Five things to know about Gwinnett’s first day of school

The unofficial end of summer - and the return of head-scratching traffic - begins in Gwinnett County Monday as school begins for about 180,000 students.

Here are five things to know about the new school year in Gwinnett:

• Archer and Discovery high schools have new start times. Archer's school day begins at 7:15 a.m. Discovery begins even earlier, at 7:05 a.m.
• Gwinnett has a new messenger system it believes will communicate information faster to parents about school closings due to inclement weather and key school year dates. The system is called SchoolMessenger. The system uses contact information submitted to the child's school. Changes can be submitted through the parent portal or by contacting the child's school.
• Gwinnett is expanding its Dual Language Immersion programs to additional grades at Baldwin, Bethesda, Camp Creek, Ivy Creek and Trip elementary schools.
• Thirteen schools will have new principals this academic year.
• Ten additional schools will use a system called Positive Behavorial Interventions and Supports to improve classroom behavior.

»» PHOTOS: Metro Atlanta students head back to school

»» Gwinnett County Public Schools 2017-18 Calendar

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