Hunter Gives Scare at Cherokee School, Causing Code Red Alert

Buses were diverted from their routes to Mountain Road Elementary and the school was locked down until police determined a bow hunter caused the scare.

Hunter Gives Scare at Cherokee School, Causing Code Red Alert

Buses were diverted from their routes to Mountain Road Elementary and the school was locked down until police determined a bow hunter caused the scare.

A bow hunter on property near Mountain Road Elementary had the school's administrative team activating a "Code Red" alert that diverted buses to an area high school, locked down the school and brought police to the scene. At 6:50 a.m. the administrative staff responded to the sighting of a man believed to be carrying a weapon near the school After diverting the buses that were en route to the school, the staff worked with the Cherokee County School District's Police Department, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, the school district's Transportation Department and the Office of School Operations. "We were able to assess the situation in a relatively quick manner and determine there was no threat to the safety of our students and staff – …

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Charter High Prepares to Fight Fulton's School Closure Push

Fulton Science Academy High School's governing board meets Thursday to make its decision on whether they want a hearing before the Fulton County Board of Education.

Fulton Science Academy High School's governing board will decide whether the school will ask for a hearing to fight a push by Fulton County Schools to close the school by terminating its charter contract. Principal Namik Sercan said the public school's governing board is working on its written response to each allegation raised in the IAG audit. The formal decision to appeal will be made Thurdsay, Dec. 13, he said, while the response will take a few more days to finalize. Sercan, responding to questions about the audit report's claims that Fulton Science Academy High failed to meet enrollment requirements, said its enrollment has grown for five years out of seven. The two years that showed declining enrollment were when its charter renewal…

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Board Votes for Closure of Fulton Science Academy High School

The public charter school's own board can request a hearing to be held Dec. 18, but the ultimate decision on the charter rests with the Georgia Department of Education.

  The Fulton County Board of Education today, Dec. 11, approved a recommendation to start the process to close Fulton Science Academy High School at the end of the school year. Superintendent Robert Avossa first made the recommendation to terminate the school's charter at a school board work session on Dec. 4. Avossa based his recommendation on what staff reports call "a history of insufficient governance capacity and poor decision-making on the part of the school’s governance board." An independent audit released to the school board on Dec. 4 was said to show the Fulton School System has had concerns with the school throughout its seven-year history. The audit also found similar management issues to those discovered with the June 2012 …

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Cherokee Students Earn National Merit Honors

The school district has 8 semi-finalists and 18 students who earned Letters of Commendation.

Eight Cherokee County School District high school seniors have been named 2013 National Merit Semi-Finalists.  The designation is based on outstanding performance on the 2011 PSAT and qualified these students to compete for 8,300 scholarships worth more than $32 million.  Of the 1.5 million juniors in 22,000 high schools who took the 2011 PSAT, approximately 16,000 were named National Merit Semi-Finalists.  To be named Finalists, students must have a superior academic record, a recommendation from their Principal and an SAT score that's equivalent to or higher than their PSAT score, and they must submit an application and essay.  Scholarships winners will be named in the spring. The Semi-Finalists are: Creekview High School Etowah High …

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Cherokee School District Trains Staff for Emergencies

The more than 40 personnel who participated in the field exercise focused on student-parent reunification procedures.

As part of its preparedness training, members of the Cherokee County School District's Emergency Response Team participated in a training exercise on Sept. 24 focused on student-parent reunification procedures, the school system reported today. The importance of these procedures becomes evident every time a random act of violence occurs at schools across the country. The National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is held every September. The Cherokee County School District team was formed in 2004 and includes personnel from across all school district departments.  More than 40 personnel on this team are assigned to student-parent reunification, which is a process used in any disaster or …

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