Superintendent's Message

I would like to take this opportunity to say how honored I am to serve as the Superintendent of Barrow County School System. My wife and I are proud parents of two Barrow County School System students. It is a privilege to lead the system's staff, as we serve the students and parents of this great community.

Barrow County School System is committed to providing students with a safe, positive learning environment which enables education to thrive. As our district strives for academic excellence, we are focused on developing partnerships with the community.

Our mission in the Barrow County School System is "Boldly Committed to Student Success". We are continuously challenging our entire staff to be Barrow BOLD, where BOLD stands for Building Our Learning Differently. One of the more important concepts I feel is inherent in the philosophy of being Barrow BOLD is the fact that we as educators need to take risks, and that it is ok to try something that may not work at first. No one is going to fault you for trying! We learn from our mistakes in all areas of life, and education is no different. We as educators, and as those that support educators, need to remember that.

We especially need to remember this BOLD mindset when we look at the young people in our classrooms. Embrace the mistakes and make them teachable moments. Glorify the goofiness that comes along, and weave it into the tapestry of learning you are creating for those children. I promise you it will be ok, and that they will learn from it. Those type of stories and opportunities become the touchstones of learning and teaching in the years to come. They are not going to remember the standardized test questions they answered, but they will remember the hands-on physics problem you might be able to illustrate. Never forget that learning (and teaching) should be fun!

All the best,

Dr. Chris McMichael
Superintendent
Barrow County School System