# Alton C. Crews Middle School

Alton C. Crews Middle School is part of the Brookwood Cluster of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, and is part of Gwinnett County Public Schools. Cindy Moffett is the school principal.
Founded in 1996, the school is named after Dr. Alton C. Crews (1924–1996), a 13-year former superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools (1977–1989) and the first Georgian to break the sound barrier.

## History

The school was opened in 1997, under principal Mary Anne Charron. Crews is one of the two middle schools in the Brookwood cluster, along with Five Forks Middle School. Brookwood Elementary School and Craig Elementary School feed into Crews. Crews feeds into Brookwood High School, which continues to deliver educational services to students.
An addition to the school was completed in 2007-2008, including a new computer lab, were added as of August 2007.

## Awards and recognition
### Most recent recognition

In the 2005-2006 school year, Crews "outperformed every middle school in the Gwinnett County Public Schools system in 14 of the 15 areas measured in the state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests," and was the only school in the district to achieve a 100 percent passing rate. On the math subtest, the school achieved a 99 percent passing rate, according to the Accountability Report published by the school system.
According to the school district, Crews' good test scores are "directly related to the culture of collaboration and professional learning among Crews Middle teachers." The 2006-2007 Accountability Report described the collaboration:
    "Teachers met weekly to examine common assessments, review instructional strengths and students' needs, and discuss and implement research-based instructional strategies. Professional learning emphasized the application of researched-based instructional strategies. These weekly meetings have proven beneficial."

### Intel Schools of Distinction Award

In August 2006, the school won one of 16 Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction Awards recognized across the United States. The annual awards program honors schools for "implementing innovative and replicable programs that support positive educational outcomes and impact student achievement." Crews won its award for professional development. According to the award's website, "Through leadership training, peer coaching, and mentoring opportunities, Alton C. Crews Middle School in Lawrenceville, GA, makes professional development a top priority. Everyone participates in the voluntary program, and creates a culture of collaboration."
In 2010, Deborah Stringfellow was named Teacher of the Year for Gwinnett County Public Schools and was one of the top finalists for the state of Georgia.
Along with $10,000 in award money, the school received $250,000 in "instructional prizes." The school used the money to buy SmartBoards, which are like a traditional chalkboard, but which interact with computers, giving teachers the ability to save what is written on the board or project images from a computer file; and Student Response Systems, which allow students to enter their answers to questions into a handheld controller that sends the answer to a computer. With this system, students punch in their answers to quizzes, allowing their teacher to see instantly how well they understand a concept. Intel gave the school three SmartBoards, and the school bought ten more with the award money.

### Georgia "Pay for Performance" award

In January 2004, the school was one of 68 across the state which received award grants from the Georgia Department of Education in return for meeting achievement goals and effectively collaborating as a faculty. The school was awarded $130,456 for performance in the 2002-2003 school year.

## Academic programs

Math and English cover a variety of topics each year, in preparation for the Georgia Milestones Test at the end of the year. Crews students earn higher scores on the test than other schools across the state. Each year, the scientists studied is just one branch. 6th-grade students study earth science (rocks, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy); 7th-grade students study life science (mostly biology, some ecology); and 8th-grade students study high school physical science (physics and chemistry), and have the option to earn high school credit for the class. Social studies is done in a similar fashion.
In 2005, the school began offering Latin language classes, and out of 445 eighth grade students, 104 elected to take the course. Latin is no longer offered at the school.
At Crews, "Connections" classes (sometimes called "specials" in other schools) are extra classes which still make up part of a student's academic grade. Three Connections classes are electives, and these are all musical in nature: Band, Orchestra, and Chorus. As of the 2015-16 school year, the students have little say in which Connections classes they take. Other Connections include Computer Science, Art, Technology Education, Peer Leading (8th grade only), and Media Center Assistants (7th and 8th grades only).
"Probe" or "gifted" classes are advanced courses in certain subjects: English, math, social studies, and science.
In "inclusion classes," for one period a day, a special education teacher and the regular education teacher "team teach" the same class, in order for special education students (as well as regular students) to get more attention. Inclusion classes are taught in social studies, math, language arts, and mainly science (since special education teachers, who can teach the other three primary subjects on their own, cannot teach science in each grade level). There are no inclusion Connections classes.

## Student programs

Alton Crews Middle School offers choir, band, orchestra, and a yearly theatre production.