Voters in Gwinnett County’s school board District 1 will decide Tuesday between the incumbent board member and a challenger who recently worked in a district classroom.
Board Vice Chair Karen Watkins received 41% of votes in the initial election May 21, and Rachel Stone received about 31% of votes. A third candidate, Leroy Ranel Jr., did not make the runoff. District 1 stretches along the eastern edge of Gwinnett and includes Dacula and Grayson.
Watkins was elected in 2020 and was part of a new Democrat majority on the board. (Gwinnett school board races are now nonpartisan.) She was part of the consequential split vote to oust longtime Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks. The question of leadership again looms over the district, with Superintendent Calvin Watts becoming a finalist for the top job in Atlanta Public Schools and removing himself from consideration after meeting with a community panel.
Watkins has sided with the board majority on many issues alongside Board Chair Steve Knudsen and Mary Kay Murphy, a 28-year board member whose term ends in December. Stone is a government affairs professional and former teacher who taught special education and career and technical education.
Teaching groups have taken different sides. The Gwinnett County Association of Educators endorsed Stone while the Georgia Federation of Teachers is backing Watkins. Watkins also received an endorsement from Democratic state Rep. Dewey McClain, D-Lawrenceville.
Here is where each candidate stands on several key issues. Responses have been edited for clarity, length and style.
Board leadership and working with the superintendent and staff
Stone: I intend to hold monthly town halls to meet with constituents ahead of school board meetings as well as provide updates through monthly e-newsletters and social media posts. I also believe it’s crucial to engage with the community at events and gatherings where they feel most comfortable.
I will work to create a safe space where stakeholders feel empowered to testify before the entire school board or their respective city councils without fear of retaliation. I also propose establishing a board student advisory committee composed of nonvoting members who can provide a GCPS student voice on the board.
Watkins: Firstly, we should try to facilitate regular town hall meetings and listening sessions, where community members can share their concerns directly with the board. We then relay these concerns to the appropriate staff for action. Additionally, we should continue to work to have that transparent communication channel, where constituents can submit their issues and track the progress of resolutions. By maintaining a feedback loop between the board, staff, and community, we ensure problems are addressed efficiently while respecting the board’s governance role.
Equity efforts
Stone: The current GCPS Educational Equity Policy is open to ambiguous and broad interpretation, requiring more robust language. Gwinnett is one of the most diverse districts in Georgia. As a former GCPS teacher, I have taught English Language Learner (ELL) students, Students With Disabilities (SWDs), and multicultural students. It is crucial to amend and consistently implement a specific policy to meet the diverse needs of all our students, ensuring their academic success.
Additionally, I’ve observed discrepancies in data reporting, such as differences in student enrollment numbers and percentages of economically disadvantaged and racially/ethnically diverse students. Ensuring data transparency and consistency is essential.
Watkins: GCPS is actively upholding its core value of equity through various initiatives. Board policy mandates the district to design programs reducing educational inequity, offering targeted supports to increase success opportunities. Progress includes implementing a multitiered system of supports for academic and nonacademic needs and recognizing nearly two dozen schools for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
Programs like the Community-Based Mentoring Super Saturday and the introduction of book vending machines in elementary schools further illustrate the district’s commitment to equity. These efforts demonstrate GCPS’s dedication to creating an inclusive environment where all students can thrive.
Supporting teachers
Stone: We should examine what school districts like ours are doing to recruit and retain top talent. Over the past year, I’ve spoken with many Gwinnett teachers, including former colleagues, and found that many would prefer to live in Gwinnett and commute to work in other metro Atlanta districts. While pay is a factor, it’s not the only reason — some teachers are leaving Gwinnett for lower-paying positions elsewhere.
We should also focus on student teachers. GCPS has partnerships with several local postsecondary teacher education programs. Having completed a student teaching clinical practice and supervised a student teacher myself, I know how crucial it is to support and incentivize these future educators.
As a recent former GCPS special education teacher, I also advocate for paperwork days and duty-free lunches, especially for special education teachers. Special education teachers not only plan lessons, provide instruction, and grade assessments, but also serve as case managers, drafting extensive IEP (Individual Education Plan) documents, collecting data, and ensuring the district maintains federal IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) compliance. They also host IEP meetings.
Additionally, I advocate for bathroom breaks for all GCPS teachers, faculty, and staff. Managing lesson planning, adapting lessons for special education classes, covering classes during planning periods, holding IEP meetings, tutoring after school, sponsoring extracurricular activities, and handling various duties like lunch and bus duty were all part of my responsibilities as a GCPS teacher. It was a challenge managing everything effectively.
Watkins: To retain and support teachers, we focus on enhancing professional development (PD) and career growth. Key initiatives include evaluating current PD efforts to identify strengths and areas for improvement, ensuring offerings are impactful across all experience levels, grades, and specialties. We aim to deepen PD in cultural competence, equity, and social-emotional learning (SEL), aligning with the Blueprint.
We align 20 hours of PD with the strategic plan and district goals, and reimagine the Gwinnett Teacher & Leader Evaluation Systems to emphasize professional growth through coaching and mentoring. Strengthening HR training in talent management and expanding talent pipelines through Grow Your Own programs, apprenticeships, and internships are crucial. Additionally, formalizing teacher leadership and career ladder opportunities will provide pathways for increased pay and responsibility while keeping teachers in the classroom. These initiatives create a supportive and growth-oriented environment for teachers.
Assessment of district leadership
Stone: There needs to be a special education teacher, a GCPS teacher and/or a legal professional on the board. I embody all three of these roles.
As a certified Georgia special education teacher who brings five years of special education teaching experience, I can advocate for special education professionals, inform legal compliance as well as explain how SWDs impact school district graduation rates.
As a former GCPS educator, I understand the challenges our teachers face.
Watkins: While the board avoids direct involvement in operations, as a board member I work to prioritize ensuring constituents’ voices are heard and addressed. Firstly, I am personally trying to facilitate regular town hall meetings and listening sessions, where community members can share their concerns directly with the board. I would then relay these concerns to the appropriate staff for action. Additionally, I will continue to work to have that transparent communication channel, where constituents can submit their issues and track the progress of resolutions. By maintaining a feedback loop between the board, staff, and community, I can help to ensure problems are addressed efficiently while respecting the board’s governance role.
A policy or initiative you would like to see promoted or introduced
Stone: To my knowledge, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) policy is silent on whether current GCPS faculty, staff, and education support specialists can serve on the school board. This omission is problematic. I propose introducing a policy that allows teachers, education support staff, and other local professionals, such as principals and assistant principals, to serve on the school board. The Atlanta Public Schools (APS) district has a similar policy, and I believe adopting a comparable policy in Gwinnett, especially one to include special education teachers and other local staff, would be beneficial.
Currently, the GCPS board consists of five members, none of whom have served as GCPS teachers, faculty, or staff. I aim to change this policy to bring more practical, on-the-ground perspectives to the board. Feedback I’ve received from metro Atlanta teachers suggests that having board members with district teaching experience can lead to stronger, more effective policies for teachers, staff and students.
Watkins: A critical initiative within the district is ensuring access to effective instruction for students furthest from opportunity. This is achieved through differentiated and strategic compensation, as well as capacity building via coaching supports and mentors, especially in hard-to-staff schools and subjects. The main challenge is securing consistent funding for these efforts. I hope to support this work by advocating for increased and sustained budget allocations, forming partnerships with legislatures to work to ensure adequate funding, fostering partnerships with local businesses and organizations and promoting community awareness of the program’s benefits. Investing more energy and resources in this area will enhance educational equity and improve student outcomes across the district.
About the Author
