More classes catering to gifted and advanced students are also available. Creekland has an assistant principal who devotes most of her time to staff development, and teachers can be shifted throughout the school without increasing class sizes. The same formula, however, can also hurt large schools. Regardless of their size, schools receive state funding for only one secretary and one technology specialist. More activities for students also mean more opportunities for parents to be involved, said Ms. Stafford, the PTA president, whose three children have all attended Creekland.
Parents volunteer as school greeters and often walk through the hallways as an added safety measure.
A Sense of Identity' John H. Lounsbury, the retired dean of the school of education at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville and an expert on middle school education, visited the school recently as part of a group of educators who were preparing to build a large school a mere 1,600 students in the Milledgeville area. It's obvious that in order for teachers to have the impact on kids that we want them to have, we have to do more than keep them together for an hour in math. Ms. Akin said complaints from parents about the size of the school, and the way it is managed, are occasionally still raised when there is a problem with a teacher or a decision about discipline. But it's not a lingering issue because it does work so well. Links to K-12 learning and parenting resources.