A Teacher's Perspective on Student Learning!
a message from Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones
On Tuesday night at 10:33 p.m., a teacher in our school system emailed me some of her thoughts about our efforts to improve GSCS. After reading the email, my first response was "wow." My second response was to share the email with you. Much good is coming about because of what you do. Here is one teacher's story. Enjoy.
Dr. Jones,
I have wanted to have a conversation with you to tell you about wonderful things that I see happening in our system. Since our paths haven't crossed, I decided I'd write so that I won't miss an opportunity to share some things that I think will have a major positive impact on our students.
First, I recently went to some workshops as a part of the mentor program. We were involved in a workshop about autism. The number of our students with this syndrome seems to have increased since I have started teaching and the workshop, for me, was timely and informative. Melanie is always so knowledgeable about our students with special needs and seems to have a heart for sharing best practices for reaching them. Greg D. did a workshop on classroom management. I have learned so many techniques through his sessions over the past couple of years. Lenora presented a workshop on RTI. This is an area that is ever evolving and she answered many specific questions in a way that was both practical and positive for our struggling students. We also learned about the testing process and how our students are assessed from Mrs. Foulk. At the end of the day, I felt thankful that our system values what is most important about our students.
I also attended Core Curriculum planning with Ashley C. We were able to really dissect our new standards and have input into a plan for teaching them most effectively. During the workshop we talked to teachers above and below our grade level. What I got from those talks was that we are making great strides for building understanding of math skills with our students. Mary Mendenhall has helped us to implement Number Talks in grades K-2 and from the conversations, our students are benefitting tremendously. Our middle school colleagues were amazed and expressed that they thought it would make a difference in the long term as well. I truly hope that we will carry this training and implementation of Number Talks into grades 3-5 in the coming year.
I'm also participating in the gifted cohort with Ashley C. I cannot tell you how much I've learned through these courses. We are learning about techniques to meet their individual needs and practical applications for the classroom. Again, our system has set aside resources for several cohorts to become gifted certified and our students will surely benefit.
Finally, I was a part of the system-wide mathematics competition, Math Madness. I have helped each year with this event and I couldn't help but notice how much our students seemed to excel this year. I don't know if it is the new Common Core standards or Number Talks (or both) but our students in every grade level were obviously prepared more than ever before. In ome grade levels we became nervous that we would run out of questions before we narrowed the students down to the top 5. It was asn amazing thing to see! The competition ran seamlessly and Mrs. Gaff pulled it off even amidst all the things going on that could have been an understandable distraction.
From the students who struggle the most to those who show exceptional ability, our system is demonstrating through our actions, that we care about all of them - each and every one.
I know that if you asked 10 different teachers, you would get 10 different lists just like this one. This is just a small piece of what I have seen recently and I thought you should know.
Have a great weekend!
Curtis |
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Board Briefs
At its regular meeting on March 5, the board of education...
- Honored students from the Regional Science and Engineering Fair, Regional Literacy Days and All-State Chorus.
- Recognized Reward Schools (Anne Street, Jordan Hill and Spalding High) with certificates of accomplishment and checks for $3,000 each.
- Approved personnel actions
- Adopted the Federal Grant Budget
- Received updates on Common Core, finances and reviewed the vision and mission as discussed at its retreat.
- Dr. Jones honored the school board members for their service to the district as part of Board Appreciation Month.
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Among those honored at the school board meeting this week were members of the Board of Education. James "Pete" Graham admires coasters with the 60th anniversary logo. |
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A Message from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) contracts with an external supplier to administer the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) testing program. As we shared earlier with you, Educational Testing Service (ETS) was the successful supplier in a recent Request for Proposals (RFP) process. Development of new GACE tests and the transition process from our current supplier, the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson (ES) to ETS, is underway.
First, please accept our gratitude for the initial response from educators and those that prepare educators to the recent invitation to assist with GACE test development. That work began in January and will continue through the summer months. The quality of each GACE assessment hinges on those that participate in the separate test development, bias review, and standard setting committees.
Please review the timing for the committee meetings below and apply to assist in this very important opportunity to help shape Georgia's educator certification assessments:
- April: members are needed for Bias Review Committees for each GACE assessment
- May: members are needed for Test Development Committees for Instructional Technology, Teacher Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction, and Educational Leadership
- Summer: members are needed for Standard Setting Committees for each GACE assessment
To submit an application to assist with any of these committees, please visit gace-recruit.ets.org.
The Transition to ETS from ES
ETS will be the supplier for the GACE assessments (with the exceptions of the Educational Leadership assessment and Professional Pedagogy assessment) beginning October 1, 2013. The Educational Leadership assessment, as well as the three certification upgrade assessments (Curriculum and Instruction, Teacher Leadership, and Instructional Technology), will begin to be offered by ETS in Spring 2014.
We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition between the two testing suppliers. However, because scores from tests offered by different test suppliers are not comparable, examinees must pass all parts of an assessment with the same testing supplier for that assessment to count toward certification. Passing scores on tests within an assessment cannot be split between the two suppliers. For example, an examinee cannot pass Early Childhood Education Test 1 with ES and Early Childhood Education Test 2 with ETS to get credit for completing the Early Childhood GACE assessment.
The August 2013 GACE administration is the final opportunity to pass a GACE assessment with the current supplier, ES, to count for certification. (Exceptions are the Educational Leadership assessment and the Professional Pedagogy assessment, which will remain with ES until spring 2014.) If an examinee does not have passing scores on all tests within an assessment by the last administration of the GACE program with ES (August 2013), the examinee must take all tests within an assessment with the new supplier, ETS, even if a portion of the assessment was previously passed.
Remaining Testing Opportunities with ES
There are multiple GACE administrations with ES prior to August, and we have extended the test titles offered during the supplemental administrations in May and July.
Following are the remaining test dates with ES for which the GaPSC will accept the scores for GACE assessments (other than the two exceptions noted above), provided all parts (tests) of an assessment are passed:
- March 23, 2013
- April 4-17, 2013 - computer-based testing
- May 4, 2013 - supplemental administration with additional test titles offered
- June 15, 2013
- July 13, 2013 - supplemental administration with additional test titles offered
- August 17, 2013 - supplemental administration with most test titles offered
It is important to check test availability for each administration above. Please visit www.gace.nesinc.com for complete testing information. As in the past, not all tests are offered at each administration.
In closing, we look forward to continuing to provide a strong assessment program to you. In addition, we have planned many test and program enhancements with our new association with ETS as the supplier of the GACE assessments.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the GACE program, please contact Anne Marie Fenton at annemarie.fenton@gapsc.com
As always, thank you for the work you do in helping to make a positive impact on student learning.
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| Local Students Win Competition
Regional Science Fair Winners from GSCS |
| Local Students Win Competition
Regional Literacy Winners from GSCS |
Dual Enrollment Meeting to be held
A special information session for Griffin-Spalding School System students and parents interested in participating in the Dual Enrollment program for the 2013-2014 school year will be held at Griffin Spalding County Central Office on Tuesday, March 12. The meeting will be held from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the GSCS Learning Center.
Representatives from Gordon College, Southern Crescent Technical College, University of West Georgia and UGA-Griffin will be presenting information on dual enrollment programs.
These programs allow students to receive dual credits for core high school and college courses. For more information, contact your school's counseling department. |
From Leonora Clarkston on PBIS
12 of our 13 PBIS coaches attended the required DOE training Thursday in Forsyth. We heard some cool ideas from other PBIS coaches. Cowan Middle School and Spalding High School were recognized as operational for their implementation of PBIS for the 2011-2012 school year.
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Employees of the Month
Elementary
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Anne Street
Marcy Blackmon, Kamacia Seay, Jalisa King. Barbara McDowell, Chenoa Brown, Tiandria Wright, Delicia Moses, and Shamae Patterson
Anne Street would like to nominate Marcie Blackmon,Kamacia Seay, Jalisa King. Barbara McDowell, Chenoa Brown, Tiandria Wright, Delicia Moses, and Shamae Patterson who were all of the dedicated members of our Black History Committee. Thanks to these devoted teachers, Anne Street was able to celebrate Black History Month with an educational and enriching program.
Atkinson
Jarri Goodman
Atkinson Elementary School would like to recognize Jarri Goodman as the employee of the month. Mr. Goodman is a first year teacher who has far exceeded our expectations. He delivers science instruction that engages all students and meets the needs of all learners. Students in his classes have shown growth on science benchmarks. His colleagues admire his teaching style and respect him as a science expert.
Beaverbrook
Dr. Chris Bearden
The employee of the month at Beaverbrook is Dr. Chris Bearden. She works between three schools and she has devoted countless hours preparing us for the upcoming Title lll audit. We appriciate her efforts for our students and school.
Crescent
Jennifer Chasteen Nurse Jennifer, as she is known at Crescent, has been a busy bee in the clinic lately taking care of the many needs of our students. She is helpful and knowledgeable about how to meet their medical, physical, and emotional needs and leads our students to live a healthy lifestyle by taking them outside to walk each day. Her gentle spirit is appreciated by all. She is a team player through and through and supports our school in so many ways. Thanks, Nurse Jennifer, for loving our children!!
Jackson Road
Dr. Machelle Garland
Counselor
Dr. Garland works tirelessly each day to support our students and our school. She is a true professional who is not only dedicated to the children at Jackson Road, but to our school and our community. We appreciate her and are glad that she is a member of our team.
Jordan Hill
Keri O'Neill
Sign Language Interpreter
Ms. O'Neill always goes above and beyond the call of duty; she is an excellent interpreter and fulfills all of her responsibilities with professionalism; she participates in all Jordan Hill activities to enhance the educational environment.
Moore
Faculty and Staff
Please join me in recognizing the faculty and staff at Moore Elementary School for being one of the five schools nationwide receiving the National Youth At-Risk High Flying School Award. It is because of your diligence and commitment to the core this award was made possible.
Moreland Road
Laurie Jones
Ms. Jones has done an outstanding job running our new Learning Lab as well as maintaining our new website. Ms. Jones always fills in as needed and is always on time for her morning daily hall duty. We appreciate everything Ms. Jones does for Moreland Road.
Orrs
Third Grade Teachers
We would like to recognize our third grade teachers at Orrs Elementary. They consistently plan lessons that address standards across the curriculum. They also work to motivate their students to achieve and their students have performed well on the benchmarks this year. During our recent Professional Learning Days, they redelivered to our faculty strategies they are using to increase student achievement and show rigor in their lessons. Thank you, Third Grade, for all you do. Keep up the good work!
Employees are nominated by school principals.
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Useful Resources
for You
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It's SPRING FORWARD Weekend!
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Congratulations to Melanie Lynch from Atkinson Elementary School for being named our 2013 Media Specialist of the Year.
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Read the proposed new guidelines for all foods available in schools including fundraisers at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/020113-snacks.pdf and share your comments.
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PIE classroom and field trip grant awards will be announced at the end of March.
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Did you know GSCS has 22 employees holding doctorates!
Memorial Scholarship
Given by the Griffin-Spalding Retired Educators Association
Purpose: A Memorial Scholarship of $1,000 is being given to encourage and reward an employee of the Griffin-Spalding School System who desires to become a certified public school teacher. (This includes substitutes and any classified employees. Please notice that the amount has been doubled from last year.)
Guidelines:
1. Applicant must currently be enrolled in a teacher education program or accepted into a teacher education program. (A form to verify this is included with the application, which is included.)
Applicant must be seeking his/her first certification. Previous winners of this scholarship are ineligible; however, those who have previously applied and did not win are encouraged to reapply.
2. Funds may be used for fees, tuition, books, or any other educational need.
3. Three reference forms must be completed, signed, and included with the application. (Please make copies of the reference form.)
4 A transcript that shows GPA and SAT or ACT scores must also be included with the application.
5. Deadline is April 26, 2013.
6 Mail applications to:
Mrs. Kathryn Lance, Scholarship Chairman
Griffin-Spalding Retired Educators Association
139 Morris Mill Rd.
Griffin, GA 30223
7. Those needing more information may contact Mrs. Lance at klance97@comcast.net.
This scholarship will be presented on Monday, May 20, 2013, at the regular meeting of the Griffin-Spalding Retired Educators Association.
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Join the 885 people on our Facebook page. Let your voice be heard on our wall! | |
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