The Gwinnett County Public Schools Board of Education has voted to terminate the contract of Superintendent Dr. Calvin Watts. In a special called executive session held Friday morning, the board for Georgia’s largest school district decided in a 3-2 vote. Watts’ contract, initially set to expire in July 2026, will now end in April 2025. […]
Category: Gwinnett County Schools
Posted inAtlanta Public Schools
Local metro districts prioritize teacher raises, reading programs, opening new schools and more
Several school districts in the metro Atlanta area are finalizing their FY2025 budgets now. Here are the priorities for each district’s upcoming budget. Fulton County Schools The Fulton County School Board approved the tentative budget during a board meeting on May 15. Marvin Dereef, Fulton’s Chief Financial Officer, presented the budget for the board’s approval. […]
Posted inAtlanta Public Schools
Georgia State partners with four metro area school districts to retain educators
In response to the ongoing teacher shortage in Georgia, Georgia State University’s College of Education & Human Development (CEHD) has joined forces with four school districts in the state. The initiative, known as the Pathways to Teacher Credentialing Project, aims to alleviate the teacher shortage by preparing and retaining educators in the critical areas in […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Georgia Gwinnett College School of Education receives national award for excellence
Lawrenceville, Georgia – The Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) School of Education (SOE) has received the 2023 Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Dr. Pamela Smith, GGC’s coordinator of assessment and accreditation and assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, expressed her enthusiasm for the achievement, […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Mill Creek High School Standout, Caleb Downs, was named Georgia Gatorade Football Player of the Year
Gatorade today announced Caleb Downs of Mill Creek High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year- the first Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year to be chosen from Mill Creek High School in Gwinnett County. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on […]
Posted inSports
Grayson football coach resigns to take head coaching job at Lowndes
Grayson head football coach Adam Carter resigned Tuesday morning to become head football coach at Lowndes County Schools. Carter has spent the last four seasons with the Grayson Rams with a 45-9 record, winning the Class AAAAAAA state championship in the 2020 season and making the 2021 semifinals and quarterfinals in 2019 and 2022. Before […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett County BOE to provide a $1,000 payment to all active, benefit-eligible employees
At its last board meeting of the year, the Gwinnett County Board of Education approved a one-time payment of $1,000 to all active benefits-eligible employees to be paid in a lump sum and included in the December 2022 paycheck. This move comes after other school board members, and the superintendent indicated their support for GCPS […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett BOE appoints new leaders
At its regularly scheduled business meeting on December 15, 2022, the Gwinnett County Board of Education approved the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director of Leadership Development, and principal at Shiloh Elementary School. Masana L. Mailliard, the new chief financial officer, comes to Gwinnett County Schools from Dekalb County Schools, where she worked […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent resigns from Cognia Board of Directors
After outrage from parents, Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent Calvin Watts quit his position on the Board of Directors of Cognia. Cognia, the school’s system accrediting agency. Cognia is an Alpharetta-based nonprofit organization, and most of Georgia’s public school systems are accredited by Cognia. Each year, school districts pay tens of thousands of dollars to voluntarily […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Paul Duke STEM High School educator honored at National Communication Association Convention
Halie Waddell Rios, an ESOL educator at Paul Duke STEM High School in Norcross, was recognized with the Marcella E. Oberle Award for Outstanding Teaching in Grades K-12 at the National Communication Association’s (NCA) 108th Annual Convention in New Orleans. NCA honors the best in scholarly communication, presenting awards for outstanding scholarship, teaching, and professional service. […]
Posted inAtlanta Public Schools, Clayton County Schools, Cobb County Schools, Fulton County Schools, Gwinnett County Schools, Henry County Schools, Marietta City Schools, Uncategorized
Metro Atlanta school districts are moving to mask optional mandate
Atlanta, Ga- Many Atlanta metro districts are proposing to open a mask-optional campus. On July 27, The CDC (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommended that vaccinated people wear masks indoors in K-12 schools amid the surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide in 2020. As a result, school districts across metro Atlanta have updated their […]
Posted inUncategorized
Gwinnett County Schools Board Meeting Ends in Disruption
Lawrenceville, GA -An hour into the Gwinnett County Board of Education, the meeting ended early after several audience members refused to wear masks properly and denied requests to leave. The board had voted on all their agenda items and was in the public comment section of the meeting, when Board Chair, Everton Blair III, addressed […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools, Uncategorized
No Change in Cognia Status for Gwinnett County Schools Cognia Special Review
On Monday, September 13, Superintendent Calvin J. Watts shared Cognia’s final report and that the accreditation agency had made no change to the school district’s accreditation status- GCPS remains a fully accredited school district. We are excited to see that the recommendations Cognia suggested are initiatives our Board is already working on. We look forward to growing […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools, Uncategorized
Gwinnett County Board of Education Approves Dr. Calvin J. Watts as next superintendent
On Friday, July 30, 2021, the Gwinnett County Board of Education unanimously approved Dr. Calvin J. Watts as the next superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools. Dr. Watts—a former GCPS school leader and assistant superintendent who most recently served as Superintendent of Kent School District in Washington—was the sole finalist for the Gwinnett position. In […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett County Schools Changes Mask Guidance
In a Facebook message on late Tuesday, Gwinnett County School reverses its decision to make masks optional in the 2021-2022 school year. The message reads… In response to the latest guidance for K-12 schools issued on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Gwinnett County Public Schools has updated […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Dr. Calvin Watts named as sole finalist for Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent
Last night In a 5-0 vote, the Gwinnett County School Board voted to formally announce Dr. Calvin Watts as the sole finalist for Superintendent of Georgia’s largest school district. Watts will replace Alvin Wilbanks who has spent the last 25 years at the helm. Wilbanks’s last day will be July 30, 2021- one year before […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett County Commissioners to hold hearings later this month on tax rates
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will hold three public hearings later this month on the county’s millage rate. While the current millage rate of 6.95 is not expected to change, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will consider the current rate. “From engaging programs for our seniors to our libraries, our roads, and transit […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Georgia mom goes viral for voicing opinions on America’s racist past
On Sunday, a Georgia mom went viral for a video after speaking out in the public comment section of a school board meeting. The video, which has amassed nearly 400,000 views, shows the mom speaking out at a Gwinnett County Public Schools Meeting in Suwanee, Georgia. Melanie Moore, depicted in the video, has a fourth-grader […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett County Public Schools appoints three principals
Two of Gwinnett County’s elementary schools will be receiving new principals, while the North Metro Academy of Performing Arts will keep its current principal. On Thursday night, the Gwinnett County Board of Education accepted the designations of Joe Sanfilippo as the new principal of Pharr Elementary School, Monica Ball as the new principal of Graves […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
The Gwinnett County School Board meeting goes on without a hitch, but Critical Race Theory overshadows most public discussion.
Unlike last month’s meeting, which saw tempers flare between board members and disgruntled parents who refused to wear face coverings, this meeting was a breath of fresh air. With several Gwinnett County Public School police officers and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s deputies present, no disruptions ruined the meeting. “It was much better (and) incredibly productive relative to […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Georgia Association of Educators files lawsuit against Gwinnett County Schools for First Amendment violation
The Georgia Association of Educators filed a lawsuit against Gwinnett County Schools in the U.S. District Court of Atlanta Monday. The lawsuit is on behalf of Jeff Corkill, a member of the Georgia Association of Educators and a former teacher at Brookwood High School. It claims the school district violated his rights to free speech […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett County Public School Chair condemns limiting discussions on race
Gwinnett County Public School Board Chair Everton Blair expressed his dismay about dialogue about critical race theory and the passing of resolutions to limit discussion on race in a statement on Facebook early Friday morning.
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Gwinnett School Board Approve Superintendent Search
Dr. Samuel King presents to the Gwinnett County School Board.
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Fulton County Schools’ Chief Operations Officer Leaves for Job With Gwinnett County Schools
On Thursday Fulton County Schools Board Members said goodbye to long-term Chief Operation Officers, Patrick Burke has he leaves for Gwinnett County Schools to be their Director of Planning. Burke who has spent more than two decades with the district, oversaw school building projects, nutrition and transportation. Citing the need to be closer to his […]