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December 14, 2018

Congratulations to the December Graduates

of the Douglas County Success Center!

Fifty-six extraordinary high school seniors, representing all five high schools in Douglas County, walked across the stage on December 11 to cheers and tears. Graduates from the four programs at the Douglas County Success Center -- Performance Learning Center, Virtual Academy, Project Eclipse, and Advantage Academy -- exemplified the theme of the speech delivered by multimedia personality Mrs. Rashan Ali Smith, "You Are a Champion!"

These students earned their diplomas despite the fact that many faced challenges, long journeys, and seemingly impossible odds. "The graduation represented a collective effort between students, parents, and committed staff members to complete one part of the puzzle in the life of our great students," said Dr. Andre Touchard, principal administrator of the Success Center.

"You are now an official ambassador," Superintendent Trent North told the graduates.Some students will enroll in college, some will go right into the workforce, and some plan to enlist in the military. "Whatever the decision is, we will always be in the wings to support them," said Dr. Touchard.

Read the following article about one of the Success Center's most recent graduates, Parker Greene.

Parker Greene, Class of 2018

Parker Greene is one of many success stories at the Douglas County Success Center. Parker graduated from high school on December 11, 2018, a full semester ahead of schedule. Early graduation now gives him the benefit of extra time to work and save money and also time to take a break from his studies before starting college next year.

Parker spent most of his high school years at the Virtual Academy, one of four non-traditional high school programs at the Success Center. He began there during 9 ^th grade after being home-schooled and briefly attending a local private school. Parker and his mother, Dianne Greene, felt that he needed a change from the small school atmosphere where most students had been together for years, making it hard to fit in.

Parker’s mother met with Jolli Weaver, a counselor at Lithia Springs High School, the public school in his district. Ms. Weaver determined that his strong academic ability, work ethic, and desire for flexibility made Parker a perfect fit for the Virtual Academy.

“Parker is truly a success story for the Virtual Academy,” said Virtual Academy Coordinator Tonya Johnson. “He began the program at a younger age than most of our students, but he succeeded because he is a self-starter. He also had a lot of support from his parents.”

“I would not have succeeded without the help of Dr. Hope Sloane, the academic coordinator for the Virtual Academy when I started,” said Parker. “She rearranged classes for me, helped me to accelerate, and gave me the extra push and encouragement I needed.”

Parker took advantage of attending the Success Center every Wednesday to work on his Virtual Academy classes under the direction of a teacher. Additional help was only a phone call or an email away when he ran into any difficulties when working at home.

In addition to attending tutoring sessions on campus on Wednesdays, Parker participated in several field trips through the Success Center, including trips to the Georgia Aquarium, the Civil Rights Museum, the Bremen Holocaust Museum, the AT&T Center, and tours of the University of West Georgia and other college campuses.

Dinner and a Movie (and Coding) with Google

A select group of 8 ^th grade girls chosen by their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teachers were guests of Google on December 7 for a pre-release viewing of Disney’s "Mary Poppins Returns." The girls were carried by charter bus to AMC Camp Creek Theater in Atlanta. In addition to the movie, they enjoyed all you can eat dinner and snacks, were given Google swag bags, and worked on a special Mary Poppins computer coding activity. Google’s invitation to school system girls was in honor of CS Education Week, December 3-9.

Google launched Made with Code in 2014 to inspire millions of girls to learn to code and to help them see coding as a means to pursue their dream careers. Made with Code is one initiative in Google's longstanding effort to get more students excited about where technology can take them.

Computer science jobs are expected to be one of the highest-paying sectors over the next decade, paying almost $15,000 more than average. According to the website, encouragement from adults and peers is the number one contributor to a teen girl’s decision to pursue Computer Science.

New Manchester High School Sings Joy to the World

Start your weekend off with the beautiful sounds of "Joy to the World" sung by the talented students at New Manchester High School!

Douglas County Outperforms Other Districts in Georgia on 2018 "Beating the Odds" Analysis

Thirty-one schools in Douglas County were designated as either “Beating the Odds” or performing “Within Expected Range” on the 2018 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI), according to calculations by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement released December 7, 2018. Nineteen schools earned the distinction of “Beating the Odds,” while 12 schools scored “Within Expected Range.”

The CCRPI is Georgia’s statewide accountability system. It measures schools and school districts on a 100-point scale based on multiple indicators of performance.

The Beating the Odds analysis compares a school’s actual performance on the CCRPI with the performance of schools with similar characteristics across the state. The analysis predicts a range within which a school’s CCRPI score is statistically expected to fall based on school characteristics typically considered outside of a school’s control, including student transiency and student demographics of race/ethnicity, gender, disability, English language learners, and poverty. If a school’s actual CCRPI score is above the predicted range, then that school Beat the Odds.

For a list of schools that Beat the Odds and performed Within Expected Range, please READ MORE.

Lunch Buddies at Burnett

Students and teachers at Burnett Elementary look forward to having special guests eat lunch with them once a month! Officers and deputies from the Douglasville Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff's Office spend time sharing a meal and developing relationships with students.

"We want our students to think of law enforcement officers in a positive light and understand that their job is to protect and serve," said Burnett Counselor Tiffanie Wright. "Developing strong relationships now will pay off in the future for everyone."

Fun with Coding at

Mirror Lake Elementary

Kristy Ward, 4th grade teacher at Mirror Lake Elementary, incorporated coding and map skills into her writing class during Computer Science Week. Students completed a narrative writing assignment about finding a winter wonderland map and then wrote directions for their "Ozobots" to find a missing jingle bell from the story. Ozobots are educational robots used in the classroom.

"Students learn so many skills while having fun with the Ozobots," said Ms. Ward. "This lesson showed that students can learn about coding, maps, and writing all in the same lesson."