Author: On Common Ground News

State Sen. Emanuel Jones said he is introducing legislation aimed at updating and modernizing our school discipline procedures. Jones said he plans to call for the creation of a Student Resource Officer Code of Conduct, a guide that would be distributed to Student Resource Officers (SRO). Student Resource Officers play an important role in public schools by ensuring the safety of the students and staff who attend our schools, as well as providing students a safe outlet to voice any concerns. “By implementing uniform procedures and codes of conduct, we give our SROs the training and guidance necessary to carry…

The City of Atlanta will host its inaugural “Aglanta Conference” to showcase urban and controlled environment agriculture innovation in the City of Atlanta. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability has partnered with Blue Planet Consulting, a firm specializing in urban agriculture projects, to bring together restaurateurs, grocers, architects, entrepreneurs, technologists, business owners and urban farmers to network, share best practices and establish partnerships. The conference will take place on Feb. 19 at the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot, and aims to help foster Atlanta’s growth as a central hub in the nation’s annual $9 billion indoor farming industry. “We are excited about…

Voices of Faith Ministries (VOF) will present a series of classes to assist youths in preparing to enter the workforce. The church’s youth ministry’s “Learning Earning Achieving Progress (LEAP)” workshops will kick off on Thursday, Feb. 9, 6 p.m., at Voices of Faith’s Rockdale campus, 1290 Sigman Road, Conyers. “We are providing classes on resume writing, interviewing skills, networking, a pathway to your career, dressing for success, and other soft skills,” said Pastor Matthew Jenkins. “These classes will be taught by leaders in these fields.” Pastor Jenkins said the goal of LEAP is to prepare youths for success life after…

WorkSource Fulton and Hire Dynamics are recruiting candidates to fill production positions on Thursday, Feb. 9,10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The recruitment will be hosted by the South Fulton Career Center located at 5710 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park. To attend this hiring event, all candidates must email a resume to Kenneth.Fitzgerald@FultonCountyGa.Gov and register at www.hiredynamics.com before the recruitment event. Click on the job seekers tab. Two forms of valid government identification are required to participate in the event. Once all application steps are completed, candidates must call the WorkSource Fulton office at 404-613-6381 to confirm receipt and completion of…

Kindergarten Registration Now Open 2017-18 Rockdale County Public Schools Kindergarten registration now open for children who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1; must register at the RCPS Student Registration Office, 1143 West Ave., Conyers; office hours 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; deadline April 4, 2017 to register for 2017-18 school year;  must provide child’s birth certificate, Social Security card, immunization certificate Form 3231, eye/ear/dental/nutrition certificate Form 3300, parent’s photo ID and proof of custody or guardianship if the person enrolling the child is not the birth parent, proof of residence; school will be assigned at…

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced today that she signed the order to dismiss the case against former DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. Attorney Dwight Thomas, part of Ellis’ legal team said that Boston “did the right thing. She did the honorable thing. It’s finally over.” On Nov. 30, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned Ellis’ conviction. Ellis was reinstated and returned to office for a few weeks,…

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed applauded the Atlanta Falcons for its hard work demonstrated at the Super Bowl game in Houston. Reed issued a statement today: “On behalf of the best fans in the league, I would like to congratulate our Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, Coach Dan Quinn, and President and Chief Executive Officer Rich McKay. The Atlanta Falcons had an incredible season and played a terrific game in Super Bowl LI, and we could not be prouder. The team and its coaching staff had an outstanding record of achievement this season, including being named NFC Champions…

For the first time in its history, the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will host “Cyber Safety Day” as a unified stand for the safe use of social media and the Internet. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, more than 100,000 students and staff across DCSD will be encouraged to wear yellow clothing and engage in a variety of cyber safety activities. The effort is an expansion of regular efforts to inform students and the DeKalb schools community how to remain safe online. During the school day, classroom teachers will lead students through digital citizenship lessons. For adults, a Twitter…

Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) marked National Signing Day on Feb. 1 with dozens of accomplished student-athletes from Salem High School, Rockdale County High School and Heritage High School announcing their acceptance of college athletic scholarships. Salem High School (SHS) had three student-athletes who signed letters of commitment to play football, and at least two more football players are expected to announce their college commitments in the coming weeks. Pictured, approximately left to right: SHS Athletic Director Coach Darren Wilkins, Darryl Carter (University of Arkansas Pine Bluffs) and parents Crystal and Darryl Carter Sr., DeMorreal “Mo” Burnam (Indiana University) and mother Rhonda Ward, Toney…

The Rotary Club of Conyers heard the winning speeches delivered by the first place winners of the annual Rockdale County Middle School Oratorical Competition held Nov. 5. This year, the winners for the sixth, seventh and eighth grades are all from Davis Middle School. Sixth grade speaker JR Insular spoke on The Right to Trial by Jury. Seventh grader Morgan Gill addressed “The Role of the U.S. in the World.” The eighth grade speaker, Hayley Sanders, made a case for “Why We Need Informed Voters.” All three have received cash prizes of $500 each and state they have started…