Gordon County School System is a rural, K-12 school district located approximately halfway between Chattanooga, Tenn., and Atlanta — it’s the last rural school district between two large cities. The district consists of two high schools, two middle schools, and five elementary schools located in the northwest corner of Georgia. The system serves approximately 7,000 students and offers a wide variety of course offerings supplemented with strong emphasis in technology and quality teaching.
In recent years, Gordon County has received numerous honors and awards from The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and the Georgia Department of Education. One high school received the Platinum Award for Greatest Gain of Students Meeting and Exceeding the Standards. Four elementary schools received the Distinguished School Award for making Adequate Yearly Progress for three or more years.
Every classroom is a standards-based classroom with 21st century technologies for quality teaching. The goal of the school system is to challenge all students in a nurturing and caring environment.
Challenge:
Like so many public school districts in the United States, budget cuts were an all too familiar reality for Gordon County. With a growing number of students, fewer teachers and limited funding, the school board needed to find a way to bridge the gap.
One particular item of concern was professional development for teachers. The state of Georgia requires that all teachers complete 10 Professional Learning Units (PLUs) or 10 hours of specialized training, every year. In previous years, the district would send teachers to trainings or conferences in locations 35 miles away or farther. Additionally, the county would hold monthly training sessions and bring in curriculum consultants to give teachers ample opportunity to meet the state requirement.
Unfortunately, with recent budget reductions, they didn’t have enough money to bring in leading education experts as frequently as they had in the past or send teachers to trainings or conferences. Additionally, in 2008, the district’s travel budget was also significantly reduced. With some schools more than 40 miles apart, a simple on-site meeting or training now became a bigger issue. Gordon County needed to find a suitable communications alternative.
