Bartow County School System

COLLEGE BOUND: Nearly 30 Cass High School Magnet students attended college visits this week at Georgia State University and Oglethorpe University! Students participated in admissions information sessions and campus tours at both schools. Georgia State is a large public university, while Oglethorpe is a small private university. By visiting these schools, students were able to compare and contrast to see which size campus is a fit for them. Students also had lunch at the iconic Mary Mac’s Tea Room, where they learned some Atlanta history!

LEADING AND LEARNING: Meet our new Aspiring Administrator Leadership Academy! William Dooley - BCCCA Michelle Edwards - WHS Bake Fallin - CMS Melissa Garland - KES/MRES Lauren Gentry - RTMS Tracy Pulliam - EHES Kristen Stevens - EHES Candace Turner - WES Matthew Bowen - ALES Emily Blankenship - CLES Adrian Bagley - CCES Leigh McClure - CLES

GEORGIA CRISIS & ACCESS LINE: Always good information to share.

GATEWAY TO SUCCESS: Our Gifted teachers are so good at what they do that many were invited to present at the National Association of Gifted Children Conference in Denver, Colorado! Robin Morrow (CCES), Amanda Segars (EUES), Brittney McCord (AMS), Leigha Ellis (AES), Angie Pinkard (AES), and Jennifer Martel (CCES) shared their expertise on STEM for Gifted students and the Mensa reading list! Not only did they educate their other counterparts around the Nation, but they also learned from other experts in the field! #BetterInBartow

REMINDER: Our Magnet Program application deadline is December 6! Eighth-grade students can apply to one, two, or all three programs. Out-of-district students can apply. However, only a select number (up to 10%) will be accepted. So, get those applications in, and good luck! https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=noJuhJQ2vkKeh2y7PidlyzIvF1fqMjxCuyX3A5Jr7eZUOUM5REtLNkxOMVlUVDUzSkc1WFkwQ1pYMC4u

MOST PRESTIGIOUS SYSTEM AWARD: Superintendent Page and system leaders present Emerson Elementary School and its third-grade collaboration team, which consists of Linda Garcia, Amber Graham, April Lanham, and Janna Scheff with the most prestigious award given by the District, the A-Team Award! Linda Garcia, Amber Graham, April Lanham, and Janna Scheff exemplify the three big ideas of our Professional Learning Communities culture as they continually demonstrate a focus on learning, collaboration, and results. Through observations and conversations with each team member, it is evident this team uses the PLC process to work together with collective responsibility for student learning. They ensure a guaranteed and viable curriculum for all third-grade students, use common formative assessments to monitor student learning, use common assessment data to improve teaching and learning practices, and support the RTI process by providing systematic interventions and extensions for all students. It is also evident that Principal Tracy Mulkey and the Emerson Elementary School Guiding Coalition have played a significant role in the development of this A-Team. Its Guiding Coalition was mentioned many times as a source of strength for the PLC process and as the means for the professional development which resulted in the efficacy of this collaborative team. Congratulations on this extraordinary achievement! Linda Garcia, Amber Graham, April Lanham, and Janna Scheff will now present at the December school board meeting, New Teacher Institute, and serve as role models for future A-Teams throughout our school system. This is our ninth collaboration team to earn an A-Team Award!

MOST PRESTIGIOUS SYSTEM AWARD: Superintendent Page and system leaders present Euharlee Elementary School and its fifth-grade collaboration team, which consists of Whitney Crumley, Stephanie Hardy, Catherine Hill, and April West with the most prestigious award given by the District, the A-Team Award! Whitney Crumley, Stephanie Hardy, Catherine Hill, and April West exemplify the three big ideas of our Professional Learning Communities culture as they continually demonstrate a focus on learning, collaboration, and results. Through observations and conversations with each team member, it is evident this team uses the PLC process to work together with collective responsibility for student learning. They ensure a guaranteed and viable curriculum for all fifth-grade students, use common formative assessments to monitor student learning, use common assessment data to improve teaching and learning practices, and support the RTI process by providing systematic interventions and extensions for all students. It is also evident that Principal Jim Bishop and the Euharlee Elementary School Guiding Coalition have played a significant role in the development of this A-Team. Its Guiding Coalition was mentioned many times as a source of strength for the PLC process and as the means for the professional development which resulted in the efficacy of this collaborative team. Congratulations on this extraordinary achievement! Whitney Crumley, Stephanie Hardy, Catherine Hill, and April West will now present at the December school board meeting, New Teacher Institute, and serve as role models for future A-Teams throughout our school system. This is our eighth collaboration team to earn an A-Team Award!

CENTRAL OFFICE CELEBRATIONS: When you work in a school system and community like this, you have a lot to celebrate! And, if you know Superintendent Page, then you know he likes to celebrate the RIGHT WORK. In the Bartow County School System, the right work supports learning, collaboration, and results. That's what we value. Today, we celebrate and honor Beth Groom, our assessment and accountability specialist. Beth works behind the scenes to support our entire school community. She is always quick to respond to any request with a calm and confident "can do" attitude. Beth pulls together mass amounts of information in a way that you can understand and use to improve instruction. Congratulations, Beth! You make us all better!

LEAVING A LEGACY: After nine years of leading the Adairsville High School football program, Coach Eric Bishop is retiring. "It's hard to measure the impact that any one teacher has on a school, but there's no doubt Adairsville High School has been made better by the work Eric has done for the last 16 years. His influence reaches beyond football and athletics and can be seen throughout our campus. He's been a mentor, a friend, and someone many of us has sought advice from. In short, Eric represents all that it means to be a Tiger." - AHS Principal Bruce Mulkey

HEADS UP: If your high school student is thinking about joining our Bartow Virtual Academy next semester, the application window closes November 30! Additional information: https://bartowga.sites.thrillshare.com/page/bartow-virtual-academy

COLLEGE BOUND: It's that time when college acceptance letters will soon be pouring in! We caught up with one of our superstar seniors from Woodland High Schools, Mya Moffitt! She's waiting on letters from UGA, Georgia Tech, and UC Berkeley! Can't wait to see where you land, Mya!

REMINDER: Need help with FAFSA or HOPE? Want to talk to college representatives from all over the state and beyond? Come to the College and Career Academy tonight for a parent information session!

READ TO GROW: These Read to Grow volunteers are such an integral part of Emerson Elementary's success! Thank you to all of our volunteers who pour into our students week after week. You are true difference makers.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION: BIG, BIG, BIG week for Clear Creek Elementary! --- Clear Creek Elementary School becomes the seventh Bartow County school to be named a Model Professional Learning Community for its sustained success in raising student achievement! “I was ecstatic that we received this distinction after our initial submission of data,” said CCES Principal Kelly Wade. “It validated all the hard work our staff and students have done to make this recognition possible.” 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 willing and able staff took on this challenge, met it head on, and became proficient in those three big ideas,” added Wade. “They have been open and willing to try a different approach, and as a result, they have seen great success. They are the reason we are able to earn this prestigious recognition.” 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. “We will continue to grow and refine our practices as they relate to the three big ideas,” said Wade. We are well on our way to producing several extraordinary A-Teams.” CCES, 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.

BARTOW'S BEST: We are so proud of these 25 students chosen as 2021-2022 Georgia Governor's Honors Program District Nominees! --- Twenty-five Bartow County students are named 2021-2022 Georgia Governor’s Honors District Nominees! Congratulations to Adairsville High School juniors Samantha Lusian (Communicative Arts), Madison Burdette (Theatre), Danielle Lusian (Music: Soprano), Adairsville High School sophomores Nicholas Schmied Tatransky (Social Studies), David Tarver (Engineering), Callie Viktora (Science), Kyoshi Harmon (Engineering), Darby Adams (Music: Piano), Cass High School juniors Jacque Denoux (Music: Jazz), Sydney Orr (Visual Arts), Evelyn Hernandez Rodela (Social Studies), Loren Montoya (Social Studies), Luke Fritz (Engineering), Cass High School sophomores Lillian Taylor (Music: French Horn), Joseph Loh (Communicative Arts), Alexandra Pacheco (Communicative Arts), Woodland High School juniors Titus Bagley (Science: Chemistry), Jenna Bassler (Music: Flute), Ariel Betancourt (Music: Saxophone), Grace Card (Music: Flute), Dionisia Deputy (Visual Arts), David Drennan (Music: Trombone), Hiromy Ortiz (Theatre Performance), Woodland High School sophomores William Doerfler (Music: French Horn), and Christian Koontz (Visual Arts). These intellectually gifted and artistically talented students will now be invited to complete an online state-level application by January 3, 2022. The semifinalists selected from that group will have the opportunity to interview or audition at Berry College on February 26, 2022. Finalists will be announced March 25, 2022. Upon acceptance, finalists will participate in the elite, four-week, summer residential program at Berry College starting June 19, 2022. Students will attend classes in the mornings and afternoons in specific areas of study and discover life-changing instructional opportunities not found in a traditional classroom. “This is a unique group,” says GHP Coordinator Paula Camp. “We have decorated musicians, student leaders who created societies or organizations inside and outside the classroom, and everything in between. This group is tenacious, hard-working, and focused. They will represent our school system well as they take another step closer to the ultimate goal – GHP.” The Governor’s Honors Program remains fully funded by the Georgia General Assembly.

NEW: BIG news out of Adairsville... Superintendent Page and system leaders present Adairsville Elementary School and its third-grade math collaboration team, which consists of Blaine Bishop, Ashley Greenway, and Jess McMurdo with the most prestigious award given by the District, the A-Team Award! Blaine Bishop, Ashley Greenway, and Jess McMurdo exemplify the three big ideas of our Professional Learning Communities culture as they continually demonstrate a focus on learning, collaboration, and results. Through observations and conversations with each team member, it is evident this team uses the PLC process to work together with collective responsibility for student learning. They ensure a guaranteed and viable curriculum for all third-grade math students, use common formative assessments to monitor student learning, use common assessment data to improve teaching and learning practices, and support the RTI process by providing systematic interventions and extensions for all students. It is also evident that Principal Melissa Zarefoss and the Adairsville Elementary School Guiding Coalition have played a significant role in the development of this A-Team. Its Guiding Coalition was mentioned many times as a source of strength for the PLC process and as the means for the professional development which resulted in the efficacy of this collaborative team. Congratulations on this extraordinary achievement! Blaine Bishop, Ashley Greenway, and Jess McMurdo will now present at the December school board meeting, New Teacher Institute, and serve as role models for future A-Teams throughout our school system. This is our seventh collaboration team to earn an A-Team Award. Adairsville Elementary School now has two A-Teams!

LEADING AND LEARNING: Our STEM Teacher Champion Academy 2.0 (second cohort) visited Woodland High School's state-of-the-art facilities today and learned how to use one of the most technologically advanced 3D anatomy visualization and dissection tools in the United States!

REALITY CHECK: The Reality Store is officially closed. The last group of high school students moved through today. Special thanks to the Bartow Collaborative and dozens of volunteers that make this happen every year! You are very much appreciated! What an eye-opening experience for our students! The Reality Store is a financial simulation that allows students to learn more about career planning, money management and budgeting, and decision making. Students go through the process of choosing a career, receiving a “paycheck,” and learning to budget their pay to meet monthly expenses, along with unexpected expenses.

IN THE NEWS: CBS 46's Rebekka Schramm captures the excitement as London dignitaries visit the Woodland High School Marching Band Monday and formally invite them to the LONDON NEW YEAR'S DAY PARADE AND FESTIVAL! https://www.cbs46.com/.../video_be7fb181-ecba-5300-945d...

BOARD RECOGNITIONS: A-TEAM AWARD Congratulations, Dana Hunt, Santiago Nava, Amber Phillips, Rachel Gwaltney, and Jacob Selman! This biology collaboration team at Woodland High School is doing extraordinary work! They are truly changing lives through a sharp focus on learning, collaboration, and results. This is only the sixth Bartow County team to receive the most prestigious award this system has to offer! Hit that “like” button; let’s show them even more respect and appreciation for all their hard work with “our kids!”