Education & Experiences
KNOWLEDGE
With School Enrollment Deadlines Looming, Middle School Choice May Be Toughest
A
lthough the second half of the school year has just gotten underway, it’s time for many parents and students to consider the transition from elementary school to middle school. It’s certainly not the only shift students make in their academic life, but it’s probably the most dramatic, most challenging and many say the most important. During this time when children are going through physical, emotional and social changes, they are uprooted from a familiar
By Arlinda Smith Broady
setting and a routine that many have known for several years. Changing classes during the day, taking a different bus to school and often having to change out for gym class can be traumatic for even the most well-balanced individuals. That doesn’t mean that it must be a scary experience. Peachtree Corners has a hidden gem of sorts with Pinckneyville Middle School. Principal Todd Marschke is not only a long-time Gwinnett County Public Schools administrator, he lives in the neighborhood and his children have attended, currently attend or will attend the school. “My own daughter went here my first year as principal,” Marschke said. “I have a son who attends now and another one who will be here soon. But all the students are my kids and I want
Photos by Richard Phillips
the best education possible for all of them.” Marschke is a product of Gwinnett County Public Schools where he attended Head Elementary, Shiloh Middle School, and graduated from Shiloh High School. He is also a graduate of Georgia State University. His teaching career started as a middle school gifted math and science teacher at Alton C. Crews Middle School. Marschke transitioned from Crews Middle School to Lanier Middle School for his first administrative position. For seven years, he served as principal in the Norcross cluster at GIVE Center West before coming to Pinckneyville in 2018.
Good relationships In his many years of educating youngsters, he’s realized that it boils down to strong, healthy relationships. “It all starts with relationships – with all the staff, with the students, with the parents,” he
Left, Principal Todd Marschke Above Marschke greeting students with fist bumps in the school hallway.
said. “If you leave yourself open to develop those trusting, nurturing relationships, you can do great things.” It’s that kind of focus and dedication that drew PTSA mom Shana Cooper to the school. She currently has an 11-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son who attend Pinckneyville. She said right from the start Marschke made her feel welcome and showed that he’s an open, honest and reliable leader. She cited an example of the TikTok craze where kids were encouraged to pull off pranks at school, such as clogging toilets with paper towels, slapping teachers on the behind, stealing school equipment and other forms of mischief. “At a general meeting back in November he was just kind of talking about the upcoming
February/March 2022 ■ Peachtree Corners Magazine
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