Hometown Gwinnett

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) will welcome about 1,000 new teachers for the 2008-09 school year at an orientation scheduled for tomorrow morning, August 1. The systemwide orientation will take place at the Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, in Duluth. The program begins at 8:30 a.m.

This orientation day will provide an overview of and welcome to the school system for teachers new this year and for those who came on board late last school year. CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks will join members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education in welcoming the new educators to Gwinnett. Representatives from the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and other guests also will be part of the introductory remarks. As part of the program, the teachers will also attend break-out sessions by level (elementary, middle, and high) where they will learn about the system’s Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) curriculum, and efforts to enhance student learning. They will become aware of the system’s culture of teaching and learning with its emphasis on learning.

The welcome at the system level follows a one and one-half day local school orientation for new teachers, that offers the opportunity for them to spend time in their local schools working with their mentors and leadership teams. After this orientation, new hires can expect to work in teams of professionals, have mentors who will assist and support them in their work, and they can expect that their schools will have ongoing professional learning activities that will support their work in leading GCPS students to high levels of achievement. GCPS provides new educators with the support they need within their workplace by providing induction activities that span their first years in Gwinnett. The system’s goal is that every teacher will have high quality professional learning as part of his or her daily work, and use this learning to improve student learning.