From the Superintendent
Greetings GCSS Team,
It’s hard to believe that May is already here, and I continue to be so grateful for the way our Greene County family has worked together to make this a successful year for our kids and our community.
Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and I want to share my heartfelt gratitude with our 200+ classroom teachers and take a moment to express my admiration for everything you do. You cultivate curiosity while instilling core values like kindness, patience, and teamwork. You are tasked with helping students discover their passion so they can pursue their dreams. But the responsibilities placed on you can be overwhelming at times, and the bad days can sometimes seem like they outnumber the good.
Yet anyone who steps foot inside our schools sees how hard you work to provide a positive impact on the lives of your students, your colleagues, and your communities. It never goes unnoticed. Much of what you do falls outside of your job description, but you go the extra mile to care for each of the students in your class as though they were your own.
Your daily interactions help build their character and increase their motivation. You give your students your utmost. You give them your focus and your attention. You teach our students the skills they need to thrive, by helping them manage stress, develop positive relationships, and work through conflict. You are essential role models on their journey to becoming better students and better people. Mother Teresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” Even on the bad days, you are changing the world every day.
I am immensely proud to serve as your superintendent. It is an honor to celebrate Greene County’s incredible educators. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
I am also proud to announce that we finally have a date for the groundbreaking of the new Greene County Elementary School on Meadow Crest Road: June 1st. A formal invitation to celebrate this long-awaited occasion will be emailed to all of you in the coming days.
There's only 4 weeks left go to until summer; let's finish strong!
Sincerely,
Dr. Chris Houston
GCSS announces new Director of Teaching and Learning Crystal Parten
The Greene County School System is pleased to welcome Crystal Parten to the district leadership team as the Director of Teaching and Learning. In this role, she will be primarily responsible for curriculum choice, planning, alignment, and implementation, all of which are crucial to a school district’s essential function of teaching and learning.
Parten said she is looking forward to her new role, especially the collaboration with the instructional team: “I believe that this position relies on listening and responding to students, teachers, and administrators as it relates to curriculum resources, assessment, professional learning opportunities, and more,” Parten said. “I am most excited about collaborating with the instructional coaches and teachers directly on literacy initiatives, effective instructional strategies, lesson design, and student engagement.”
Parten comes to Greene County from the Central Savannah River Area Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), where she served as a K-12 Content Literacy Specialist and K-12 Social Studies Specialist, among many other responsibilities. In these roles, she researched, prepared, and delivered professional learning in literacy, social studies, history, inquiry-based learning, disciplinary literacy, and more for the twelve school districts in the RESA’s service area.
Prior to her RESA service, Parten served as a history and social studies teacher at the high school level and has served as an adjunct history professor at Gordon College, Georgia College, Valdosta State University, and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
Click here read more about Parten's accomplishments and career so far on our website.
GCHS Seniors Commit to Post-Grad Plans on Academic Signing Day
On April 19th, GCHS seniors celebrated Academic Signing Day by announcing their post-graduation plans and signing with the college of their choice where they will be enrolled in the fall. Students signed with universities both near and far, including Columbia University in New York, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Tuskegee University in Alabama, the University of Georgia, Georgia Southern, North Carolina State, and many more. Families of seniors and many in the community attended to cheer on each senior as they revealed their college commitment choice. The soon-to-be graduates shared words of inspiration with the GCHS underclassmen from the stage before walking to their college tables.
Notable GCHS alumnus Ronald Blair, who played football at Appalachian State and was later drafted into the NFL, also shared words of wisdom, challenging the seniors to stay focused and driven as they transition from high school to college life. The event closed with further congratulations from Principal Eddie Hood, who told the seniors that they exemplify the Greene County School System motto of “Start Here and Go Far.”
GCSS names 2023 Exemplary English Learner Student and ESOL Teacher
The Greene County School System has named GCHS senior Sherlyn Camacho-Bustamente as the district’s 2023 Exemplary English Learner (EL) Student and Donna Lund as the GCSS 2023 Exemplary ESOL Teacher. Both will proceed to the statewide competition for Exemplary EL Student and ESOL Teacher.
Each year, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) selects an Exemplary EL Student and ESOL Teacher for the state from among those nominated by local school systems. This is the first year that Greene County has participated.
Sherlyn Camacho-Bustamente is a former EL who will graduate from GCHS this May. She has participated in the honors, AP, and dual enrollment programs throughout her high school career. She is a member of several clubs, organizations, and sports teams and holds leadership roles on many of these. Additionally, Sherlyn volunteers as a translator for the Spanish-speaking community members. Greene County is extremely proud have Sherlyn represent us as our nomination for the GADOE Exemplary EL Student for 2023.
Mrs. Lund was nominated by her fellow ESOL teachers and administrators in the district. She is described as hard-working and dedicated. She understands her students’ data and collaborates well with content area teachers so that students receive the supports they need to succeed in the classroom. Additionally, Mrs. Lund has strong professional relationships with the families of her students. She maintains constant communication with the families and ensures they receive information in a language they can understand. She also shares important social and familial information about the students with their content teachers so that students truly have a connected educational experience where they can grow and flourish.
Community Partner Spotlight: Chick-fil-A Lake Oconee
Our Chick-fil-A Leader Academy group would like to thank Chick-fil-A Lake Oconee for providing this wonderful leadership program for our students! Throughout the year, students learned valuable leadership skills and participated in multiple service projects, including:
- One Million Books Giveaway: packaged and brought books to Pre-K and Primary classrooms and read to the students
- Do Good December: volunteering with Winter Wonderland program and creating a Christmas tree that went to a family without one
- Dr. Seuss Week: reading to preschoolers again
- Spring Impact Project: planned and created activity stations such as the photo booth for a pre-k field day.
GCCA 9th Grade Academy Pathway Selection and Signing Day
Connect with Us
Email: gcsscommunications@greene.k12.ga.us
Website: www.greene.k12.ga.us
Location: Greene County Board Education, 101 E 3rd Street, Greensboro, GA, USA
Phone: 706-454-1109
Facebook: facebook.com/gcsstigers
Twitter: @gcss_tigers