March 27, 2024

The Clarke County School District is pleased to announce that six CCSD high school students — five from Clarke Central High and one from Cedar Shoals High — have been selected as finalists for the 2024 Georgia Governor’s Honors Program (GHP).

GHP is a residential summer program for gifted and talented high school students who will enter either their junior or senior year in the fall. The program offers instruction that is designed to provide students with enrichment in their area of talent so that they can become the next generation of global critical thinkers, innovators, and leaders. This year's program will take place from June 16 to July 13 at Georgia Southern University.

Finalists from CCSD invited to attend the program this summer include:

• Wyatt Meyer, a junior at Clarke Central, in the area of Communicative Arts
• Harper White, a junior at Clarke Central, in the area of World Languages (French)
• Peter Atchley, a sophomore at Clarke Central, in the area of Communicative Arts
• Violet Cantarella, a sophomore at Clarke Central, in the area of Communicative Arts
• Noah Kilpatrick, a sophomore at Clarke Central, in the area of Mathematics
• Ella Conway, a sophomore at Cedar Shoals, in the area of Visual Arts.

While at GHP, these students will attend classes in the mornings and afternoons in their specific areas of study. They will also participate in a wide variety of social and instructional opportunities every evening.

Each school year, high schools in Georgia nominate students for GHP, and students go through an extensive application process with assistance from school-level coordinators. Clarke Central’s school-level GHP coordinator is English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Department chair Jodi Bolgla, while the late English teacher Stephen Castile served as Cedar Shoals’ school-level coordinator up until his passing in February. His fellow English teacher Marc Ginsberg has since taken over GHP coordinator duties at Cedar.

“We are so proud of these students and are excited that they will be able to immerse themselves in their area of interest through this outstanding program,” said CCSD Superintendent Robbie Hooker. “Each of these students have not only demonstrated academic excellence, but have also demonstrated the necessary social and emotional maturity necessary to excel in this intense summer experience. I am also very grateful to the teachers and coordinators who have worked with these students and been part of their educational journey.”