Susan (Grigg) Graves is coordinator of the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Primary Years Program (PYP) at Sawyer Road Elementary School, a Title I building in Marietta, Georgia. (Grigg) Graves played an instrumental role in transforming Sawyer Road into an IB World School, typically a three- to five-year process that (Grigg) Graves helped the school complete in two-and-a-half years. Guiding the school through every step of the IB process, (Grigg) Graves spent part of her summer helping to co-author the IB conversion charter and was primary author of the implementation grant. She also helped parents understand the IB and PYP processes by working with colleagues to organize parent tours and student-led conferences. The school's test scores improved this past year in every subject area, particularly in reading and social studies. In addition to her IB work at Sawyer Road, (Grigg) Graves founded the school's Oceaneer Theater, through which students from grades two through five participate in producing a spring production at a local black-box theater. She is also co-chair of both the school's Response to Intervention (RTI) Committee and its Student Support Team. (Grigg) Graves was selected to participate in the Cobb Education Consortium, a unique solution-based collaborative involving Cobb County's schools, colleges and universities. She led faculty through a professional book study and has served as formal and informal mentor to many teachers, including the 2008 Georgia Teacher of the Year, Emily Jennette.
1993 University of Southern Mississippi, B.S.
