2020 DR. NANCY SMITH-MANN GRANT APPLICATION NOW AVAILABLE - As a memorial to Dr. Nancy Smith-Mann, the Phi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma is sponsoring the annual teacher “Wish List” grant in her name. Dr. Nancy Smith-Mann was a pillar in the Aiken County educational system and was dedicated to improving opportunities for many. Dr. Nancy Smith-Mann encouraged educators to be creative and innovative in their teaching techniques. In her memory, please take the opportunity to describe your “Wish List” item and submit the simple grant application. The Phi Chapter will award a total of four (4) grants in the amount of $200 each. The deadline for submissions is June 8, 2020. Please click on the words "2020 Grant Application" to access the form, or visit the “Grants & Other Opportunities” page on acpsd.net (under I Am … An Employee).

ONLINE STUDENT REGISTRATION FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR IS UNDERWAY - Aiken County Public Schools' online rolling student registration for all new and returning students is underway. Parents and guardians of new ACPS students, those who are applying to ACPS Pre-Kindergarten programs and incoming Kindergarten students should click on the words "New Student Registration" to be directed to the new ACPSD student registration page. 

For parents and guardians of all returning ACPS students, the best way to register online is to click on the words "PowerSchool Parent Portal" to access the link to 2020-21 online registration, which will be located at the bottom left of the page. Simply click the “Returning Student Registration 2020-2021” link to get started.

Parents who need to set up a Parent Portal account should reach out to their current school for information on how to access the parent portal account. Student Information Clerks will support parents and guardians. Parents and guardians may click on the words "school zone locator" to find their student's zoned school.

We are looking forward to a terrific 2020-21 school year, and to welcoming back teachers, staff members and students to our respective campuses. Parents and guardians please take advantage of our online student registration as soon as possible.

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT KING LAURENCE REGARDING 2020 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS - Aiken County Public Schools families, in considering alternative ways to celebrate the Class of 2020 during this pandemic, we surveyed our graduating seniors, their families, and friends for their input and ideas. We are certainly grateful that more than 2,000 individuals provided feedback and we appreciate the innovative and very thoughtful ideas shared.

Many of you suggested an option of each high school hosting ceremonies in their own football stadiums with strict social distancing protocols in place, limited guests, and virtual streaming. In discussion with our high school principals, we believe that suggestion to be the best option to celebrate this year’s graduates while protecting their safety.

Additional details on each high school’s individual ceremony are forthcoming, but we can share that all high schools will host their graduation in their own football stadiums on the previously designated dates of June 4th and 5th. All ceremonies will be held at 10:00 a.m.

Please note that due to COVID-19, additional precautions will be implemented and strictly enforced. In an effort to ensure social distancing and meet the state department’s recommended guidelines, each graduate will receive two tickets and tickets will be required for admittance into the stadiums. All ceremonies will also be live-streamed and recorded.

We look forward to honoring our seniors through these official ceremonies as we continue to explore additional opportunities to celebrate the Class of 2020.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) EXAM INFORMATION AND RESOURCES - For the most up-to-date information and resources available for 2020 Advanced Placement (AP) exams please click on the words "2020 AP Exams" to be directed to the AP Exams Information and Support Page on our District website.

NOT GETTING ACPSD'S PHONE CALLS ? - Our calling system pulls information directly from PowerSchool, our student information system from student registration. If you are not getting phone calls, please first call the opt-out hotline at (855) 502-7867 from the phone you should be getting calls from. It is an automated system and will take less than two minutes to opt back in. Some families accidentally opt out. And, if you switched phone carriers, but kept the same number, a number of carriers automatically opt you out from receiving automated calls. If you are not able to opt back in by calling the number above, please contact the school to be sure that they have a working phone number for your family.

ACPSD PHONE MESSAGES REPEATING? - Several parents/guardians have made us aware that our phone messages repeat after five seconds. The automated calling system is prompted to restart if a sound is made on the receiver's line (this allows for messaging to be delivered to answering machines). Parents/guardians experiencing this issue are encouraged to mute their phone when they receive an automated call from our District. This should eliminate background noise/sound and correct the issue.

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION - Understanding that parents/guardians, teachers, and staff have concerns about the widely-publicized new or “novel” coronavirus, COVID-19, and how this new family of viruses could impact our community and public schools, our district administration wants to ensure you are made aware of preventative efforts and procedures in place related to this public health concern. Please visit our webpage devoted to sharing updates, prevention details and other information by clicking on the words "Coronavirus Prevention & Updates." 

#WhyITeachACPSD CONTINUES - The #WhyITeachACPSD social media challenge, hosted by Affect the Culture, was such a great success and fun way to wrap up the 2018-19 school year that many educators are continuing the trend! We love seeing your reasons for teaching on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and encourage all Aiken County Public School Distirct employees to continue to post about what sparked their interest in teaching, using each school's unique hashtag.