Performing Arts Center gives school district new abilities
After a hot and rainy summer, Gilmer County Schools (GCS) started back Monday, Aug. 3.
For the county’s roughly 4,000 students, this year will be the first with the new Performing Arts Center.
“That’s been a project that’s been in the works for a few years,” GCS Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley said. “We’re really proud.”
The new center gives GCS an auditorium with just under 1,000 seats, 55,000 square feet of space, and new classrooms for band, chorus, drama, wellness and nutrition.
“It’s state of the art light and sound,” Ridley said.
By basketball season, the school will also have a new auxiliary gym on the high school campus.
The new gym will have additional basketball court space, baseball facilities and softball facilities.
“We’re right on schedule,” Ridley said.
This year, GCS will be focusing on increasing literacy, attendance and supporter services.
On May 5, 2026, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Georgia Early Literacy Act.
This law plans to strengthen the literacy skills of young students by expanding access to literacy coaches; updating instructional materials; increasing focus on early language development and parent engagement; adjusting grade placement guidelines and reading benchmarks; and strengthening literacy preparation for teachers in training.
“We are really, really busy training and implementing new materials to comply with Georgia’s new literacy law,” Ridley said.
For the last year, GCS has been working to improve its attendance figures.
Now, those efforts have been bearing fruit, Ridley said. Incentives and programs have helped raise student attendance.
The school has also implemented behavioral threat assessment teams as required by Georgia’s Comprehensive School Safety and Student Well-being Act.
This law mandates security measures and mental health measures.
For GCS, focusing on literacy has been especially important since COVID-19, Ridley said.
“I felt that [literacy] was the most important aspect of the academic program that we could focus on, because when kids read better, they can do better in all subjects,” Ridley said. “We’ve been a little bit ahead of the curve on that.”
All these aspects have helped set GCS up for a great academic year.
“I’m really proud of everything our teachers have accomplished, and I’m really looking forward to see what they and our students can continue to accomplish this year,” he said.