On Aug.17, Avon Grove School District (AGSD) welcomed its teachers back to school with the annual convocation, centered on celebrating points of pride throughout the community.

The day began with opening remarks from the Superintendent of Schools Dr. M. Christopher Marchese, and President of the Board of School Directors, Dr. Dorothy Linn. Next, staff members gathered on the Avon Grove High School (AGHS) football field for a photo before boarding school buses for a field trip through the Avon Grove community. 

Approximately 400 staff members traveled throughout the AGSD community, learning about the community from tour guides and stopping at various points of pride along the way. 

“We wanted our staff to gain a deeper understanding of the community in which they work and the community in which our students and families live,” stated Dr. Natalie Ortega-Moran, assistant principal on special assignment.  

With the assistance of local historian Scott Steele, Ortega-Moran provided tour guides with information on historic, unique, and diverse points of pride within the district. Buses drove past William Penn’s settlement in the White Clay Creek area and the New London Academy, where signers of the Declaration of Independence attended school. In addition, local mushroom farms, vineyards, community organizations and higher educational institutions welcomed the staff with a personal look inside their organizations. 

AGSD staff returned to the high school to attend a Community Partnership Fair, where local organizations shared information about their services and involvement with the community. The event provided an opportunity for AGSD staff to establish relationships and become personally acquainted with many of the local organizations that serve the district's students.