Carrollton City School System’s School Nutrition Program was the recipient of an inaugural award presented earlier this week by the Georgia Department of Education.

The Nexus Platinum Elite Award honor was created to recognize a Georgia district nutrition program that “far exceeds best practices standards,” according to the state DOE. Carrollton’s program earned the top award in the medium-sized school district category (school districts with enrollments between 2,500 to 9,999 students).

The evaluation process for the award is extensive, with school districts judged in five focus areas – administrative, operations, communications and marketing, nutrition, and professional standards. Within the five focus groups are a total of 62 sub-content areas, including such initiatives as farm-to-school, innovative culinary techniques, customer service, employee training and student involvement.

The award was presented at the annual Georgia School Nutrition  Association conference held April 12-14 in Savannah.

“The intent of the award is to honor  the best practices of the best practices,” said Dr. Linette Dodson, director of the Carrollton City Schools Nutrition Program. “As a district, we really appreciate the Department of Education recognizing the exceptional work of our district School Nutrition staffs. They go above and beyond to provide the best for Carrollton City Schools students.”

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The Georgia Department of Education Nexus Platinum Elite Award is presented to the top Nutrition programs in the state. Carrollton City Schools earned the honor for the medium-sized district level. On hand for a photo recognizing the achievement are key players at the district and school levels. From left are Dr. Mark Albertus, Carrollton City Schools superintendent; Dr. Linette Dodson, CCS School Nutrition director; Anthony Fazio, Carrollton Junior High School cafeteria manager; Carole Thrower, Carrollton High School cafeteria manager; Jill Horsley, Carrollton Elementary School cafeteria manager; Stacy Lewis, Carrollton Middle School cafeteria manager; Kelli Cook CCS School Nutrition coordinator; and Craig George, CCS assistant superintendent over Operations.