Recap: School Board Qualifying in Limbo

Pre-clearance on the county's new maps may not be completed by next week's qualifying.

The Rundown

School Board in Limbo for Qualfying

Pre-clearance on the county's new maps may not be completed by next week's qualifying.

Some members of the Cherokee County Board of Education are still in limbo as to which district map they’ll be qualifying under next week. And, there’s a chance they still may not know when qualifying begins on Wednesday. House Bill 978, which changes the way school board members are elected and draws two members out of their districts, was sent to the Department of Justice for pre-clearance on April 5. The process typically takes 60 days, though school board attorney Tom Roach said he requested an expedited review, which is expected to be completed by June 5. “It’s the worst situation to be in,” Roach said. Should the new district maps not be approved by the end of business next Tuesday, Roach said the county’s election superintendent …

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Chatt Tech Students Earn Emmy Bids

Two student productions and the instructor-led coverage of the Shuler Hensley Awards are up for Southeastern awards.

Two students, a recent graduate who’s a Patch contributor and the lead instructor of Chattahoochee Technical College’s television production technology program have been nominated for Southeastern Regional Emmy Awards for work they did through class. The television production program is based at Chattahoochee Tech’s Mountain View campus in Northeast Cobb. Program graduate Jenny Lindamood of Kennesaw, whose work for Patch includes extensive video coverage of high school football, teamed with current student Marty Johnson of Alpharetta to create Double Cross My Heart, nominated in the category of student production—non-news. They did the project for their multicamera production class, which emphasized proper equipment operation and live-to-…

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Etowah Teachers Named Favorites

Cindy Cooper and Jennifer Jackson will be honored at a ceremony tonight.

Barnes and Noble will recognize two Etowah teachers as part of its “My Favorite Teacher” contest on May 14, at its Cobb County location.  Winners were selected by Barnes and Noble employees. Cindy Cooper, the assistant principal at Etowah won middle school for her work at Chapman and Jennifer Jackson from Etowah won in the high school competition. The competition, where students wrote a letter, essay or poem about their favorite teacher, was open to teachers in school districts in Cobb, Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer, and Bartow counties.  The elementary, middle and high school winners selected this year are all from Cherokee County Schools, according to a news release. Carol Chester, a Holly Springs Elementary School teacher, won for the …

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Local Graduates From Piedmont College

Jordan Coffman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.

Jordan M. Coffman of Woodstock was among the 470 students receiving degrees from Piedmont College at the recent May commencement ceremony. Coffman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. Piedmont College is an independent liberal arts college of about 2,800 students with campuses located in Demorest and Athens, Ga. Founded in 1897, the college offers undergraduate degrees in 32 major areas and graduate degrees in education and business, including doctoral degrees in education.  

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Dukes Enters Campaign for BOE Chair

He said he will eliminate all teacher furloughs, cut the county dropout rate and never vote for a tax increase.

Pledging to eliminate all teacher furloughs by reducing a "bloated" central office, Cherokee Charter Academy governing board member Danny Dukes said late Tuesday night that he will run for county school board chair. “We all deserve a school board with positive, collaborative energy and an effective leader who works for solutions based on conservative principles,” he said in a statement. “We can have the highest performing school system in Georgia if we put students first and pledge to work with other elected leaders to solve problems. And we can do all this without raising taxes.” Dukes' decision came a little more than a month after he announced the formation of an exploratory committee to weigh the pros and cons of a campaign for the …

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Woodstock High Among Nation's Best

It's No. 24 in Georgia and No. 1,372 in the nation among public high schools, U.S. News & World Report says.

U.S. News & World Report released its list of top public high schools today, and Woodstock High was the only school in Cherokee County to earn a national ranking. Of the 2,008 ranked schools, Woodstock came in at No. 1,372, which was enough for the magazine's silver medalist designation for top-performing schools. U.S. News first examined how well students at nearly 22,000 schools performed on state assessments, comparing them with other schools in the same state based on demographic factors. Within Georgia, Woodstock is the 24th best high school, according to the magazine. Eligible schools were then considered for national designations based on student success in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs. The AP …

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Local Student Honored at Award Ceremony

AmberKay Palmer received the Outstanding Honors Student Award and the Silver A for Academics.

AmberKay Palmer, a student at Armstrong Atlantic State University from Woodstock, was honored during Armstrong's Spring 2012 Student Awards Convocation held in Savannah, on April 11. Palmer received the Outstanding Honors Student Award and the Silver A for Academics. Each spring, Armstrong celebrates the most elite students who have achieved distinguished academic success and have engaged in active service to the university and community. More than 80 Pirates were recognized at this year's ceremony. View photos here. Subscribe to Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch's free newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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