Harris Elementary School

Harris is a Georgia School of Excellence. It was one of 4 schools in Georgia to be recognized and given an award as a Family Friendly School. It is the only school in the entire southeast to win the award as an Urban School of Excellence. Dr. Burton, the principal, always has two goals. One is to educate children and the other is to keep them safe. Everything she does is with these goals in mind. Dr. Burton and the entire staff at Harris are GREAT!!!

This was our 1st year at Harris and we will not be returning. I had one in 5th and one in K. I truly enjoyed all of my teachers. I know my 5th grader had a successful year learning and pasting all subjects, solely to Mrs. McCraw, his Teacher. She really went over and beyond the call of duty to educate her class by staying late to tutor, sending home additional study books and guides. My K had two caring teachers and was well instructed although her class environment was not as structured as I thought it should be (I am an educated Prek teacher and my class had more self control). I also feel that she could have learned more but over all she and I enjoyed both Mrs. O and Mrs. Knox. Now for the Principal, Dr. Burton. Her leadership is absolutely and unnecessarily degrading, condescending, and even harassing. I went to visit my children in school and was told that I could not see my children because I did not schedule an appointment and it would be disruptive to their educational process. I did LOUDLY complain that I did not agree with this policy. Dr. Burton became upset and asked me if I wanted to sign my children out of school. I responded but this would disrupt their learning process! She called the resource officer, Gwinnett’s finest, to help explain this policy of not allowing me access to my children. After meeting with her, the officer and one of the three assistant principals, I complained to the Board. We met again with a Board member and Dr. Burton learned that she was not able to neither intimidate me nor keep me away from my children. Harris left me with the impression of the 1960’s era. My K will be attending private school next year not just for the education but for the environment.

To my great surprise, Harris has proven to be a great school for our son. We came from the private school sector and was a little apprehensive about a public school with a 60% free lunch student body. With this noted, we can honestly say that our son has been challenged academically and nurtured emotionally. Our son is in the gifted program for reading and math and we found the program to be rigorous. We are a "education first" minded family and would have been ready to move out of the cluster if this school could not live up to our expectations. Ultimately, the teachers and administration for the past two years have proven to be stellar. The principal is very hands on, committed and tuned into her school on every level. IMO Harris is a diamond in the rough. This school is on the verge of academically surpassing Mason and Chattahoochee elementary. This is telling to me because both schools have a more economically advantaged population and a more committed PTA.

Both of my children have attended BB Harris and we have had an excellent experience. The staff and administration are top notch. The energy and atmosphere at the school are impressive. It's a great school!