CCSD Connections
A Monthly Parent Newsletter - August 2024
Superintendent's Message
Dear CCSD Family,
Thank you for joining us in a great start to our school year!
I spent the first three days of school traveling from campus to campus to welcome back our students, see teaching and learning in action, and thank our incredible team of educators and support staff.
If you have watched any of this summer's Olympic Games, you have seen triumphant moments from every field, court, pool, course, and gym. The precision of the preparation that is played out in the stories of our Team USA athletes — reminds me of the precision of the preparations and the teamwork it takes to successfully open our schools.
Just like our amazing Olympians, our teachers and students are pursuing academic excellence together in our classrooms each day.
In the weeks leading up to school, our communications focused on the changes you needed to know about to prepare for the first day, such as our new consistent standards for cell phone use and appropriate student dress.
These clarified guidelines are two of six action steps we're currently focused on implementing from the Key Priorities report I shared with you in the spring. In addition to cell phone guidelines and standards for appropriate dress, the other action steps are: CCSD Teaching & Learning Standards, CCSD Screeners, CCSD Targeted Intervention and expectations for timely submission of student work.
CCSD Teaching & Learning Standards: These are our standards for classroom instruction aligned with Georgia Performance Standards. Our Principals are guiding teachers in best practices for ensuring classroom lessons focus on these standards. The standards are posted on our website here so you also can review them to be better aware of what your child will be learning this school year.
CCSD Screeners: As shared with you in a ParentSquare email this week, these are our reading and math assessments for Grades K-8. These assessments both meet state requirements and provide our teachers with clarity on student knowledge, so they can better track progress and target areas for improvement and support that learning. Students will participate in these assessments three times a year, and the results will be shared with families so they can see their child’s progress.
CCSD Targeted Intervention: This model outlines how our teachers and support staff will provide additional instruction for students when there is a gap in learning. This provides a consistent approach to instances when a student needs additional support.
Timely Submission of Student Work: In order to develop the essential college and career ready skills of timely work submission, the district has improved the clarity and consistency of how late and missed work is handled. For students with an excused absence, make-up guidelines apply; for students who are present, all work is due prior to conclusion of the learning unit. Teachers will be sharing these expectations with their students, but you also can view the guidelines for all grades as they are included in our CCSD K-12 Grading Guidance handbook posted on our website here.
Thank you,
Mary Elizabeth Davis
Superintendent of Schools
P.S. The new edition of our Class Act magazine, which is filled with CCSD news and important information, has been distributed to all CCSD students. A digital version is posted on our website online here. Thank you to Enjoy Cherokee Magazine for publishing the magazine for us!
THANKS TO THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR
Issues with Versatrans My Stop: We are aware that the Versatrans My Stop bus tracking system website and app are not working for all parents. We are working with the vendor to resolve this issue. We apologize for the inconvenience.
TOP STORIES
CCSD Celebrates Cherokee HS Construction Milestone
CCSD this week rose to new heights with a major milestone in the construction of the new Cherokee High School.
Carroll Daniel Construction, the company building the new replacement campus in Canton, celebrated the “topping out” placement of the last structural beam by hosting the special ceremony. School Board members and other special guests, including educators, students, community partners, and past principals, participated in the special event.
“Today, we celebrate Cherokee High School’s legacy and our dedication to building for our future and the continued success of our students with the construction of this new campus,” Superintendent of Schools Mary Elizabeth Davis said. “We are truly elevating the excellence as we lift this beam to top off our newest and largest high school. I’m so thankful for our community’s support to build a new home for our amazing Cherokee High School teachers and students for generations to come.”
Learn more and see a gallery of photos and a video of the beam rising online here.
Exceeding Milestones
CCSD students for the ninth consecutive year exceeded State averages on the Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade and End-of-Course tests, with significant gains in some grades and subjects. The annual state exams administered each spring test students’ mastery of Georgia Performance Standards, which set expectations for what lessons students will learn in each grade. Learn more here.
Save the Dates
The Cherokee County School Board approved calendars for the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, which continue the longtime balanced calendar model and its popular schedule of school breaks. The calendars, as in past years, were developed by a committee made up of educators and parents. Three school years were developed at the same time to help families and employees with planning. See them online here.
Rules of the Road
As we begin the new school year, we ask all drivers to please remember the rules of the road when encountering school buses, bus stops and school zones. Not only is the risk to others great when you violate bus safety laws – so is the fine! Addy’s Law, which went into effect this year, imposes an increased fine of at least $1,000 for first-time violators and potential prison time of as much as a year. Learn more here.
ACCOLADES
Ring the Bell
Two CCSD schools have earned top state honors for excellence in education. Avery ES and Bascomb ES both have won the prestigious School Bell Award from the Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals. The association presents the School Bell Award to no more than 10 schools in Georgia each year in recognition of outstanding curriculum and organizational leadership initiatives. Learn more here.
Video Star
A CCSD student has earned a national scholarship and ambassador role for his outstanding video production skills! Woodstock HS senior Kai Schutlz has earned the $5,000 national Game Day Excellence Scholarship from Formetco Sports. He is a student in Woodstock’s Career Pathway program for AV, Technology & Film led by teacher Jeff Wagner. Learn more here.
Go for the Gold
CCSD students won gold in the statewide summer Special Olympics! Cherokee County Special Olympics’ flag football team won gold at the Summer Games and numerous students earned gold for individual swimming, tennis and track and field events. CCSD Adapted PE teacher Ben Farist serves as the Cherokee County Special Olympics coordinator. Learn more here.
Player of the Year
A CCSD student has been named a Gatorade Player of the Year! River Ridge HS senior Chris Asbridge is the 2023-24 Gatorade Georgia Boys Soccer Player of the Year, and he’s the first honoree for the sport to be chosen from River Ridge. He’s a member of the Class 6A State Champions team led by Coach Phil Thomas. Learn more here.
Best Medicine
CCSD celebrated school nurses with the presentation of the fourth annual CCSD School Nurse of the Year Awards. Congratulations to 2024 CCSD School Nurse of the Year Dawn Beasley of Tippens EC! The awards program was developed with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a CCSD Partner. Learn more here.
Serving Up Success
CCSD celebrated the winners of its second annual School Nutrition Team of the Year awards. Congratulations to Holly Springs ES STEM Academy, winner for the elementary division, and Teasley MS, winner for the middle school/high school/center division! Learn more here.
MORE #CCSDElevateTheExcellence NEWS
WATCH & LEARN
We had a wonderful #CCSD1stDay2024! Here's a video of highlights from our first day of school. Thank you to everyone who has helped make our first week a success for our students.
WHO IS CCSD?
Meet the New Principals
Our Principals are dedicated leaders, and for this school year, seven are new to the role and two are serving at a different school this year. Please click the links below to learn more about them:
Carmel Elementary School: Lisa Rich
Creekland Middle School: Matthew May
Creekview High School: Mark Vance
Johnston Elementary School: Lori Etheridge
Mill Creek Middle School: Justin Sanderson
Oak Grove ES STEAM Academy: Laura Akers
R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy: Kim Moody
PARENT RESOURCES
CCSD Accepting Applications for VILLA Parent Academy Program
CCSD is accepting applications through Sept. 4 for its annual parent academy program. VILLA (Volunteer Instructional Leadership Learning Academy) is a free seven-session program that offers CCSD parents the opportunity to learn more about their school district and how to be more engaged in our schools. Learn more and apply online here.
Digital Safety
Looking to be better informed about what your child views on their smartphone, tablet or computer? Common Sense, which has certified CCSD schools' digital citizenship programs for students, also offers resources to parents through it Common Sense Media Parents' Ultimate Guides.
School to Home Connections
From Our Kitchen to Yours
UPCOMING EVENTS
Aug. 15: 7 p.m., School Board Auditorium at Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo Educational Services Facility,
Cherokee County School Board Meeting.
Aug. 16: CCSD's Varsity Football season kicks off with regular games starting Aug. 16. The schedule is posted above and is online here. Order tickets online at https://gofan.co/search.
Aug. 17: 8 a.m., Etowah River Park, Chick-fil-A Cherokee County 5K benefitting the Cherokee County Educational Foundation and Cherokee County Special Olympics.
Sept. 2: All CCSD schools and offices closed for Labor Day.
Sept. 16-20: All CCSD schools closed for Fall Break.
JOIN OUR CCSD TEAM
Please join us at our next job fair from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, at 1020 Keeter Road, Canton, GA 30114! See current job postings on our website: www.cherokeek12.net and click Jobs @ CCSD.
CONTACT US
Email: communications@cherokeek12.net
Website: www.cherokeek12.net
Location: PO Box 769, Canton, GA 30169
Phone: 7704791871
Facebook: facebook.com/CherokeeGASchools/
Twitter: @CherokeeSchools