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CCSDRetiringLegends-RollinsCaglioni51223

The Cherokee County School District this week honored retiring employees as legends at a new ceremony and reception.

One hundred and twenty-four retiring employees, including teachers, support staff and administrators, were celebrated at the CCSD Retiring Legends Reception and Recognition Ceremony presented Thursday evening in the school board auditorium.

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The Cherokee County School District is celebrating its 2023 Yes I Can Award winners!

The Yes I Can Awards celebrate the achievements of children and youth with exceptionalities.  The awards encourage students to seek their highest potential, and increase public awareness of the abilities, aspirations, and personal qualities of those with disabilities.  

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Welcome to our new website!  We are proud to launch our new site and hope you like its new look.  While many of our most-used features are in a similar place on the new site, a few have moved. 

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The Cherokee County School Board at its meeting on Thursday, April 20, 2023 approved the appointment of a new Cherokee High School principal and improvements to the driveway and parking for Creekview High School and Creekland Middle School.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 approved mid-year bonuses for teachers and support staff and heard plans to increase salaries for next school year.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower proposed the one-time supplemental payments of $1,000 for eligible full-time employees and $500 permanent part-time employees, which will be issued in this month’s paychecks, to show appreciation for their continued service.

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Cherokee County School District students for the seventh consecutive year exceeded State averages on the Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade and End-of-Course tests, with significant gains on most tests. 

The annual tests assess students’ mastery of Georgia Performance Standards, which set expectations for what lessons students will learn in each grade.  Teachers and administrators use the results to improve instructional best practices.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday night approved the budget for next school year, which calls for a tax rate reduction, increased investment in school safety and pay raises for teachers and support staff.

The 1.5 mills decrease in the tax rate, which was unanimously approved, is the first reduction proposed since 2014 and was prompted by the rise in property values.  While most homeowners will see an increase in their tax bill due to their property value rising, the increase will be less due to the School Board’s action.   

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday night reviewed the proposed budget for next school year, which calls for a reduction in the tax rate for all property owners and well-deserved pay increases for teachers and support staff.

The proposed 1.5 mills decrease in the tax rate is the first reduction proposed since 2014 and has been recommended by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower in light of rising home values.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday heard good news about the school district’s financial outlook due to increasing home values and discussed ways to reduce the burden on taxpayers, while also using some of the windfall to make teacher and staff pay more competitive.

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The Cherokee County School District has added Free Little Libraries to more of its elementary school campuses in time for students to begin using them over the winter break.

With the cost sponsored by Credit Union of Georgia, a CCSD Partner, the little library boxes are being built by CCSD high school students in the construction Career Pathway program.  

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The Cherokee County School Board at its regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021, reviewed plans for the Education SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) up for renewal by voters in the Nov. 2 election.

The Cherokee County School District, for the past 24 years, has used a 1-percent Education SPLOST to fund capital improvement projects, which include constructing new schools and facilities and renovating existing ones; funding technology infrastructure; buying school buses; and purchasing land for future schools.  

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The Cherokee County School Board at its meeting on Thursday, July 15, 2021 took the following action:

  • Approved the monthly personnel report, which included the appointment of Adam Johnson, a 13-year CCSD teacher who has taught and coached track at Cherokee High School, as a new assistant principal at Woodstock High School;
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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, June 17, 2021 unanimously approved its budget for next school year, which is balanced without a tax rate increase and includes hiring 125 new teachers above and beyond enrollment growth to help bridge any pandemic-related learning opportunity losses.  

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday reviewed the recommended budget for next school year, which includes hiring more teachers to lower class size while not raising the school property tax millage rate, and adopted a resolution that prohibits implementing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and The 1619 Project.  

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, April 15, approved school calendars for three more years and appointed several new leaders for next school year.

The approved calendars for the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 school year now are posted at http://bit.ly/CCSDcalendars.  They were developed by a committee of CCSD employees and parents and use the same balanced calendar model as currently in place.  

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, March 18, 2021, heard school operations updates on plans for special events including graduation ceremonies and proms, as well as details for next school year including the continuation of a Digital Learning option.  

The School Board also approved several appointments for CCSD school leadership roles for next school year including new Principals for Ball Ground Elementary School STEM Academy and Mountain Road Elementary School, as well as the naming of the District’s first administrator focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, approved several appointments for CCSD school leadership roles for next school year.

As part of the monthly personnel report, the School Board accepted the retirements of many longtime educators throughout CCSD including Bascomb Elementary School Principal Kathleen Chandler.  

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The Cherokee County School Board during its meeting Thursday approved the purchase of land for the potential site of a new Cherokee High School.

The 88-acre site is north of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and adjacent to the current Teasley MS campus in Canton’s Riverstone area, and the land cost is $87,500 per acre to be paid for with current Ed SPLOST funds. 

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What is Child Find?
The purpose of Child Find is to identify, locate, and evaluate children and youth, who are suspected of having or have a diagnosed disability or developmental delay, in order to provide free appropriate Special Education services.  The Cherokee County School District serves children from three years through 21 years of age.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday heard an update on potential State funding concerns for next school year.
 
During its pre-meeting work session, School Board members began the planning work for its annual Legislative Partnership Priorities, a list of top issues it would like to see addressed by Cherokee County’s State legislators during the General Assembly Session.  The report typically is shared by the School Board with the Delegation at a meeting in early December prior to the legislative session’s start in January.

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The Cherokee County School Board during its meeting Thursday heard operations updates and talked about construction of a replacement Cherokee High School as a possible project to be funded in the next Education SPLOST renewal.

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The Cherokee County School Board at its regular meeting tonight unanimously approved the Cherokee County School District’s annual budget, which, despite a $25 Million State education funding cut, was balanced without the need for furlough days or a millage rate increase.

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The Cherokee County School Board at its called meeting tonight unanimously approved the Superintendent’s recommended CCSD Reopening of School Plan, which calls for both the return to schools for traditional learning and the launch of an improved digital learning choice.

 

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The Cherokee County School Board at its work session and regular meeting this evening reviewed the proposed CCSD budget for next school year, which balances a State funding shortfall without the need for furlough days or a tax rate increase, and heard an update on school reopening plans.

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The Cherokee County School Board this evening unanimously approved the Superintendent of Schools’ recommendation to end school early on May 8 and to postpone a decision on high school graduation ceremonies until July 1.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 approved the appointment of a longtime CCSD leader as its next Chief Operations Officer.

Dr. Debra Murdock, a past Georgia High School Principal of the Year who currently serves as an Executive Director in the Office of School Operations, will begin leading the division this spring.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019 heard an update on CCSD’s Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) initiative, including projects underway to increase counseling services and create a “parent university” program for providing parents more information to help their children’s safety and well-being.

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Cherokee County School District schools continue to score high among their community members for fostering a positive school climate and culture!

The District earned a four-star average on the five-star scale in the Georgia Department of Education’s annual ratings, which measure how a community views the quality of its school’s culture and character; the highest possible rating is five stars.  The rating is based on a survey of students, parents and teachers; student discipline issue rates; and daily attendance.

Blueprint 20-24 Five Priority Areas

The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 approved Blueprint, a new long-range plan for the Cherokee County School District’s continued success, developed based on community input. 

The creation of the new five-year strategic plan, which is posted here, evolved over six months of meetings with students, families, teachers, support staff, business and community partners to determine what matters most to them and how CCSD could better serve them.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, July 18, 2019 appointed a longtime CCSD leader to head up the new Social and Emotional Learning initiative, as well as several resulting Principal changes.  

Dr. Debra Murdock, the former Principal of Cherokee High School and Georgia High School Principal of the Year, who has most recently served as the School Operations’ executive director overseeing middle and high schools, will take on the newly created role focused on developing new ways to better support students’ and employees’ emotional and mental health and well-being.

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The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday, April 18, 2019 approved the appointment of a new CCSD School Police Chief and new assistant principals to fill vacancies for next school year. 

The School Board unanimously approved naming Major Buster Cushing, who currently serves as commander of field operations for the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, as the next CCSD School Police Chief effective July 1.  Major Cushing will fill the role held by retiring Chief Mark Kissel  since the Department’s establishment 20 years ago.