Cherokee Schools Have "Smooth And Successful" First Day

The 2017-18 school year in the Cherokee County School District is off to a great start, and officials report a "smooth and successful" opening on Tuesday, Aug. 1.

Enrollment for the first day of teaching and learning reached 41,213 across the district's 41 schools and centers, preliminary reports show. That's 494 more students who showed up during the first day of school of the 2016-17 school year (enrollment for the first day last year stood at 40,719).

The school district anticipates enrollment will continue to rise over the course of the school year to more than 42,299 students expected by the 20th day of school.

“It’s an incredible achievement for an organization of our size to consistently operate so effectively not only throughout the year, but even on day one,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Hightower said. “That success happens due to significant planning and hard work behind the scenes. I appreciate all of our employees’ preparations for today, and we’re extremely grateful for the strong support we receive from the families we serve and our partners and volunteers. We’re a family, and we’ve had a great start to what will be an outstanding year."

CCSD's 4,700 employees, including 260 new teachers, operate campuses and support facilities throughout Cherokee County; and its fleet of 402 buses transport roughly 70 percent of the student population through more than 1,500 daily bus routes.

Elementary school students are using new instructional materials for reading and writing classes for the first time in more than a decade thanks to the Cherokee County School Board’s significant investment in these resources. Safety and security is being further enhanced with the second phase of security foyer installations and the recent deputizing of CCSD’s School Police Department officers, who, in addition to their long-held Georgia POST certification, now also are authorized by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office to serve and protect beyond school campuses.

Cherokee County has launched two new technology initiatives to improve operations: the Canvas learning management system, which expands teaching and learning opportunities and gives parents more access to their child’s lessons and progress; and K12Payment Center, a new meal pre-payment account system that enhances internal efficiency while still maintaining online depositing and purchase tracking for parents.

District officials note policies related to environmental/temperature concerns are being followed at all campuses, including: limiting the time students spend on school buses; allowing students to bring bottled water on school buses; and following guidelines for rescheduling and cancelling outdoor athletic/band/extra-curricular activities, when necessary, due to high temperatures.

Traffic flow also appeared to be flowing normally in and around schools. The Cherokee Sheriff's Office and the Woodstock, Canton and Holly Springs police departments all report nothing out of the ordinary took place.

Photo 1: Boston ES second-grader Jackson Roche (with teacher Rena Ehlers photobombing like last year!).

Photo 2: Woodstock ES first-grader Alli Gibbs is ready for the first day of school...and onto graduation.

Photo 3: Kindergartner Kinsley Garcia and big brother, first-grader Alexander, are all smiles for the first day at R.M. Moore Elementary School.

Photo 4: R.M. Moore Elementary School has set up its own Facebook page, and Principal Jan Adamson is ready to fill it with first-day selfies. Here she takes a photo with the Durkin children: first-grader Emma, preschooler Hudson and fifth-grader Tucker.

Photo 5: The Dempseys - second-grader Ryker and fourth-grader Peyton - are ready for their first day at Knox ES, where little sister Piper, 2, is eager to go, too.

Images via Cherokee County School District