Minor Elementary School

Rebecca Minor Elementary School was built in 1986 and opened in the fall of 1987. The 2011–2012 school year marked the school’s 25th anniversary year. This Lilburn school was named for a beloved teacher, whose love for children not only endeared her to students, but led her to explore many dynamic and effective avenues for teaching them.

Students and staff considered themselves “Minor Miners” until 2006 when Minor adopted the “Patriots” as their new mascot to show cluster alignment with feeder schools, Berkmar High School and Berkmar Middle School. Subsequently the motto for the school changed from “Teaching and Learning” during the “Miner” years, to “Quality Practices, Revolutionary Results” in 2009.

The student population and demographics at Minor has changed significantly over the years, but high expectations for all students have remained constant. Minor embraces and celebrates its diversity, showcasing for students the benefits and value of learning from one another, and communicates this to the greater community by hosting an incredibly well-attended International Night annually.

As growth changes occurred at Minor, the campus changed as well. A wing was constructed in the fall of 1988 to alleviate the overcrowding which Minor began experiencing. However, despite the opening of Kanoheda Elementary, anticipated to completely alleviate the situation, continued growth during the 1990’s resulted in the school population increasing to over 1,400 students. Both a second major construction project and the opening of Corley Elementary finally helped the school relieve overcrowding.

The Minor community entered a period of transition during the 1990s, which resulted in increased mobility, as well as ethnic and economic diversity. The increasingly diverse and transient nature of the student population offered opportunities and challenges as Minor attempted to accomplish its mission of providing a secure learning environment, where no child was left behind.

Currently, Minor Elementary has an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students and it is the proud home of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program for elementary level students in GCPS. Minor was a pace-setter in being one of the first schools in the county to gain recognition as an environmentally friendly, ‘green’ campus through efforts in conjunction with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and The Clean Air Campaign. Minor has two outdoor learning spaces to include a nature preserve classroom as well as a butterfly garden which since 2009, also doubles as an organic garden, thanks to a grant obtained by a teacher at the school from Senator Curt Thompson.

Mr. John Tippins was named the first principal and began many fine Minor traditions. In 1989, Mr. Freddie Williams became the second principal. Under his leadership Minor was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (2000). In 2002, the school welcomed Dr. Larry Stone as its third principal. Barbara Ergle, was then appointed in 2004 and Christina Wimmer took the helm of the school in 2009. Dr. Scott Frandsen became the principal in 2016.

Teachers at Minor continue in Rebecca Minor’s tradition by reaching out to all students and ensuring their learning is differentiated and rigorous while providing a positive and engaging atmosphere in which to learn. Teachers continuously strive for educational excellence and instill in their students a joy of learning and a sense of responsibility for their actions. A good number of teachers volunteer each year to host extra- curricular clubs for students and there is tremendous staff and student support of the annual United Way and Relay for Life campaigns, of which Minor has often been at or near the top of the list where contributions are concerned.

Throughout the history of Minor Elementary, stakeholders have always been proud of the school and its many fine accomplishments. A few of these include: multiple years of environmental achievement awards; a Gwinnett County School of Excellence (1999); Georgia School of Excellence (2000); National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (2000–01); a history as a Title I Distinguished school; EIC school: Using the Environment as an Integrated Context for learning, 1 of first 10 in Georgia; Destination Imagination state winners (2000–02, 2004); Schoolwide Title I school (2003–04); recognition by community partners (Relay for Life, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, and United Way); and Readers Rally Champion (2010–11).

As its motto “Quality Practices, Revolutionary Results” indicates Minor Elementary is focused on improving student achievement and the impact the school has on
the lives of its students. Examples of this attention to improvement is found in many ways, including:

•  Extended learning opportunities offered to support learning for eligible students in grades 1–5 through a Saturday School program.
• The schoolwide rollout of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) during the 2015– 16 school year. PBIS encourages positive behaviors with recognition for those students who exhibit appropriate schoolconduct.
• Participation in the Sally Ride Science, empowering our teachers to integrate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) into classroom instruction and provide more STEM exposure for our students. The school earned a STEM Innovation Grant, which will provide significant training and implementation support during the 2015–16 and 2016–17 school years.
• Grant funding was secured again for WriteToLearn, an online literacy tool that assesses writing and returns targeted instruction and grammar feedback to our 4th and 5th graders.
• Teachers and students benefit from the use of eClass tools.
• Our BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) learning environment was supported through Title I-funded purchases. All classrooms received additional hand- held devices to supplement countyissued peripherals. Eight Mimio-teach units were piloted as replacements for the Wii-remotes used in all classrooms prior to the technology upgrade. Mimio interactive devices are used to create interactive instruction on classroom whiteboards.