• Ben Franklin Academy student Kamar Skeete earned the bronze medal for saber fencing at the USA Fencing Division I and Wheelchair National Championships last month in Richmond, Va. Kamar's specialty is the saber. He is ranked second in the nation for Y14 Men's Saber and was the youngest in the country to qualify for this championship. His next event will be in Texas at the National Championships for youth and July Challenge. Kamar fences for the Nellya Fencers Club, on the west side of Atlanta. He started fencing at an early age, practicing three to four days a week about four hours each day. He and his family have traveled throughout the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico for his tournaments.
• The International Society for Technology in Education has selected Connie White, Woodward Academy's director of learning design and innovation, for the 2016 Independent Schools Educators Network Outstanding Educator Award. This award recognizes an independent school educator or leader who has implemented innovative practices, established private-public partnerships, and shared time advancing the teaching practice with all educators. ISTE serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world.
• Brookwood High School's Jan Wilson has been named Gwinnett County Library Media Specialist of the Year. In addition to her role as media specialist of one of the state's largest public high schools, Wilson, who has 19 years experience, sponsors Brookwood's Reading Club and its Readers Rally team, winner of three county championships since 2012. "This is an active profession; teaching students to locate and evaluate information is only part of what I do. As a media specialist, I also design instruction with teachers so that students work collaboratively and present their work in formats well beyond a traditional research paper, like videos and infographics," she said. Wilson will compete for the Metro Atlanta District Media Specialist of the Year title this month.
• Eight students at Christ the King School qualified for state recognition in the 7th Grade Talent Search of Duke University's Talent Identification Program, by scoring at or above the national average of recent high school graduates on at least one part of the ACT or SAT exam. One CKS student, Benjamin Whitaker, scored high enough to qualify for grand recognition by topping 90 percent of recent high school graduates. The other students honored are Ana Victoria Boyd, Katie Drinan, Isabella Franco, Abby Granberry, Wesley Greer, Jillian Knoerle and Ariana Ramsey.
• Marietta City Schools placed in the top 10 U.S. school districts in digital technology. MCS tied for seventh place, among medium-sized school districts (2,500 – 15,000 students), in the nation's 12th annual Digital School Districts Survey by the Center for Digital Education and the National School Boards Association. "We are honored to once again be among the top ten winners nationwide," said Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck. "With the support of our Board and SPLOST funding we continue to expand our ability to provide students with technology-rich learning experiences that will help them to successfully meet ever changing learning and communication needs. It is rewarding to know that Marietta City Schools is recognized among the best in the nation."
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