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Elementary Employees of the Month
Anne Street Elementary
Shavon Beckett and Marcy Blackmon are the Employees of the Month for Anne Street Elementary. Ms. Beckett organized all grade levels by creating a calendar of pre and post tests for our 9+1 model as well as making sure that all grade levels had their assessments in a timely manner. Mrs. Blackmon spent countless hours planning and organizing the Fall Festival for our school. The festival was a great success and enjoyed by parents, students, and staff. Our appreciation goes out to these ladies for a job well done.
Atkinson Elementary
Atkinson Elementary School would like to recognize Vetrece Jefferson for Employee of the Month. Mrs. Jefferson, 5th grade teacher, is dedicated to improving math skills for all students at Atkinson Elementary. She is sharing her knowledge with students and parents as an instructor for the UGA MAPPS program. We are proud of Mrs. Jefferson's professional growth and encourage her to "Keep Working."
Beaverbrook Elementary
We would like to recognize Jamie Reid and Marlina Bell as Co-Employees of the Month at Beaverbrook. They have been vital assets to our school by assisting with PBIS activities and our Literacy Day Program. We appreciate them for going the extra mile for our students and our school.
Cowan Road Elementary
Cowan Road's Staff Member of the month is Natalie Walters. Natalie serves as a grade level chair, SRI coordinator, and Reading Bowl chair. She is genuinely interested in the success of her students and holds them accountable for reaching individual goals. She continuously seeks to grow professionally and applies new knowledge to her instructional practices. Thanks Natalie for all that you do!!
Crescent Elementary
Connie Howard, first grade teacher has gone above and beyond this year to meet the needs of her students. She has shown great enthusiasm in meeting with parents so that they can help their children at home. She has planned activities that challenge and engage all learners. Thank you, Connie, for your willingness to ALWAYS do whatever it takes to help our students. You are a real team player!!
Futral Road Elementary
Futral Road is proud to recognize the members of our Math Team (Sandra Long, Gayle Harvil, Sandra Hogan, Cynthia Curtis, Lelia Davis, Andrea Smith, Mattie Eason, and Wendy Turner) for their hard work and expertise in organizing and implementing the Alice in Numberland Math Day. All students participated in fun and challenging math activities focused on Georgia Standards.
Jackson Road Elementary
The JRE Employee of the Month is Melinda Owens. Mrs. Owens works tirelessly to make things happen at JRE. She is dedicated to our school, serving as a role model and mentor for other teachers. Mrs. Owens is a model classroom teacher, and her passion for our students is evident through her instructional practices and her high expectations for both behavior and achievement. She is truly here for our students, our staff, and our school. Her positive attitude and ability to lead and assist others in adapting to change makes her an invaluable member of the wildcat family!
Jordan Hill Elementary
Our staff member of the month is Heather Ingram. Heather is always an encouragement! Her positive attitude is a breath of fresh air! She works hard for the students, parents, and staff of JHE. She is always willing to help and does a fantastic job!!!
Moore Elementary
Please join us in recognizing our PBIS Team: Kelly Clark, Angaline Gatling, Lisa Johnson, Nicole Manns, Tedra Mullins, Ashley Reid, Jameelah Reed, Misty Willis and Dr. Tesha Woodard as the Team of the Month. What is noticed most about this group is their teamwork. Everyone plays an active role in providing noteworthy events and recognition's for our students and staff.
Orrs Elementary
Orrs would like to recognize our entire staff for the great job they did with getting parents to participate in Parent Teacher Conferences. On Thursday, Oct 24 we had an outstanding turn-out of parents for conferences and they were eager to find out how their students are achieving at school. We had over 500 parents to attend the conferences. Our teachers were prepared with data and discussed the Learning Targets that students are using to push them toward meeting standards. We asked parents to begin to talk with their students about what their learning targets are and if they are meeting their targets. Thank you Orrs Staff for working hard every day!!!
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SCHOOL SHOUT-OUTS
DONATION FOR MAINSTAY
Mainstay Academy was given a $5,000 donation from BELK last week! They were selected from a group of candidates and recognized for their work with youth in our community. Mainstay was thrilled!
GaDOE RECOGNIZES MOORE ELEMENTARY
Moore Elementary School was recognized by the Georgia Department of Education as one of the schools that have created and maintained a positive school climate through the implementation of PBIS for the 2012-13
school-year.
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PRINCIPAL IN A BIND!
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JRE held a fundraiser through which students could purchase strips of tape to tape Mrs. Jordan to the wall. Students also got to purchase "vote tickets," for teachers to kiss a goat. These activities were done in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week.
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 SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS
Message from Superintendent,
Curtis L. Jones, Jr.
It is a different day for public education in Georgia. I can't remember a time when we faced so many challenges on an hourly, daily, and weekly basis. I recently read an article that stated in the 1950's three out of four houses on a block had children that attended public schools. Today, the belief is, only one out of four homes on a block has children enrolled in the public school system. Is there any wonder we are having trouble finding true support for public schools? Moving forward, my plan is to continue to support, encourage and enlighten GSCS educators and employees about the issues and challenges we face.
One major challenge is funding. Funding for our state's public schools is at an all time low and the Legislature does not seem to have any sense of urgency to add money back to the austerity cuts, which have devastated public education for the last 11 years. We need Legislators that will lead us to a better place. Our school system is the largest employer in Spalding County. If all of us register and vote, we can make a positive difference. This is why I am supporting the "Register to Vote" campaign. I want to encourage all of you as well as our supporters and the general public to register AND vote.
Each of our schools will receive a "Support our
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Schools"decal to display in hopes that the visibility will encourage and remind people to vote. Please take this opportunity to lead by example and support our schools. No matter your political position, we are all in this together as long as we vote. By getting involved and being a cheerleader for voter registration, you can make a difference in our community and improve the education opportunity for all of our children.
Thanks everyone,
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Curtis
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HR HAPPENINGS
 OPEN ENROLLMENT- OCTOBER 21st - NOVEMBER 8th Additional enrollment meetings will be held on Monday, October 28th from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. in the Learning Center. A State Health Video has been posted on our benefits website explaining all of the changes for 2014 plan year. To view now, click on: http://bcove.me/nsxpuetm The Decision Guide and Power Point from enrollment meeting has been posted on the benefits website: www.mygscsbenefits.com If you have SHBP questions, call the Blue Cross call center at 1-855-641-4862 or visit the website at www.bcbsga.com/shbp  Club Fitness is running a special for SHBP insurance participants: $29.00/$0 down/No contract |
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"With ignorance comes fear- from fear comes bigotry. Education is the key to acceptance."
-Kathleen Patel
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 TKES: A LOOK AT WHAT IS COMING
Message from State School Superintendent, John D. Barge, Ed.D.
Schools are off to a good start implementing the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES) for 2013-2014. This evaluation system helps us maintain a focus on continuous growth and improvement which in turn positively affects student achievement. There are a few essentials that every teacher should know.
Updates to the TLE Platform:
It is simple for teachers to verify that they are "on track" with the evaluation process using the TLE platform. At this point, all teachers should have completed the following steps: orientation, self assessment, and pre-evaluation conference. If you have successfully signed off on these steps in the platform, then you will see a green check mark. Principals can also easily monitor progress using the Dynamic Dashboard.
If you need assistance with any processes on the platform, then quick references are available under the User Guides tab. Other new additions to the platform are topics covered under the Professional Learning Tab. This resource is a great learning tool that you may choose to access or your principal may assign for professional growth.
TAPS Scores:
Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards (TAPS) is the only evaluation score teachers received last year and will receive for the current school year. A possible 30 points are translated into ratings of Ineffective, Needs Development, Proficient or Exemplary. But ultimately, a TAPS score will just be part of a teacher's summative evaluation.
TEM Scores:
This year all teachers evaluated under TKES will have at least one growth measure, whether it is a Student Learning Objective (SLO) and/or Student Growth Percentiles (SGP). Next year (2014-2015), teachers will be awarded a TEM score (Teacher Effectiveness Measure) which is the summative evaluation score under TKES.
The TEM score will be calculated as follows:
- 50% from TAPS
- 50% from a student growth score (SLOs or SGPs)
It is important to understand that SGP data from the CRCT or EOCT for the 2012-2013 school year and the 2013-2014 school year (the amount of growth between those two years) will be used to inform teachers' 2014-2015 TEM scores.
SLO data from 2013-2014 school year will be used to inform teachers' 2014-2015 TEM scores.
Merit Pay:
For the 2014-2015 school year, teachers scoring in the top 10% of all teachers evaluated under TKES will receive a one-time stipend of approximately $2,500 during the summer of 2015. This stipend was written in the RT3 grant language by the State of Georgia and subsequently must be awarded in the manner in which it was written.
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LEVERAGE THE POWER OF TKES & LKES
Now posted! Check out Leveraging the Power of TKES and LKES. This educator engagement video series provides more insight to Teacher Keys and Leader Keys Effectiveness Systems from a district, principal, and teacher perspective. This series is available on the GaDOE's website as well as on the GaDOE TLE Electronic Platform under the Professional Learning Tab.
Please click on each link to view the Educator Engagement video series. 
Champions
District to District
Principal to Principal
Teacher to Teacher
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"The common mistake that bullies make is assuming that because someone is nice that he or she is weak. Those traits have nothing to do with each other. In fact, it takes considerable strength and character to be a
good person."
- Mary Elizabeth Williams
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NEW GSCS TEACHERS RECEIVE SUPPORT UNDER RACE TO THE TOP
Message from Marian B. Sorensen, Race to the Top Coordinator
Research suggests that an effective teacher can actually accelerate student's learning over more than one grade level, while an ineffective teacher can cause students to fall irreparably behind. Recruiting, preparing, rewarding and retaining effective teachers are part of the school reform that GSCS has adopted under the guidelines set forth in Race to the Top. Here at GSCS, we are in our second year of an intense, mentor-based program to provide support to new teachers in hopes to reduce teacher turnover. In addition to mentors, who meet with their mentees on a regular basis, IPTs (Induction Phase Teachers or mentees) meet monthly at the building level for a more in-depth exploration of topics pertinent to their particular teaching situation. District level meetings are held once a month as well, to allow IPTs the opportunity to speak with veteran teachers and administrators on a wide variety of topics such as: student services, RTI, PBIS, System assessments, and how they operate in our system. This year GSCS has 67 new teachers. At a recent district meeting, many new teachers gave the program very positive feedback. Below are some comments made by IPT's: - "I like the idea of getting help/having support measures in place to assist with issues."
- "I believe the mentor program is great, because it has allowed me to meet other new teachers going through the same thing that I am. I love having a mentor that I can go to when I have a question or concern. My mentor has really helped me out."
 - "I am truly grateful for the mentor program, and my mentor. I don't know what I would have done without her. I just wish I had two. Thank you!"
- "Having a mentor helps relieve stress!"
We will continue to listen to the feedback provided by IPTs and their mentors in order to mold the program into one that truly supports their needs and helps develop the most effective teachers for our children. | |
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 TRL: VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR TEACHERS!
Wouldn't it be great to have quality, standards-based digital resources delivered directly to your teachers' desktops with a few mouse clicks? Well, this is possible through the free Teacher Resource Link provided to every district and teacher in Georgia.
The Teacher Resource Link (TRL) is an application that delivers vetted and aligned digital resources to Georgia's teachers. TRL is accessible via the Longitudinal Data System (LDS). The content is aligned to Georgia's standards and pushed to teachers based on the teacher's course schedule. Using TRL, teachers are able to assign digital resources to students based upon the student's performance or by searching for aligned resources by grade, subject, and standard.
Over 15,000 digital objects are already available and new resources from providers like LearnZillion, National Science Digital Library, and the Georgia Virtual School are being added daily. In addition, TRL provides a folders feature allowing teachers to save, assign, and store resources from year to year.
Here is a link to the TRL User Guide and the TRL training videos on our YouTube Channel:
User guide: http://slds.doe.k12.ga.us/SiteCollectionDocuments/TRL-User-Guide.pdf
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmxiZEcSYvq_gsAhcFjTxv-by8USqwiDJ
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 GSCS CELEBRATES NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH WEEK
Griffin-Spalding County School System got an early start on this year's National School Lunch Week. Schools in the system celebrated School Lunch Across the USA a week early due to Fall Break. To promote the benefits of healthy school lunches, this year's theme, School Lunch Across the USA included events and activities that promoted the flavors, ingredients and culture of various regions of the USA.
Each day of National School Lunch Week spotlighted a different region of our nation with meals such as teriyaki chicken rice bowls. BBQ pork, 3-Way Cincinnati Chili, and chicken fajitas. All meals were planned to meet the Healthy Meal Standards that are provided to students every day.
 A highlight of this year's NSLW were the guest servers who donned aprons and hairnets to help GSCS nutrition assistants serve meals to students and staff. Guest servers included Police Chief Frank Strickland, Sheriff Wendell Beam, Commissioner Shaheer Beyah, as well as representatives from the fire department, National Guard, and Griffin High football Bears. Central Office staff, principals, counselors, and teachers also supported the event by serving meals to students.
Each day, more than 7,900 children eat school lunch provided by Griffin-Spalding County School Nutrition Services. School nutrition managers and staff invite parents, families and community members to join us for lunch and support Happy, Healthy GSCS Nutrition."
 
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September Most Valuable  Parent
Message from Jessica Layfield, Parent and Community Engagement Coordinator
The Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) Most Valuable Parent (MVP) Program had a great start to the year! Fourteen MVPs were recognized from 12 of our schools for the month of September. The MVP Program started as a way to thank volunteers who dedicate their time and service to our schools. Though it says "parent," this award can be given to any school volunteers-grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and friends. We encourage and appreciate volunteer service from any individual.
Each month, a District MVP is chosen by our Superintendent, Dr. Jones. For the month of September, Walter Ragland from Moore Elementary School was selected as our District Level MVP. In addition to being recognized at the October 1 Board of Education meeting, Mr. Ragland also received a gift card donated by Chick-Fil-A. Mr. Ragland has logged 40 hours of volunteer work since the beginning of school. In addition to volunteering around the school, he has taken on the role of mentoring several 5th grade boys. He is a great asset not only to Moore Elementary School, but to our school system.
Below Mr. Ragland shares his thoughts about volunteering with GSCS:
What made you interested in becoming a parent volunteer?
All of my children are grown, so I have a lot of free time. I was speaking with my friend, who is a librarian, and realized that a lot of children in school today lack male role models. I wanted to go and help since when I was growing up, schools didn't seem to have any program like that.
What advice would you give other teachers trying to recruit parent volunteers like yourself?
Keep sending out newsletters and encouraging parents to volunteer. Don't give up on us and continue to do what they do.
What inspires/motivates you to continue to volunteer?
Mentoring children that come from a single parent household. I see the strain and pressure that the single parents are under trying to stay involved in their child's education. I hope to be there to help build upon that support.
We sincerely appreciate all that volunteers do for our school system. We are looking forward to recognizing our October MVPs soon and bringing you another interview from our future District winner.
If you would like to fill out a volunteer application, please visit the following link: http://tinyurl.com/lvwh5kq.
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HATS FOR HOPE
Jordan Hill Elementary School students raised $237 for Hats for Hope, in support of Jay's Hope, an organization out of Macon, Georgia that assists families of children suffering from childhood cancer. Students gave $1 to wear a hat to school and give HOPE to local kids! The mission of Jay's hope is to improve the quality-of-life of children with cancer and their families in Georgia by extending HOPE through social, emotional, spiritual, educational and financial support.
 | | Jordan Hill fifth graders, Nova Lee Bussey & Mary Katelyn Brownlee show their support. |
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GSCS KIDS COMMUNICATE
"I said words today that I never thought I would ever say while at work....
"No, we can't lick our friends!"
Students were asked to write what they are thankful for on a paper turkey.
1. "The garbage trucks that pick up my garbage cans."
2. 1.) My TV 
2.)My life and stuff
3. My food
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Please email funny comments to laura.beaber@gscs.org.
(All comments will remain anonymous)
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