Community Provides Input at Secondary Study Meeting

Board Member-Elect Steve Laird shares information with the group.

Parents and community members who attended the recent public meeting to learn more about the increasing enrollment at the secondary level within Dalton Public Schools shared a common connection—they all want to see high academic standards and long-standing traditions remain a part of the culture of the school district.

About 100 people attended the information session where district administrators and board members provided some context for why the issues of increasing enrollment and facility capacity at the middle and high schools must be addressed and to get public input into the process as well as nominations for who should be on the study group to examine the matter.

Reception to Honor Retiring Dalton School Board Members

Dalton Public Schools and the Dalton Board of Education will honor retiring board members Mark Orr and Steve Williams at a reception before the December Board meeting on Monday, December 9, at 6:00 p.m. at Dalton City Hall. A brief ceremony will begin at 6:15 p.m. to highlight their contributions and years of service to the students and staff of Dalton Public Schools.

Mr. Orr has served on the board since January 1998 and is a graduate of Dalton High School. He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in industrial management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The majority of his career experience

Innovators Incubator Projects Presented

Dr. Jim Hawkins addresses the participants in Innovators Incubator after they had presented their research findings.

Representatives from both Dalton Public Schools and Whitfield County schools recently packed the Artistic Creative Theatre in Dalton to show what they had been doing with the Innovators Incubator project.

Innovators Incubator, which finished its first year, grew from Leadership Academy. The academy focused on leadership, and was usually confined to classrooms and book studies. Innovators Incubator wanted to take it further and be more active with the schools and target areas that needed to be addressed so the needs of students could be better met.

Kindergarten Students Get Peek of 2026 Graduation

Brookwood kindergartener Xander Sane gets his photo taken with DPS Superintendent Dr. Jim Hawkins during American Education Week.

During American Education Week, kindergarten students in Dalton Public Schools got to practice what it felt like to be a graduating senior.

Every kindergarten-aged child in the system got to don either a red or white graduation gown and have their photo taken with DPS Superintendent Dr. Jim Hawkins. The students received a  book “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson. Each student will also receive a copy of the photo with the Class of 2026 logo as a memento of the event.  The photos are meant to promote the goal of graduating from high school and preparing for college and career, and the books encourage reading and literacy.

GPEE Bus Visits Dalton

Superintendent Jim Hawkins, Ph.D., talks to participants of the GPEE Bus Trip Across Georgia during the group’s visit to Park Creek School. The group toured the district’s literacy lab housed at the school and heard from district Literacy Coordinators Alice Ensley and Russell McCaslin.

When Dalton Public Schools and Whitfield County Schools applied for the GPEE (Georgia Partnership for Educational Excellence) Bus Tour to come to Dalton, they didn’t want to focus on one school or area of emphasis—the entire city of Dalton was nominated.

The Bus Trip Across Georgia has been making stops across the state since 1993, and includes two tour buses filled with educators, community and government leaders, and business representatives.

Every tour has its own theme, and this year’s was “Georgia Public Schools: The

Dalton High Placed on Precautionary Lockdown after Rumored Threat

Dalton High School has received the all clear from the Dalton Police Department following a precautionary lockdown this morning. Students and staff are all safe and classes have resumed on their normal schedule.

Whitfield County 911 received an anonymous call regarding a rumored threat this morning just before 10:00 a.m. The Dalton Police Department was dispatched to the school to investigate.

Students and staff remained in classrooms with no one allowed in or out of the school until 11:50 am when law enforcement determined the school was safe and the threat was not credible. The lockdown was considered a precautionary measure. The Dalton Police Department continues the investigation.

Board Directs Study Group to Examine Secondary Enrollment and Facilities Options

The Dalton Board of Education has approved a directive to appoint a secondary study group to review all available information related to enrollment, instructional programming, extracurricular programming, facilities capacity, and assignment to schools. The goal of the group will be to develop and propose solutions for the Board’s consideration that present feasible and viable facility options for secondary students grades 6-12.

The move comes after the district has experienced increasing enrollments every year for the last 10 years. Because of the large increase in student enrollment, the

DPS Hosts Induction for New Employees

Dalton Board of Education Chairman Danny Crutchfield welcomes almost 80 new employees to the DPS family.

Dr. Jim Hawkins, superintendent, works with a group of new teachers.

The new employees were challenged to put together a puzzle that formed an Infographic about DPS students.

Mary Smith with the Family Support Council is welcomed by Chief Administrative Officer Craig Harper.

New staff work together to complete a puzzle as part of a team-building exercise.

Dr. Hawkins led a panel discussion featuring recent DPS graduates Mollie Snyder, David Torres, and Nancy Romero.

When the new school year starts on August 8, Dalton Public Schools will have almost 80 new employees who will help welcome students back to class. The new staff members are participating in a two-day Teacher Induction where they heard from district administrators about the district’s mission, vision and beliefs as well as information on mandated reporting, homelessness, and poverty. New teachers to the district will also receive training on designing engaging work and meeting the individual needs of students.

DPS Appoints Three to Administrative Positions

Three new administrators will be joining Dalton Public Schools as of July 1. George Kopcsak has been named Principal of Morris Innovative High School; Caroline Woodason has been named Assistant Director of School Support; and Dr. Linda Holland has been named School Nutrition Program Director.

Kopcsak replaces Jennifer Phinney who will move to the district office as director of school support. Kopcsak most recently was the principal of Eastbrook Middle School. He has nine years of experience in education. He holds an educational specialist’s degree in educational administration and supervision from Lincoln

Morris Percussion Class Stocked With Advanced Music Technology

Students in Andrew Marsh’s percussion class at Morris Innovative High can create their own music on new equipment.

During the first nine weeks of Andrew Marsh’s percussion class at Morris Innovative High School, the class was so short on supplies that students had to sit on the floor.

Marsh came to Morris and began the unique class in October. He also provides instruction for the band program drum lines at Dalton High School, Heritage Middle and Heritage High in Catoosa County, and also instructs his own Re-Percussion Drum School in Chattanooga. The total hours Marsh spends per day teaching adds up to around 12, so he did not take the job at Morris because he simply needed employment.

“I couldn’t turn down the offer,” Marsh said. “It sounded too cool.”