Griffin Spalding County School System Meet the Deputy Superintendent
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Meet the Deputy Superintendent
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Deputy Superintendent Dr. Kiawana KennedyTop of Page

Portrait of a womanDr. Kiawana Kennedy is a native of Atlanta, Georgia and has proudly served the students of metro Atlanta and surrounding areas for more than 27 years. Dr. Kennedy’s educational accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education from West Georgia College. She continued her education and earned her Master and Specialist Degrees in Administration and Supervision. In 2000, Dr. Kennedy graduated from the University of Georgia where she earned a Doctorate of Educational Leadership Degree and later received her Gifted Endorsement from Metro RESA. Dr. Kennedy has participated in a Superintendent Preparatory Program as well as the Georgia School Superintendents Association District Office Professional Development Program to continue to enhance her professional learning experiences.
 
The roles in which she has honed her craft by ensuring quality learning for all include serving as an elementary and middle school teacher, an assistant principal at the middle school level, and principal of multiple levels. During her tenure as principal, numerous accomplishments were achieved including six grant awards, Platinum Award for Greatest Student Gains on the CRCT awarded by the state of Georgia, five Title 1 Distinguished School Awards from the state of Georgia, and a School Bell award from Georgia Association of Elementary Principals.
 
Dr. Kennedy is a strong advocate for all students and has continued her passion through service in several district level positions including Director of Curriculum and Instruction as well as Chief Operating Officer for the City Schools of Decatur. She served as Assistant Superintendent for Griffin-Spalding County School System prior to her current role as Deputy Superintendent.
 
Dr. Kennedy looks forward to her continued service as Deputy Superintendent for the benefit of the students, staff, and families of the Griffin-Spalding County School System.
 

Take a brief journey with Dr. Kennedy through her educational career.Top of Page

GSCS AIM TEAMTop of Page

A group of staff members in the district office standing together in a group
 
The Academic Instructional Practices Measure (AIM) Visits are implemented to measure a school’s instructional effectiveness. The AIM visits provide an objective and evidence-based analysis of how well instructional practices are being implemented in the classrooms across the school district. The AIM Team is comprised of school level administrators and district level administrators led by Dr. Kiawana Kennedy, Deputy Superintendent.
There are four primary purposes of the AIM Visit:
  1. To provide a school with data on instructional practices to improve student learning.
  2. To provide feedback to teachers regarding instructional practices to improve student learning.
  3. To encourage and promote dialogue between school and district office on effective instructional practices.
  4. To provide district office with data collected across schools to support academic achievement and growth.

GSCS Model ClassroomTop of Page

A group of teachers in the district office standing together in a group
 
 
The GSCS Model Classroom Project is designed to increase success for all students by providing job embedded professional learning through access to video clips that demonstrate quality student engagement and instructional best practice classroom strategies as well as access to Model Classroom Teachers for feedback and collaboration. Model classrooms were identified through the AIM visits. Teachers agreed to volunteer for the Model Classroom Project by recording lessons and submitting lesson plans.  These resources are being compiled into a team drive and broken down by grade level and content area. Dr. Kennedy said, "It is not enough to tell our teachers what they should be doing; we must provide them with examples that allow them to see what rigor, relevance and relationships look like in GSCS classrooms." The teachers pictured above are sharing their effective classroom best practices with other teachers by providing video clips and lesson plans as part of the GSCS Model Classroom Project. 

GOLD Seminar Series for Assistant PrincipalsTop of Page

Assistant Principals attending training in the Learning Center
GSCS strongly believes in the importance of developing its school and district level leaders. Leadership development provides leaders an opportunity to develop other leaders, improve organization, build collaborative relationships, and develop themselves. The Griffin-Spalding County Schools Opportunities for Leadership Development (GOLD) Seminar Series is for GSCS Assistant Principals.
There are four main purposes for the GOLD Seminar Series:
  1. To develop the qualities of good leadership that are essential for career and organizational success.
  2. To set a course for growth and provide leadership strategies to enhance the qualities of good leadership.
  3. To explore skills that are a priority for today's leaders in schools.
  4. To assist leaders in fulfilling their potential through effective leadership skills training in areas like instruction, strategic planning, decision making and more.

GSCS Annual ChallengesTop of Page

Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Kiawana Kennedy issues an annual challenge to GSCS faculty and staff. Schools and departments participate in this challenge by submitting videos that align to each year's theme. These submissions are then graded by a rubric to determine the winners for each year. Previous challenges have included "Capture the Culture Challenge" and "Holiday Lip Sync Challenge." This year's challenge was the "GSCS Customer Service Challenge." Participants videoed example of what to do and what not to do when it comes to customer service. This challenge reinforced the district's professional learning on providing excellent customer service. First, second, and third place winners are pictured below.

First Place for Schools - Crescent Elementary School

Second Place for Schools - Jordan Hill Elementary School

Third Place for Schools - Rehoboth Road Middle School

First Place for Departments - Human Resources & Finance

Second Place for Departments - Instructional Technology

Third Place for Departments - Executive Secretaries

Third Place for Departments - Nutrition

GSCS POD TeamTop of Page

A group of staff members in the district office standing together in a group
The GSCS POD Team serves our school system as a Closed Point of Dispensing in the event of a widespread emergency situation that requires an expedited distribution of medication. This group works hand in hand with District 4 Department of Public Health and our local Health Department to provide this service to our employees and their families. The team has developed a plan to facilitate the rapid yet orderly administration of treatment for all those employed by the district. The GSCS POD Team is pictured here with representatives from District 4 Department of Public Health.
 
 
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