Bartow County School System

OPEN HOUSE REMINDER: * Elementary & Middle * Thursday, July 27th, 2023 10:30-11:30 AM, 1:30-2:30 PM, and 5:00-6:00 PM * High School * Thursday, July 27th, 2023 Grades 10-12 3:30-4:30 PM Freshman 6:00-7:00 PM * BCCCA * Friday, July 28th, 2023 4:30-6:00 PM

CHECK IT OUT: Join our team of WORLD CLASS educators and support staff!

WOW: It is hard not to notice the great things happening in the Bartow County School System! Within the last seven days alone, we announced an unprecedented partnership with Berry College that will offer advanced degrees at no cost to tenured employees. Now, with the approval of the fiscal year 2024 Budget, all employees will receive an eight percent salary increase. That includes a $2,000 salary increase provided by Governor Brian Kemp. Superintendent Page says it best. “It is evident our Board members are committed to supporting all staff with the necessary resources, a highly competitive salary scale, and expanding benefits package. Our Board’s commitment is certainly matched by our staff’s commitment to our fundamental purpose of learning for all students on or above grade level. The 2022-2023 school year has again produced historic academic and extracurricular results for our students. Together, we have made the Bartow County School System a national model in which other school districts visit and learn from our staff.” A national model it is. Behind the scenes, more than a dozen school systems have visited within the last two years. What a great time to be a part of the BCSS FAMILY!

REMINDER: If you're new to Bartow, or looking to make that switch (like SO many others), our Central Registration building will open back up July 10th! Details below!

CLASSIFIED JOB FAIR: Join our FAMILY! There is no better time than NOW!

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: A-TEAM AWARD WOODLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL & ITS 8TH GRADE ELA TEAM * Jennifer Mayer * Abbey Yohe FULL STORY: https://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/article/1110950

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: A-TEAM AWARD CASS MIDDLE SCHOOL & ITS 8TH GRADE ELA TEAM * Stephanie Brant * Miller Barnett * Justin Carver * Megan Gannon * Jenna Johnson FULL STORY: https://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/article/1112256

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: A-TEAM AWARD HAMILTON CROSSING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL & ITS 1ST GRADE TEAM * Juliane Johnson * Breanna Roberts * Jennifer Tasker * Debbie Philliber * Anna May FULL STORY: https://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/article/1123931

The Bartow County School System and Cartersville City Schools partner with Berry College to launch ContinUed Bartow and ContinUed Cartersville, a premier program that offers educational graduate degrees at no cost to tenured employees. “This online, first-of-its-kind program and partnership will benefit our community in a multitude of ways,” said BCSS Superintendent Dr. Phillip Page. “Through this investment and collaborative structure, we are supporting our educators as they continue their focus on learning, expand classroom content knowledge, and enhance their leadership skills. At the same time, we are building leadership capacity in our schools and creating sustainability in that area. Berry College and the Bartow County Board of Education have been instrumental in making this happen, and we are thrilled to see this new initiative impact Bartow County for years to come.” Effective immediately, certified staff members looking to advance their education may apply for Master of Education degrees or Education Specialist degrees in Educational Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction, or Curriculum and Instruction with Tier I Leadership certification embedded. Interested applicants are required to apply at the link below to be considered for the first cohort, which starts in August. The application window promptly closes July 9. Up to 50 applications will be accepted. “Berry College is excited to partner with Bartow County Schools and Cartersville City to address the growing need of classroom teachers who desire to strengthen and increase their competencies to design, to implement, and to evaluate curriculum and instruction,” said Dr. Alan Hughes, Dean of the Charter School of Education and Human Sciences. “Berry’s graduate program also provides teachers with experiences to further strengthen and enhance their competencies to serve as instructional leaders within their school settings and districts. All in all, the partnership between Berry College, Bartow County, and Cartersville City offers teachers an unprecedented, fully-funded pathway to follow new career opportunities that can directly impact students at all grade levels.” Programs are accredited by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. For more information on the program and how to apply, click the link below. https://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/page/continued-bartow

BARTOW'S BEST: Bartow County School Police Officer Donnie Scott earned the prestigious Donald Strickland Humanitarian Award during the 2nd Annual Black Excellence Awards Show and Gala at the Savoy Automobile Museum! This is a well-deserved award for an officer who has a remarkable passion for making a difference in the lives of ALL students. His dedication to positively impacting our community for generations to come led to the creation of two truly groundbreaking programs in Bartow County – Youth Against Violence and Drugs and the Men’s Leadership group for students in Bartow County elementary and middle schools. Congratulations, Officer Scott! We're proud to have you!

Woodland Middle School becomes the 17th Bartow County school to be named a Model Professional Learning Community for its sustained success in raising student achievement! “I was elated,” said WMS Principal Michael Blankenship. “I was on vacation when I received the email. I just sat back and thought, ‘wow...we finally did it.’ We've been working diligently towards this for several years.” The school’s successful implementation of PLC’s was a major contributing factor in the improved achievement of its students. PLC’s are schools and districts in which educators recognize the key to improved learning for students is on-going, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve those students. The three big ideas of a PLC call upon educators to: 1. Focus on learning. 2. Build a collaborative culture. 3. Create a results orientation. “Our staff has stayed focused,” said Principal Blankenship. “We've been focused on learning, collaboration and results. Our collaboration teams have done the work with fidelity all year and for several years now. The steps we took specifically this year started with pre-planning. We focused on doing professional development to help foster an A-Team environment. We set a goal to get two more A-teams this year. We provided PD in pre-planning and throughout the school year to help our teachers with collaboration. Another step we took is that we, as a leadership team, also embedded ourselves in collaboration teams all year. We each moved to a different team every nine weeks, and we did so with intent and purpose. A third step we took is that we became more intentional and focused on disaggregating and using data in real time. We used Milestones data, MAP data, benchmark data, and CSA data to drive instruction in real time. Our teachers consistently used the data and allowed it to drive them in instructional planning. Perhaps the most important step we took was to have a laser-like focus all year on the three big ideas. In the midst of some difficult circumstances and events this year, our teachers stayed focused on the task at hand. They were driven by our mission. That focus and drive got us to the destination.” Schools are recognized based on strict criteria, including demonstration of a commitment to PLC concepts, implementation of these concepts for at least three years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Once measurable results can be seen, the school must explain its practices, structures, and culture, and then submit its application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee. “This is just the tip of the iceberg for us,” said Principal Blankenship. “There is no magic here. The magic is the process itself. If you do the PLC process with fidelity and let it drive everything you do, it works and pays off. Where do we go from here? We keep going in the right direction and moving upward. Our next steps are to continue finding what the greatest needs our teachers have in the way of professional development and respond to those needs ASAP. We must also continue to dive into our data, learn what our needs are, and address those immediately. Our basic goal as a leadership team is to remove barriers to success for our teachers and staff. Achieving Model PLC School status is an amazing accomplishment, but it is just the beginning. We have a long way to go yet and many goals and steps before us. We want to continue integrating STEM and problem-based learning into our learning environment, as we know this has had a major impact on student learning. We definitely know that this is not a program to complete but a process to perfect. We want to continue taking specific steps to perfect the process and practice it with fidelity day in and day out.” WMC, Bartow County College and Career Academy, Red Top Middle School, Woodland High School, Adairsville High School, Allatoona Elementary School, Kingston Elementary School, Mission Road Elementary School, Adairsville Elementary School, Euharlee Elementary School, Clear Creek Elementary School, Pine Log Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School, Cass Middle School, Adairsville Middle School, Cloverleaf Elementary School, and White Elementary School now join the Bartow County School System as they celebrate Model PLC School and Model PLC District status.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION: The Bartow County College and Career Academy becomes the 16th Bartow County school to be named a Model Professional Learning Community for its sustained success in raising student achievement! “It was so exciting,” said BCCCA Principal Greg Doss. “I could not wait to share the news!” The school’s successful implementation of PLC’s was a major contributing factor in the improved achievement of its students. PLC’s are schools and districts in which educators recognize the key to improved learning for students is on-going, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve those students. The three big ideas of a PLC call upon educators to: 1. Focus on learning. 2. Build a collaborative culture. 3. Create a results orientation. “It was a process over the past few years to improve our process,” said Principal Doss. “It took effort from the entire staff and their commitment to the focus on learning, collaboration, and results. The guiding coalition was instrumental in being hyper focused on a guaranteed and viable curriculum. I would like to share a special thank you to Stephanie Foy for her fortitude in collecting all the data to tell our story.” Schools are recognized based on strict criteria, including demonstration of a commitment to PLC concepts, implementation of these concepts for at least three years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Once measurable results can be seen, the school must explain its practices, structures, and culture, and then submit its application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee. “Next steps will be to celebrate with the staff on their accomplishment,” said Principal Doss. “We are also celebrating the upcoming opening of Pre-k and Early Childhood Education programs at the Academy. Also, next year, we will be focused on becoming a STEM Provider, creating a STEM innovation center, and launching esports.” The BCCCA, Red Top Middle School, Woodland High School, Adairsville High School, Allatoona Elementary School, Kingston Elementary School, Mission Road Elementary School, Adairsville Elementary School, Euharlee Elementary School, Clear Creek Elementary School, Pine Log Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School, Cass Middle School, Adairsville Middle School, Cloverleaf Elementary School, and White Elementary School now join the Bartow County School System as they celebrate Model PLC School and Model PLC District status.

Red Top Middle School becomes the 15th Bartow County school to be named a Model Professional Learning Community for its sustained success in raising student achievement! “I literally yelled ‘yes’ from my office so loud that other staff members wondered what was going on,” said RTMS Principal Wes Dickey. “I then forwarded the notification email straight to our staff to share the great news!” The school’s successful implementation of PLC’s was a major contributing factor in the improved achievement of its students. PLC’s are schools and districts in which educators recognize the key to improved learning for students is on-going, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve those students. The three big ideas of a PLC call upon educators to: 1. Focus on learning. 2. Build a collaborative culture. 3. Create a results orientation. “Last school year (2021-22), we set goals to start the Model PLC application process at the end of Fall semester and then submit our initial application prior to leaving for Spring Break,” said Principal Dickey. “Our Guiding Coalition created sub-committees to work on the various sections of the application and we met both of those timeline goals. We received feedback a few weeks later from Solution Tree, and they asked for some additional information and data points. After this resubmission, we found out just before the start of the 2022-23 school year that we were close but not quite there. The Solution Tree committee wanted to see more sustained growth. So, we then waited until the end of this years (2022-23) testing window and resubmitted our application on May 31, 2023. We were able to add more data points showing growth across a variety of components (EOG score comparisons over the past three years, Growth Measure, MAP testing, Tier-3 Dismissals, ESOL Data-ACCESS scores, and SPED Data).” Schools are recognized based on strict criteria, including demonstration of a commitment to PLC concepts, implementation of these concepts for at least three years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Once measurable results can be seen, the school must explain its practices, structures, and culture, and then submit its application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee. “This is truly a group effort for Red Top Middle School,” said Principal Dickey. “It took all stakeholders to make this happen, and there is still plenty of work to be done. The PLC Process is a process to ‘perfect.’ Every collaboration team at Red Top can and must get better in the process for us to continue moving forward. Our focus on the three big ideas of the PLC Process is never-ending.” RTMS, Woodland High School, Adairsville High School, Allatoona Elementary School, Kingston Elementary School, Mission Road Elementary School, Adairsville Elementary School, Euharlee Elementary School, Clear Creek Elementary School, Pine Log Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School, Cass Middle School, Adairsville Middle School, Cloverleaf Elementary School, and White Elementary School now join the Bartow County School System as they celebrate Model PLC School and Model PLC District status.

SUPERPOWERED SUCCESS: Congratulations, Clear Creek Elementary School's Green Seas LEGO Robotics Team! Lawson Hovarth, Holly Chance, Noah Dale, Katie Martel, Mekenzie Moss, Lily Wilson, Scarlett Lalla, Sarah Rampley, and Christian Sanders competed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Invitational in Massachusetts over the weekend! WPI boasts many notable alumni, including Dean Karen, the founder of FIRST Robotics and inventor of the Segway and iBOT! The competition included 75 teams from 18 countries and 33 states! Highlights included earning their best competition robot score, working closely with a Missouri team and nearly advancing during lightning rounds, and making new friends from Belgium and the United Kingdom. They even traded t-shirts with their new buddies from the UK at the end of the event! During downtime, Green Seas toured Boston and watched a Woo Sox Baseball game where a robot threw out the ceremonial first pitch! We're so proud of this team and their coaches, Robin Morrow and Jennifer Martel! Join us in congratulating them once again!

CALLING ALL RISING JUNIORS & SENIORS: Register now for this 2nd Annual College Workshop on July 20 through the Etowah Scholarship Foundation Future Shop! Space is limited, so register today using the QR code below! This is a great opportunity to learn about college admissions, scholarship opportunities, and so much more!

SUPPLIES FOR SUCCESS: Don't miss this opportunity to receive FREE backpacks, grade-level school supplies, LOVE t-shirts, haircuts, hygiene items and more through the Supplies 4 Success event! July 7 is the last day to register! https://blesscoalition.org/supplies-4-success

ONCE IN A LIFETIME: Our Magnet students just returned from trips they won't soon forget! Adairsville High School students walked on glaciers and waded in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, while Cass High School students toured France and Woodland High School students took a medical science tour through London and Scotland! Here's a snapshot of this once in a lifetime opportunity that will leave you saying, "WOW!"

ON THE WORLD STAGE: The Green Seas LEGO Robotics Team from Clear Creek Elementary School is competing this weekend at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts with 75 teams from around the world! You can watch their robot games via the live stream www.twitch.tv/WPI robotics. Join us in cheering on our Green Seas!!!

THE "STEMAZING" RACE: They came. They saw. They conquered. That's a wrap on this year's Summer STEM Camp! More than 120 Bartow County students honed their animated filmmaking techniques, coding, and problem-solving skills in many different areas! They even came up with solutions to real-world problems! Special thanks to our STEM Camp Leaders, Kelly & Shelly Abernathy, Jen Colston, Laura Hughes, Robin Morrow, and Amanda Segars. This would also not have been possible without our Adairsville, Cass, and Woodland student volunteers and Kona Ice for providing all our t-shirts, once again!

STEM FORUM: Bartow County is well-represented at today's Northwest Georgia RESA STEM Forum at Georgia Highlands College! Take a look at some of our amazing presenters who are educating state and local leaders and many neighboring systems on various topics, including the integration of school gardens into the classroom, middle school technology, and how we're able to achieve state STEM certification! Good work, Bartow County educators! * Paula Camp * April West * Stephanie Meadows * Cathy Bishop * Summer Glancy * Traci Newman * Colleen Allen * Katie McAllister * Jessica Lanier * James Conaway