Education
Summer Reading Recommendations from the Community for Adults and Kids
To read or not to read… is not the question. The real question is… what to read this summer? We asked librarians, community leaders, students and more to give us their top title choices for a great story or an excellent poolside read.
Big Nate series, written by Lincoln Peirce
The books are a humorous comic for young readers with 15 books in the series. It is about a 11-year-old boy whose friends are named Francis Pope and Teddy Ortiz. His hobbies are playing chess, baseball, basketball and cartooning. He is often sent to detention by his least favorite teacher, Mrs. Godfrey.
His enemies are Gina, a girl who always says she is smarter than him, which is true — and usually finds herself in academic competitions with Francis. Another one of his enemies is named Arthur. He is great at everything and makes Nate jealous. Also, Nate is the all-time record holder for detentions in school and is convinced that his destiny is unshakable.
Zara Praveen
A Series of Unfortunate Events, written by Lemony Snicket (real name Daniel Handler)
The series details the journey of three orphans being relentlessly pursued by a wicked Count out for their fortune. It’s a series that is more than likely to keep you busy, spanning 13 main novels as well as some extension works. It’s suitable for a plethora of ages.
I originally read it around 7 years old and loved it. I recently reread it and found that my love for it had not faded. It is a completely immersive experience. You find yourself immensely frustrated at most characters that aren’t Violet, Klaus or Sunny for not realizing the threat of Count Olaf. In other words, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to practically anyone!
Sharika Awasthi
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
This book is an easy and inspiring read. What I love about it is that it challenges you to pursue your zone of genius, your natural gifts and to keep a positive mindset. It also lays out the steps to teach you how to do this. It’s perfect for those who are searching for “more” out of life. I hope that others enjoy this book as much as I do.
Rena Williams
What If? by Randall Munroe
It answers questions like “What would happen if you threw a baseball at 90% the speed of light?” or “What if you made a periodic coffee table out of all of the elements of the periodic table?”. It is a (mostly) well-researched and fun tour through physics, computer science, chemistry and Earth science.
I recommend this book because it teaches me to think creatively with science. It poses creative questions and answers them with solid research and novel ideas. Also, the art includes some of the best stick figures you could ask for.
Brandon Horsley
Physics and Robotics, Paul Duke STEM High School
Choice 1: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson — Great read for any teenager who just went through our modern pandemic.
Choice 2: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson — It is just so detailed and beautifully written. The author connects the true tale of the 1893 World’s Fair and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. The book is so detailed and combines extensive research with nail-biting storytelling.
Dr. Jonathon Wetherington
Principal of Paul Duke STEM High School
Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sis
This is a sweet summer read about a young boy who explains to his grandfather in a letter that he has not forgotten about school because he continues to enjoy writing, math and geography through the imaginary world of ice cream!
Dr. Taffeta Connery
Principal of Simpson Elementary School
Cloth from the Clouds by Michael Catchpool
This is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations that teaches children (and adults) to treat the Earth with care and to take only what we really need. It’s a great lesson on stewardship over our planet.
Angelina Whitaker
Blue Sky Law
Picture Books:
The Good Egg by Jory John — Funny story that encourages self-care and accepting others.
I Am Enough by Grace Byers — All about loving who you are!
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan Higgins — Hilarious story about a dinosaur named Penelope meeting her classmates.
The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freeman — A great story about leaving your comfort zone.
I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes — Celebrates individuality!
Novels:
The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer — Combines the modern-day world with fairy tales.
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper — A must read for everyone! The story is told through the eyes of a child with cerebral palsy.
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley — Set in WWII, this story presents a love/hate relationship with its characters.
Front Desk by Kelly Yang — Story full of empathy and compassion and tough lessons about today’s world. The themes address poverty and injustices in a migrant community.
Allison Anderson
Greater Atlanta Christian School Lower School Media Specialist
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate — This book chronicles the journey of three very young and different women looking for the one person who binds them together just after the Civil War, and a young teacher in modern times who rounds out the connections. I found the bravery, the persistence and the innovation displayed by these women inspirational and entertaining.
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd — Since Jewish men in the culture of his time either married or were ostracized, what if Jesus were married? I gained deeper understanding about the culture, as well as the rules and expectations of women.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig — What if we could experience the consequences of different choices in our lives, and what if the outcomes of a different choice don’t match our imagined outcomes
The Guardians by John Grisham — People who are unfairly incarcerated need advocates, and this story introduces us to some interesting characters who are on a mission.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah — This painful description of life in the Texas dust bowl and the disappointing alternative awaiting the family in California puts wearing a mask to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19 into vivid perspective.
Betsy Corley Pickren
WoodFire Leadership, LLC and Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce board member
Sixty Things to Teach College Kids Before They Graduate by Cliff Bramble (local author)
This life skills book is not only concise, thoughtful and easy to read, it is a perfect gift and keepsake for any young person heading out into the world. It also covers a lot of topics that parents may worry they “forgot” to teach their children when they leave home.
Cathy Nilsson
Boundaries with Teens: When to Say, How to Say No by Dr. John Townsend
I picked up this book since I now have a teenager in the household. While much of the book is common sense, it serves as a good tool navigating this next season.
Colin Creel
Principal of Cornerstone Christian Academy
Know What You’re FOR by Jeff Henderson
Two thought-provoking questions are the foundation of this book: 1) What do you want to be known for, and 2) what are you actually known for? After reading this book as a company in “book club” format, our team reflected on vision, purpose and core values. We worked together to identify gaps between the questions and develop strategies to narrow them. We experienced awesome discussion, enthusiasm and excitement about potential to positively impact our communities, clarity on how to do so and opportunities for additional growth. This is not just a business book, it’s a strategy for life book that will challenge and invigorate you to dream big!
Wendy Willis
Business Development at Tandem Bank, Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce member
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler
I have enjoyed reading (on several occasions) a book titled, Crucial Conversations. Stephen Covey wrote the foreword for the book: “Crucial Conversations draws our attention to those defining moments that literally shape our lives, our relationships and our world…This book deserves to take its place as one of the key thought leadership contributions of our time.”
Steve Dorough
Past Chairman of the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
It’s Brooklyn, 1970s. Hot and humid with the corner fire hydrant spraying water and Stevie Wonder blaring out a window. Adult August is transported back to this time, hanging with her friends on the block, weaving their way through adolescence, innocently seeing the city and its people as beautiful but quickly learning the dark side to another Brooklyn. This short read is a poetic coming-of-age story about friendship, loss and resilience, and the weight memory holds for a black woman visiting home.
Erin Twohig-Canal
Lockridge Forest, Peachtree Corners
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor (winner of the Pulitzer Prize)
The perfect book for lovers of history and historical fiction as well as those who are interested in Civil War and Georgia history. I discovered this treasure as I worked my way through all the winners of the Pulitzer Prize. While I hesitate to call it my “favorite,” I will say that I found myself deeply engrossed and some of the stories continue to swim around in my brain. Andersonville tells the story of one of the most horrific prisoner of war camps from the perspective of multiple players both historic and fictional.
Erica McCurdy
McCurdy Solutions Group
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Science fiction is not a genre I used to read before picking up All Systems Red. The narrator is the self-named enhanced artificial intelligence Murderbot who has hacked their governing module and gone rogue. Keeping the humans they’ve been assigned to alive (contrary to their name) while dealing with, at times, crippling anxiety and a desire to watch sitcoms and TV shows on repeat is extremely entertaining, as is the action that kept me glued to every page, and devouring the other novellas and novels in the series!
Chanpreet Singh
The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green
This book was a hidden gem for me. I was not too sure about reading it but was so glad I did! It is a historical fiction about the settlement of Louisiana, with a lot of history thrown in. It is a well-written page-turner, and I always recommend this book when someone asks for a recommendation. Not your typical HEA [happily ever after] book, and definitely an emotional ride, but so good!
Candace Ross
If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall
This book inspires you to think about all of the daily activities and things around us that we many times overlook. It makes you wonder about what other details you can include to describe life on Earth and all of its wonders!
Maria Sabino
2nd and 3rd grade ELA and Social Studies Teacher at International Charter Academy.
The Flying Cutterbucks By Kathleen Rogers —The story of how strong women in an abusive military family protect themselves and craft a new life.
How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue —A young woman in an African village starts a revolution against an American oil company that is destroying the land.
Invisible Women: Data bias in a world designed for men by Caroline Perez — Describes how data does not take into account gender in many areas.
Broken Places Outer of Spaces by Shyama Golden — It is a story of how creativity is born from hardship.
Homo Deus: a brief history of tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari — An examination of the history of human civilization in the 21st century
Charles Hawk
Assistant Principal at GIVE Center West
For middle school students, especially the boys: Code of Honor by Alan Gratz
Code of Honor is an action-packed celebration of heroism and family that asks us to look past the exteriors. When an Army Ranger is taken by Al-Qaeda and makes anti-American videos, it is his younger brother who knows his brother isn’t a traitor and decodes the messages he is hiding in the videos.
For middle school students, especially the girls: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling — I promise this is not a book about cacti. After all, the huge cacti in Arizona have multiple arms and Aven has none. People in her hometown are accustomed to the girl who does everything with her feet. So moving is going to be hard. Her move will require her to solve a mystery, make a friend (with a boy who has an entirely different challenge) and help run the family business, all without arms.
Fiction for adults or older teens: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby — The face we show the world is never all of who we are. Bone Gap is a book about what we see and who sees us. It’s no surprise that someone evil would want to kidnap beautiful Roza, her mother told her “there will be boys who will tell you you’re beautiful, but only a few will see you.” What is strange is the eyewitness; he can’t tell anyone what he saw. Told from the perspectives of both the stolen Roza and the misunderstood witness, it’s a book you won’t forget.
Nonfiction for adults or older teens: Undefeated by Steve Sheinkin — Jim Thorpe, known as the greatest athlete of all time, excelled in football, baseball and won Olympic medals in the decathalon and pentathalon. Jim’s story covers the evolution of college football, the Native American boarding school system and his extraordinary athletic success. You will learn how Pop Warner fits into his story and why his Olympic medals were revoked. It’s a great read and an exceptional audiobook as well.
Bonnie Baker
Library Media Specialist at Greater Atlanta Christian School
The 2024-2025 school year has brought exciting extracurricular additions to the International Charter Academy of Georgia (ICAGeorgia), with the launch of new cross country and track programs.
Intended for upper-elementary and middle school students in grades 4-6, the new programs were started by Coach Shawn Nix, who joined the ICAGeorgia staff this fall. She comes to the school with 17 years of teaching experience in the Gwinnett County School System and 13 years of coaching experience. She was named Gwinnett County Coach of the Year twice during her tenure there.
Nix said that her goal in creating the cross country and track programs at ICAGeorgia was to “give students an introduction to cross country, teach them the value of teamwork and cultivate the future generation of runners.”
“The parents are thrilled about the addition of the cross country program,” she added. “They’ve expressed their excitement to me, and they are at practice and meets supporting the athletes.”
Cross country
Twenty-three academy students signed up for cross country this year, excited to be part of the inaugural team.
The season began on September 3 with the school’s first meet at Legacy Park in Decatur, where students competed in the one-mile dash against 210 other athletes from Atlanta area-schools.
Three of the school’s young athlete’s placed, with one sixth grader taking third in the girls division; another sixth grade student placing 24th in the boys division and one fourth grader placing 16th in the boys division.
They recently wrapped up the season on November 13 with a meet held at Midtown High School.
Though the season was short — most meets had already closed their entries by late August, and one meet was cancelled due to Hurricane Helene — the ICAGeorgia team was able to get in two good competitions and a lot of practice sessions.
Track season
According to Coach Nix, some students that were interested in cross country weren’t able to sign up for the team in time, but they’ve said they will be coming out for track in the spring. She’s expecting at least 20 students to join the team.
Track season begins in February, and the opening meet is scheduled for March 8at Lanier High School in Sugar Hill.
Upcoming track meets will feature the following events: long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, disc throw, 3200m, 1600m, 800m, 400m and 4×100, 400 and 800m relays.
Future plans
Following the success of the new cross country and track programs, Coach Nix shared that ICAGeorgia plans to offer more after-school sports in the near future.
“The sports we add will be gauged by an interest survey, keeping in mind the facilities we have,” she said. “But we would love to add basketball and soccer.”
For more about ICAGeorgia, visit them at internationalcharteracademy.org.
Good Samaritan Health Centers of Gwinnett (Good Samaritan Gwinnett) has received state authorization from the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC) to officially launch Access Academy, a private, certificate-granting, low-cost postsecondary education program targeting students of low-income and/or minority households who aspire to pursue careers in healthcare but may lack the financial means to attend traditional college programs.
Access Academy is designed to meet the needs of students from underserved communities, providing healthcare-specific training at a fraction of the cost, thanks to charitable donations and volunteer-based faculty support.
Access Academy will initially offer a five-month medical assistant certification program. Graduates of the program will be able to enter the workforce without the burden of student loans, directly benefiting their household income and financial well-being.
“We are thrilled to launch Access Academy and open the doors of opportunity for those who need it most,” said Shameka Allen, CEO of Good Samaritan Gwinnett. “Our mission has always been to support underserved communities, and now, with Access Academy, we can extend that impact by helping students earn their medical assistant certificates and get their start in healthcare.”
A history of mentoring and education
Good Samaritan Gwinnett has a rich history of educating undergraduate and graduate students in health sciences. Since 2012, the organization has mentored nearly 450 graduate students pursuing medical and dental professional degrees. The cost of precepting just one midlevel student for an average of 168 hours amounts to $10,038, reflecting the organization’s dedication to training and education.
Greg Lang, chief financial officer of Good Samaritan Gwinnett, spearheaded the efforts to secure state authorization and launch Access Academy.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see Access Academy come to life after months of planning and preparation,” Lang said. “Access Academy is not just providing training — it’s offering hope, opportunity and the support needed to turn dreams into reality.”
An ongoing mission
The launch of Access Academy is part of Good Samaritan Gwinnett’s ongoing mission to expand its reach and make healthcare more accessible, both by providing direct patient care and by equipping future healthcare professionals with the skills they need to succeed. Since Good Samaritan Gwinnett’s inception in 2005, more than 52,300 patients have entered the clinic more than 300,000 times.
For more information about Access Academy, visit them at goodsamgwinnett.org/access-academy or email Greg Lang at Greg.Lang@goodsamgwinnett.org.
Pinecrest Academy, a private preK3–12 Catholic school serving north metro Atlanta, has once again been named to the College Board’s Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) School Honor Roll, earning Platinum distinction.
The AP® School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while also broadening access. Schools can earn this recognition annually based on criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit and maximizing college readiness.
“We are so honored to have received this AP Honor Roll Award, as we strive each year to provide every student with a college preparatory experience, which includes the successful completion of challenging AP courses,” commented Amy Bowman, Pinecrest Academy high school principal. “The Platinum designation from AP speaks to the excellence that our faculty strives for in delivering challenging content that prepares our students for college.”
The numbers
During the 2023-2024 school year, Pinecrest had 89% of seniors taking at least one AP exam during high school, 82% of seniors scoring a three or higher on at least one AP exam and 58% who took five or more AP exams. Twenty-one AP courses were offered, representing 30 sections taught by 12 high school teachers at the school.
“Our Class of 2024 earned a 100% acceptance into the college/university of their choice,” Bowman said. “Since the school’s first graduating class of 2007, Pinecrest’s high school has maintained a 100% graduation rate every year.”
AP Access Award
Pinecrest Academy was also awarded the AP Access Award this year. Schools on the AP School Honor Roll may earn the AP Access Award, which recognizes schools that demonstrate a clear and effective commitment to equitable access to advanced coursework.
“AP represents an opportunity for students to stand out to colleges, earn college credit and placement and potentially boost their grade point averages,” said Trevor Packer, head of the AP program. “The schools have shown that they can expand access to these college-level courses and still drive high performance — they represent the best of our AP program.”
For more information, visit pinecrestacademy.org.
For more about the Advanced Placement® Program, visit ap.collegeboard.org.
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