Light up the skyline with your favorite teachers!

GCPS families, it’s time to share the love for your favorite teachers! Georgia’s Own Credit Union is celebrating Atlanta-area educators during its Spring 2021 Teacher Appreciation Event. Community members can nominate a teacher by sharing a public post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and describe why the teacher deserves recognition. The deadline to nominate is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6. Make sure to use the hashtag #GeorgiasOwnTeacher and tag the credit union with @georgiasowncu.

Georgia’s Own will select seven teachers from among the nominees. Each of the seven honorees will receive a $200 donation toward a classroom project. In addition, during the week of April 18, honorees will become a prominent feature on Atlanta’s iconic skyline as each will be pictured for 24 hours on a sign high atop the Georgia’s Own building.

Check out the latest episode of In5ive

Take a few minutes to catch up on your district news in the latest edition of In5ive. In this episode, find highlights of the last School Board meeting, get summer school news, and learn about plans for the safe return to in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year. You’ll also catch a celebration of social workers, and congratulations for Paul Duke STEM HS, Berkmar HS, and the Gwinnett Heat adapted sports basketball team. Enjoy these stories and more in the In5ive episode for the week of March 22.

Board of Education will hold FY2022 Budget Work Session on March 27

The Gwinnett County Board of Education will hold a FY2022 Budget Work Session on Saturday, March 27, 2021, at the J. Alvin Wilbanks Instructional Support Center, 437 Old Peachtree Road, NW, in Suwanee, Georgia 30024. The Work Session begins at 8 a.m. in the Executive Board Room. No official business will be conducted.

Visit the website below to access the meeting agenda and to view the Work Session virtually on the day of the meeting.
https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/27417

The meeting also will be broadcast on GCPS-TV. Check your cable provider for the channel number.

Join us for the Career and Technical Education Student of the Year celebration tonight-Tuesday, March 23-at 7 p.m.!

Watch the CTE awards ceremony on the GCPS TV app, available for Apple, Android, Amazon Fire, and Roku devices; or go to www.gcpstv.org and click “watch live.”

Accelerate your job search…Become a GCPS school bus driver!

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) is hiring bus drivers!

Our drivers enjoy competitive wages—from $17.63 to $24.98 per hour and a guarantee of six hours for combined morning and afternoon routes—as well as excellent benefits, paid training, and a great work schedule. They work the student calendar year and enjoy the benefit of time off on student holidays and summer vacation! Prospective drivers don’t need to hold a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) to apply to become a school bus driver. Our Transportation Department trains and supports new drivers through the process! New drivers are fully paid throughout our award-winning and professional CDL training program.

Applicants must be 21 or older, have a good driving record, and have a high school diploma or GED.

Want to Be Notified of GCPS Driver Job Fairs?
Text @drive4gcps to 81010.

If you are interested in learning more about opportunities with the school district’s Transportation team, make plans to attend one of these upcoming events. Transportation staff will be available to answer any questions and assist with the application process.  The in-person events will observe safety protocols. Attendees must wear a mask during the job fair. Temperature and wellness checks will be performed prior to admission.

Upcoming Bus Driver Career Fairs

• Tuesday, March 23, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.—Gwinnett Online Campus, located at 713 Hi Hope Rd. in Lawrenceville

• Thursday, March 25, 10 a.m.—Virtual Career Fair, registration required

• Saturday March 27, 8 a.m.–Noon—GCPS Hurricane Shoals Transportation Facility, located at 720 Hurricane Shoals Rd. NE in Lawrenceville

• Sunday, March 28, Noon–6 p.m.—Sugarloaf Mills Mall–Entry 6, located at 5900 Sugarloaf Pkwy. in Lawrenceville

• Wednesday, March 31, 3–7 p.m.—J. Alvin Wilbanks Instructional Support Center (ISC)–Building 200, located at 437 Old Peachtree Rd. NW in Suwanee

• Thursday, April 1, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.—Better Work Gwinnett Drive-Thru Job Fair, located at the Infinite Energy Center Parking Deck (6400 Sugarloaf Pkwy.) in Duluth

• Friday, April 2, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.—Sugarloaf Mills Mall–Entry 6, located at 5900 Sugarloaf Pkwy. in Lawrenceville

• Wednesday, April 7, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.—Sugarloaf Mills Mall–Entry 6, located at 5900 Sugarloaf Pkwy. in Lawrenceville

• Monday, April 12, 4 p.m.—Virtual Career Fair, registration required

• Thursday, April 15, 3 p.m.–7 p.m., Archer High School, located at 2255 New Hope Rd. in Lawrenceville

• Watch for additional transportation career fairs in April and May.

Interested in joining the team?

Apply today for posting #70814! Drivers must be 21 or older, have a good driving record, and have a high school diploma or GED. The Transportation Department will contact qualified applicants to schedule an interview. Check out these videos to hear from current drivers. For additional information call 678-225-7670.

HS students look to a future in the classroom

In this GCPS TV video, see how GCPS is growing the next generation of educators as we celebrate Teacher Signing Day!

GCPS hosts virtual AKS at Home sessions to support learning for ES students

As we enter the last few weeks of the school year, parents and caregivers continue to be key education partners with their child’s school. This year, thousands of families have participated in the school district’s quarterly AKS at Home initiative. Through live, grade-specific Zoom sessions, recorded sessions, and helpful tipsheets, families of students in grades K-5 are learning ways to help their children practice the key skills they are learning in language arts and math, whether students are learning at home or at school. The sessions are designed to reinforce key skills for each elementary grade level that students should master for success in the content areas of language arts and mathematics.

The last round of live virtual K-5 sessions for the 2020-21 school year is planned for March 22 to April 2 to support learning in the 4th nine weeks of the year. (See the schedule below.) Sessions are hosted by parent instructional coordinators and parent outreach liaisons who staff Parent Centers in the district’s Title I schools and teachers throughout the districts. Spanish interpretation will be provided. The sessions are open to all GCPS families.

Register for the grade-specific Zoom sessions on the AKS at Home webpage.

UPCOMING LIVE ZOOM SESSIONS (March 22-April 2)

We invite our families to join us for a virtual session to learn more about how they can help their children with key skills they will learn during the 4th nine weeks of the school year.

Kindergarten

Language Arts
Monday, March 29, 1-2 p.m.

Mathematics
Monday, March 29, 10-11 a.m.

1st Grade

Language Arts
Wednesday, March 24, 10-11 a.m.

Mathematics
Tuesday, March 30, 10-11 a.m.

2nd Grade

Language Arts
Thursday, March 25, 10-11 a.m.

Mathematics
Wednesday, March 31, 10-11 a.m.

3rd Grade

Language Arts
Monday, March 22, 10-11 a.m.

Mathematics
Thursday, March 25, 3:15-4:15 p.m.

4th Grade

Language Arts
Friday, April 2, 10-11 a.m.

Mathematics
Wednesday, March 24, Noon-1 p.m.

5th Grade

Language Arts
Tuesday, March 23, 1-2 p.m.

Mathematics
Wednesday, March 31, Noon-1 p.m.

Jones MS students preparing savvy digital citizens

In this video from GCPS TV about “Misinformation Week,” see how Jones MS is preparing students to do real research in a world in which constant information does not always promise reality.

GCPS invites educators to Virtual Teacher Career Fair on March 27

Do you have what it takes to SHINE in Georgia’s largest and best school system?

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) will host a  Virtual Teacher Career Fair on Saturday, March 27, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Teaching positions for the 2021-22 school year are available for schools in several clusters, including the Berkmar, Central Gwinnett, Discovery, Meadowcreek, Norcross, Shiloh, and South Gwinnett clusters.

Primary needs include certified teachers for Mathematics, Science, Special Education (all areas), Elementary (K-5), Language Arts, Social Studies, Computer Science, Health Occupations, and Foreign Language (Spanish).

The fair is by invitation only for those who currently hold certification and college seniors who will graduate and hold certification by July of 2021. Once an applicant requests to participate, using the link at gcpsjobs.org, GCPS’ recruitment team will review the applicant’s files. For those with complete applications, GCPS may extend an interview invitation based on a candidate’s field of certification and the needs of participating schools. Those selected for an interview will receive an email confirmation with additional instructions. GCPS principals will be offering contracts for the 2021-22 school year.

Check out frequently asked questions for Career Fair attendees, and learn more about teaching in Gwinnett.

Registration to attend the fair will close on March 26 or when all interview times have been filled. Please note that a request to participate does not guarantee an interview. Only those candidates who have received interview confirmations will be given access to the virtual career fair platform. For additional information or questions, email us at gcpsteach@gcpsk12.org.

Top bond rating affirmed for Georgia’s largest school district

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), Georgia’s largest school system, received good news recently as both Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s Investors Services assigned the highest level AAA/Aaa rating to the district’s Series 2021 General Obligation (GO) Bonds. At the same time, both agencies affirmed their triple-A long-term rating on the district’s outstanding GO debt. GCPS is one of three Georgia school districts that has attained the triple-A bond rating from both Moody’s and S&P. Only 20 school districts nationwide have earned this fiscal stamp of approval from both bond rating agencies with the three school districts in Georgia being the only ones from the Southeast.

GCPS’ favorable bond ratings are based on the school district’s strong financial management practices, which have allowed the district to manage through economic downturns, and manageable debt burden, in large part due to the district’s ability to fund its ongoing capital needs through the education special purpose local option sales tax (E-SPLOST) program.

“The triple-A bond rating is a key indicator of our district’s fiscal health and the measures we have in place to responsibly and conservatively manage our budget and debt,” says Chief Financial Officer Joe Heffron. “The school district, taxpayers, and students all benefit as we will be able to acquire the lowest interest rates possible on the sale of the bonds, which translate into more funds available for teaching and learning.”

CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks expressed pride in the district once again garnering the coveted triple-A rating from both rating agencies.

“Our community demands fiscal accountability in regard to the school district and how it manages its financial resources,” Mr. Wilbanks says. “We take our responsibility of being good stewards of taxpayer funds very seriously and are proud of this documented record of achievement. Our conservative approach to budgeting and our strong fiscal policies are hallmarks of Gwinnett County Public Schools’ success and are critical to the future of the district.”

Tuesday, March 16, is at-home learning day for GCPS students, planning day for teachers

A reminder for GCPS families… Tuesday, March 16, is a scheduled Digital Learning Day (DLD) for all students. This is the third of four at-home asynchronous learning days this semester that will provide additional planning time for teachers. (The last scheduled DLD is April 20.) On these scheduled DLDs, students access lessons in eCLASS but do not have virtual class time with their teachers.

On scheduled DLDs, meals are available for curbside pick-up at schools, and, the district will deliver meals along all bus routes countywide. Families should expect buses to run their routes from approximately 10:45 a.m. to noon, beginning at the first stops on the route. 

An important reminder for students who are attending in-person classes and all staff members

Stay home from school or work if you…

• are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms;

• have tested positive or been diagnosed with COVID;

• are awaiting test results; or

• have been in close contact in the last 14 days with someone diagnosed with COVID or someone with COVID symptoms who is waiting for test results.

It’s important that we all do our part to keep ourselves and others healthy. Remember to follow these four important steps… social distancing when feasible, wearing a mask that covers nose and mouth, washing your hands, and staying home if you do not feel well or have been exposed to illness.

Be smart. Be safe. Be responsible.

Student holiday Friday, and 'spring forward' Saturday night!

Friday is a student holiday! And remember Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend so advance your clock an hour before you go to bed on Saturday.