Better Together

As a reminder, pre-K early registration for the 2024-25 school year is ongoing and runs through Friday, Feb. 9. Student registration is now fully online, but you may schedule an in-person appointment at our Student Registration Center, 595 Prince Ave., Athens, if you need assistance completing the application or with required documentation.

If you are the parent of a prospective pre-K student for the 2024-25 school year and need an in-person appointment, click here. For K-12 registration assistance, click here to schedule an appointment.

Registration will continue throughout the year, but you must register your student by Feb. 9 for them to be entered into the pre-K lottery. Students registered after Feb. 9 will be assigned to classes as space is available.

See the flyer below for additional information about registration.

The Athens Youth Development Initiative is partnering with Sirius Athletics to provide no-cost track and field opportunities for CCSD students in grades 2-5 this spring. Registration fees will be waived for qualifying students until program capacity has been reached for these age groups.

The track and field season will run from Feb. 11 through the first week of May with two practices a week on either Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday afternoons. Weekend competitions will start in mid-March. Click here to register. For more information, visit siriusathletics.org.

CCSD has received a $100,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Education, which will provide the district with an opportunity to support elementary school students with building a solid foundation in numeracy using innovative instructional practices.

The district will use the grant to expand its implementation of an initiative geared toward better serving nearly 770 students in grades K-5 who have been identified as in need of additional educational interventions and support. Read more here!

CCSD will celebrate National School Counseling Week from Feb. 5-9 with acknowledgements of the amazing and life-changing work done by our counselors across all schools. As part of this celebration, the district invites students, families, and other school staff to leave comments about their or their child's school counselor and why they appreciate them in the form embedded below or by clicking here. Parents/guardians are invited to assist younger students with completing the form. Responses will be accepted through Wednesday, Feb. 7.

Cedar Shoals High School senior Luke Skinner started work this week at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) lab in Athens through USDA's brand-new JDEN (Joint Disability Employment Network) program. The program provides people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with employment opportunities in FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) laboratories, and Luke is the first employee, making CCSD the inaugural participating district in the entire nation!

Luke’s first day included an oath ceremony, and he is with a great team at USDA who are supporting and mentoring him. Congratulations to Luke, who is seeing his hard work pay off!

Students from several of our elementary, middle, and high schools had a fantastic time competing last weekend in the state Special Olympics Indoor Winter Games in Cobb County and brought home numerous medals! Athletes competed in gymnastics, powerlifting, ramp bowling, traditional team bowling, and unified team bowling. Congratulations to all of these students, and a big thank you to Coach Julie Evans and the CCSD staff and volunteers who helped make this experience for our students a terrific one!

Click here to view more photos!

Congratulations to Cedar Shoals High School senior music technology student NZ Saltz (pictured at left with her teacher, Aaron Price), who was featured in the 2024 Georgia Music Educator’s Association’s Music Technology Showcase last weekend and whose song, "Nobody," was awarded "Best in Show" by the panel of judges!

The statewide showcase received over 100 submissions from more than 25 music technology programs in Georgia, and "Nobody" was one of 15 songs chosen to be included. For winning the award, NZ received a bundle of home music studio equipment AND a free session of recording time with a professional mix engineer at Tweed Recording Studio in downtown Athens.

You can listen to a recording of "Nobody" here.

The inaugural Classic City Marathon was a major success, and CCSD had terrific representation in the event, including Clarke Central cross country runners Waylon Vaughn (pictured), Noah Kilpatrick, Karl Ritzler, and Ryan Marshall teamed up to win the relay race. Each of the four members ran a fourth of the 26.2-mile distance (6.55 miles each), and the team clocked a scorching time of 2:34:38!

The second-place team comprised two Clarke Central coaches, Lee Patterson and Carter Rathur, and Clarke Central alumna Samantha Brodrick.

(Photo credit: Tim Nettleton)

Congratulations to Cedar Shoals High School swimmers Holden Neace, Ryan Xiao, Sebastian Blanco-Pulido, Christopher Koch, Ben Graichen, and Nate Guidry for qualifying for the upcoming GHSA state meet, which will be held next week at Georgia Tech!

Congratulations to the Dynamic Superstar Step Team at Howard B. Stroud Elementary, which finished second in the elementary girls' division in the third annual League of Step "Step Ressurgance" competition last weekend in Oconee County!

Congratulations to Dr. Jon Ward of Clarke Central High School, who was named the 2023-24 Region 8-AAAAA Athletic Director of the Year by his peers from other schools in the region.

Dr. Ward is pictured at left receiving the Region 8 AAAAA GHSA Cooperative Spirit Sportsmanship Award (presented by Jackson EMC) for Clarke Central High School this fall.

CCSD currently has two school-based health centers for all CCSD students, staff, and families — the Clarke Middle Health Center and the Hilsman Health Center — and is considering opening clinics at Coile Middle School and on the H.T. Edwards Campus, which includes Classic City High School, the Athens Community Career Academy, and Early Learning Center West.

We would like your help in better understanding our students' and staff's healthcare needs and asks you to complete this brief survey. The survey is available in English and Spanish. Click on the dropdown menu above the introductory text on the screen to select your preferred language. Thank you for taking a moment to share your perspective on this important topic.

Recently, a CCSD team of four instructional coaches, six middle school English Language Arts classroom teachers, and the district's ELA curriculum coordinator for secondary schools met to review instructional resources for ELA courses in grades 6-8. The adoption team scored and rated each resource based on the criteria offered by EdReports and aligned to the Georgia Standards of Excellence.

Read more here about the recommended materials and ways you can provide public feedback on them prior to adoption by the Board of Education.

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, Feb. 8, 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.

Attention, future teachers! CCSD will host an educator career fair on Saturday, March 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Clarke Central High School, 350 South Milledge Ave., Athens.

The fair will be the perfect opportunity to speak with many of our current teachers and principals to understand in detail about their school and the positions they are hiring for. At the event, you may be invited to interview with school teams and potentially offered a teaching position on the spot. Representatives from CCSD's Human Resources Division will also be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Space is limited, so register today here to secure your spot!

The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government is asking residents to review the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) National Broadband map to verify the availability of high-speed, high-quality internet service for where they live. Any resident who believe the information on the map is not accurate can submit an official challenge to the FCC.

Challenges should be made by Feb. 14, 2024 for possible grant funding to improve services.

To begin:

• Visit www.accgov.com/broadband or scan the QR code below with a smart phone
• Select the FCC National Broadband Map button.

To verify that broadband service is available to you:

• Type your address in the search bar
• Review the location and broadband provider details for your address
• Challenge the location or broadband availability if you believe it is not accurate.

Registration for the spring baseball and softball seasons of both Athens Little League and East Athens Little League is open.

Athens Little League player evaluations will be Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3-4, and East Athens Little League player evaluations will be Feb. 6. All players in both leagues make a team, and financial assistance is available for those who need help with the registration fees. Visit both leagues' Facebook pages and websites for more information and to register. Registration is open through the end of evaluations, but families are encouraged to sign up now to receive more information about evaluations and league schedules.

Not sure which league you should be signing your child up for? Visit this link to find your league.

Registration is now open for the spring session of Kilometer Kids, a free, 10-week, game-based running program for children grades K-5 designed to teach them about goal setting, healthy habits, respect, and community building, all through exposing them to the sport of running. There is no cost to participate, and all elementary school students are welcome regardless of running ability or experience.

Sessions will be held every Thursday — starting Feb. 29 — from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on softball field #2 at Bishop Park in Athens. Click here to register and for more information. The team name is Athens Kilometer Kids. For further questions, email kilometerkids@atlantatrackclub.org.

See the museum's calendar of upcoming monthly Family Day events below. The museum also offers Toddler Tuesday programming designed for children ages 18 months to 3 years and a Teen Studio art workshop for ages 13-18. Both programs are free, and seating is limited. Go to georgiamuseum.org for more information and email gmoa-tours@uga.edu to reserve a spot.

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.