Bay Creek Middle School

     Although Bay Creek Middle School opened in August 2009, its name is a familiar one to members of the Grayson community. According to the City of Grayson, the name Bay Creek has long-established ties to the community. The city’s web site shares that the McElvaney family operated the Bay Creek post office in their mill and that in 1877 the Georgia Militia District was created and the Grayson area was named the Bay Creek District. City leaders say that this name change can be attributed to the creek, which is lined with native Bay trees, that runs through the district.

     While these geographic and historical considerations were factored into the school-naming process, it should be noted that Bay Creek also has an educational history that was taken into consideration. The 1923 History of Gwinnett County Public Schools references the original Bay Creek School. The school sat on oneand-one-half acres in eastern Gwinnett County. The original schoolhouse, which served students through the seventh grade, had two rooms and a playground. Two teachers, Mr. A.L. Geiger and Miss Mary Lou Tuck, were responsible for educating the community’s 120 students.

     The new facility opened in 2009 with 70 classrooms and more than 180,800 square feet of space for its 900 students. In 2018, the school’s enrollment had risen to more than 1,160 students.

     Bay Creek has long been a part of the Grayson community. As the new school joined the Grayson Cluster, it focused on building on this rich history to ensure a rigorous learning environment where learning comes first.