Gwinnett community invited to serve on school curriculum committee
Gwinnett County parents, guardians, school district employees and other community members can apply to serve on the committee that reviews curriculum standards.
All changes to the district’s Academic Knowledge and Skills curriculum must go through the school district’s Gwinnett Educational Management System, or GEMS, Oversight Committee.
Changes include revisions to the existing curriculum and additions or deletions to it. While the work of the GEMS committee often flies under the radar, the items they review can attract attention once they get up to the board level. Recent curriculum initiatives that have drawn public interest include updating the literacy program and health program, particularly sex education. New courses go through the GEMS process as well.
The committee reviews the curriculum annually and can make recommendations to the superintendent. The superintendent can approve of those recommendations and bring them to the school board for final approval and adoption.
People interested in serving on the committee must complete the online application by Aug. 14. The district does not list specific qualifications for the committee — it states the committee is “comprised of teachers, administrators, parents, community members, business leaders, and post-secondary educators representative of the district population and geographic diversity.”
The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 24.
About the Author
Josh Reyes covers Gwinnett County Public Schools for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A native of Virginia, he wrote about local government and public safety at the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot. He graduated from Christopher Newport University with a B.A. in English.
