Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member marykaymurphy@aol.com

April 9, 2008

Teacher Advisory Council and 
Peachtree Pilot Program

   One of the annual meetings of greatest interest to the Gwinnett Board of Education is the one that brings together representatives from the Teachers’ Advisory Committee (TAC) and School Board members to discuss topics of interest and importance to the TAC.

   Teachers collect information from colleagues at their home school and bring these to the annual TAC meeting for discussion, review, and possible action.

   This year’s meeting was held at the Gwinnett Instructional Services Center. Teachers elected to the Gwinnett Teachers’ Advisory Council to represent their schools in District III for the 2007-08 included the following:

     • Beaver Ridge Elementary - Tamika Beck
     • Berkeley Lake Elementary - Debbie Kittinger
     • Chattahoochee Elementary - Rae Lynn Richmond
     • Chesney Elementary - DeDe Lyons
     • Duluth Middle School - Cathy Karlick
     • Duluth High School - Jacqueline Ellis
     • GIVE Center West - Lucie Ausburn
     • Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science
and Technology - JoAnne Matricardi
     • Harris Elementary - Jennifer Holder 
     • Hull Middle School - Joan Wilson
     • Mason Elementary - Donna Malcom
     • Monarch School - Cheryl Myers
     • Norcross Elementary - Beth Sporrer
     • Norcross High School - Ellen Sumner
     • Pinckneyville Middle School - Katherine Watters
     • Simpson Elementary - Tracy Allen
     • Stripling Elementary - Bonnie Bishop
     • Summerour Middle School - Shelby Oates

   Some of the topics that the District III TAC representatives discussed included the following:

     1. International Baccalaureate Charter Status for Norcross Cluster Schools. 
   The group discussed the pros and cons of charter status, as well as the possibility of schools in other Gwinnett County clusters becoming charter schools. We concluded by noting that the community of each school possibly affected by charter status would be consulted for its views before any movement forward would be considered. 

     2. Year-Round School Calendar. 
   Another topic of interest to the District III Teachers’ Advisory Council was that of the Year-Round School Calendar. We discussed the potential benefits as well as the possible challenges of managing such a calendar. We concluded by stating appreciation for the current Gwinnett County School System calendar that does not follow the Year Round School schedule. 

     3. The Impact of the CRCT Schedule on End-of-Year Teaching and Learning.
   Teachers discussed the impact that CRCT testing has on classroom teaching content and allocation of time. Several teachers spoke of using this time to preview content in the next year’s curriculum.” Others spoke of using the time to review content previously presented but possibly not mastered by the students. 

   Thank you to the District III teachers who so ably represented their schools and their colleagues for participating in the 2007-08 Teachers’ Advisory Council program. We are blessed to have such a dedicated, effective, and committed cadre of teachers leading the academic program in our District III schools and in Gwinnett County.

   Peachtree Elementary School Pilot Program in “International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP).” Another topic of much interest in District III comes from Peachtree Elementary School. Under the leadership of Principal Jean Loethen Payne and School Council President Marilyn Whitner, Peachtree Elementary School is poised to become the first elementary school in Gwinnett County to make application to the International Baccalaureate Program for status as an “International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.

   Principal Loethen Payne and her faculty, parents, and staff have worked for more than one year laying the groundwork for this application. The IB Program for the Primary Years at Peachtree will complement the IB Middle Years Program at Pinckneyville Middle School and Summerour Middle School and the IB Program, currently in its tenth year, at Norcross High School.

   Peachtree Elementary was selected as a “National School of Excellence” by the U.S. Department of Education in 1997-98. Building on this significant achievement, Peachtree is setting its sights on achieving an international role of distinction by becoming the first IB for the Primary Years School in Gwinnett County Public Schools.

   The IB program can only be offered if schools are authorized to be IB World Schools. Only Candidate Schools can offer the Primary Years Programme. Peachtree will know in August 2008 if it is successful with its application. 

   It will then go through a trial period of at least one year before it attains the status of IB World School. A delegation appointed by the IB will visit Peachtree and evaluate its capacity to deliver IB for the Early Years. If positive, Peachtree will be authorized to offer the programme and attain the status of IB World School.

   Thank you to Principal Loethen Payne and Marilyn Whitner and their colleagues for their leadership in preparing Peachtree Elementary School for international leadership in early childhood education. We are proud of them and appreciative of their pioneering efforts on behalf of the all the children in Gwinnett County Public Schools.

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