A Homegrown Leader

Pine Street’s Elementary School’s principal pushes

students to soar at her alma mater

CONYERS—Kim Vier stayed out of trouble and never visited the principal’s office when she was a student at Pine Street Elementary in Conyers.

Now, she’s in the principal’s office nearly every day.

“As a former student of Pine Street, I wake up every morning looking forward to serving the school that gave me a wonderful educational foundation and the desire to make teaching and learning my central focus,” Vier said.

That central focus is paying off big dividends for students at Pine Street.

Under Vier’s leadership, the Title 1 school, comprised of 83 percent of students who are on the free or reduced lunch program, is defying the odds.

In February, Pine Street was named a School of Excellence, one of 26 in the state to earn the “greatest gains.” Last year, eight of Pine Street’s students were recognized by President

Barack Obama with the “President’s Award for Educational Excellence” and the “President’s Award for Educational Achievement.” The school added those honors to other

accolades it had already received: Pine Street has made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) nine years consecutively, and has been a Distinguished Title 1 School for seven years in a row.

Vier said her students, teachers and parents have worked hard to push students to excel.

She says going that extra mile includes what they call “intervention/enrichment blocks of time” during the school day, in which students receive intervention and enrichment based on their need.

“We also have an after-school tutorial program called the Roadrunner Club. Students in the program stay after school for two afternoons a week and receive additional time to master grade level standards,” Vier said.

Rockdale County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Samuel T. King says Pine Street’s accomplishments have not gone unnoticed and he is very proud of the elementary school.

“I congratulate Principal Kim Vier, the administrative staff, teachers, support staff, students, and parents for receiving these outstanding recognitions,” Dr. Samuel King said. “These

accomplishments are the result of a team approach for continuous improvement that centers on the individual needs of all students.”

About 30 percent of Pine Street’s parents belong to the PTO. The school, which has about 570 students, has several dedicated volunteers who help out on a daily basis.

Pine Street is 56 percent African American, 26 percent Hispanic, 15 percent White and three percent other or multiracial.

“We’re not just a school here at Pine Street. This is an incredible, passionate family,” Vier said. “It takes everyone—from me to our latest volunteer—to have a successful school year.”

Vier knows firsthand the lasting impact that a good foundation can have. Of the 17 years she has worked as an educator, she spent 12 years as a classroom teacher.

Vier said she still cherishes the memories of the teachers who helped to mold her when she was a child.

“I remember being 8 years old and loving to play on the playground in the back and wanting to come to school to see my teachers,” said Vier. “I want our students to leave here with great

memories like I did.”

K im Vier received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Shorter College in Rome.

She earned her master’s degree in early childhood education from Brenau University and an educational leadership certificate from the University of Georgia.

She was Rockdale County’s Teacher of the Year in 2002.

Vier and her husband, Matt, have two children, Ashley, 7, and Jackson, 4.

DeKalb School District launches automated messaging system

In an effort to communicate timely, school-related information to parents, teachers and citizens through the tools they use every day.

The DeKalb County School District is launching an automated notification service that sends school news via email, text message and voicemail.

The new service, called K12 Alerts, is free and available to everyone who wants to know more about DeKalb Schools.

K12 Alerts will keep parents, DeKalb Schools staff members and local residents informed of everything from weather related school closings and early dismissals to other important news impacting the School District.

The service also allows messages to be translated into multiple languages.

“One of our core goals is to better engage our stakeholders, and this new channel will be an essential tool to provide important information to parents, teachers and others in the DeKalb Schools community,” said Dr. Cheryl Atkinson, Superintendent of the DeKalb County School District. “The system also leverages technology to reach a wider group of stakeholders,including multilingual audiences and families that do not have access to traditional media or the Internet.

K12 Alerts works on iPads/iPhones or any Internet enabled device or computer.

Anyone interested in receiving messages from DeKalb Schools can register through K12 Alert’s secure online portal at www.k12alerts.com/portal/dekalbcountysd or by visiting the DeKalb School’s homepage at www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/.

For more information about K12 Alerts, visit www.k12alerts.com.

Rep. Johnson offers art scholarship contest

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) is hosting the 2012 Congressional Arts Competition, an annual event displaying the community’s finest artistic talent. 

Eligible high school students throughout the district, which include parts of DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Rockdale counties, are encouraged to apply and display their talent in this year’s contest.

Entries must be designed according to the specifications in the competition guidelines, which can be found at Congressman Johnson’s web site at http://www.hankjohnson.house.gov/services/artistic-discovery.shtml.

Each district will honor its winning artwork by hanging it in the tunnel leading to the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., for a year.

The 2012 Congressional Art Competition winner from the Fourth District will also receive transportation for two to Washington, D.C., for the ribbon-cutting event to unveil all the 2012 winners.

In addition to having his/her artwork at the Capitol, winners of the competition will be eligible for college scholarships from the Art Institute of Atlanta ($10,000, $5,000, and $2,500) or the Savannah College of Art and Design ($1,500 per year).

All art entries must be received in the congressman’s district office, located at 5700 Hillandale Drive, in Lithonia, April 26-27.

For more information, e-mail Eric Hubbard at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Betty Dixon This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in the Lithonia office or call them at 770-987-2291.

Anti-bullying puppet program marks 15 years

LAWRENCEVILLE—Elementary school students are getting a hands-on lesson about bullying from a team of dedicated teachers and volunteers.

The Hands Are Not for Hitting program is a series of interactive puppet shows aimed at teaching Gwinnett County kindergarten through second graders non-violent solutions for resolving conflict.

The program is sponsored by the Gwinnett County Solicitor’s Office in partnership with Gwinnett County Retired Educators Association.

“Bullying has become a serious issue in schools today, and over the course of the 15 years this program has been in place, the effects of bullying have led to some dangerous outcomes,” said Gwinnett Solicitor Rosanna Szabo.

Szabo brought the program to Gwinnett in 1997 after learning about a similar program in Minnesota.

The puppet shows were initially put on by victims’ advocates and other volunteers until the Solicitor’s Office partnered with the Retired Educators Association to coordinate the performances.

The retired teachers and volunteers present the 30- to 45-minute puppet shows in approximately 40 Gwinnett elementary schools, reaching 10,000 to nearly 13,000 students per year.

This school year, the program was presented in 34 schools to 10,539 students.