Shiloh Middle School

Shiloh Middle School opened its doors on August 30, 1982, with approximately 860 students and 60 faculty members and staff. Located on what was once a peach and apple orchard, Shiloh Middle is a modern structure that broke from traditional school designs of the 1970s and incorporated the concept of having three schools in one, allowing each grade to operate independently. Its most striking feature is ‘Main Street,’ the main hallway, which has large potted plants, benches, and trophy and display cases.

The school, located at 4285 Shiloh Road in southern Gwinnett County, was built to relieve overcrowding at Snellville, Trickum, and Five Forks middle schools. At that time, Shiloh had almost 82,000 square feet of floor space. It was soon evident that this was not going to be adequate for the growth in the area, and in 1987, Shiloh opened a new wing with 11 classrooms of approximately 13,500 square feet. Before the new wing had been in use a full year, it was determined that more room was needed. A second addition was planned and opened in September of 1989. This new addition consists of 12 classrooms, expanded music rooms, and enlargements of the cafeteria and media center.

Shiloh Middle’s enrollment as of April 1, 2007, was 1,670. At that time, four elementary schools sent students to Shiloh Middle School: Annistown, Centerville, Partee, and Shiloh. (In 2010, Anderson-Livsey Elementary School opened, also feeding into Shiloh Middle School.)

In the spring of 1982, the students who were to attend Shiloh Middle in the fall were given the opportunity to choose their school colors and mascot. These students selected royal blue, black, and white as the school colors and the Spartan as the school mascot. These colors and mascot changed in the 2000s as most of the schools in the Shiloh Cluster aligned their colors and mascots with the high school, moving to the colors of black, silver, and white and the Generals mascot.

Shiloh was named after the community in which the school is located. Shiloh Baptist Church, which was founded in the 1800s, is located on property adjacent to the school. According to area residents, a two-room school for black students existed on the site before the turn of the century, and several school system attendance records show the evidence of the two-room school until the mid1950s.

Shiloh Middle has been honored in many ways in its history. In 1987, Shiloh was selected as a Georgia School of Excellence and, later that year, a National School of Excellence. In 1988, Pat Marr, one of Shiloh’s counselors, was selected National Middle School Counselor of the Year. That same year, health teacher Bridgett Susi was selected Health Educator of the Year for Georgia. Shiloh also has had honors bestowed on several of its science teachers. Neva McGuire, Dana McGraw, and Sara Sangster received first place in the GAE State Instructional Fair and had their work published in several professional journals. Another science teacher, Nancy Hightower, was selected to attend NASA’s summer program for teachers at Cape Canaveral. Cindy ApleyRose was a finalist for the Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year and was nominated for the Presidential Award for Mathematics in 2006–07. These trailblazers are just a sampling of the dedicated professional educators who have worked at Shiloh Middle School throughout the years.

Shiloh Middle is very proud of its hard-working and dedicated PTA, which, through annual fundraisers, has donated thousands of dollars worth of technology, equipment, and office machinery vital to the school’s success.

In the 2014–15 school year, Shiloh Middle School qualified to be an International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) Candidate School. Several years of active research and training of staff helped to make this accomplishment a reality. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) strives to develop active learners and internationally minded young people who can empathize with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning.

The school also began a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) program to encourage student engagement and to celebrate good behavior decisions.

That same year, Shiloh Middle was recognized as a Georgia Family–Friendly Partnership School Award winner because of its emphasis on effectively communicating with and engaging families. At the time, Shiloh Middle was the only secondary school ever to receive this award. State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge presented the award to the Shiloh Middle learning community at a special ceremony. Parental involvement is important at Shiloh. The school holds Parent Observation Days which allow parents to observe the quality of education and the school environment. In addition, large numbers of parent and family members participate in family involvement events, including Title I planning meetings, Parent Advisory Council meetings, Parent Observation Days, Literacy Night, Math Night, Science Night, Parent Writing Workshops, Spring Testing Prep Night, Rising General Articulation Night, Family Skate Nights, Zaxby’s Family Nights, Shiloh’s Got STEAM, Georgia Milestones 101 Test Prep, Literacy/Technology/ Social Studies Workshops, Book Clubs, Rising Generals Articulation, and Parent Spirit Week activities.

The school encourages its students to give back to the community as evidenced by the school’s participation in Relay for Life, it environmental education efforts, and other activities. In 2015–16, Shiloh Middle students, teachers, and staff raised more than $16,000 for the Shiloh Cluster’s Feed My Starving Children mobile pack. The Shiloh community made more than 108,000 meals for needy children around the world, exceeding its goal of 100,000 meals.

In March of 2018, the school experienced a leadership change as Dr. Welch transitioned to another position in the district. The Board of Education tapped Dr. Tereka Williams, the associate principal at South Gwinnett High School, as his successor.

Today, Shiloh Middle serves more than 1,800 students, preparing them for college and careers. In 2020, that preparation included the addition of the Dual Language Immersion, or DLI, program for 6th graders who had participated in the program while they were in elementary school. In this program, middle schoolers will learn more about the Spanish language and culture.

Much has changed since the school first opened in 1981. That 40-classroom facility now is home to 97 classrooms, a testament to growth in the area. However, one thing remains constant, the commitment of Shiloh Middle to serve its students and the community in which it stands.