2021-2022 | CLASS ACT 5
From the Superintendent
Dear CCSD Families,
Educators celebrate a “new year” twice a year, and the
one we enjoy most comes every August as we welcome
students back to school.
What a joyful day it is as we open the doors to greet
students eager for another year of learning, friendships
and fun. All three are incredibly important to us. The
main purpose of school, of course, is to teach children the
knowledge they will need for future success in college,
career and life. We also know what often keeps students
engaged is the relationships they build, both friendships
with their peers and the mentorships of teachers, coaches,
counselors and other trusted adults … and the fun that
our talented teachers and administrators incorporate into
learning and extra-curricular activities.
The past year and a half has been the most challenging
many of us have endured in our lives. The pandemic
disrupted every aspect of our community, including our
schools. I’m deeply proud of our teachers and staff for
overcoming every obstacle life threw in our way to ensure
students received the best education possible given the
circumstances. I’m also so thankful for your support,
whether you’re a parent, volunteer, business partner or
taxpayer in our community, as together we led the Nation
in reopening in person and on time.
We will not face the same challenges this school year,
but we face a new one: ensuring that students overcome
any learning opportunity losses due to the pandemic. Our
teachers and support staff worked hard to bridge gaps
created by the immediate closing of all schools at the
pandemic’s start and to keep students on track when
learning flipped online due to mandated precautionary
quarantines or temporary school closures. We know that
learning online at home is not ideal for all students, and
we have invested in hiring 125 additional teachers, above
and beyond enrollment needs, for this school year to help
close any remaining knowledge gaps.
The past year of operating a dual system with both
in-person and online learning did teach us that some
students excel in learning online at home. Based on that
data, we’ve launched a new permanent online school
called i-Grad Virtual Academy, which you’ll read more
about in this magazine.
We’re very proud of this magazine, our second to be
published with the support of the Cherokee Tribune
Ledger-News and Cherokee Life magazine. All of the
content comes from us, and we hope it provides you with
information that’s useful to you now and over the coming
year. We’re grateful to all of the businesses that purchased
advertising to pay for its printing – thank you for
your support. In addition to printing copies for all of our
students’ families and our employees, the Tribune also
created a digital version of the magazine available on our
website at www.cherokeek12.net.
The last year and a half taught us many lessons, but I
believe the most important is that we, as a CCSD family,
can overcome challenges together. We are better together.
We are stronger together. We are #CCSDfam.
Sincerely,
Dr. Brian V. Hightower
Superintendent of Schools
As Superintendent of Schools for the Cherokee County School District, Dr. Brian V.
Hightower continues to take great pride in leading its 41,000 students and 5,000 employees
in “Educating the Emerging Generation.” Most recently, Dr. Hightower was
appointed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to serve on his Superintendents Advisory
Council and honored for the sixth straight year to the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s
“Who’s Who” in Education.
For the 2021-22 school year, Dr. Hightower will continue to serve on the State
Superintendent’s Advisory Council and as immediate Past-Chairman for the Georgia
Education Coalition, a legislative lobby consortium of large and growing school districts
in Georgia. Dr. Hightower will also serve as the Board of Control Chair for the North
Georgia RESA districts and continue to serve as a National Research Fellow with the
Educational Research and Design Institute and as a charter member of Leading Ed Solutions,
a national coalition of Superintendents dedicated to researching and addressing
some of the most important issues facing public education today.
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