by Janice Daniel
The Carroll County Board of Education held their Regular Monthly Meeting on Thursday, October, 23rd at 6:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center, 775 Old Newnan Road, Carrollton, with all Board Members Present. District 3 Board Member and current chair Kerry Miller led the Pledge of Allegiance and offered the Invocation.
The Teacher of the Year ceremony was presented at this meeting with Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources reading the names of the 25 Teachers of the Year from each school campus and CCA North and CCA South. The Whitesburg Elementary Chorus performed beautifully, and the District-wide Runner-Up was announced as Laura Harris of Ithica Elementary School, with Teacher of the Year named as Robin Porter of Villa Rica High School.
During the Regular Meeting, the Consent Agenda was approved and the Superintendent’s Report was given by Dr. Jessica Ainsworth, Assistant Superintendent of School Performance, in Scott Cowart’s absence. The first big announcement was that the Georgia Department of Education’s official graduation rate for Carroll County for 2025 was at 97.7%, the highest in the state among districts with three (3) or more high schools.
Carroll County schools were also ranked 13th best school district in Georgia by the Niche Company, formerly known as College Prowler. It is an American company headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA that runs a ranking and review site. The company was founded in 2002, and originally printed guidebooks on U.S. colleges, but is now an online resource providing information on K-12 schools, colleges, cities, neighborhoods and companies across the country. Niche ranked Carroll County School District in the top 8% of school districts in Georgia.
Carroll County Schools has also been named a School System of Distinction by the Cognia Accreditation Agency, which names only 35 institutions with this recognition each year. This recognition includes both U.S. and International school systems which have demonstrated evidence of high-quality teaching and learning, effective leadership, and a commitment to improving the educational experience for all students.
The Georgia School Boards Association has named the Carroll County Board of Education as a 2025 Distinguished School Board, which highlights the board’s dedication to effective governance, transparency, and collaboration, all key elements in fostering a positive educational environment and improving student outcomes.
Five (5) elementary schools from Carroll County have been recognized for student performance or improvement by the Georgia Department of Education: Central Elementary, Ithica Elementary, Providence Elementary, and Roopville Elementary. Both Providence Elementary and Roopville Elementary have been named 2025 Title 1 Distinguished Schools, and Mt. Zion Elementary has been recognized as a 2025 Title 1 Reward School.
Central High School student Max Kubik has been selected to represent Carroll County Schools on the State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ 2025-2026 Student Advisory Council, and Central High sophomore Macey Mount was selected as the 3-4A Volleyball Region player of the year.
The County School District hosted the Carroll County Band Exhibition on September 30th at Villa Rica High School where the marching bands from Bowdon High, Temple High, Mt. Zion High, Villa Rica High, and Central High were featured, along with Carrollton High and the University of West Georgia’s marching bands as well.
October is National Principals Recognition Month, and Ainsworth urged everyone to congratulate and encourage Principals of all the schools in the county.
Some upcoming dates to remember are:
November 5th , Chamber Data Centers & Artificial Intelligence Lunch
November 6th, Clergy Breakfast
November 7th, Realtor Breakfast
November 11th, Chamber Legislative Breakfast
December 3rd, 2025 GSBAGSSA Pre-Conference Workshops, Atlanta
December 4-5th 2025 GSBA/GSSA Annual Conference, Atlanta
December 9th, Fall Board Advance
December 15th, BOE combined work session and Board meeting, one meeting only in December
No Executive Session was needed and there were no Board Member comments, so the meeting was adjourned.