JeKayla Claxton is the winner of the S. Truett Scholarship, given to employees of Chick-fil-A. The Lithonia Chick-fil-A team member is a 2012 graduate of DeKalb's Stephenson High School. She is an international business major at the University of Georgia. JeKayla has worked at the Turner Hill Road restaurant since 2008. While in high school, she was active in Dekalb Youth Commission, National Honors Society and Dazzling Diamonds. She also volunteered with Toys for Tots, Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless and after school tutoring.
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Fourth and fifth grade gifted education students at Powers Ferry Elementary School in Cobb County recently received a personal letter and photographs from President Barack Obama. The students wrote letters to the White House in early February about issues they would like him to address during his second term, including concerns about the increasing national debt, the unemployment rate, proposed changes in the immigration law and homelessness. The president sent the students a letter, a personal interview, pictures of himself, and a picture of Bo, the family dog. He commended the students for their efforts and urged them to worked hard to achieve their best in the future. The students had just finished a unit on American law and the Bill of Rights. Their teacher, Kristine Anderson, urged them to write the letter.
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Robin Valentine, a teacher from Gwinnett's Brookwood High School, has been selected to the 2013 LearnZillion Dream Team. More than 3,000 teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators from across the country applied for the honor and Valentine was one of 200 selected. Valentine and the other winners were chosen based on their understanding of the Common Core State Standards and their ability to create high-quality, highly conceptual lessons that are easily understood by students. She will receive an all-expenses paid trip to San Francisco in May for TeachFest, through the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. TeachFest is an intensive professional development conference.
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