CELEBRATING TEACHERS💙💫: National Board Certified Teachers were recognized during the February Board of Education meeting! • National Board Certification (NBC) is often considered the highest professional credential in teaching, recognizing educators who meet rigorous standards of excellence. This voluntary certification is achieved through a performance-based, peer-reviewed process, requiring teachers to demonstrate their impact on student learning and mastery of content knowledge, instructional practices, and professional commitment. • Teachers pursuing NBC engage in reflective practices, comprehensive portfolio submissions, and assessments that align with the National Board's Five Core Propositions and Standards. Certification enhances teaching effectiveness, supports career growth, and positively impacts student achievement. NBC also strengthens the professional teaching community, fostering leadership opportunities and raising the standard of teaching excellence in schools. • ACS celebrates the following teachers (L to R): Michelle Hopf, Jessica Barnes, Danielle Fant, Beverly Adams, Clarissa Williams, Holly Bigham, Stephanie Lee, Dana Weaver, Doreathea Felipe, Crystal Nolen (NOT PICTURED): Marlee Clifton, Kimberly Johnson, Teresa Rhyne, and Aleesa Zutter #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #NBC #NationalBoardCertified #ALSDE

CONGRATS📣🎉: The Auburn High School Varsity Cheerleaders placed 7th in the nation for Large Varsity D1 Non-Tumbling Gameday at Nationals in Orlando this past week! • The UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship is the culmination and celebration of the 2024-2025 season for cheerleading programs nationwide. This annual event gives student-athletes an opportunity to compete at the highest level of standards alongside their peers. • ACS is proud of Auburn High for advancing with tenacity through three rounds in a pool of 23 schools from across the country! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #Cheer #UCA #GoTigers

LIBRARIANS CHAMPION THE FUTURE📚✨: ACS librarians recently attended the Alabama School Library Association (ASLA) 2025 Annual Conference! • This group renewed and recharged with colleagues from around the state at the Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa, AL. They heard author Derrick Barnes speak and attended many excellent sessions. Auburn Junior High School’s Librarian, Katie Rainer, is the current president of ASLA and was instrumental in planning a fantastic annual conference! • Kristen Schloss (YES), Mallory Bonner (WPES), Jenny Galimore (DRES), Katie Rainer (AJHS), Susan Norton (RES), and Sarah Hillyer (CES) represented Auburn well! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #ASLA #Librarians #ALSDE

From this first line of Oliver Goldsmith’s 1770 poem, Auburn’s iconic nickname was derived. His poem beautifully describes the fictional Irish village of Auburn in full bloom. Because of the intentional work and planning of families, businesses, and government leaders, the city of Auburn, Alabama, has also been a village, a city, in bloom for many decades. The population of our city of Auburn continues to grow, and while growth introduces challenges, community leaders including the Board of Education and the administrators of Auburn City Schools are committed to the responsibility of ensuring the legacy of “loveliest village of the plain” for all students and families in the process of the addition of a second school to pair with Auburn High School. A survey was sent first to staff members, then to students and finally to the community requesting possible names for the second high school. Over 1200 names were submitted via the survey link with almost 250 unique, viable names. The names submitted by stakeholders were a tapestry of the personalities, history, geography, and legacy of Auburn, Alabama. The identity of a school resonates primarily through its name. The collective identities of the students who will walk its halls, wear its initials, and compete under its name will be shaped through the name. Knowing the reputation of Auburn High School in establishing a high standard academically, athletically, and relationally, and wanting to secure a strong, unique identity for the future students in its sister school, the Naming Committee reviewed the list of submissions with great reflection and thoughtfulness. The name of the sister school to Auburn High School, now approved by the Auburn City Schools Board of Education, is Plains High School. Auburn High School and Plains High School will walk into the future with their own unique footprints in our loveliest village, each creating spaces in which, in the words of Oliver Goldsmith, “humble happiness [will endear] each scene” for many generations of students and families to come.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT📍✅: Career Technical Education in Alabama was showcased this morning during the Chamber of Commerce’s Tuesday Talk series! • Auburn City Schools CTE Director Dr. Silvia Scaife opened the presentation by providing a comprehensive update on the opportunities provided to students for career readiness. Elizabeth Moore from Kuder then shared about state-level tools being rolled out online at the elementary and middle school levels to better guide students on their path to a career. Greg Deopke, a member of the ACS CTE Advisory Council, shared information about scholarships, and Gretchen VanValkenburg represented Southern Union State Community College to highlight the strong partnership between SUSCC and ACS. • With more than 2,200 students enrolled in CTE courses across three campuses, ACS is proud to play a role in shaping the next generation of the workforce! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #CareerTechEd #TuesdayTalk #ALSDE

HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED💯: Auburn High School has been designated a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP®)! • The RAMP® designation recognizes schools committed to delivering an exemplary school counseling program and encourages school counselors nationwide to strive for excellence. Honorees use data to drive their school counseling program development and implementation so all students can achieve success. By receiving this award, AHS Counselors have shown their commitment to students and the school counseling profession. • Auburn High School will be honored at a recognition ceremony at ASCA’s Annual Conference in July! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #Counseling #ASCA #RAMP #ALSDE

COFFEE WITH COPS☕️🚔🐯: The Auburn Police Department collaborated with Tiger Mochas this morning to serve free coffee and doughnuts to the students and staff at Auburn High School! • With National School Resource Officer Day this weekend, ACS is proud to have uniformed officers in every school! • The presence of law enforcement creates a safer learning environment and fosters stronger relationships between officers and our students. Through daily interactions, mentorship, and community engagement events like Coffee with Cops, SROs build trust, promote open communication, and reinforce the importance of safety in schools. • We are grateful for our partnership with Auburn Public Safety and their daily commitment to protecting and supporting our students and staff! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #CoffeeWithCops #AuburnPublicSafety #NASRO #TAASRO

CONGRATULATIONS🎉🎨🚩: Seobeen Won, a seventh grader at East Samford School, has been named the Middle School level Youth Art Month (YAM) Flag Design winner for Alabama! • Youth Art Month will take place in March, and the flag competition’s theme for 2025 is “Healing Through Color,” as determined by the National Art Education Association. With more than 30 submissions across three grade divisions (elementary, middle, and high school), Seobeen’s art was selected, making it the second year in a row a student from East Samford School has won this award! • ACS is proud of the abundance of opportunities for students to excel and showcase their talents! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #YAM #NAEA #AAEA #ALSDE

CONGRATS🎉🎤🎶: The Auburn Choral Company performed in the King of the Mountain competition at Oak Mt. High School this weekend!  • ACS is proud of how well AHS students represented the performing arts for Auburn! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #ShowChoir #PerformingArts #ALSDE

IN THE NEWS🚀📰: Auburn Junior High students shoot for the stratosphere in NASA competition! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #AJHS #NASA #TechRise #ALSDE

AREA CHAMPS🏀🏆🎉: Your Auburn High Lady Tigers are 7A Area 4 Champions! The team will travel to Montgomery on February 14th to face off against Dothan High at Alabama State University! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #HighSchoolHoops #Area4Champs #AHSAA

A STITCH IN TIME🪡🧵🖼️: Gee's Bend Artist Betty Anderson was at Woodland Pines Elementary School today to showcase the art of quilting and its connection to history! • The quilts of Gee's Bend are crafted by a group of women and their ancestors who live or lived in the hamlet of Gee's Bend along the Alabama River. The quilting tradition in Gee's Bend is more than 200 years old. Many of the residents there today are direct descendants of the enslaved people who worked the plantation established in 1816 by Joseph Gee. Students learned that many of the quilts from the 19th century often served as communication tools on the Underground Railroad as symbols conveying messages of safety and warning. • ACS thanks Betty Anderson for sharing the rich history of Gee's Bend and her passion for carrying on the quilting tradition! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #GeesBend #Quilting #BlackHistory #ALSDE

FOSTERING A LOVE FOR READING📖💯: With World Read Aloud Day taking place this past week, elementary schools in Auburn celebrated reading aloud with an array of guest readers from the community! • Auburn University representatives, City of Auburn leaders, local law enforcement agencies, and many other special visitors shared their love of reading with students. • Reading aloud brings stories to life and helps young learners develop language skills, improve comprehension, and foster a lifelong love of books. This event is a favorite for students and guests—it reminds them of the power stories have to connect and inspire. • ACS thanks everyone who helped make this week special! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #ReadingAloud #WRAD #ALSDE

AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE NIGHT🎉🌎🗺️: Dean Road Elementary School hosted a Multicultural Night with 18 countries represented! • From Asia and Africa to North and South America, DRES families enjoyed homemade delicacies, created art, and learned about the student body's various cultures. • With 33 different languages spoken in the homes of ACS students, events like this truly highlight the fascinating cultures in our community! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #DRES #MulticulturalNight #ALSDE

NSD 2025🖋️: Today, Auburn High School hosted 24 student-athletes and their families for National Signing Day! Representing nine team sports, these young men and women are ready to take the next step in their educational journey. ACS is proud of their hard work in and out of the classroom to achieve excellence, and we look forward to them representing Auburn at the collegiate level. Congratulations to the following student-athletes! ⛳️GIRLS GOLF: Esha Gupta – Georgia State University Hannah Halverson – Jefferson State Community College 🥎SOFTBALL: Daley Alsobrook – Florida International University Abigail Helms – University of West Georgia Gracie Mason – Auburn University at Montgomery 🎽GIRLS CROSS-COUNTRY: Valeria Escalera – University of Alabama at Birmingham 🏊‍♀️GIRLS SWIMMING: Blaire Tucker – Lenoir-Rhyne University 🏀GIRLS BASKETBALL: Brooke Hallman – University of North Alabama ⚽️GIRLS SOCCER: Peyton Bishop – University of the Cumberlands Sierra Minor – William Peace University Claire Nappier – Tennessee Tech University Addison Yates – Southern Union State Community College ⚽️BOYS SOCCER: Joel Montes – University of West Alabama ⚾️BASEBALL: Harrison Geiger – Southern Union State Community College Will Whatley – Central Alabama State Community College 🏈FOOTBALL: Jackson Kilgore – University of West Florida Hugh Bodiford – University of Virginia at Wise Kyle King – University of Virginia at Wise Michael Foster – University of Virginia at Wise Charlie Ward – Saginaw Valley State University Aidan Platt – University of Alabama at Birmingham Peyton Plott – Georgia Southern University Brady Reeder – Shorter Reeder Omar Mabson – Auburn University Recognized as signing in the fall for football: Matthew Givens - Grove City College La'Mycheal Gunn - Liberty University Caleb Pitts - Appalachian State University #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #NSD25 #AuburnHighSchool #ALSDE #AHSAA

CELEBRATING ART🎉🖼️🎨: The 2025 State Superintendent’s Visual Arts Exhibit results are in, and Auburn City Schools has three students who placed among some of the best young artists in Alabama! • Submissions at the state level are judged based on a rubric that focuses on originality of design, technical skill, expression, and composition. • ACS congratulates the following students and their Art Teachers: 🥉3rd Place in the K-2 division: Karmen Powell from Richland Elementary School, with her piece titled “The Ricest Flower Cactus.” Art Teacher: Rebecca Wall 🥉3rd Place in the 5-6 division: Anna Heo from J.F. Drake Middle School, with her depiction of “Beautiful Big Ben.” Art Teacher: Julie Speir 🏅Honorable Mention in the 11-12 division: Jacks Dyer from Auburn High School, with his eye-catching entry titled “A Small World 1.” Art Teacher: Randalyn Henry • These students, their families, and their visual arts instructors are invited to attend an awards ceremony and reception on March 12, 2025, at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #VisualArts #SSVAE #ALSDE

CONGRATULATIONS🎉🐝🏆: Ethan Zou, a seventh grader from East Samford School, has been crowned the 2025 Lee County Spelling Bee champion for the second year in a row! • With 24 students from schools across the county competing, Ethan clinched victory in the 10th round by correctly spelling “incessant.” As the Lee County champion, Ethan will advance to the Alabama State Spelling Bee, where he’ll compete against top spellers from across the state for an opportunity to qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, making Ethan’s journey even more special! • Auburn City Schools was honored to host this event and commends all student spellers for their hard work, dedication, and impressive performances. Thank you to Brad Law for being the pronouncer, Dr. Jason Bryant for being the recorder, and Beth Witten, Laura Cooper, and Jay Jones for being judges! #ACS #AuburnCitySchools #Auburn #Community #LeeCountySpellingBee #Scripps #ALSDE

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE💯: For National School Counseling Week, Auburn University spotlighted two incredible school counselors at Auburn Junior High School — Mr. Donnie Payne and Mrs. Tyler Grant—proud Auburn University graduates!