Earlier this school year, Niche.com announced its overall assessments of school systems across the nation, with Carrollton City Schools ranking as the eighth best public school district in Georgia. However, a deeper look at the organization’s research also shows its review of districts in six specific categories, including which schools have the best teachers – a known component reflecting educational quality. Carrollton City Schools posted strong results in this segment, earning a rating of seventh best statewide. 

 To determine the Best Teachers ranking, Niche reviews a variety of metrics to establish its ranking outcome. Thirty percent is based on state assessment proficiency and survey responses on academics from students and parents. Parent/student Niche general surveys on teachers make up 25 percent of the score, followed by teacher absenteeism at 15 percent, teacher salary index at 10 percent, and the percentage of first/second-year teachers at 10 percent. The last considerations are average teacher salary and the student-teacher ratio at 5 percent each.

 "Quality teachers are essential to our mission to provide an exceptional experience and education at Carrollton City Schools,” said Dr. Mark Albertus, superintendent.

A former Carrollton High School student wrote a review of the school on the Niche website and said, “All of my years in the system have been great. The teachers seem to be involved in the education of their students and have a willingness to help. The school is very diverse, and I feel as though all the students are respected.”

According to its website, Carrollton City Schools ranks second in Georgia for Most Diverse Districts, seventh for Best Places to Teach,  ninth for Best Teachers, and fourteenth for Safest School Districts and Best for Athletes. Carrollton City Schools was compared to 182 public school systems across Georgia.

Niche's 2022 Best School Districts rankings combine rigorous analysis of data from the U.S.  and state Departments of Education for factors like academics, teachers, culture & diversity, Niche’s and more with millions of reviews from students and parents about their local schools. To learn more, visit https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact school events across the state, Carrollton High School is looking forward to continuing its long-standing homecoming tradition this year. 

Homecoming festivities will begin Monday, Sept. 27, with activities leading up to Friday, Oct. 1, when the Trojans play region rival South Paulding in Grisham Stadium. 

CHS principal Ian Lyle said homecoming is an important event not just for the students — but for the community. Dating back to the 1800s, it is the tradition of welcoming back former students to celebrate their school's existence. Last year, all reunions that traditionally happen during football season were canceled because of pandemic concerns. Many of the reunions have been rescheduled to this year.

"Although a lot has changed over the years at CHS, some things have stayed the same,” said Lyle. “Homecoming is one of the most special events we have every year.”

Lyle also noted the district’s mission to create homecoming excitement at all grade levels —  especially when it is time for the parade, which will begin at 1 p.m. on Oct. 1.

"We are lucky to have all of our schools on one campus, so homecoming is truly a districtwide experience, especially for the parade,” he said.

Because of  COVID-19 concerns last year, modifications were made to the event for safety. Schools spread students out along the parade route and designated specific areas for community viewing to encourage social distancing. 

The change was so well received that the district decided to keep it in place for this year’s parade. 

During the pregame will be the sweetheart presentation, followed by kickoff at 7:30 p.m. In addition, the homecoming court will be recognized, including the announcement of the 2021 CHS Homecoming Queen during halftime, along with the charitable giving results.

Developed over a decade ago as a spin on traditional homecoming festivities, the "Gold and Black Give Back" campaign partners each CHS class with grades in the three lower schools to collect specific items for charities. The class with the most donations in terms of dollar value wins the competition and bragging rights until the next homecoming.

Freshmen are partnering with seventh and eighth grades to collect dish and body soap. Sophomores are partnering with the fifth and sixth grades to collect toilet paper. The CHS juniors, prekindergarten, third, and fourth grades are collecting toothbrushes/toothpaste. The senior class is partnering with kindergarten, first, and second grade to collect shampoo and conditioner. The public is encouraged to contribute by dropping off items at any of the schools. 

For the latest updates on 2021 homecoming, go to 

http://chs.carrolltoncityschools.net/student-activities/homecoming

Carrollton High School students have yet again topped the national average in SAT performance while also increasing the number of students who took the popular college entrance exam.

Carrollton's Class of 2021 earned a composite score of 1071, 33 points higher than the national average of 1038. The class had a strong participation rate as well at 62 percent. 

"We are proud of our student performance on the SAT, but we are also proud that a great number of our students take this test," said CHS Principal Ian Lyle. "I am thankful for our teachers and counseling department who stress the importance of college readiness and go the extra mile to make sure our students are prepared for the next step."

Historically, schools with a high participation rate many times compromise their mean scores because students of all performance levels take the exam. With this in mind, the College Board, the administering organization for the SAT, further calculates past the overall mean score by percentile ranks to further demonstrate a school’s effectiveness.

For the 50th percentile of CHS Class of 2021, the class posted an average of 1060, 20 points higher than 2020. 

"We have always encouraged students to take the SAT and ACT in order to plan for multiple post-secondary options,” said CHS Assistant Principal Courtney Walker. “However, the last two years we've taken it a step further and intentionally sought to identify and remove barriers which prevent students from testing.”

CHS began offering the option for students to take the test during regular school hours. The school offers this option once in the fall and once in the spring.

"The SAT and ACT are traditionally administered on Saturdays,” said Walker. “Transportation, extracurricular schedules and other personal conflicts often reduce the number of students able to test outside of school hours. By providing students with an opportunity to take the SAT during the school day, we are able to support more students in their college and career planning, regardless of their personal circumstances.”

Carrollton City Schools Supt. Dr. Mark Albertus notes the consistently strong performances of CHS students on the SAT and ACT can be attributed to the district's overarching mission to focus on student outcomes.

"This most recent performance indicator demonstrates the district’s commitment to ensuring our students leave CHS college-and-career ready with a high school diploma in hand," he said. "The Class of 2021 makes this continued focus evident as 80 percent of these graduates are continuing their education at the next level."