Schools

FCHS’s Chasity Manning is Fayette’s Teacher of the Year

Mistress of Ceremonies Angie Meredith congratulates Chasity Manning as she takes the podium to deliver her acceptance speech. Story on Page A3. Photo/Special.

“I stand here in complete and utter shock. I am so excited. I just can’t believe this,” said Chasity Manning as she took the podium to accept the award as Fayette County’s 2013 Teacher of the Year.

“I stand here tonight because of the support, encouragement and inspiration given to me by so many and for that reason I would like to accept and dedicate this award to the individuals and groups that have led me to this place in my life,” she said. Read More»

Corner jam ahead of playoffs

Corner jam ahead of playoffs

Starr’s Mill player Sarah Yoss (R) works to dig out possession from the corner where Lady Chiefs Amy Brewer and Taylor Dowse played “keep away” in the waning minutes of McIntosh’s 2-0 victory at home April 19. Soccer playoffs are due to start this week as both teams are in the hunt for a potential state championship title. Photo/John Munford.

Oak Grove studies a classic

Oak Grove studies a classic

Students at Oak Grove Elementary School in Peachtree City got a up-close view of Model A Fords Wednesday thanks to the Southside A’s car club. The fifth-graders recently studied the innovation of carmaker Henry Ford and how the assembly line process played a role in modernizing america. Photo/John Munford.

Band parents tune up on BoE plans for cuts

Alan Armstrong. Photo/Ben Nelms.

Music education in the lower grades is popular with many parents, the Fayette County Board of Education was reminded Monday night.

Eliminating fifth-grade band or orchestra and repurposing assistant band directors at the county’s five high schools was on the meeting agenda, and band parents showed up in strength — even a band director from neighboring Coweta County. Read More»

Coweta celebrates 20 years of pre-K classes

The Coweta County School System was recently recognized as being among a small number of school systems in Georgia that have offered pre-Kindergarten classes for 20 years in Georgia. Pictured with Pam Sandlin at the head of the class at Jefferson Parkway Elementary are, from left, Rayburn Jones, Mydreyanna Mitchell, Caleb Conselyea, Nadia Hernandez, Derek Clark and Emily Solis. Photo/Special.

The Coweta County School System was one of the first in Georgia to offer classes for pre-Kindergarten kids. That was 20 years ago and the school system during that time has served thousands of 4-year-old students. Read More»

Longtime Fayette deputy clashes with schools’ investigator

For Fayette County Sheriff’s Lt. Francis Cavender it was a March 20 residency check on his grandson by the Fayette County School System that he would not agree to.

Cavender’s refusal to allow the school system representative entrance into his home led to a complaint by Fayette County School System Pupil Personnel Services Director Barbara Serapion that as a member of law enforcement he should be punished.

But Cavender was not punished by his employer. Instead, he was exonerated for standing his ground and not relinquishing his constitutional rights. Read More»

Fayette School System grapples with budget

The fiscal year for the Fayette County School System is winding down and budget talks for the new school year that begins in July are about to get underway. As it stands now, the school system, due to ongoing personnel savings, is expected to end the fiscal year with as much as $8.8 million in its fund balance. And while those numbers are significant, they will not forestall the massive cuts facing the Fayette County Board of Education. Read More»

East Coweta Middle teacher gets international award

East Coweta Middle School engineering and technology teacher Blaire Booth (R) recently received a Program Excellence award from Steve Price, president of the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA). Photo/Special.

Teachers in the Coweta County School System are no strangers to receiving a variety of awards. The most recent was East Coweta Middle School engineering and technology teacher Blaire Booth who received a Program Excellence award from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) at the organization’s March 7 annual conference in Columbus, Ohio.

School system spokesman Dean Jackson in commenting on the award said ITEEA recognized Booth and the Technology Education program at East Coweta Middle School with the honor. Read More»

No more meningitis cases at Rising Starr

A recent letter was sent to parents of Rising Starr Middle School students advising that a student at the school had been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. The good news is that no other cases of the disease have been reported.

The eighth-grade student had been confirmed with bacterial meningitis and had been absent from school for five days. The student is being treated at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and is responding well, said Fayette County School System Health Services Coordinator Debbie King in a March 22 letter. Read More»

Meth prevention talk at BMMS

Bennett’s Mill Middle School health teacher Dr. Cathy Folden-Handley unveiled the new interactive methamphetamine prevention curriculum March 26 to her eighth-grade students. The Meth Prevention Lesson will be available to schools statewide. Photo/Special.

An enhanced approach to stopping the use of methamphetamine in its tracks was unveiled March 26 at Bennett’s Mill Middle School. Representatives of the Ga. Meth Project were at the school to hear health teacher Dr. Cathy Folden-Handley teach the new meth prevention curriculum to her eighth-grade classes.

Folden-Handley is passionate about making sure students at Bennett’s Mill Middle have accurate information about choices that can adversely affect their futures, said Fayette County School System spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach. Read More»