Cherokee School District Plans Bus Tour

Business leaders in Cherokee County can learn about schools in the Cherokee County School District in the flesh — with its inaugural bus tour.

The district on Tuesday Oct. 29 will hold its Get on Board! With CCSD Schools tour, which will allow 40 leaders the chance to get an inside look at E.T. Booth Middle School, Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy and Etowah High School.

A new Booth facility opened in August while Clark Creek STEM Academy opened in 2012. That school is part of the district's Cherokee Academies Initiative. 

The local tour will start at 8 a.m. and will run concurrently with the Georgia Partnership for Educational Excellence 21st Annual Bus Tour, a statewide event in which state business and community leaders will tour selected schools. The partnership chose Clark Creek as the first stop, and state leaders are set to arrive at the school at 8:30 a.m. 

Cherokee's tour is designed to inform leaders about the district's schools and how they can play a larger role in those schools. Along with classroom tours, the event will include lunch and a meeting where those on the tour can share their thoughts. 

"Seeing is believing, and the leaders who tour these schools will see first-hand why we are so proud of the quality education we’re providing every student in the Cherokee County School District," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo said. "We believe an outstanding public school system is vital to a prosperous community and its future economic development; and, with greater partnerships between these leaders and our schools, we will better prepare our students – and our County -- for success today and tomorrow."

This year's tour will feature those who are based out of southern Cherokee County. Next year's tour will pull leaders from the northern end of the county and showcase schools in that area of Cherokee, including the replacement Teasley Middle School, which is slated to open in August 2014.

For more information about the tour, contact Barbara Jacoby, CCSD director of public information, communications and partnerships, at (770) 704-4228 and Barbara.jacoby@cherokee.k12.ga.us.