Technology coordinator wins prestigious award
♦ The GCS staff member is one of 124 Americans to receive Apple Distinguished Educator award in 2019.
Chuck Langston, the middle and high school technology coordinator for Gordon County Schools, was named a 2019 Apple Distinguished Educator. Langston is one of two Georgians and one of 124 educators across the nation to receive this recognition during 2019.
During this week’s Gordon County Board of Education meeting, Langston was recognized as having received the Apple Distinguished Educator award, which is a prestigious award in its 25th year of recognizing technology educators.
“In 1994, Apple created the ADE Program to recognize K-12 and higher education pioneers who are using Apple technology to transform teaching and learning in powerful ways,” said Apple’s Distinguished Educator Team. “Celebrating 25 years, the program has grown into a worldwide community of over 2,800 visionary and innovative leaders in education, helping other educators rethink what’s possible with iPad and Mac.”
Bryan Nicholson said Langston has been hard at work since he joined the district and that this award is a good symbol of how “Langston has been a great asset to the district.”
Jeff Rummel, the Apple account executive for the district, was present at the meeting and said Langston exemplified the four qualities that Apple looks for in their Distinguished Educators: being a trusted adviser, a passionate advocate, an authentic author and a global ambassador.
A District Charter Committee has been put into action as of Monday’s meeting, creating a team that would serve as a mediator between the board and Local School Governance Boards. Vice Chairman Bobby Hall announced that a committee would be forming to consider requests of Local School Governance Teams if they don’t require approval specifically from the board.
“A lot of times, ( their requests) don’t need board approval, so we’re trying to figure out a new way to process the requests quicker,” said District Director of Communications Amy Parker, who will serve on the committee as the charter liaison. “Patricia Boswell and Bobby Hall will be on the committee, as well as a rotating basis of governance chairs from two elementary schools, one middle and one high.”
Crystal Purser was recognized during the meeting as the recipient of the 2nd Mile Award for the month of May. Pursuer, who has volunteered with the school system during this academic year, has served during character education breakfasts, junior achievements and several student programs.
Parker, who presented the award, said Purser and her staff team from Chick-fil-A have contributed their time and energy to serve the students and staff, which the school system is grateful for.
Board Chairman Charlie Walraven said the board is in the middle of the interview process for their superintendent search, as Superintendent Susan Remillard will be retiring in July. The chairman said that while it might be a stretch, he hopes that a decision will be made before the end of the school year.
The chairman also said the email account created for public input on the superintendent search has proved to be a very good way to incorporate parents, families and citizens into the decision-making process. There have been about 100 emails received so far, Walraven said, with “a majority of them being positive.”
In addition, the board is also deciding how to best go about hiring a new principal for Gordon Central High School following Doug Clark’s resignation. On May 7, Clark, who had been on administrative leave since the end of April, announced his resignation from his position and will be moving into a teaching role within the school system starting in the 2019-2020 academic year.
During Monday’s meeting, the board approved Clark’s resignation and also approved to hire him on as a teacher at Fairmount Elementary School.
Walraven said after the board decides on a hire for superintendent, the search for a new Gordon Central principal will kick into gear, as the board cannot choose principals, only approve of their hiring. The superintendent makes hiring decisions for schools, and Walraven said the new superintendent would be working on filling the principal position.
For now though, the district’s priority is finding a new superintendent, though Walraven did say there would likely be a principal hiring announcement posted this week.
“We want to find the best person for both positions,” Walraven said. “As soon as decisions have been made, we will communicate them with the public.”