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

March 10, 2010 

District III Meetings: Important Tools 
for Communication 

To support continuous improvement in communications between Gwinnett County Public Schools and key constituent groups and stakeholders, the Gwinnett County Board of Education has two upcoming meetings scheduled to provide opportunities for significant input. 


The first meetings of district-wide importance will be held during the Board of Education’s monthly meeting at the Instructional Services Center. The event will provide an opportunity for members of the Teacher Advisory Committee (TAC) to meet first with their district Board member and then with all members of the Board. 

The Teacher Advisory Committee includes one representative from each Gwinnett County Public School who serves for a period as a liaison between the local school and the school system. Members of the Committee meet throughout the academic year to discuss items of interest to their local school colleagues. 

Each year in March, the Teacher Advisory Committee participates in meetings at the Instructional Services Center with Board of Education members. Topics for discussion include those that the local school members have asked their liaison TAC member to bring for Board discussion and then to return to the local school for further discussion. 

Members of the Teacher Advisory Committee from the 19 District III Schools include the following: 

Marie Andrade, Pinckneyville Middle School; 
Shamika Ballard-Simpson – Stripling Elementary School; 
Nicole Battle – Chesney Elementary School; 
Shay Buchanan – Mason Elementary School; 
Jennifer Burley – Duluth Middle School; 
Elaine Chou – Simpson Elementary School; 
Darrell Cicchetti – Norcross High School; 
Nicole D’Antonio – Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology; 
Bill EuDaly – Duluth High School; 
Rawson Gordon – Summerour Middle School; 
Ton Kana – Monarch Elementary School; 
Paul LaMotte – Berkeley Lake Elementary School; 
Jennifer Schumann – Norcross Elementary School; 
Sally Southerland – Chattahoochee Elementary School; 
Mary Southerland – GIVE West Middle School; 
Linza Todd – Harris Elementary School; 
Melissa Torrens – Hull Middle School; 
Erin Walsh – Peachtree Elementary School; 
Helen Wellborn – Beaver Ridge Elementary School. 

The second meeting of district-wide importance as the 2009-10 academic year comes near a close is the April 20, 2010 District III Area Board meeting to be held at 6:30 p.m. with a reception and at 7:00 p.m. for the District III Area Board meeting. Location of these events will be the Auditorium of Duluth High School. 

Attending the 2010 District III Area Board meeting will be parents, teachers, students, and community members from public schools in Norcross and in Duluth. Although two additional schools—Mason Elementary and Hull Middle School---are in District III, their representatives will attend the District II Area Board meeting with other schools in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster. 

The five Area Board meetings provide School Board members and the Superintendent with opportunities to hear from constituents in each of the school system’s districts. Those who attend include parents, teachers, students, community members, and others. Topics of discussion are brought to the attention of Board members from a wide range of perspectives—academic, athletic, facilities, bus service, food service, redistricting, budget, and other related topics. 

The Gwinnett County Board of Education has for nearly twenty years met in April in five Area Board meetings throughout the county at high schools in each district. These meetings provide opportunities to visit each district, to review growth and change from year to year, and to meet personally with constituents to determine the pulse of the public regarding public education. 

Also, the meetings provide the Superintendent with opportunities to update the community about the budget for the coming academic year and to share key elements of the school district’s strategic plan for the year ahead. 

As District III Board member and as 2010 Chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, I cordially invite residents of the 19-school area that includes all schools in Norcross and all schools in Duluth to attend the April 20, 2010 District III Board meeting. 

Our Gwinnett County Board of Education and Superintendent thank you for your interest and support of public education. We look forward to seeing you at Duluth High School on April 20, 2010 and in April 2011 for our 2011 Area Board Meeting at Norcross High School. 

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