Last night, we honored many of our 2025-26 retirees who have dedicated their careers to education during our annual retirement banquet. We had 61 retirees this year with a combined 1,070 years of service in public education and more than 800 years total service to CCSD students, families, and fellow staff. From teachers, to parapros, to school administrators, to registrars and receptionists, to custodians, to bus drivers and transportation employees, to nutrition workers, to police, and other district support staff, these employees have dedicated their lives to impacting children in their own special way and making Athens-Clarke County and the world a better place. Congratulations on a well-deserved retirement! And thank you to Georgia United Credit Union for sponsoring and helping make last night's event possible! See a full photo gallery and list of retirees on the CCSD Facebook page!
Ms. Dawson-Deweese is finishing up her first year at CMS and was nominated by colleagues Shawn Hinger and Kathryn Brown for the impact she has had in strengthening the school’s culture, being an engaging, innovative teacher who holds her students to high standards and pushes them to realize their potential, and leading initiatives and events that support the district’s Culture of Literacy campaign.
Ms. Dawson-Deweese was surprised with the award this afternoon by Interim Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Scott and CMS Principal Derrick Maxwell and will be recognized publicly at Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting.
Thank you to all of our students, staff, families, and community members who combined this school year to nominate well over 200 CCSD employees for this award and to the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce and local businesses for sponsoring and supporting it every month. While only nine actually received the award, they are all winners in our book!
We look forward to reopening nominations at the start of next school year!
The Winnerbees earned one of the highest scores the program has ever achieved and, more importantly, showed leadership, teamwork, resilience, and sportsmanship while representing their school and community with heart, determination, and pride every step of the way. Congratulations!
Representatives recently visited Hilsman for a check presentation and BHL to scout the location where the food pantry will be housed. A special thank you to Rotary President Ralph Johnson, Erin Barger, Food Bank of NEGA President and CEO and incoming Rotary President, and Polar Plungefest event chair Trai McRae for leading this effort - and to everyone in the community who participated in PlungeFest to support Thriving Students and stronger family connections!
Hilsman group photo, from left to right: Tracey Massey, Operations Specialist for Food Bank of NEGA, Ralph Johnson, Dr. Randall Watkins, Hilsman Assistant Principal, Tessa Barbazon, CCSD Executive Director of Student and Family Support, Erin Barger, and Katherine Bailey, Hilsman Site Coordinator for Family Connection-Communities in Schools of Athens
BHL group photo, from left to right: She-Ra Gonzalez, BHL Family Engagement Specialist; Dr. Cyndee Perdue Moore, CCSD Chief Communications and Engagement Officer and Rotary member; Dr. Annie Turman, BHL Principal; Erin Barger; and Tracey Massey.
CCSD was delighted today to participate in the annual statewide Future Educator Signing Day led by the Georgia Department of Education through the Teach in the Peach initiative! Twelve CCSD high school students from Clarke Central High School, Cedar Shoals High School, and the Athens Community Career Academy (ACCA) who have completed or are in the process of completing the Teaching as a Profession pathway at ACCA affirmed their commitments today to teach full-time in Georgia classrooms after graduating college. These students have already gained hands-on classroom experience as part of this career pathway, and many of them will be taking the GACE paraprofessional certification exam this month, giving them the opportunity to work in classrooms while earning their teaching degrees!
Congratulations to these students:
• Jakia Butts, 12th grade, Cedar Shoals and ACCA
• Mariah Carson, 12th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Camryn Coleman, 12th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Shelby McDaniel, 12th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Gillian Williams, 12th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• (Not pictured) Elise Geier, 12th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Tina Brooks, 11th grade, Cedar Shoals and ACCA
• Cheyenne Hardy, 11th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Duncan Jones, 11th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Elizabeth McArthur, 11th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Vera Mize, 11th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA
• Dar'Maya Ollie, 11th grade, Clarke Central and ACCA.
Congratulations also go to Mariah Carson on being chosen as CCSD's recipient of the $500 Teach in the Peach scholarship and Camryn Coleman, Elizabeth McArthur, and Vera Mize receiving the Top Intern awards for the TAP program in CCSD this year! See a full photo gallery on the CCSD Facebook page!
May breakfast and lunch menus are ready for viewing! View in three ways:
1. Monthly printable menus at www.clarke.k12.ga.us/menus
2. The menus for the following week are posted every Friday afternoon at www.clarke.k12.ga.us/menus
3. The menu for each day is available every morning when you download the official CCSD mobile app and navigate to your child's school in the menu!
Download for Android https://aptg.co/xQ_qX1
Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/zCh8gX
Congratulations to these students and best wishes to them on their bright futures as they step from the classroom right into well-paying, full-time jobs in a key industry for the regional workforce!
• Joshua Luna, Clarke Central High School and Advanced Manufacturing and Welding pathway at Athens Community Career Academy (ACCA), Assembly division at Caterpillar
• Anthony Castro-Soto, Cedar Shoals High School and Advanced Manufacturing and Welding pathway at ACCA, Welding division at Caterpillar
• CJ Long, Computer Science pathway at Cedar Shoals, Logistics division at Caterpillar
• Brandon Morales-Flores, Cedar Shoals and Advanced Manufacturing and Welding pathway at ACCA, Welding division at Caterpillar
• Travon Tucker, Graphic Design pathway at Cedar Shoals, Assembly division at Caterpillar
• (not pictured) Est Martinez-Calderon, Cedar Shoals and Advanced Manufacturing and Welding pathway at ACCA, Welding division at Caterpillar.
If you are a CCSD student who will be in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade next school year and are interested in work-based learning opportunities like this, we encourage you to apply to the WBL program at bit.ly/WBLAPP. You can also reach out to your school’s WBL Coordinator for more information:
• Cedar Shoals, Tammy Caudell – tcaudell@clarke.k12.ga.us
• Clarke Central, Brook Thompson – thompsonb2@clarke.k12.ga.us
Congratulations to the Winterville Elementary School girls and J.J. Harris Elementary School boys on winning the 2026 CCSD Elementary Soccer League championships Thursday night, April 16! Winterville topped Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary, 5-3, while J.J. Harris defeated Timothy Road Elementary, 3-0. See more photos in our Facebook gallery!
• the Hilsman Middle School Student Council for its five state awards won at this year's state convention
• Governor's Honors Program finalists and alternates from Clarke Central High School and Cedar Shoals High School
• Our April Employee of the Month, Barrow Elementary School special education paraprofessional Dominique Green
• Angela Gay, school social worker for Howard B. Stroud Elementary School and Cedar Shoals High School, on being named state School Social Worker of the Year by the School Social Workers Association of Georgia.
Congratulations to all!
As noted by one of her colleagues, though she was understandably concerned about her teammate and shaken by the events that transpired, Ms. Jeter maintained a high level of professionalism throughout the situation. She was able to immediately recognize symptoms and provide the responding medical team with the critical information they needed, all while reassuring her distressed coworker that everything was going to be okay until help arrived.
Ms. Jeter truly exemplifies what an outstanding monitor should be and what a CCSD hero looks like.
Congratulations to each of these students on their work throughout the year! Information about serving on the 2026-27 council will be provided at the start of the school year.
BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Dominique Green, special education paraprofessional at Barrow Elementary School, who has been named CCSD's Employee of the Month for April! Ms. Green supports students in Ms. Lexie McCollum's third-grade class at Barrow and also provides instructional support during specials classes (PE, art, music, etc.) for grades 1-2 and 5. She was nominated by one of her colleagues, who noted that she has established strong relationships with students and coworkers and is always eager to learn and to grow her own knowledge and abilities.
Ms. Green was surprised with the award this morning by Interim Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Scott and Barrow Principal Dr. Ellen Sabatini and will be recognized publicly at this Thursday night's Board of Education meeting!
Anyone in the community may nominate any full-time CCSD employee with at least one full year of service for the Employee of the Month award at bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward.
CCSD students are pictured with Interim Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Scott during the recent Youth Leadership Athens graduation.
From Cedar Shoals: Solomon Caplan and Tatiana Velasquez. (Lauren Neace not pictured)
From Clarke Central: Anna Feagle, Miriam Widener, Zarema Douris, Anna Flath, Daly Pruitt, Callie Wallace, and Kayla Walker.
Additionally, Tatiana Velasquez was named a High Honor Graduate, while Solomon Caplan, Anna Feagle, and Miriam Widener were named Superior Achievement graduates. These students were recognized for going above and beyond the core activities of the program by completing additional optional leadership activities.
Congratulations to all!
This is the last week to get your April Employee of the Month nominations in! Anyone in the community may nominate any full-time CCSD employee with at least one full year of service to the district at bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward. Click the link and tell us about an employee who is Raising the Bar in CCSD!
Today, we held our annual Transition Fair at the District Office, where families of adapted curriculum students in CCSD met with dozens of community vendors who shared information on accessing programs, employment opportunities, assistance, financial support, and more! Special thanks to all of the incredible organizations that participated in the Transition Fair! See a full photo gallery here!
