At CCSD, we're focused on the "four E's" of student outcomes following high school graduation - Enrolling in college, Enlisting in the military, entering the world of Employment, and becoming an Entrepreneur. Cedar Shoals High School Class of 2025 graduates Austin Trammell and Nolan Debalski have found their "E" at Caterpillar! Austin and Nolan completed the Advanced Manufacturing and Welding pathway at the Athens Community Career Academy and participated in Caterpillar's apprenticeship program through CCSD's Work-Based Learning program. Today, in a ceremonial signing of contracts, they affirmed their commitment to join Caterpillar as full-time employees after graduation! Congratulations to these young men who will now enter the workforce with high-demand, well-paying jobs in a key industry partner in our area! And thank you to Caterpillar for helping open these doors of opportunity for these Thriving Students!

Barnett Shoals Elementary School welcomed back Class of 2025 graduates from Cedar Shoals High School, Clarke Central High School, and Elbert County High School this morning for a final Senior Walk through the school and goodbye ceremony in the gym. Congratulations to these former Bear Scholars-turned-very-soon-to-be graduates! See the full photo gallery on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools) and continue to follow us over the next week for photo galleries of senior walks and similar activities at all 14 of our elementary schools in the lead up to next week's graduation ceremonies! #CCSDSeniorWalks2025

A wonderful time last night celebrating with many of our 2024-25 retirees at the annual CCSD Retirement Dinner. Check out the full photo gallery on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

This past Friday, 16 of our seniors were honored for their completion of the Georgia Possible Program, a three-year college and career readiness program through the UGA Fanning Institute for Leadership. These students attended more than 30 sessions on topics including entrepreneurship, communication, and stress management. The seniors interviewed each other and through a self graduation and shared each others' future plans and highlights from the program. In addition on Friday, the program welcomed 36 new students, high school freshmen beginning their Georgia Possible journey. This cohort will begin its full enrollment in the program this fall. Congratulations to our seniors and good luck to our new cohort over the next three years as they grow!

Scenes from a special night of recognitions at the Board of Education meeting where we recognized: •Lasonja Hunt, Campus Security Officer at Cedar Shoals High School, as CCSD's May Employee of the Month •Georgia National History Day competition winners from Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School and Cedar Shoals High School •Georgia Science and Engineering Fair winners from Clarke Middle School and Hilsman Middle School •The Clarke Middle School Science, Energy, and Adventure Team for their recent state and national awards •FFA members from Cedar Shoals High School, Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, and Coile Middle School for their recent wins in the state Agriscience Fair •Representatives from Clarke Central High School's ODYSSEY Media Group and Iliad Literary Art Magazine and Cedar Shoals High School's BluePrints Magazine for their many staff and individual awards at the state, regional, and national levels this school year. CONGRATULATIONS to all!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to LaSonja Hunt, campus security officer at Cedar Shoals High School, on being named CCSD's Employee of the Month for May! Officer Hunt is finishing up her second year at Cedar and was nominated by a parent who praised for her daily uplifting and positive attitude and having a smiling face to greet and say goodbye to campus visitors each day. Officer Hunt was surprised with the award by District Office representatives and principal Dr. Makeba Clark today and will be recognized by Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker and Board of Education members tomorrow night at the monthly BOE meeting. Her son, CJ Brooks, also got to join in on the celebration this afternoon. Thank you to Officer Hunt for all you do in setting a great example for all CCSD staff!

It was a fantastic day at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta where CCSD and nearly 50 other school districts across the state participated in the statewide Teach in the Peach future educator signing day event! We were thrilled to be represented by and celebrate with Mallory Davis and Kate Lamb of Barnett Shoals Elementary School. Mallory and Kate have spent the year as student teachers at Barnett Shoals through the University of Georgia and will be officially joining the school as fifth-grade homeroom teachers next school year! They were accompanied today by Barnett Shoals principal Dr. Aliceson Nobles, and Mallory was one of eight educators in the room invited to sit on the stage for the signing. Please join us in *officially* officially welcoming these two #TalentedTeachers to the CCSD family!

Last night we held the official ribbon-cutting for and tours of the new permanent Clarke Middle Health Center space in the new Clarke Middle School! This collaboration between CCSD, the Augusta University-UGA Medical Partnership's Athens Free Clinic, and the UGA School of Medicine, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, School of Law, School of Social Work, and College of Public Health provides free medical health, behavioral health and counseling, and legal services to the children, staff, and families of CCSD. Since its opening in fall 2022, the health clinic has provided more than $400,000 worth of medical services at no charge to our families. Thanks to everyone who attended last night and to Dr. Suzanne Lester of the Athens Free Clinic, Dean Shelley Nuss of the School of Medicine, Dean Anisa Zvonkovic of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Dean Usha Rodrigues of the School of Law, and Dean Philip Hong of the School of Social Work for joining CCSD Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker in making comments to mark this special occasion, and we look forward to many more years of this great partnership. More photos over on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Some great news in recent days about our Thriving Students, including: •Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School orchestra selected to play at Carnegie Hall •Clarke Central High School senior and ODYSSEY Media Group Editor-in-Chief Wyatt Meyer named a finalist for National Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Education Association! •BHL eighth-grader Charlie Crawford won first place in the Junior Individual Website category in the state National History Day competition and will represent CCSD at nationals! Cedar Shoals High School sophomores Sa-ida Arnold, Savannah Rawls, and Caitlin Smith finished third in the Senior Group Documentary category and have been named alternates for nationals. •Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals FFA members shine at state convention. Read more about these accomplishments over on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

A fun Tuesday night at the District Office gym where our elementary volleyball team through the Athens Youth Development Initiative representing six different CCSD elementary schools topped Madison County, winning three of four sets to remain undefeated on the season! Congratulations to these girls on the win! See more photos over on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Thanks to CPR First Response Safety Training for providing a training class today in first aid, CPR, and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for many of our District Office employees! Departments represented included Plant Services, Transportation, Technology, Safety and Energy, Innovation, Strategy, and Governance, and Health and PE.

A great day this past Saturday at the annual CCSD Young Scientist Fair at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School. More photos over on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Scenes from Milestones pep rally fun Friday afternoon at Fowler Drive Elementary and Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle schools! More photos over on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Scenes from recognitions at last night's Board of Education meeting: •Governors Honors Program finalists from Clarke Central High School and Cedar Shoals High School •The Hilsman Middle School Student Council for the numerous state awards they won this year and have won in recent years •First Sergeant Antione Clark of Clarke Central, CCSD's April Employee of the Month Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to the Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary girls and Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary boys on winning the 2025 CCSD Elementary Soccer League championships! More photos over on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

The Wildcats were ROARING this afternoon at Whit Davis Elementary for the Georgia Milestones "prep" rally! Students in grades 3-5 paraded through the halls to the loud cheers of students in the lower grade levels and then had a motivational talk from principal Latinda Dean and members of the Georgia Football team. Thank you to Bo Hughley, Miles Thornton, Tyler Williams, and Chris Cole for visiting and spending time with the students. We can't wait for these Wildcats and all of our students across CCSD to rock the test next week! More photos available on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Members of the Cedar Shoals High School FFA were recognized at today's Rotary Club of Athens meeting for their placings in the National FFA Agriscience Fair last fall. FFA faculty advisor Julie Throne also gave remarks. Congratulations to Derriana Smith, Stephanie Emegwam, Alessandra Perez, Amelia Hembree, and Lawrence Hodges, and thank you to the Rotary Club for helping sponsor the FFA's trip to Indianapolis for the convention!

Congratulations to First Sergeant Antione Clark, JROTC instructor at Clarke Central High School, on being named the CCSD Employee of the Month for April! 1SG Clark was nominated by two parents who praised him for his ability to meet each student where they are and support and encourage them on their respective journeys. He was surprised at the school this morning by Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker and will be recognized at tomorrow night's Board of Education meeting. As a reminder, anyone in the community may nominate any full-time CCSD employee with at least one full year of service for this award. We have ONE MORE award to give out this school year so get those nominations in at bit.ly/CCEmployeeAward!

Yesterday, we hosted a team from the Georgia Department of Education and neighboring school districts for a review of our Local Facilities Plan for capital improvement projects. Updated and reviewed formally every five years, the plan looks at student enrollment and the age of our buildings' systems and components, such as roofs and A/C units, and determines whether the district may qualify for capital improvements from the state, which we can then request. We are pleased to share that our plan was approved and we can now submit applications for capital improvement reimbursements for facilities that qualify. Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker, Director of Facility Planning and Construction John Gilbreath, and Construction Project Manager Troy Bassett presented the plan for CCSD. Great job and thank you to our facilities team for their efforts!

Recent excitement from our Transportation team as they have resumed their monthly Student Excellence awards, designed to encourage and reward students who exemplify good deeds, respect, and responsibility during their daily bus commutes. By shining a light on their efforts, we aim to create a more positive and supportive environment on all our buses. Congratulations to Camille Barnett of Whit Davis Elementary (East side winner for March), Joselin Quijada of Cleveland Road Elementary (West side winner), and Kalli Smith of Timothy Road Elementary (Special Needs winner), who were surprised at their school in recent days while members of the transportation team were there to perform the department's school bus safety skit and had the chance to take a picture with their bus drivers! Nominations are made each month by bus drivers and monitors and reviewed and decided on by the Transportation team based on students exhibiting respectful behavior, a positive attitude, good citizenship, and following the rules. Winners receive a certificate and gift card, and an overall winner will be announced toward the end of the school year.