Clarke County School District -

An exciting day at the District Office yesterday as the second cohort of our Aspiring Leaders Academy completed their year-long program with their final capstone presentations in front of school and district leaders! The Aspiring Leaders Academy, in partnership with the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement, is designed to provide participants with tools and resources to enhance their leadership skills and abilities to help them increase their positive impact on our district. The capstone project and presentation allows cohort members to apply what they have learned and demonstrate how they are integrating the work into their professional personal practices. During their 20-minute presentations, cohort members shared highlights from leadership stories they wrote during the program, a personal reflection about the impact of the program on their growth, and an area need in their schools used as the focus of their long-term project. Congratulations to these cohort members on their terrific presentations and successful completion of the program: •Jacob Bartoo, Special Education Department Leader at Gaines Elementary School •Keamber Booker, site coordinator at the CCSD Office of Early Learning ELC East location •Sophia Campbell, science teacher at Clarke Central High School •Desylin Culliver, K-5 Math Curriculum Coordinator for CCSD •Alexandra Edwards, fifth-grade teacher at Timothy Road Elementary School •Patrick Ennis, EIP teacher at Fowler Drive Elementary School •Tammy Gamber, instructional coach at Fowler Drive Elementary School •Donyell Harris, Assistant Principal at Howard B. Stroud Elementary School •Conor Naughton, eighth-grade math teacher at Hilsman Middle School •Anna Slocum, instructional coach at Whitehead Road Elementary School •Cameron Strange, fifth-grade teacher at Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary School •Corie Tarbet, instructional coach at Clarke Central High School •Shante Thompson, assistant principal at Gaines Elementary School •Carla Williams, kindergarten teacher at Cleveland Road Elementary •Chris Woodward, sixth-grade gifted program teacher at Clarke Middle School. Special thanks to Dr. Letishia Seabrook Jones for being this year's program facilitator and Dr. Selena Blankenship who was the district program lead!

A successful day 1 of our district leadership retreat as school and district leaders jumped right in on their focus of making the 2025-26 school year CCSD's best yet. Incoming Interim Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Scott stressed to the team that high expectations will not be optional but a requirement and that we will be relentless in our pursuit of excellence. Each school and building leader dug into the data of their school, providing highlights and opportunities for growth. Leaders also did interactive activities and engaged in discussions of how to continue to improve school climate and culture across the board. Leaders will be back tomorrow to work on crafting updated school improvement plans and utilizing data to make informed decisions and continue moving CCSD forward. More photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Fun at today's free camp hosted by the CCSD AdaptED Sports Team, the Classic City Dawgs! CCSD's regional AdaptED Sports Program, The Classic City Dawgs, is completely free for any public or private school students in grades 1-12 in CCSD and surrounding districts: Barrow, Commerce City, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jefferson City, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Social Circle City, and Walton, who have a qualifying disability. Wheelchair athletics are GHSA-sanctioned co-ed sports. All athletes compete in wheelchairs regardless of whether they use a wheelchair in everyday life. Wheelchairs are provided by CCSD at no cost to students and families. If your student is interested in participating, contact Area Coordinator Chris Aiken (aikenc@clarke.k12.ga.us)! More photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

We were excited this morning to kick off our annual Clarke Connects Educator Externship Week, led by the team at the Athens Community Career Academy in partnership with Athens-Clarke County Economic Development, WorkSource Northeast Georgia, Athens Technical College, Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, and Georgia Power! This week, two dozen teachers, counselors, and other support staff from our middle and high schools will have paid learning opportunities where they will shadow professionals at local businesses in high-paid, high-demand industries and will leave equipped with knowledge and better resources to help them advise our students on their college and career plans! Thank you to our partners and these businesses for offering the shadowing opportunities to our educators this year: ABB Motors and Drives US, Athens Research & Technology, Athentic Brewing Company, Boehringer Ingelheim, The Classic Center and Akins Ford Arena, Creature Comforts, Pilgrim's, and our CCSD school-based health centers in partnership with the AU UGA Medical Partnership, MedLink Georgia, and Athens Neighborhood Health Center. More photos on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Thank you to everyone who came out this afternoon to help us celebrate Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker's extraordinary career in public education and wish him well on his retirement! And thank you to Dr. Hooker for your more than three decades of dedicated public service, for the impact you've had on countless students, educators, and colleagues, for leaving a lasting mark on CCSD, and for always instilling in your team service of others above self and keeping children first in all the decisions that we make. Full photo gallery on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

A great closing event today for our 2024-25 vendor workshop series! Thank you to Michael Thurmond, Clarke Central High School alum and former Georgia Labor Commissioner, for sharing advice for business owners on growing their business and becoming more involved in their community. And thank you to all the local business owners who attended and expressed interest in becoming or have already become vendors with CCSD! More photos over on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

First week of summer sports camps at Clarke Central High School. See plenty more soccer and basketball camp photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Full photo gallery from yesterday's Cedar Shoals High School Class of 2025 graduation ceremony now live on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Full photo gallery from yesterday's Clarke Central High School Class of 2025 graduation ceremony now live on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

What a beautiful day it was in Athens-Clarke County, filled with jubilation, hope, and possibility. Congratulations to the Cedar Shoals High School Class of 2025 as they rounded out our graduation ceremonies! Full photo gallery coming on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools) tomorrow! Go Jags!

CONGRATULATIONS Clarke Central High School Class of 2025! These Glads are Grads! Full photo gallery on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools) coming tomorrow morning!

Full photo gallery from last night's Classic City High School graduation now live on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

CONGRATULATIONS Classic City High School Class of 2025 - YOU DID IT! Full photo gallery coming on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools) tomorrow morning!

Senior Walk fun at Gaines Elementary! Congratulations to these Golden Eagles! See more photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

The Senior Walk fun continued this morning at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School, where graduating seniors from Clarke Central High School and Athens Academy paraded through the halls and helped kick off the fifth-grade moving-on ceremony. Congratulations to these graduates! See more photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Senior Walk this afternoon at Timothy Road Elementary! More photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

Senior Walk fun at Howard B. Stroud Elementary! More photos over on our Facebook page (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

More amazing Senior Walk fun this afternoon at Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary School, where Class of 2025 members from Clarke Central High School, Cedar Shoals High School, and other area high schools paraded through their old Tree Frog home. Congratulations to these grads! More photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!

A wonderful Senior Honors Night at Cedar Shoals High School last night. Congratulations to all these soon-to-be graduates on all the scholarships and academic awards and recognitions received! More photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools!

Scenes from Senior Honors Night at Clarke Central High School. Congratulations to these award winners and scholarship recipients! More photos on our Facebook (@ClarkeCoSchools)!