Duluth, Gwinnett County Offices Closed Nov. 22, 23

City and county offices will reopen for business on Monday, Nov. 26, after Thanksgiving holiday.

If you have business to conduct with the City of Duluth or Gwinnett County, you’d better hurry. Duluth City Hall will be closed Thursday, Nov. 22, and Friday, Nov. 23, for the Thanksgiving holiday. All city offices will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 26. Most Gwinnett County government offices will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Nov. 22, and Friday, Nov. 23. A Magistrate Court judge will be available at the Gwinnett County Detention Center. County offices will reopen for normal business hours on Monday, Nov. 26. Thanksgiving Day is a trash and recycling holiday in the county. Pickups scheduled on that day will be rescheduled for Friday, and Friday pickups will be rescheduled for Saturday. Only Thursday …

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School Lunch Menu: Oct. 17

What's for lunch at Gwinnett County Public Schools?

Here’s what’s being served for lunch at Gwinnett County Public Schools:  Pre-K  Chicken & Waffles PBJ’wich Banana Yogurt Bar Hash Brown Assorted Fresh Veggies Assorted Fresh Fruit Elementary School Chicken & Waffles Homestyle BBQ Plate Signature Salads Banana Yogurt Bar Hash Browns Cinnamon Apples Cupped Fruit Middle School Super Nachos Chicken & Waffles Sensational Subs Featured Salads Veggie Burger Cinnamon Apples Hash Brown High School Roasted Chicken & Pasta Southern BBQ Minis Turkey Club Super Nachos Big Daddy's Pizza Featured Salads Layered Mexican Salad

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GCPS Plans Job Reductions To Balance 2013 Budget

Also, most class sizes will increase. The district is facing an $89 million revenue shortfall.

Updated 1:00 p.m., March 16 The Gwinnett school system said Thursday that it will eliminate 54 vacant central-office positions and "release" some other employees as it copes with an $89 million revenue shortfall for fiscal year 2013. In the latest statement, Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks said, “Not a single option we are considering to balance next year’s budget is a ‘good’ one.  That said, in these difficult budget times, we are committed to presenting a balanced budget, doing everything possible to protect instructional time, valuing our employees, and implementing cost-saving measures wherever feasible.” Central-office positions generally refers to those at the Instructional Support Center in Suwanee. The shortfall is somewhat due to: …

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Georgia Freed From No Child Left Behind Law

President Obama signs waiver exempting 10 states.

Updated 6:26 p.m., Feb. 9, 2012 Georgia is among the 10 states that will be freed from the No Child Left Behind law, according to various media reports Thursday. Among the controversial provisions of the law, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush, was one that required all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Obama's action strips away that requirement for those approved for flexibility, provided they offer a viable plan instead. Under the deal, states must show they will prepare children for college and careers, set new targets for improving achievement among all students, reward the best performing schools and focus on the ones doing the worst. This will have an effect on Gwinnett County public schools, …

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Ivy Prep to Pursue State Charter Application

After being denied a five-year charter petition by GCPS, the Peachtree Corners all-girls school will seek a State Charter Special School with the state.

  The room was filled to capacity Monday night as Ivy Preparatory Academy's founder and executive director Nina Gilbert explained the school's next move after being denied a five-year charter with Gwinnett County Public Schools. Gilbert announced that Ivy Preparatory Academy, founded in 2008, will seek a State Charter Special School with the state of Georgia. "We will now seek state approval, and look forward to working closely with the Georgia Department of Education to ensure that our instructional program is not disrupted, and that none of our scholars are displaced," announced Gilbert in a statement posted on the school's website. "We have always known that this outcome was possible, and we stand prepared to transition to a State …

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'Slave' Homework Controversy Heats Up at GCPS Meeting

Board chairman apologizes; teacher dismissed by school system is identified.

The official fallout of the recent controversy at Beaver Ridge Elementary in Norcross has taken effect, and the controversy was very much alive at Thursday's board meeting of the Gwinnett school system in Suwanee. Board Chairman Louise Radloff apologized for the incident after several speakers addressed the board, sometimes heatedly. "What happened at Beaver Ridge was very unfortunate," Radloff said. "I apologize. It was not right. (The school system) is all about children." According to media reports, the teacher who resigned is Luis Rivera, who had been with the school since 2008. The controversy began when the third-grade teacher gave questions in a math homework assignment that referred to slavery. Frederick Douglass is a former slave…

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Berkeley Lake Resident Seeks School Board Post

Jen Falk announced she will run against incumbent Mary Kay Murphy in the November 2012 Gwinnett Board of Education election.

UPDATED: JAN. 17, 2012 (see italicized text for updated information) Berkeley Lake resident Jen Falk, a long-time advocate for children, announced Friday that she is seeking the Gwinnett County School Board District III seat currently held by Dr. Mary Kay Murphy. District III currently includes all or part of the Duluth, Norcross and Peachtree Ridge clusters as well as the GIVE Center West, Gwinnett Online Campus, Ivy Preparatory Academy Charter School, Monarch School, and New Life Academy of Excellence. After the census, District III (which currently includes 21 schools), will have six additional schools. The Norcross and Duluth cluster schools will remain in District III. A map showing the current borders and the proposed borders is …

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Gwinnett School Insights

Gwinnett School Representatives to Meet with U.S. Elected Officials

No Child Left Behind will be one of the topics discussed at Federal Relations Network Conference next month.

  Washington, D.C. will be the site of the February 2012 Federal Relations Network Conference drawing school board members from the 50 states to the nation’s capital. I will be among the elected school board members who will participate in our Georgia delegation.  After attending a two-day conference where education issues will be highlighted, our assignments will be to meet with our elected House members and then as a group with our two elected U.S. Senators. The Federal Relations Network is part of the National School Boards Association’s annual advocacy meetings in the nation’s capital.  My representation will be two-fold.  First, I have been elected as representative to the Conferences from the Gwinnett County Board of Education.  Also…

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