What Schools Say About VIFWalton County Schools
(Walton County Schools, Georgia, United States)Bill George is principal of Atha Road Elementary School in Georgia's Walton County Schools. Atha Road Elementary, with five VIF teachers, was named VIF's 2005-06 School of the Year in Georgia.
I have been impressed by the quality and commitment each VIF teacher has brought and continues to bring to our school. We have hired teachers from Canada, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Jamaica over the past five years. Entering a VIF teacher's classroom, I witness "master teachers" doing what they do best: teaching. More importantly, students are learning.
In addition, our students are receiving a year-long lesson in multicultural diversity. What better way for children to learn about people from other lands than to actually learn from them and side-by-side with them? For many of our students, this has been the first time they have come in contact with someone outside of their U.S. culture.
Walton County is just 35 miles east of Georgia's capital, Atlanta. Once a sleepy farming community, Walton County is now officially part of the metropolitan area of Atlanta. Walton County citizens are being surrounded by more subdivisions, more strip malls, more traffic and more people. New Walton County residents are coming from all over the world.
At Atha Road Elementary School, we are experiencing the beginning of a diverse population. I understand the imperative for developing and implementing strategies in my school to teach diversity and understanding of other cultures. VIF has provided me an excellent opportunity to bring the world to Walton County and the 1,300 students of Atha Road Elementary.
Recently, Atha Road Elementary School was honored by being named VIF's Georgia School of the Year. In fact, it has been an honor for our school to provide teaching opportunities for VIF. I am grateful for the opportunity VIF has given me to bring the world to Atha Road Elementary School.
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