Eight Cherokee County School District students, including six from the Woodstock area, have been selected for the 2014-15 Model Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). The annual youth leadership program brings together 55 select high school students from the metro area.

Participants were selected by an ARC committee based on applications, which note academic achievement and extracurricular activities; a letter of recommendation from a teacher; and an essay about a regional issue that interests the student the most. The local CCSD students chosen for the Model ARC program are: sophomore Sindhu Manivannan, Etowah High School; junior Kelly Mayes, River Ridge High School; juniors Yeseul Heo and Zaria Hunter and sophomore Isabelle Riddle, Sequoyah High School; and sophomore Austin Cox and juniors Michael Papadimitriou and Paula Ruiz, Woodstock High School.

Students will attend monthly meetings during the school year beginning in September, as well as an overnight retreat in the fall. They will learn about how local governments work together to address regional needs, such as transportation, water supply, land use, sustainability and human services. Activities will include hands-on exercises and visits to sites throughout metro Atlanta, with a capstone project of proposed resolutions to ARC that would improve life in metro Atlanta.