SW Atlanta Students Place High in the 2013 APS District Spelling Bee

On February 7th, the Atlanta Public Schools District Spelling Bee was hosted at Gideons Elementary School.

On February 7th, dozens of the smartest local students gathered at Gideons Elementary School to take part in the 2013 APS District-wide Spelling Bee. Those who placed in the top 3 positions will move on to the Georgia Association of Educator Distinct Spelling Bee on February 23rd. Cascade Patch is blessed to have 2 students moving on.  Sydney Ragland of Young Middle School placed an impressive 2nd, and Wen Lu of Beecher Hills Elementary tied for 3rd place.  A student from Mary Lin Elementary was able to take home the top spot. This is no small feat!  These students competed against students from the entire district, totaling 24 elementary schools. Every year the event is hosted by Atlanta Association of Educators (AAE).  According to an …

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SW Atlanta APS Student Spotlights; This Week from Finch Elementary and Young Middle

Two outstanding students from our area made APS' Weekly Student Spotlight!

Cascade Patch wants to congratulate 2 local students that were featured on the Atlanta Public Schools website for their recent exceptional performance.  Finch Elementary and Young Middle School both had representatives this week that made the APS spotlight. Devean Terriquez, from Finch Elementary likes science and has completed science projects, but his favorite subject is math.  “Math is everywhere,” says Devean.  “If I’m good at math, I’ll be good with my money as I learn to make lots of it, save it, and help my family.” Young Middle School eighth grade scholar, Cameron Giles, spent his formative years matriculating at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (S.A.C.A.) and West Manor Elementary. He is a chef, athlete, a stellar academian, …

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Cascade Students Join Middle School Baseball Program

A unique non-profit is showcasing young African-American males this week who want to learn the national pastime.

Three Cascade schools will be the site this week of an effort to not only bring young African-Americans into baseball, but provide a foundation of values to last a lifetime. C.J. Stewart, a former Major Leaguer who got his baseball start through the Cascade Youth Organization, is founder and CEO of L.E.A.D. (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct). L.E.A.D. is hosting its second annual signing day events for its middle school developmental league from Monday, March 12, through Wednesday, March 14. The events are designed to replicate the atmosphere created when high school students sign letters of intent to play for major colleges, only at the middle school level. B.E.S.T. Academy is the site of the first signing, on Monday at 10 am. Young Middle…

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History Maker Andrew Young at Young Middle

Former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young speaks to 6th, 7th and 8th graders at his first wife's namesake Friday as part of 2nd Annual Back to School with the History Makers program.

Andrew Young—mayor, minister, congressman, civil rights icon and U.N. ambassador—shared the secret to his success as a negotiator and peacemaker Friday with a impressionable group of middle schoolers in the heart of his own community, Cascade Heights. Recounting his 7th grade school year, Young, 79, said he was not the biggest boy on the block. In fact, the larger-than-life speaker told the group—gathered in an auditorium at his first wife's namesake, Jean Childs Young Middle School—that he "was short so, when there were fights, I knew I was one of the ones who might get beat up." To compensate, Young said, he learned how to keep the peace among friends and, eventually, nations. Young, the 2nd African-American mayor of Atlanta and one of …

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Who's Cheated? An Ongoing Report on the APS Cheating Scandal

Young Middle Celebrates New Year, New Day

Dressed in crisp white, yellow and red tops, the student body at Young celebrated the start of a new school year Friday and put the CRCT cheating scandal behind them.

The 6th, 7th and 8th grade students at Young Middle School celebrated a new school year Friday and—with their cheers, laughs and show of school spirit—symbolically put the CRCT cheating scandal behind them. Dressed in their red, white and gold school colors, the students listened to inspiration remarks from Mayor Kasim Reed, met celebrities such as Terry Vaughn of "The Steve Harvey Show" fame, and competed in an upbeat musical-chairs-style dance contest orchestrated by popular Hot 107.9 DJ Jazzy McBee. Though no student spoke on the dias, city leaders made it clear that every child at the landmark Cascade Heights school was the star of the show. "It is time for us, the adults, to start lifting young people up who are smart and deserving …

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Young Middle Back to School Rally Today

Raffles, inspirational speeches, a student-teacher dance competition and other activities are planned Friday for students, teachers, parents and the community.

Jean Childs Young Middle School students, staff, parents and supporters are staging a "Back to School Rally" 2:30 p.m. Fri., Aug. 12, in the school gymnasium, 3116 Benjamin E. Mays Dr. Scheduled participants include Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis, former U.S. United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, Atlanta Board of Education Chair Brenda J. Muhammad and many others. The rally will include raffles, inspirational speeches, a student-teacher dance competition and other activities. For more information about the event, call 404-802-5900.

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