CCSD Connections

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!

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.

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.

CCSD Alum Competing at Summer Olympics

CCSD School Choral Group Selected for Statewide Event

Best-Selling Author/CCSD Alum Speaks to Media Specialists

CCSD Leader Appointed to Statewide Advisory Council

Getting Ready for A New School Year Means A Busy Summer at CCSD

CCSD Supports Give a Kid a Chance

CCSD Wins 2024 National Awards for Communications

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.

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

Sixes Elementary School: Dr. Ginger Morgan

Woodstock Middle School: Ken Nix

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.

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.

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.

Email: communications@cherokeek12.net
Website: www.cherokeek12.net
Location: PO Box 769, Canton, GA 30169
Phone: 7704791871
Facebook: facebook.com/CherokeeGASchools/
Twitter: @CherokeeSchools