Cherokee Educator Selected To Present At International Conference

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — A Cherokee County School District teacher is one of only two teachers in the nation selected to present at an international conference for educators.

Mountain Road Elementary School kindergarten teacher Kelly Gilstrap was invited by the International Center for Leadership in Education to participate in pre-conference and conference presentations at its 27th Annual Model Schools Conference in Washington, D.C. from June 23-26.

The conference brings together more than 5,000 global thought leaders, innovative districts, and model schools for educational leadership development and sharing best practices.

Gilstrap will lead sessions, along with two of the Center’s senior consultants, on “Quad D Idea Lab: Be Ready for the Unpredictable” and “Quad DTM Live!” The consultants this year have worked with CCSD’s Blended Coaching Cohorts: a partnership of school Instructional Lead Strategists and teacher-leaders, including Gilstrap, who collaborate to make classroom lessons more relevant and challenging through best practices in instruction and instructional technology tools.

CCSD was recognized last year as one of the Center’s 11 Model School Districts selected nationwide. In addition to Gilstrap’s honor, CCSD's Office of Curriculum & Instruction was invited to present a session at this year's conference on “Re-Engineering Instruction for Rigor, Relevance and Learner Engagement,” and a team of CCSD leaders will attend the conference.