GCS Celebrates Inaugural Class of PTLA

After months of intensive coursework and a year-long school-based internship, the first class of the Piedmont Triad Leadership Academy (PTLA) has finished their training and will move on to  becoming full-time principals this coming school year.

The PTLA is an alternative licensure program that prepares individuals from four regional school districts to become principals at high-need schools. The program is funded for three years by North Carolina's Race to the Top grant and is a partnership between Guilford County Schools (GCS), Alamance-Burlington School System, Asheboro City Schools, Winston-Salem County Schools, Piedmont Triad Education Consortium and the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG).

Starting in July, participants are immersed in coursework to prepare them for their internships come August. Then in August, participants move to the schools in their partnership districts to begin full-time year-long internships. After the internship are completed, not only do the principal-interns have a better idea of what to expect in the field, but they also have gained class credit from UNCG to use toward a master's degree if they so choose. Upon completion of the program, participants agree to work for three years in the partnership county.

The inaugural class of the PTLA consisted of 21 educators, including 10 participants from GCS.

The participants from GCS are as follows:

  • Jamyle Kathe Acevedo
  • Adrea Alexander
  • Jason Todd Cayton
  • Amy Day
  • Jusmar Maness
  • Charnelle Newkirk
  • Stephanie Rakes
  • Ashley Triplett
  • Weaver Walden
  • Cynthia White