Fulton County Schools Dominate List of Best Schools in Georgia Fulton County School System is the front runner of all school systems in Georgia in Governor Deals 2016 listing of best schools in Georgia. Twenty-three of the 187 schools are in Fulton County. Awards are issued in two areas: Highest Performing or Greatest Gains. Elementary Schools-Award Abbotts Hill Elementary-Highest Performing Cogburn Woods Elementary-Highest Performing Crabapple Crossing Elementary-Highest Performing Creek View Elementary-Highest Performing Dolvin Elementary-Highest Performing Findley Oaks Elementary-Highest Performing Heards Ferry Elementary-Highest Performing Lake Windward Elementary-Both Categories New Prospect Elementary-Highest Performing Northwood Elementary-Highest Performing Ocee Elementary-Both Categories Summit Hill Elementary-Highest Performing Sweet Apple Elementary-Both Categories Middle Schools Award Autrey Mill Middle-Highest Performing River Trail Middle-Both Categories Webb Bridge Middle-Highest Performing High Schools Award Alpharetta High-Highest Performing Johns Creek High-Highest Performing Northview High School-Both Categories
World-Renowned Choral Composer and Conductor Visits Two Fulton County Schools Jihoon Park, world-renowned as the most active choral composer and conductor in South Korea, recently visited Centennial High School and Haynes Bridge Middle School chorus students. His compositions have been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Grand National Concert Hall in China, the Seoul Arts Center, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and others. He was in Georgia to observe middle and high school chorus programs while on his way to attend the American Choral Directors Association Choral Convention in Nashville.
Name Announced for New Fulton Elementary School Opening in August Vickery Mill Elementary will become the new moniker of the school on Highway 9 in Roswell. The name reflects the historic mill founded on Vickery Creek, which was the citys original power source. The site, which has been temporarily housing Esther Jackson this school year while its new building is built, will officially become Vickery Mill once students and staff move back to the original Martin Road site. Vickery Mill is set to open in August 2016 and will house up to 850 students in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
Special Olympics Draws Students for Fun Day of Friendly Competition Fulton County Schools recently hosted the districts Special Olympics Track and Field Day at North Springs Charter High School. Students with special needs from schools throughout the county came together to compete in events such as standing and running long jump, shot put, softball and tennis ball throws, 50 meter and 100 meter dash, 10 meter and 25 meter assisted walk, 10 meter wheelchair race, 25 meter walk and 25 meter motorized wheelchair obstacle course. Students with special needs who are unable to participate in traditional track and field events take part in the Motor Activities Training Program. Volunteers from the community, as well as county and student volunteers and school staff, help make this event a success every spring.
Personalized Learning and Mobile Devices Enhance Student Learning Fulton County Schools personalized learning initiative, including how mobile technology devices are being used to enhance classroom instruction, was a major focus at a recent work session of the Fulton County Board of Education. Personalized learning is the unique way Fulton schools customize instruction so that every students educational needs, diverse skills and specific interests are met. SPLOST, the one-penny sales tax for education, has been the funding source for literally putting the latest technology in students hands. Using a marketplace model where schools can choose from Apple iPads, Microsoft Surfaces, Dell Latitudes and Dell Chromebooks to design their personalized learning technology plans, 23 of Fultons nearly 100 schools have rolled out nearly 17,500 devices since August. By September 2017, approximately 65,000 devices total will be issued to students and teachers in all Fulton schools. The device roll-out plan calls for middle schools and high schools to issue one device per student, and in elementary schools, classroom sets are used to foster collaborative learning among students. Principal Shannon Kersey from Alpharetta High School said that the personalized learning model is helping students with diverse learning backgrounds. Its not just about the device. Its about giving teachers the tools they need to help students be successful, she said. This is a true blended learning model that uses technology to differentiate instruction to help students with what they need. The devices are an enhancement to what weve always been doing focusing on quality instruction.
School Board Formally Offers Superintendent Role to Dr. Jeff Rose The Fulton County Board of Education recently tendered the positon of superintendent to Dr. Jeff Rose of the Beaverton School District. Currently superintendent of Oregons third largest school district, Dr. Rose accepted Fultons offer of a three-year contract with a $295,000 annual salary. He will officially join Fulton County Schools on June 1 following the close of Beavertons school year. I am honored by the school boards confidence in me and pledge to devote my expertise and energy to serving the students, staff and community of Fulton County Schools, said Dr. Rose. I am extremely motivated by Fultons past success, as well as the opportunities to improve in the future. While Ill miss my work in Beaverton, I believe this move is what is right for me professionally and personally. Beaverton School District, where Dr. Rose has been superintendent for five years, is located just outside of Portland. Its district of 41,000 students and 51 schools shares similarities to Fultons diverse population and student achievement. Beaverton is about half minority with students speaking 94 languages, whereas Fulton is about two-thirds minority. Dr. Rose holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership and a masters degree in Teacher Education from Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and a bachelors degree in Education from California State University, Long Beach. Prior to joining Beaverton, he was superintendent of the Canby (Ore.) School District for three years. Dr. Rose and his wife Lisa have a 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son who will attend Fulton schools.
Local Residents Win the 61st Barkley Forum National Policy Debate Tournament Seventeen-year-old Milton resident, Anish Dayal, a senior, and sixteen-year-old Harrison Hall, a junior from the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, won the 61st Barkley Forum National Policy Debate Tournament, a prestigious invitational tournament with a highly competitive field comprised of the top 230 debaters from 35 states across the nation. The Barkley Forum for High Schools (BFHS) is committed to supporting high school forensics since 1956 and continues today to provide top-flight national debate competition. With over 74 schools in attendance, Dayal and Hall, currently the fourth ranked team in the nation, won 10 consecutive rounds to reach the championship. Along the way in the semifinals, they triumphed over the No. 1 team in the nation from the Blake School inMinnesota. After a debate about the merits of the United States Governments surveillance policies, Dayal and Hall were victorious over Peninsula in a 22-5 decision coming from a panel of judges known as the Barkley Forum Key Coaches.
The Taylor Road Middle School MathCounts Team Places 3rd in State MathCounts student team of Roy Kim, Charlie Liu, Nick Nguyen and Bryan Zhou recently placed third at the state MathCounts competition at Georgia Tech. MathCounts is a national middle school coaching and competitive math program for 6th-8th grade students that promotes mathematics achievement through contests. Students can win scholarships and prizes at local, state and national events. Taylor Roads team finished as the top Fulton County public school at the chapter competition and continued on to compete at the state level. In addition, Roy Kim finished seventh overall, and also competed in the Countdown Round.
New Principals Named for Alpharetta, Shakerag and Summit Hill Elementary Schools New principals recently have been named for three schools: Coretta Stewart for Alpharetta Elementary School, Christine Lemerond for Shakerag Elementary School and LaToya Gray for Summit Hill Elementary School. Coretta Stewart has worked in Fulton County Schools for nearly 20 years, six of which have been in school leadership and management. Christine Lemerond has spent the past eight years at Wilson Creek Elementary School, first as a curriculum support teacher and, most recently, as its assistant principal. Before that, she taught at Abbotts Hill Elementary School. LaToya Gray began her career in elementary education as a speech and language pathologist in Cherokee County Schools, where she also worked in the high school setting. In 2013, she joined Fulton County Schools as an assistant principal at Cambridge High School.
Cambridge HS Student Receives Awards for Music Excellence Marta Palombo, a senior at Cambridge High School, recently received two awards recognizing her for musical excellence. Palombo won the high school category of the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) Composition Competition for her musical composition I Am. Then, at the GMEA All State Chorus event in Athens, Palombo was awarded the first-ever American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) scholarship for being a six-year All State Chorus Student and three-year ACDA Honor Choir participant. Palombo will graduate from Cambridge in May and plans to attend either Belmont College in Nashville or the Berklee College of Music in Boston to study commercial music and performance, with an emphasis in songwriting.