With the new school year in full swing, just about every student, teacher, parent, administrator and community member is breathing a sigh of relief that much of the turmoil of the past few years is mainly in the rearview mirror. However, there are new challenges with staffing shortages and the continuation of age-old issues, such as student achievement and school safety.
Southwest Gwinnett Magazine spoke to area educators about how they’ve overcome past obstacles and how they’re working to achieving great things for this year and those to come.
Duluth High School
“We’ve been really pleased with the way that everybody has come back with positive attitudes and wanting to appreciate what they have,” said Duluth High School Principal Eric Davidson. “Folks appreciate being able to come to school and the things they have been able to do. …Even this time last year, our kids were still required to wear masks and things like that, so it’s been a refreshing start to the year.”
As the largest school system in the state, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) took into consideration many factors that smaller districts, and even individual schools, might not have to deal with.
“We use the word ‘anticipation’ a lot. We try to anticipate the things that could provide challenges and prepare for those,” said Davidson. “Sometimes I laugh because people say, ‘Oh, man, you must be stressed or really worried that the kids are about to come back. It’s going to be really hectic!’ I remind them that once we get the kids back in the building, that’s when our work is actually coming to fruition, and it actually slows down for us a little bit.”
As in most years, GCPS is fervently seeking bus drivers, substitute teachers and staff in general. This year, in particular, has been especially difficult for school systems across the country.
“We’re doing great. We have been fully hired since the beginning of school,” said Davidson. “And it’s a blessing that the new leadership that we have in the county has come along and recognized the need for schools to have some additional personnel.”
Davidson said that every GCPS school has been allocated additional staff to use in ways to provide more resources for students. “We’re going to start really working to get on the front end of some of the behavioral issues, get on the front end of some of the intervention issues with academics. We’ve done a lot of intervention here at Duluth High School with regard to when students start to struggle in class,” he said. “I tell students, ‘We care about you too much to let you fail.’”
Besides getting students up to speed on academics, Davidson said there is also a push toward helping students on social and emotional levels. “There is a bunch of extra staff at the county office level …and each school has its own [Social Emotional Learning] and equity plan,” he added. “There is a heavy focus on pushing these concepts into the classroom, not just as a program.”
Duluth High has a program called “You Matter” that began in 2015. Its purpose is to spread positivity around campus, to empower students, faculty and staff and to eradicate hopelessness on campus. “You see all over campus signs that say, ‘You Matter,’ and kids stick post-it notes all over the place about things they appreciate about each other, or their teachers or whatever,” Davidson said.
The county is helping out a lot with counselors and other team members that can help troubled individuals. “I think that’s where the most bang for the buck is going to be — giving the teachers the right filters to use as they encounter student behaviors. And then the right resources when they catch something.”
The school district also provides a full-time outside psychologist to come into each school, and there are more social workers to deal with issues outside learning. But perhaps one of the most effective initiatives is having students help each other.
“We have a pretty large student leadership group,” Davidson said. “We worked over the summer with them here at the school and they’re learning …how to watch for these things,” said Davidson. “One of the things we asked them to do, these first few days of school is …look around for any kids that are sitting by themselves and invite them to come sit.
“A lot of times, that’s where it starts, you know, a kid feels ostracized,” he explained. “…If we approach people with care and love and a little bit of humor, there’s a way to get people to want to engage and come sit over next to you and start a relationship there.”
Davidson said he can already see positive results. “That’s our job as leaders and as student leaders. If we can do that, and have contact with everybody, we’ll all feel a lot better, from a safety perspective, that we’re touching everybody, and that we would notice if something was off,” said Davidson.
Cornerstone Christian Academy
“We are returning to normal with the exception of COVID-positive individuals,” said Colin Creel, headmaster at Cornerstone Christian Academy.
The school is no longer required to share information with the health department, engage in contact tracing or any of the other protocols enacted during the pandemic. Creel said it’s very much an example of a school that is returning to as close to 100% normal as possible.
“Most experts agree that the pandemic is over and COVID is simply endemic now. As such, cases will rise and fall, but we will operate school as normal. The only exception will be for confirmed positive individuals whom we will offer synchronous learning, if desired, while in isolation,” said Creel.
But, of course, there are always concerns in the back of one’s mind. “The events at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas were horrific and served as a catalyst for us to expedite a long-term objective of placing an off-duty police officer on campus during the school day,” said Creel. “We had already planned on adding security cameras over the summer, but we felt adding a police presence was necessary after the events in Uvalde. Now we have added security cameras and we have a police officer every day.”
The doors opened at Cornerstone on Wednesday, Aug. 10 to the promise of a new year.
Wesleyan School
“To say we are excited to get back to business as usual as a school community is an understatement,” said Chris Cleveland, Wesleyan School head of school. “Our students, parents and employees have done a remarkable job weathering the past two years. Kicking off the school year with traditions we have not enjoyed since March 2020 makes this year a highly anticipated and exciting one for our community.”
To open the year, the entire student body and Wesleyan community gathered for all-school chapel and enjoyed the annual WolfTracker Kick-Off dinner ahead of the home opener for varsity football. It and all other sports, arts and service groups are back to full schedules.
“Emerging from the challenges of the last two years, it has become clear to our leadership team that the pandemic has taken a significant toll on the mental and emotional health of students and teachers,” Cleveland continued. “After listening to our families and employees, speaking with other school leaders and reading nationwide research on this topic, I shared with our parent community last spring our plans to increase support for student, teacher and family wellness.” He noted that the school is working to expand Wesleyan’s counseling staff and has increased programming for students and families.
Wellness is a key part of the programming and culture at Wesleyan, Cleveland stated. “As we move out of the pandemic, we continue to evaluate ways we can best support students, parents and employees,” he said.
Wesleyan School opened the 2022-2023 school year with a record enrollment of 1,207 students in grades K-12. This is Wesleyan’s 26th year in Peachtree Corners.
Greater Atlanta Christian
To many, this year feels like it’s emerging from a storm of uncertainty to a more stable, albeit daunting, world. Through everything, Greater Atlanta Christian (GAC) never strayed from its mission to promote spiritual, intellectual, physical and social growth.
GAC was actually “back to new normal” last year, according to school officials. Students and staff were in classrooms and in masks in 2020-2021, but went to in-classroom with no masks in 2021-2022.
Annual safety training assures that everyone is up to speed on policies and procedures, and there are two officers on-site every day. The school also utilizes apps that allow all personnel to report an issue immediately.
10 Things We’re Keeping from COVID-19
Regardless of how the pandemic has changed the way schools are run, many believe that it had a silver lining that forced everyone to realize how strong, resilient and innovative they can be. To that end, GAC School Director of Communications Lauren West compiled a list of best practices from the past few years that have now become de rigueur.
- Personalized Education Experience: Differentiated instruction had been a priority at GAC for many years, but teachers and staff are now keenly aware of educating students where they are. In the future of education, a cookie-cutter approach is no longer an option.
- Expertise with Essential Technology: Every day, teachers use video conferencing powered by Artificial Intelligence technology, digital document cameras, digital whiteboards and graphics tablets, to name a few. All lessons are recorded for students to refer back to later.
- More Intentional Communication: “Interactions with students are more frequent and intentional,” said Middle School English teacher Leigh Lowman. Administrators have increased transparency with parents, students and teachers.
- Emphasis on Parent / Teacher Relationships: Parents have a better understanding of classroom expectations and teacher roles after seeing a class on the synchronous classroom platform, GAC Sync. Even busy parents are able to stay connected through video conferencing with teachers and live-stream performances.
- Ownership of Learning: When students are given choices, they are more likely to take ownership of their learning, whether it be in learning style, class modality, project topic or course selection.
- Value for Engaging and Collaborative Learning: The pandemic forced the question, “what does it look like to be engaged in class?” and recognized that just because a student is present, it does not mean they’re engaged. Teachers are leaving behind solely ‘teaching-by-telling’ and moving forward with engaging, hands-on experiences.
- Broader Scope of Priorities: “We have all taken note of what is truly important. Spending time together, worshiping together and interacting with each other socially are critical in our daily and weekly lives,” said Middle School Academic Dean Lauren Hollier. Community-wide events are being planned every month, like the Homecoming Parade and Screen on the Green. Classes take place outside in outdoor learning spaces to refresh and combat student fatigue.
- Increased Creativity and Professional Growth: GAC has always been obsessed with finding a better way. The pandemic presented an opportunity to look deeply at all that the school is doing. Teachers are curious about new ways of teaching and assessing the outcomes for each student.
- Increased Cross-Collaboration: Thanks to the GAC Health Team, teachers, staff and students are physically healthier. The Community Relations Team helps teachers re-imagine events outdoors or via live-stream and Administrators are now instructional technology coaches.
- Greater Appreciation for our Teachers: GAC is more thankful than ever for the grit, determination and passion of the wonderful teachers and their devotion to serve and educate all Spartan students (both in person and via GAC Sync or Ethos). It’s what brings the mission of GAC to fruition.
