Beta Rho Member Holds History in Snellville

Delta Kappa Gamma is an International Honorary Society for active and veteran female educators. Georgia is the Psi State chapter and Beta Rho is the chapter for Gwinnett County and surrounding areas.

Among the members are Beta Rho president and retired Dekalb County teacher Gerry Tilson and the first female principal of Gwinnett County, Elsie Roberts.

One honored member however taught the first graduating class of in 1958.

Originally from middle Georgia, about 20 miles below Dublin, Ms. Jane Alexander taught Language Arts at South Gwinnett for 19 years.

Her story began when she went to Rabun Gap School and Piedmont College in Northeast Georgia where she worked for her education. She then taught at a few schools in the 1940s, including Tucker High School. When she married, her husband got a job with the agriculture department in Duluth. She taught for two more years until her daughter Shirley came along. In those days a woman had to quit teaching when she began to show during her pregnancy.

 “I had to quit that Christmas,” Alexander said. "Times have changed.”

When she went back to teaching she taught at the old Grayson High School.

“There was a Snellville High School and one in Grayson,” she said. “Then they decided to go Southern Accredited. And, there was to be South Gwinnett, North Gwinnet, Central Gwinnett and East. Some of them pulled out.”  

Alexander was an educator at South Gwinnett for 19 more years. She joined Beta Rho in 1962.

The school has gone through many renovations and additions throughout the years. Originally, there was only one level and two halls.

“We had about 300 students when it started,” Alexander said.

She mainly taught “short-hand,” which is a series of symbols and abbreviations that allows you to write with more speed.

Other than teaching, Alexander and her husband owned 121 acres of farmland where they grew vegetables and raised Angus cattle. That land is now Alexander Park in Lawrenceville.

Alexander’s husband died in 1974. After that she received many offers to sell the land for commercial use. Prior to their moving there, the land was a rundown cotton farm. Alexander’s husband had to put a lot of work into it to get the grass and soil in good shape.

“He worked so hard I could not stand to see it paved over,” she said.

She refused any offers until she received the one for the park.

In 2008, the South Gwinnett class of 1958 celebrated their 50th anniversary together at the high school, where Alexander was honored.

Today, Alexander is 91 years old and volunteers at

Beta Rho holds meetings throughout the year to discuss things such as upcoming projects and parties, new member requirements, scholarships, future meetings and personal testimonies about their lives as educators. About 15 members attended a past meeting in October, which was held at South Gwinnett High.

Tammy Davis, a physics teacher at South Gwinnett and a special committee member of Beta Rho, gave examples of how things have changed since she began teaching at the school in 1991.

“I was thinking about how when copiers came into fashion,” Davis said. “Now we have to post homework on a website and if a student misses a class I say 'go check the website.'

"Also we went from blackboards, to green boards to whiteboards. We went from overhead projectors, to ceiling projectors and now its interactive smart boards.”

She added: “The good thing about teaching is you are never going to get bored because things are constantly changing. That keeps it fresh, new and alive.”

For more information on Beta Rho, click here.