During the spring and summer, the school district and several GCPS departments, schools, and staff members earned state, regional, and national recognition. In case you missed the good news, here are some of those recent kudos for staff. Congratulations to you all!
- State and National Honors in Language Arts: Both state and national honors were announced for Dr. Amber Simmons, a language arts teacher at Brookwood HS. She is a 2017 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) High School Teacher of Excellence Award winner, one of just 15 in the country and the only Georgian. Earlier in the year, she was honored as the state Teacher of the Year in her subject area.
- Principal of the Year Finalist: This may have slipped past your notice since school hadn’t started yet, but the Meadowcreek Cluster is celebrating news that Dr. Tommy Welch, Meadowcreek HS Principal and 2017 Georgia Principal of the Year, is one of three finalists for the National Principal of the Year title. The winner will be named in October.
- Outstanding High Schools that Work: The Meadowcreek community also received good news with recent recognition from the Southern Regional Education Board. Meadowcreek HS was honored with the Outstanding High Schools That Work Award and Dr. Welch was named Outstanding HSRW Administrator.
- Tops Honors in Music Education: Once again, GCPS was recognized as one of the Best Communities for Music Education in the U.S.
- STEM Certification News: Several Gwinnett schools got good news on STEM Certification at the end of the school year. The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) awarded Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Certification to Lanier MS and Mason ES. The GaDOE also issued Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Certification to Coleman MS. Mason and Coleman were awarded school certifications while Lanier’s Teamwork With Innovative Skills and Technology (TWIST) program earned a program certification.
- State Recognition for Language Educators: Brookwood HS’ Ashley Allgood is 2017 Georgia Latin Teacher of the Year, honored by the Georgia Classical Association in the spring. Two Gwinnett Spanish teachers earned kudos as well. Lesa Howell of South Gwinnett HS is the 2017 K-12 FLAG Teacher of the Year, an award from the Foreign Language Association of Georgia. Jamie Vega, a teacher at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, was honored as the 2017 Spanish Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
- Kudos in Career and Technical Education: Two GCPS teachers were honored by their state professional organizations last spring. Max Chavez, a maintenance and light repair automotive services instructor at Maxwell HS of Technology, was named 2017 Teacher of the Year by the Trade and Industrial Educators of Georgia. Andrea Barrett, who teaches marketing at Mountain View HS, was honored as 2017 Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Marketing Education Association. Both teachers were nominated for the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year. In addition, Jody Reeves, executive director of Academies and Career and Technical Education, was named 2017 Administrator of the Year by the Georgia Technology Student Association. Since March 2016, Ms. Reeves has been recognized with the Administrator of the Year Award by three different Career and Technical Student Organizations-- Future Business Leaders of America; Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, and now the Technology Student Association.
- Atlanta Families Awards for Excellence in Education: In May, Sherry Aglietti of Bay Creek MS and Soo Son of Suwanee ES were among seven honorees in the 2017 Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education.
- Safety and Security Awards: At the district level, three individuals were honored for their contributions during the 2016-17 school year. Officer Lebron Smith, assigned to the Norcross Cluster, was named Officer of the Year. Wanda Thompson who serves as a clerk and dispatcher was honored as Civilian of the Year. In addition, Officer Mark Woytek was recognized with a Lifesaving Award for performing lifesaving CPR in an off-duty incident.
Watch for more good news in the coming weeks as we bring you up to speed with fall kudos that comes our way.