James Rayford

Director of Academic Support

James Rayford earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics Education from Rust College in Holly Springs, MS and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University. He spent part of 2022-2023 school year as a high school administrator in Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) and has returned to serve as Director of Academic Support and leads the district’s Community-Based Mentoring Program. He has witnessed the program’s growth and expansion to serve both African-American and Hispanic boys and girls. The program has recruited over 600 community and GCPS employees to serve over 2,000 students in the past five years. He has engaged the community to lead 12 successful golf tournaments to support the program. In addition, to the enrichment activities, summer camps, field trips, career summits, the program has also awarded over $25,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors to continue their postsecondary education.

Prior to this position, he served five years as principal of both Lilburn Middle School and Nesbit Elementary School. He also worked as a Program Manager at Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC), where he managed the Georgia Industrial Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) Program that places middle and high school math and science teachers in summer internship positions. He spent nine years as a middle school and high school math teacher. He is married and have four adult children who Gwinnett County Public Schools graduates.