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Our Mission

The Mission of Hightower Trail Elementary School is to empower every student to thrive within a world-class culture of excellence.

Our Vision
Through increased learning, growth and achievement, students will recognize and optimize their fullest potential.

Our Collective Commitments:  In order to achieve the shared mission and vision of our school, Hightower Trail staff have made the following collective commitments:

  • I will be a reflective and positive contributing member of our professional learning community.
  • I will be intentional with planning, instruction, and data analysis. 
  • I will monitor high levels of student learning through multiple sources of data including common formative assessments. Ongoing remediation and/or enrichment will occur at the first sign of struggle or success. 
  • I will provide parents with the academic progress of their child, resources, strategies, and information to help students succeed so that parents and students succeed at high levels
  • I will utilize high-effect size instructional strategies to promote success and authentic engagement for all students. 
  • I will model, teach, and reteach positive, expected student behaviors through the PBIS framework.
  • I will maintain and communicate high expectations both academically and behaviorally for all students. 


History of Our School

Our beautiful school was constructed in 1988. The school was named by the Rockdale County Board of Education to commemorate the historic significance of the Hightower Trail which runs through north Rockdale County. Hightower Trail students chose their school mascot and school colors. Our mascot is a Native American, named Chief Trailblazer, to honor the trailblazing spirit of the Native Americans and the pioneers who inhabited this area long before our time. The school colors are red and gold: red represents the red Georgia clay and the gold represents the beautiful gold color of the leaves in autumn. We are proud of our school and strive to keep it as beautiful as the day it first opened 24 years ago!
School Information

Picture of the Front of School

History of Hightower Trail

Hightower (Etowah) Trail, one of the best marked Native American Trails in Georgia, was a much-used crossover between two of the noted Trading Paths radiating from Augusta. From 1817-21, it marked the Georgia frontier, and was used by pioneer families settling this section. Recognized as a former boundary between Cherokee and Creek lands, a part of it became, by Act of General Assembly 1822, the boundary line between Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties. After northwest Georgia was opened to settlement in 1832, numerous pioneers migrated over this old trace and many built their homes along it. The trail remained a main road until the 1840s. The name of the trail is believed to come from the Cherokee, Ita-Wa, but the first English to visit this section pronounced and recorded the name “Hightower.” Today, most visible remains of the trail have been erased by urban settlement, but segments of it remain in use as part of present day roads.

Click Here to See a Map of the Trail

HTE Partners in Education 
HTE teachers, staff, and students would like to thank the following partners for supporting our school:

Publix
Crossroads UM Church
O'Charleys
Moe's Southwest Grill
Honey Baked Ham
Oasis Heathcare Clinic
Sign Solutions



 

Our School

Grades: K-5
School Colors: Red and Gold
School Mascot:
Trailblazers
Student Hours: 
7:35 a.m. - 2:10 p.m.
Enrollment: 670 
# of Certified Staff: 57
Year Opened: 1988
Principal:  Toi Sampson
Assistant Principal: Anthony Browning

Driving Directions

Take I-20 East from Atlanta and take Exit 82. Go North on Georgia Hwy 20/138 (Exit 82). School entrance is on the left, just north of the Georgia International Horse Park.

View a Map

Strategic Plan