Employees, Volunteers Earn Statewide Honors from PTA

From top left, Ken Nix, Lauren Roach, Jennie Allen; second row from left, Sandy Rivera, Kristen Kim, and Kimberly Forrester.

Our school district swept the top honors presented by the Georgia PTA to educators, support staff, school leaders, and volunteers for outstanding service to students and their families!

Congratulations to Etowah High School Principal Ken Nix, Ball Ground ES STEM Academy Assistant Principal Lauren Roach, teachers Jennie Allen of Ball Ground ES STEM Academy and Sandy Rivera of Knox ES STEM Academy, and school nurse Kristen Kim of Mill Creek MS for earning the highest honors awarded by the Georgia PTA to professionals in each of their roles.  The Visionary Awards recognizes schools or individuals for “an above and beyond approach to supporting students, families, and school communities.”  Kimberly Forrester, literacy coach for Johnston ES, earned this honor, as did Woodstock Middle School.  

The awards were presented at the organization’s statewide convention held this summer at Mill Creek Middle School. We’re on a mission to be the highest-performing school district in Georgia where students are learning more, growing more, and achieving more in our classrooms than they could anywhere else!

Three school PTA units earned a statewide Hearst Family-School Partnership Award, which is the highest honor presented to units.  Cherokee High School won in the recognition area of Welcoming All Families, Little River Elementary School won for Speak Up For Every Child, and Mill Creek Middle School won for Communicate Effectively.  

Five school PTA units earned statewide Outstanding Local Unit awards: Arnold Mill Elementary School won first place for elementary schools of its size, with Johnson Elementary School placing second; R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy won first place for elementary schools of its size; and Mill Creek Middle School won second place for middle schools.

In addition to state awards, individuals and PTA units also earned District 13 and county awards for excellence.

DISTRCT 13 PTA AWARDS
BIRNEY BUTLER OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARDS: Kristy Foster of Johnston ES, Jennifer Mendenhall of Bascomb ES, Margarita Nickell of Mill Creek MS, Robyn Pitkins of Arnold Mill ES, Nicholas Zomer of Hickory Flat ES
OUTSTANDING SCHOOL NURSE AWARDS: Kim Bishop of Ball Ground ES STEM Academy, Rebeccah Keeton of Liberty ES, Kristen Kim of Mill Creek MS, Katie Mauldin of Sixes ES
OUTSTANDING PRINCIPAL AWARDS: Bascomb ES Principal Dr. Carolyn Daugherty, Hickory Flat ES Principal Kerry Estep, Etowah High School Principal Ken Nix, River Ridge HS Principal Justin Sanderson, Todd Miller, former principal of River Ridge HS now serving as a district executive director of strategic talent management; Daniel Fuller, recently retired principal of Arnold Mill ES; and Ball Ground ES STEM Academy Assistant Principal Lauren Roach.
VISIONARY AWARDS: Lori Rebeles of Carmel ES, Johnston ES instructional lead strategist Kimberly Forrester, Little River ES teacher Savannah Sanders, Mill Creek MS bookkeeper Kyndall Smyre and Arnold Mill ES
HEARST FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP AWARDS: Johnston ES, Little River ES and Mill Creek MS for meeting all six standards; Arnold Mill ES and River Ridge HS for Welcoming All Families; Cherokee HS for Collaborating with the Community; R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy for Communicating Effectively; Teasley MS for Supporting Student Success.
BEST IDEA AWARD: Ball Ground ES STEM Academy for behavior incentives
MODEL PTA: Arnold Mill ES, Ball Ground ES STEM Academy, Bascomb ES, Carmel ES, Cherokee HS, Holly Springs ES STEM Academy, Johnston ES, Knox ES STEM Academy, Liberty ES, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS, R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy, River Ridge HS, Teasley MS, Woodstock ES, Woodstock MS
OUTSTANDING LOCAL UNITS: Arnold Mill ES, Cherokee HS, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS, R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy, Teasley MS
EARLY BIRD: Arnold Mill ES, Avery ES, Bascomb ES, Clark Creek ES STEM Academy, Dean Rusk MS, E.T. Booth MS, Hasty ES Fine Arts Academy, Johnston ES, Holly Springs ES STEM Academy, Knox ES STEM Academy, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS, R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy, River Ridge HS, Teasley MS, Woodstock ES, Woodstock HS, Woodstock MS
OAK TREE: Clayton ES, Hickory Flat ES. Johnston ES, Knox ES STEM Academy, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS, R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy, Teasley MS
PACESETTER: Arnold Mill ES, Avery ES, Bascomb ES, Johnston ES, Holly Springs ES STEM Academy, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS, River Ridge HS
PARTNERSHIP: Hickory Flat ES, Johnston ES, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS
PLATINUM: Bascomb ES
VISIONARY PIN: Arnold Mill ES, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS, River Ridge HS

CHEROKEE COUNTY PTA AWARDS
BIRNEY BUTLER OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARDS: Jennie Allen of Ball Ground ES STEM Academy, Jennifer Mendenhall of Bascomb ES, Margarita Nickell of Mill Creek MS, Robyn Pitkins of Arnold Mill ES, Sandy Rivera of Knox ES STEM Academy
OUTSTANDING SCHOOL NURSES: Kim Bishop of Ball Ground ES STEM Academy, Tracy Cavanaugh of Bascomb ES, Kristen Kim of Mill Creek MS, Katie Mauldin of Sixes ES, Chelsie Stehlik of Little River ES 
OUTSTANDING PRINCIPALS: Bascomb ES Principal Dr. Carolyn Daugherty, Hickory Flat ES Principal Kerry Estep, Etowah High School Principal Ken Nix, River Ridge HS Principal Justin Sanderson, Todd Miller, former principal of River Ridge HS now serving as a district executive director of strategic talent management; Daniel Fuller, recently retired principal of Arnold Mill ES; and Ball Ground ES STEM Academy Assistant Principal Lauren Roach.
OUTSTANDING LOCAL UNITS: Arnold Mill ES, Cherokee HS Johnston ES, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS, R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy, Teasley MS
VISIONARY AWARDS: Lori Rebeles of Carmel ES, Johnston ES instructional lead strategist Kimberly Forrester, Little River ES teacher Savannah Sanders, Mill Creek MS bookkeeper Kyndall Smyre, and Arnold Mill ES, Mill Creek MS, Woodstock MS
HEARST FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP AWARDS: Johnston ES, Little River ES, Mill Creek MS and R.M. Moore ES STEM Academy for meeting all six standards; Cherokee HS for Collaborating with the Community, Sharing Power, Welcoming All Families; Teasley MS and River Ridge HS for Communicating Effectively, Supporting Student Success and Welcoming All Families; and Arnold Mill ES for Welcoming All Families

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