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We've Got a Plan!
a message from Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones
I don't know about you but I'm feeling pretty good right now.I think we have a good plan and I think that plan will lead to good results.
You are probably asking yourself "what plan is Curtis talking about?" Well, it's a plan that will help us respond to a situation in Georgia that has been going on too long.
I recently read a news article that was entitled: Feds release new high school grad data using common yardstick. Georgia's rate is 67% making us among the bottom three.
The article goes on to say that Georgia has a 67% overall graduation rate according to data released by the US Department of Education under a new nationwide measurement formula. For the first time the cohort method will allow apples-to-apples comparison since every state is using it to evaluate how many of their seniors graduate in four years. Among the states only New Mexico at 63% and Nevada at 62% posted lower rates than Georgia. Also below Georgia was Washington, DC at 59% and Bureau of Indian Education at 61%.
We didn't do well but now we know. There are no excuses. I feel pretty good because Georgia has a plan to increase the graduation rate. Teachers are our best resources. If we can increase teacher effectiveness then we can increase student learning. One way to do that is by changing the way we help teachers grow from evaluations. That's what the new Teacher Keys is about. We are also changing the ways we evaluate leaders with the Leader Keys. I think both of those will lead to improvements in student achievement.
A second area of change for us is the effort to turn around our lowest achieving schools either by transforming them, turning them around, closing them or letting them be managed by professional management companies. In GSCS we have used the transformation model at two of our schools and we've seen great success. I feel good about that.
Technology is a part of the future for us and in GSCS we recently passed a SPLOST that will allow us to put in place 21st Century classrooms and will allow us to fully implement a longitudinal data system so teachers have more information about students. This longitudinal data system will give us better support than what we are getting from Performance Matters. I look forward to that day.
So, I feel good.
Different states have had an opportunity to work with testing companies and understand better what needs to be taught. The new Common Core allows us to all use the same curriculum which will allow us all to be assessed the same and we will be better prepared. We are moving forward with our Common Core.
Let me pause and say thank you to all the teachers who came together recently to look at Common Core and help "unpack" the standards. We can now come to a common understanding of these standards.
Lots of good things are happening. As part of Georgia's Race to the Top efforts we are a part of it. While I am not happy Georgia did not do better on the graduation rates in comparison with other states and while no one is satisfied with our graduation rate, we are getting better. We are getting better every day with every opportunity. We have a plan. And I feel good about where we are in implementing the plan and I hope you are too.
Have a great week everybody.
COL DR -- DARING TO DO BETTER!
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Teacher Keys Effectiveness System
Districts participating in the Race to the Top have new evaluation processes from the Georgia Department of Education. Staff evaluations have changed dramatically in recent months to become the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES).
This system consists of observation and documentation, student growth and academic achievement and student surveys of instructional practice.
Surveys gather student data from individuals regarding the students' perceptions of teacher performance. Advantages of using a survey design include the rapid turnaround in data collection, the limited cost in gathering data and the ability to infer perceptions of a larger population from smaller groups of individuals.
These surveys support four standards: Standard 3 - Instructional Strategies, Standard 4 - Differentiated Instruction, Standard 7 - Positive Learning Environment and Standard 8 - Academically Challenging Environment and reflect the direct experience of students in the classroom.
The surveys ask students to report on items they have directly experienced. Three different versions of the 20-question student survey (grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12) will be provided. The versions are designed to reflect developmental differences in students' ability to provide useful feedback regarding their teacher.
All surveys are to be completed anonymously to promote honest feedback. Only two classes per teacher will be surveyed. Training will be held in January for identified school administrators to ensure a full understanding of how class sections are chosen. In addition, Race to the Top administrators and others are available to assist schools.
Certified educators administer the student surveys. A teacher may NOT administer the survey to students in his/her own classes. The surveys will be open during February to avoid any interference with testing. |
In response to a request from Atlanta radio station Q100, the students at Cowan Road Middle School composed over one thousand hand-written letters to send to currently deployed United States service members. On behalf of all of CRMS, Mr. Miller, Band/Chorus director presented these letters to Mrs. Whitney Mormon, BOE representative who will deliver the letters to Q100 for delivery to troops by Thanksgiving Day. |
Board of education meets FY13 budget requirements using a 19.47 millage rate
After receiving information that showed the local tax digest was lower in value than originally projected, the board of education made the hard decision to increase the millage rate from 19.06 to 19.47 mills.
A projected millage rate of 19.06 (the same as FY12) had been calculated when the board of education adopted the FY13 school year in June.
Jim Smith, Assistant Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer, said, "Our calculation used a growth rate of 0% net tax digest. We factored a 97% collection rate into the estimate.
"The new millage rate of 19.47 for property tax bills is below the state defined rollback rate."
Other points for consideration
* The total tax levy is $500,000 lower than the prior year.
* The millage rate adopted in June was a projected rate only. Until the actual tax digest is calculated by the county can there be a firm millage rate set for the fiscal year.
* The new millage rate of 19.47 was determined to meet the need for local revenue in the adopted FY13 budget.
Actions to reduce the budget already taken include:
* Reducing the number of instructional days and employee work days
* Leaving positions unfilled
- In the past four years 230 positions have been eliminated (1630 to 1455).
- This year alone there are 57 fewer employees than last year.
- The greatest percentage decrease is in administrators, which is down 8%.
- There are 2% fewer support staff members and 5% fewer teachers than in 2012-13.
* Increasing class sizes
* Limiting some athletic travel
* Adjusting the teacher salary schedule to effectively freeze pay increases
* Eliminating the 20 day instructional extension program
* Changing th elementary gifted program by expanding the cluster model
* Reducing number of costly virtual learning licenses
* Combining alternative schools |
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District Literacy Days Underway
Middle school students prepare for a drama presentation of Cinderella during GSCS Literacy Days that ended Friday. District winners will represent us in the RESA competition. Ten young ladies participated in the poetry recitation portion of Literacy Days. Judges selected district winners. |
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Judy Parker, APR
gscs Communicator Editor
Griffin Spalding County School System
PO Drawer N ~ Griffin, Georgia 30224
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~Elementary~ |
Employees of the Month | |
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Anne Street
Carol Ramirez |
Ms. Ramirez joined our staff a few months ago and has worked very hard to support our students, staff, and parents by providing the best possible meals in our cafeteria. Ms. Ramirez is warm, loving and very kind to all that she encounters. We are blessed to have her as our cafeteria manager. |
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Yvonne Harris, Bridgette Jeffries, Stacey Guider and Anika White |
We want to recognize our third grade teachers (Yvonne Harris, Bridgette Jeffries, Stacey Guider and Anika White) for their outstanding |
display of teamwork. They did a great job hosting our school-wide mock elections earlier this month. Our students truly learned a lot about the election process. They |
have also worked together to implement the Write From the Beginning Writing program. Their students have shown growth since the implementation of this program because of their teachers' dedication. |
Beaverbrook
Shannon Cobb
Our employee of the month at Beaverbrook is our nurse Mrs. Cobb. She is very busy and gives quality care to our students and staff. We appreciate all she does for us.
Cowan Road
Tonya Jones
Our school counselor, does a FABULOUS job of keeping our school climate positive.
She is always caring and concerned about others as she leads our behavior RTI and PBIS Initiative. PBIS Celebrations Rock at Cowan Road!
Crescent
Tina Fowler
Ms. Fowler has taken on a new position this year as our EIP pullout teacher and she is doing an exceptional job. She begins her day with her roller skates on and she doesn't slow down until the end of the day. She helps with cafeteria duty each morning, works with students who have math deficits from 7:45-8:45 each morning in the computer lab and then she pulls small groups of students throughout the day to provide instruction in reading and math. She is EVERYWHERE and on top of EVERYTHING. We are fortunate to have a teacher who is able to juggle so many things at once and be such a wonderful and caring teacher for her children. Thanks you, Mrs. Fowler, for all you do.
Futral Road
Crystal Long and Sarah Meeks
Ms. Long and Ms. Meeks are Futral Road's employees of the month for going above and beyond in coordinating our Literacy Day competition. Both of these teachers consistently get involved in "extra" projects to benefit our students. They are always looking for ways to enhance learning at Futral Road and work with our students, staff, and stakeholders to provide the best learning opportunities for our students.
Jackson Road
Alicia Stratton
The JRE Employee of the Month for November is our Media Specialist, Alicia Stratton. Ms. Stratton plans and coordinates many special events in our school, including the Book Fair, World Series of Reading Day, author visits, and Literacy Days, among others. She also takes pictures in our classrooms and at all of our events, and keeps our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages updated, as well as managing all of our equipment and instructional inventories. Ms. Stratton manages all of these tasks while continuing to make the Media Center the heart of our school. She is a truly valuable member of our staff, and we are fortunate to have her at JRE!
Jordan Hill
Latasha Bryant
Mrs. Bryant, Special Education Interrelated, is always helpful to the staff, works well with other teachers, is dedicated to her students, and does it all with a smile. She is a great addition to the Jordan Hill family!
Moore Please join me in recognizing some of the best in our educational field, the faculty and staff at Moore Elementary School. Over the last several weeks, the team work demonstrated by various committees has been nothing less than remarkable. We had Red Ribbon Week, PBIS Celebration, Student of the Month, Fall Festival, Literacy Days, and Thanksgiving lunch; each event was well planned and the participation by students and parents were excellent. You are a great team that don't just talk about it, but make it happen. I would like to thank you all of you for the committed and dedication you do for the students at Moore on a daily basis. "We are committed to the Core!" Moreland Road Coach Terrell Smith In addition to his regular elementary PE duties and responsibilities, Coach Terrell Smith has morning cafeteria duty daily, morning outside car rider duty daily, provides Tier 3 interventions to a child daily, is responsible for an enrichment program daily, has afternoon car rider duty daily, serves on our school council, assists with instructional technology as needed, and took his middle school football team to the championship this year. Coach Smith accepts any and all extra duties and responsibilities willingly and is a vital member of the Moreland Road family.
Orrs
Jennifer Brantley and Rebecca Michalewicz
Our employees of the Month are Jennifer Brantley and Rebecca Michalewicz. They have worked with a group of their peers to unpack common core standards and prioritize those standards which will benefit all students and teachers in our system. They will continue to meet and work with our teachers to better understand the new common core standards. They are both dedicated teachers and are always ready to learn and train others. Thank you, Jennifer and Rebecca for representing Orrs in this important task. |
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Preview the Board of Education Meeting
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the gscs
