Better Together
3/15/24 • News from the Clarke County School District
Celebrating CCSD's Teacher of the Year
Jakelyn Spencer has found her purpose at Cleveland Road Elementary, fulfilling way more than just the traditional role of a classroom teacher. Every day, she works to instill great character in her third-grade students, teaching them not only content, but how to be compassionate and show kindness toward their peers and everyone they meet. At a pivotal point in their life, her students know that, in Ms. Spencer, they always have a champion in their corner who will love and care for them.
CCSD is proud to present this celebration video of our 2023-24 Teacher of the Year, Ms. Jakelyn Spencer!
Scenes around CCSD
Fun with Fractions
This week in Ms. Meghan Barbrow's fourth-grade small group math class at Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary, students engaged in money Bingo! Not only did students have to recall counting coins to identify the amount, they also had to connect the money value to the math standard of writing fractions with denominators of 10 and 100 as a decimal fraction by representing the amount as both a decimal notation and decimals to the hundredth-place as a fraction.
Boat Engineers
Kindergarten students at Whitehead Road Elementary had a fun and engaging STEM activity where they worked in pairs to design and build boats. Students were all given the same materials to see whose boat could hold the most weight.
Building Foreign Language Skills
Students in Ms. Erin Tuggle’s High School Spanish I class at Clarke Middle worked in teams to complete their “scrambled sentences” activity, demonstrating their knowledge of grammar concepts and sentence structures.
'Project Yellow Jacket' Teaches ACCA Students Professional Interview Skills
The Athens Community Career Academy had another successful "Project Yellow Jacket" mock interview day, where more than 50 community volunteers from the business, nonprofit, and education fields stopped by to help ACCA students practice crucial interview skills that will serve them well as they explore potential jobs and careers during and after high school.
Studio 595 Celebrates Women's History Month with Special Guests
Check out the video below for an all-new episode of the Studio 595 podcast! In this episode, we start with a very special four-person segment as former host Kalli Samaltanos joins the show for the first time since graduating from Clarke Central High School last May. Producer Alex and co-hosts Owen and Jules chat with Kalli in commemoration of Women's History Month and catch up on everything over the past year.
Also, Athens Community Career Academy teacher (and Producer Alex's former women's studies professor) Jenn Whitley joins the show to discuss the progression of women's roles in our society and the importance of Women's History Month.
All this and the regular pop culture and district updates across CCSD on this episode of Studio 595!
LSGT Candidate Declaration Window Open
The window for parents/guardians and teachers to declare their candidacy for their school's Local School Governance Team (LSGT) is now open!
As a charter system, CCSD is required to maximize school-level governance through LSGTs. In their work as a governing body, these teams work with school leadership and the community to make data-driven decisions that help determine the school's long-term direction, design innovative solutions to increase student achievement, and serve as school ambassadors to the local community.
Now through April 10, individuals interested in serving a two-year term on their school's LSGT (July 2024 through June 2026) must complete a Declaration of Candidacy Form. Elections will be held April 15-19, and results will be announced by April 26.
Click here for more information about LSGT elections. CCSD is also asking community members who aren't a parent/guardian or staff member but are still interested in serving on an LSGT to complete this interest form.
School Choice Window for 2024-25 Opens April 1
CCSD will open up our annual School Choice application window for the 2024-25 school year from April 1-30. School Choice allows parents and guardians the opportunity to apply for a transfer to a school outside of their attendance zone, provided that space is available. This is open for students in grades K-12 that are currently enrolled in CCSD.
The schools that qualify for School Choice will be posted on April 1 when the application opens on our website. For more information please visit this page.
Sign up for Wheelchair Football!
CCSD adapted wheelchair football practice is underway, but we are still welcoming new players to the district-wide Clarke Classic City Dawgs team before the first game! Participation is free, and the equipment is provided.
The team has games scheduled for March 23, April 13, and April 27. Practices are once a week. Parents/guardians of interested students should sign up at bit.ly/clarkeadapted and contact Chris Aiken at aikenc@clarke.k12.ga.us for additional information.
REMINDER: Special Education Department Presents CCSD Transition Fair
CCSD's Special Education Department will host a spring Transition Fair on Friday, March 22, to help connect students with disabilities and their families with community resources and information about post-secondary opportunities.
The fair will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the District Office, 595 Prince Ave. Click here to RSVP! See the flyer below for more information and direct questions to Liza Burnsed, CCSD Transition Specialist, at burnsedl@clarke.k12.ga.us.
2024 FFE Award Nominations Open!
Nominations are now open for the 2024 Foundation for Excellence in Public Education in Clarke County teaching and staff awards! Anyone in the community may nominate a CCSD educator or staff member for one of 12 awards. Nominations close at 11 p.m. on April 11. Go to www.athensffe.org/awards-list for a list of awards that will be given out this year and go to bit.ly/2024FFEAwards for the nomination form!
Art Show to Highlight Work of High School Students
As part of our celebration of National Youth Art Month, CCSD will host our second annual high school student art exhibition at the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA). Titled “Confluence 2: Eastside & Westside,” this pop-up exhibition will be open from March 21-27 at the ATHICA gallery, 675 Pulaski St. Suite 1200, Athens. An opening reception is planned from 5-7 p.m. March 23 at ATHICA.
Click here for exhibition hours and more information!
Save the Date: Youth Art Month Exhibition
As a reminder, CCSD will also host the annual the annual Youth Art Month Exhibition — featuring works by students from all grade levels — at the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art this month. Join us from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, March 24, at the School of Art, 270 River Rd., Athens, for a community reception to view and celebrate the works of our many talented students. We'll see you there!
Help ACCA Healthcare Students Become Certified!
ACCA invites community members to give small blood samples to allow students to gain additional experience. Volunteer opportunities will be Tuesday, March 26, and Tuesday, April 16, either between 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. or 2:15 and 3:15 p.m. each day. Blood samples will be small and not used for testing. Your help with these practice sticks for our students is greatly appreciated!
For questions or more information, contact instructor Haley Nowell at nowellh@clarke.k12.ga.us or 706-357-5244, ext. 20377.
Student Opportunities
Application Fees Waived at Several Colleges in Georgia This Month
March is Apply to College Month in Georgia, and dozens of colleges and universities across the state are waiving their application fees as part of a partnership between the Georgia Student Finance Commission, University System of Georgia, Technical College System of Georgia, and several private colleges and universities. Go to bit.ly/ApplyToCollegeMonthGA for the full list of schools participating!
ACCA to Offer Summer Pathway Camps to Rising Ninth-graders
The Athens Community Career Academy will host free summer enrichment camps in six of the pathways it offers to high school students for rising ninth-graders. The weeklong camps will be held daily at the ACCA campus, 440-1 Dearing Extension, Athens, and are intended to introduce incoming to ninth-graders to pathways they'll be able to apply for and start taking classes in starting in 10th grade.
Camps being offered this summer include:
- Advanced Manufacturing, June 3-6
- Cosmetology Basics, June 3-6
- Culinary Arts, June 3-6
- Healthcare, June 3-6
- Teaching, June 3-6
- Film, June 17-20.
Breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost, and transportation will also be available. Space is limited. Sign up by April 22 at bit.ly/accasummer9.
Quintet Athens Elementary School Writing Challenge: Your Chid's Writing Could be Set to Music!
Students in grades K-5 are invited to participate in this year's Quintet Athens Story Writing Challenge. Now through April 27, students may submit an original story of up to 500 words using the printable online form linked below. Stories can be any genre as long as they are an original work by the student.
Up to 10 winners will be chosen based on creativity, originality, organization, and use of descriptive language. Winners will be announced on May 1, and their stories will be set to original music compositions by local composers and performed as part of the Quintet Athens Symphonic Story Time: Stories by Classic City Kids event on June 2 at the Athens-Clarke County Library, 2025 Baxter St.
Click here for contest instructions and here for the submission form.
AAHRC Youth Forum Set for March 16
The Athens Area Human Relations Council will host its annual Youth Forum on Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Clarke Central High School, 350 South Milledge Ave. The event is free and open to middle and high school students, but registration is required. Click here to register, and call 706-546-6799 for more information.
Chess and Community Annual Conference, Tournaments Set for March 23
Chess and Community, an Athens-based nonprofit dedicated to preparing youth to lead through community engagement and civic empowerment, will hold its 11th annual conference and community chess and robotics tournaments on Saturday, March 23, starting at 9 a.m. at the Classic Center, 300 North Thomas St., Athens.
Click here for more information and to register for the conference and tournaments. The registration deadline is March 16.
Join Athens Peer Court
Students: Want a great resumé builder? The J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia, 1240 South Lumpkin St., Athens, invites students in grades 8-12 to join Athens Peer Court. Peer Court is a volunteer leadership program in which students will be lawyers, judge, bailiff, and jury in hearings for real cases in Athens-Clarke County. Participants will develop leadership skills, practice public speaking, critical thinking, and goal-setting, and learn to solve problems and work as a team.
Interested students should visit fanning.uga.edu/athenspeercourt for more information or to sign up. Students must attend both fall training sessions at the institute, scheduled for:
- 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11
- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 13.
UGA Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Camp
The University of Georgia will host its 2024 Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Summer Camp for high school students July 15-19 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The weeklong camp is designed to provide students with an immersive and hands-on experience in the fields of data science and artificial intelligence and help them gain valuable skills that will benefit them in their future academic and professional pursuits.
Click here for more information and to register.
Apply for SMASH Academy at Spelman
SMASH Academy, set for July 6-26 at Spelman College in Atlanta, is a free computer science-immersive college prep program for current 10th- or 11th-grade students with an aim of eliminating barriers faced by underrepresented communities in the tech workforce. Students spend two weeks living and learning on the Spelman campus, followed by a week of virtual competitions.
Applications are open now at www.smash.org/apply for the program, and the deadline is April 1. The program seeks low-income students of color who are high-achieving in the classroom (minimum 3.0 grade-point average with an interest in math and science).
UGA to Host Creative Explorers Summer Camp
The Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development in the University of Georgia Mary Frances Early College of Education will host Creative Explorers, a six-week summer camp series for rising third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students – starting the week of June 3-7 and ending the week of July 22-26. There will be a different domain covered each week, and you can sign your child up for one or multiple weeks.
Program fees are $400 per week with $350 per week pricing through March 15. Needs-based scholarships are available. See the flyer below or click here for more information about the program. For other questions, email kids@uga.edu.
Fundraisers
High School FFA Chapters Selling Mixed Vegetable Boxes, Spring Plants
The FFA chapters at Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central high schools are holding mixed vegetable box and spring plant sale fundraisers to help support their program activities.
The mixed vegetable box fundraiser is through Front Door Produce and runs through March 25 for both schools. Boxes are $30 each and include zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, sweet corn, hot peppers, cabbage, citruses, and bell peppers. Box pickup for each school will be Thursday, March 28, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at their respective greenhouses.
Click here for more information about and to order for the Cedar Shoals fundraiser and here for the Clarke Central fundraiser.
The Cedar Shoals greenhouse will be open to the public for their spring plant sale from 4-6 p.m. March 27, 4-6 p.m. March 29, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 30. The Clarke Central greenhouse will be open for their sale March 28-30 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Dates and times are contingent on how long supplies last.
For additional questions, contact Julie Throne (Cedar Shoals) at thronej@clarke.k12.ga.us or Levi Carr Brooks (Clarke Central) at carrl@clarke.k12.ga.us.
Support the Clarke Middle SEAT Spring Flower Fundraiser
The online store for the Clarke Middle School SEAT (Science, Energy, and Adventure Team) Spring Flower Fundraiser is now open and will close on May 15. Orders will ship at the appropriate time for planting based on the delivery zip code. Customers can send products as gifts.
This state and national award-winning group of students seeks to promote energy education and resource conservation in the community through projects and special outreach events. The team will earn 50% of the sales price from these items. Funds earned will be used to support community service projects and field trips for student team members. Here is a link to the fundraiser.
Calendar and Other Reminders
Calendar Reminders
Click to view the 2023-24 Academic Calendar.
Important dates:
- 4/1 - 4/5: Spring break
- 5/22: Last day of school (High schools will dismiss at 12:45 p.m. on May 21 and 22.
- 5/23: Cedar Shoals High School graduation (9 a.m.) and Classic City High School graduation (5 p.m.)
- 5/24: Clarke Central High School graduation (9 a.m.)
Update or Create Parent Portal Account
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.
How to Address Questions, Concerns
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 at the top of the page, and select “Ask a Question/Submit a Concern.”
Download the Edulog App for Bus Info
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 Parent Portal mobile app to find information about their student’s bus.
Breakfast and Lunch Menus
Check out our monthly breakfast and lunch menus and find more school nutrition information here.
Take Advantage of our School-based Health Centers!
- 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. Click here for hours, contact information, and more.
- 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. Click here for a list of services provided, hours, contact information, and more.
Board of Education News
Board Contact Information, Meetings
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, March 21, 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.
Careers at CCSD
Interested in a Career at CCSD?
Community Information and Resources
Georgia Museum of Art Family Day Event Set for March 16
The Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton St., Athens, will hold its monthly free Family Day event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 16.
Explore the art of the joke alongside the exhibition “Richard Prince: Tell Me Everything.” Learn about the tradition of comedy with interactive gallery activities and a take-home art project, and don’t miss a magic and ventriloquist show by special guest Keith Karnok at 10:45 a.m.
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, March 17, while supplies last.
Library PLAY Card
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.
Teen Newsletter from ACC Library
Click to view the latest ACC Library Teen Newsletter.
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Website: www.clarke.k12.ga.us
Location: 595 Prince Avenue, Athens, GA, USA
Phone: 706-546-7721
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.