout her career in the Greene County School System, she has served as Principal and Assistant Principal at CMS, Interim Principal at GES, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction at GCHS, and several years in administration at GES prior. Mrs. Lanier has demonstrated flexibility and a willingness to work wherever needed in the school system, moving schools 4 times in the last 8 years based on the needs of the system, and done an outstanding job everywhere she has served. During Mrs. Lanier’s tenure as Principal at CMS, the school was named an Amazon Future Engineer School and launched a comprehensive STEM Program including coding and robotics, received the No Place for Hate School designation—a student-led school climate improvement and anti-bullying program that cultivates student leadership in sustaining positive school culture—and implemented the Academic Parent-Teacher Teams family engagement initiative, among many other achievements.
Mrs. Wright brings to the table 17 years of experience in education over 9 grade levels, having begun her teaching career at Greene County Head Start before moving to CBJ Preschool in 2008, where she was named the school’s Teacher of the Year in her first year. She moved to Greensboro Elementary School in 2013 as a kindergarten teacher and was named GES’s 2015 Teacher of the Year. She came to CMS as Assistant Principal in 2019 and in 2021 received the Hal Beaver Georgia Outstanding Assistant Principal Award from the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals. This award is presented to assistant principals in Georgia who have demonstrated strong leadership in guiding their schools as an effective middle school as defined by state and national standards.
For more information about these leaders and their accomplishments, follow this link to read more on our website.
GCPS Students Study Chemical Changes through Making Rock Candy
CMS Students Win Big at Regional Engineering and Science Fair
Congratulations to Anita White Carson Middle School's NEGA RESA Regional Science & Engineering Fair winners! CMS students brought home 2 silver medals and 4 bronze medals. More than 10 middle schools and high schools were represented at the regional science fair. All of our CMS students did a wonderful job at presenting and had an enjoyable science fair experience.
Jaxxson Armour - Project: "Purified or Spring"
Ryan Daniels - Project: "Music Waves"
India Armstrong - Project "Will It Grow?"
McCall Jones - Project "Growing Plants"
Jaylen Greene - Project "Heat Production Using Lightbulbs"
Lacey Tucker - Project: "Jui-C or Juicy"
GCSS Staff Kick off New Year with Mental Health First Aid Training
Alumni Spotlight: Keith Ellenberg
Keith Ellenberg (Class of '79) is Director of Technology and Chief Information Officer for the Greene County School System. In this role, he is responsible for the district network, messaging, computer security, end-user support and ensuring that all the staff and students have access to their instructional technology.
“It's great to be back home and working for the Greene County School System,” Ellenberg said. “In 1912, my grandfather moved to Siloam and for over 100 years, my family has benefited from the education we received from Greene County. In 1977, my high school teacher introduced me to computers and programming. Little did I know at the time that this would start me down a career path that would take me all over the world. My years of work with International Paper Company and Chapura, Inc. allowed me to work at the cutting edge of technological innovation. I am thrilled that those experiences have allowed me the opportunity to return home to lead the technology efforts in my hometown. Our teachers are influencing and shaping the futures of this generation, and I'm excited to be able to help them with all their technology efforts.”
Prior to joining the GCSS leadership team in February 2021, Ellenberg served as CEO of the Putnam County College and Career Academy and Chief Information Officer for the Putnam County Charter School System. He served as the PCCSS Director of Technology for 14 years and was instrumental in the development and creation of the Putnam College and Career Academy, serving as its first CEO for the past six years. For three years he served as Chief Operating Officer for PCCSS and was responsible for all operational aspects of the district, which included technology, transportation, facilities, human resources, finance and nutrition.
Prior to his career in public education, Ellenberg spent seven years as the President and Chief Operating Officer for Chapura, Inc. in Mobile, Alabama. He was responsible for business development, operational control, strategic planning, and marketing. He also spent 17 years with International Paper in different technology-related jobs. In his last assignment at International Paper, he was Director of Technical Services for the Information Technology Division, responsible for supporting all of the company's IT infrastructure from the desktop to the data center. During his career with International Paper, Ellenberg managed the company's network, desktops, messaging systems, development of the company's purchasing, maintenance, and environmental, health, and safety systems, and development of the company's process control information systems.
Ellenberg graduated from Georgia College in 1984 with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems, Mathematics, and Biology. He was also Star Student and Valedictorian of the Greene County High School Class of 1979.
Career Coach Spotlight: Jane Brisson
Hobbies/Interests: I love outdoor activities like hiking and walking. I'm an avid reader. I Enjoy spending time with my family and 3 big dogs.
Career: Taught 4 and 5th grade Special Education and self-contained ESL for 15 years.
Note to Students: Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn't do.
Note to Parents: I appreciate the opportunity to work with your child over the next few years. I look forward to growing together as a team. It has been very enjoyable getting to know your child over the last 6 months. They are headed for great things in life.
A Joint Statement from the Greene County Board of Education and the Lake Oconee Academy Board of Governors
January 20, 2023
How YOU Can Get Involved
Volunteer - Reading Buddies (GCPS & CMS)
Help a 2nd grader at Greene County Primary School or a 4th grader at Carson Middle School by becoming a Reading Buddy! You can make a REAL difference with just 1 hour per week by sparking conversations, building relationships and social skills, and helping children foster a love of reading. Interested? Contact Beth Thomas at beth.thomas@greene.k12.ga.us or 706-347-0750.
Volunteer - After School Enrichment (CMS)
Donate - Wraparound Program (GCHS)
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
February 16, 2023
Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting
The Greene County Board of Education will hold its February Regular Meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Meeting Room located at 101 E. Third St. in Greensboro. To view Board of Education agendas and minutes, please click here.
February 17, 2023
Teacher Workday/Distance Learning
All students will learn from home and teachers will have a workday in their classrooms.
February 20-24, 2023
Schools Closed for Winter Break
All schools will be closed for Winter Break. The District Office will be open.
We want to hear from you!
Please also share this newsletter with your communication circle and encourage them to sign up on this form so we can include them on our mailing list for future updates, and thank you for helping spread the word about the great things going on in Greene County Schools. As always, we appreciate your support as we strive to educate, inspire, challenge, and support Greene County’s students.
Keep up with us!
Email: gcsscommunications@greene.k12.ga.us
Website: www.greene.k12.ga.us
Location: 101 3rd Street, Greensboro, GA, USA
Phone: 706-453-7688
Facebook: facebook.com/gcsstigers
Twitter: @gcsstigers
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