General School Assistants (GSAs) - The Heart and Soul of Cherry Crest

DID YOU KNOW…?

Every year, in addition to the teachers, administrative staff, and specialists that support our students, Cherry Crest employs General School Assistants (GSAs) that fill a wide variety of roles throughout the day and across the campus. Not only are our crossing guards, recess facilitators, and lunchroom supervisors GSAs, but GSAs put hours in the classroom at every grade level to support teachers, provide one-on-one instruction opportunities and lower teacher-to-student ratios to offer our students the most effective and impactful learning environments.

BUT WHAT ABOUT 2020?

You may be surprised to learn that this year is no different! Since September, GSAs have been joining in on Teams lessons, running many of the small-group learning sessions, and helping our teachers with a variety of classroom content management, grading and other administrative tasks to help our online classes run smoothly.

GSAs are a crucial element in making Cherry Crest not only an exceptional learning environment, but an exceptional community as well. And guess what?!? GSAs are possible only through the generosity of the PTSA, which funds a substantial portion of the annual GSA budget. Funding GSAs is the number one use of PTSA donations – our commitment to directly enhance our students’ safety and learning at Cherry Crest.

BUT DONT TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

We want to share with you stories from our classrooms and our GSAs themselves to get the word out about how important these staff members are to our school and community!

Meet GSA Durga G.

October 18, 2020

Durga G. is one of Cherry Crest’s GSAs and provides daily classroom support. One of the classes she works with is Susie Sung’s 4th grade class:

Durga has been a great support, providing extra help when we need it. For example, I remember there were several times during the first few weeks of school when she was able to meet on a separate call with students who were having specific tech issues. This was invaluable as it is very hard for the teacher to do this during live class time. She continues to provide whole class and small group support throughout the week. I am so thankful for Ms. Durga!

Susie Sung