Partnerships

Our system has an outstanding partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) which provides access to GTRI researchers and industry professionals through technology demonstrations, lab tours, interviews, professional learning opportunities for teachers, and remote and in-person interactions. This collaboration brings world-class researchers and their laboratories into K-12 classrooms, providing rich, up-to-date science and computational thinking content that supports and empowers experiential learning through project-based learning and hands-on opportunities for students.

For example, in 2018-2019, through this partnership, students at a variety of Fayette County Public elementary, middle and high schools engaged with GTRI opto-electronics researchers through an interactive traveling laser museum that visited their schools. Another collaboration allowed elementary and middle school students at various schools to use distance learning videoconferencing to work with the GTRI Severe Storm Research lab to learn about technology and resources focused on developing a better understanding and prediction of tornadoes and severe weather. On STEM Day, science students at J.C. Booth Middle School worked on a project with piezoelectricity researchers, and Rising Starr Middle School students interacted with virtual reality/augmented reality experts at GTRI to think creatively about how those technologies can be applied in everyday applications.

The Fayette County Public School System has benefited immensely from a unique initiative with the Woodruff Arts Center that is engaging teachers and students of all ages across the system. Thanks to a generous anonymous grant donation in 2014, Woodruff Arts Center’s ArtPartners– the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Alliance Theatre and High Museum of Art – have been creating and delivering world-class arts experiences to every school across Fayette County. Programs supported through this grant include live theatre performances and orchestral concerts, hands-on museum tours, visual art-making workshops, in-school programs, artist residencies, and professional development opportunities for educators.

An exciting and innovative initiative has been developed by Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Atlanta Studios) and the Community for Creativity at Rising Starr Middle School. The program is focused on providing students a first-hand opportunity to learn about the diversity of creative careers in film and digital media production. Talented industry professionals periodically visit the school to talk about their specific experience in fields such as acting, props, special effects, etc. Students not only learn about the skills and training that are needed for those jobs, but also ask questions and see examples of the professional’s work in major film productions.

Beyond this initiative, several Rising Starr Middle School students have worked with Trilith personnel to create a promotional video used throughout Fayette County Public Schools in support of the 2019 Fayette County Relay for Life event. The project gave students a chance to develop their songwriting and video production talents, as well as develop collaboration, time management, and professional communications skills.