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Gwinnett County Public Schools

McKendree Elementary School

Principal: Courtney Bernardo

1600 Riverside Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA 30043

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School Highlights

The following school highlights showcase how McKendree Elementary School is fulfilling Gwinnett County Public School's four strategic priorities of Empathy, Equity, Effectiveness, and Excellence. Visit the School Profile Dashboard to find more detailed data on our school.

  • All students at McKendree Elementary are offered a variety of specials. We recognize the need for foundational STEM and computer science skills; therefore, we offer this special to all children. In addition, we realize the importance of social-emotional well-being for our children, which is why we have incorporated a Guided Play Space for students in Pre-K through 2nd grade. Through guided play, children focus on key character traits and learn how to play and interact cooperatively with their peers.

  • McKendree Elementary takes pride in offering a variety of clubs for our students. We currently offer Step Team, Band, Robotics, Soccer, Basketball, Chorus, Reader's Rally, Drama, Mindfulness Club, Visual Arts, Green Environment Club, Compost Connectors Club, and Running Club. Our Step Team and Band performed at the Collins Hill Cluster Fine Arts night. Also, our running club participated in Max's 5K Moon Run as a culminating event. Our incredible staff are the sponsors of all clubs.

  • McKendree Elementary organized the first annual Collins Hill Community Health Fair. The Health Fair offered free immunizations, eye exams, and hearing screenings, as well as scheduling for women's health services. It also provided information on diabetes, blood pressure, mental health, parent support with behavior interventions, and local businesses and organizations that offer other health services.

  • McKendree families participated in various events, including the Fall Festival, International Night, STEM Night, Talent Show, Trashion Show, Someone Special Dance, Spring Fling, Boosterthon, and Field Day.

  • McKendree families and community members engaged in various opportunities to provide space for community feedback and voice. These opportunities included quarterly "Coffee with Courtney" sessions to connect the Principal with the community and provide just-in-time information and conversations for families, a community meeting with the Chief Security Officer for Gwinnett County Schools to discuss school safety and security, as well as bi-monthly newsletters that solicited feedback and provided an opportunity to recognize outstanding staff performance.

  • McKendree Elementary received the Green and Healthy Schools Achievement Award in recognition of the hard work and dedication of our students and staff, who support the Compost Connectors and the Green Environment Club.

  • McKendree Elementary hosted a visit from author Vonne Esse in the spring. Throughout the school year, Officer Martin of Gwinnett County Public Schools' School Resource Officers read to our students monthly. McKendree also hosted a Read Across America event, at which Mr. Steven Gasper, a local School Board Member, and students from Collins Hill High School came to read to the students.

  • McKendree families had the opportunity to participate in several parent workshops, including a cooking and nutrition class hosted by the University of Georgia, English language classes, a Trainers Academy for new parents, Early Learning Family workshops, gardening classes, and a class providing tips for Parent Conferences.

  • Children from birth to age five who lived within our school's surrounding community were offered the opportunity to participate in our Play 2 Learn program three times a week. In addition, these families were able to attend field trips to the local library to learn more about checking out books and participating in library story time.

  • McKendree Elementary partnered with Collins Hill High School to offer mentoring to our first-grade students by high school students. High school students would come to McKendree on a weekly basis to work with students and establish relationships that would help foster positive behaviors. Additionally, community members also served as mentors for our students and offered monthly meetings to have lunch with their mentees.

  • We would also like to highlight our school garden, which a former McKendree teacher runs. The garden is a shared space for the entire school, and the crops it yields are given to our families or used in the classrooms.

  • McKendree's food share program that our students run. The students collect food from the cafeteria, sort it, and store it in a shared location, allowing students in need to have free access to snacks throughout the day as needed.

  • Georgia Department of Health's participation in providing free dental screenings for our students. Over 150 students were screened in a 5-day process. Additionally, the Lions Club provided free vision screenings for our students, and more than thirty students were given vouchers for free glasses.
     

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