Gwinnett's newest STEM high school debuts

By lunchtime at Paul Duke STEM High School, students, teachers and staff were getting into a groove — literally.

To ease some first-day jitters and build a sense of community, several faculty members started a line dance during second lunch. As they kicked and showed off their moves, they invited students and anyone else nearby to join the “Cupid Shuffle.” (An AJC reporter even managed to get in a few steps.)

“That’s the kind of camaraderie we want to build throughout the year,” prin- cipal Jonathon Wetherington said.

Paul Duke STEM High School opened in Norcross on Monday.

With a theme of technology, the school will be the first in the district to have a four-day week on campus, with Fridays dedicated to digital learning. This aspect of the new school is to prepare students for college and professional environments where telecommuting and other forms of remote work are commonplace.

And another aspect that makes Paul Duke unique is that there are no athletic teams.

“It doesn’t make this school better or worse,” Wether- ington said. “But it is differ- ent. We like that between Paul Duke and Norcross High, students have a choice.”

The school feeds from students in the Norcross cluster from feeder middle schools: Summerour and Pinckneyville.

And not only students got to choose between Norcross or Paul Duke. About a third of the staff at Paul Duke is from Norcross High, another third from throughout the district and another third is from outside the county — some from other states.

JENNA EASON / JENNA.EASON@COXINC.COM Paul Duke STEM High students eat lunch Monday, the Norcross school’s first day. With a technology theme, it’s the district’s first school with a four-day week on campus, with Fridays given to digital learning.