Bethesda Elementary School
Principal: Katrina Larmond
525 Bethesda School Road, Lawrenceville, GA 30044
School Highlights
The following school highlights showcase how Bethesda Elementary School is fulfilling Gwinnett County Public School's four strategic priorities of Empathy, Equity, Effectiveness, and Excellence. Visit the School Profile Dashboard to find more detailed data on our school.
- In its 9th year in 2022-23, our Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Program served children in grades K–5. In DLI, children learned the curriculum in both English and Spanish. We also offered a Spanish Special for all students.
- Bethesda promoted cultural awareness and community unity through celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month , Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) History Month, and International Night.
- To support school readiness, Bethesda hosted rising kindergartners over the summer and offered Play 2 Learn on Fridays during the school year. During Play 2 Learn, families with children, ages 3 to 5, worked with a certified teacher to prepare their children for school.
- Bethesda's parent center provided instructional resources to promote academic success for students. Through parent workshops and evening programs sponsored by the Parent Center, parents learned ways to help their child improve in reading, mathematics, science, social studies, writing, and test-taking strategies. The center also offered English classes for non-English-speaking parents, cooking classes, home buying courses, and partnered with University of Georgia (UGA) to offer parenting and wellness classes.
- Bethesda ES won a $9,100 grant from Gas South for a project titled, Bethesda Curriculum Integration Garden. The grant money was used to revitalize the current garden by making it more colorful, updating the soil, adding cross-curricular items, lessons and materials, and more planters.
- Bethesda's Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) sponsored Harvest Fest, International Night, school dances, and fundraisers to increase family engagement.
- Bethesda offered extracurricular activities such as Chorus, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Safety Patrol, Student Council, Readers Rally, and Robotics. The Robotics Team won the Regional Championship at the First Lego League Regional Competition.
- During Bethesda's annual College Week, college students were invited to participate in a panel that provided students with an up-close and personal view of the college experience. Career Day and Careers on Wheels students provided students with opportunities to learn about a variety careers as volunteers shared information about their workplace, their job, and the education and skills that are required for success in their career.
- Bethesda Elementary School was a pilot school for the EL Education Curriculum. El Education is a literacy curriculum builds students' capacity for three dimensions of high achievement: Mastery of Knowledge and Skills, Character, and High-Quality Student Work.
- Bethesda is a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school. PBIS encourages positive behaviors with recognition for students who exhibit appropriate school conduct.