GSCS
MIDDLE SCHOOL EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
CARVER ROAD MIDDLE
Carver Road Middle School's Employees of the Month are Ashley Holly, sixth grade math teacher and department chair and Thomas Stinson, sixth grade science teacher and department chair. They both provide strong teacher leadership that drives their departments toward excellence. They also go the extra mile to ensure our students have opportunities to SOAR.
COWAN ROAD MIDDLE
Cowan Road Middle School would like to recognize our assistant principals Chandra Bell and Tony Hall as our Employees of the Month. They have engaged in teamwork and utilized leadership skills to increase student performance, promote safe learning environments and establish partnerships with parents and community members.
KENNEDY ROAD MIDDLE
KRMS would like to recognize James Ray as our Employee of the Month. Mr. Ray is our technology teacher and also serves as the grade level chair for our connections department. He is a member of the KRMS leadership team and PBIS team. Mr. Ray is instrumental in assisting with technology issues and training our teachers. He is a vital part of the success of KRMS. Thank you Mr. Ray for all that you do for KRMS students, staff and parents.
REHOBOTH ROAD MIDDLE
Rehoboth Road's Employee of the Month is Melvin Colquitt. Mr. Colquitt is a custodian at RRMS and is dedicated to keeping our learning environment in tip top shape. He works diligently without complaint and is always willing to take on any needed work. Mr. Colquitt is a positive example of the right
attitude and work ethic our students need to see. He is a valued member of our staff and his contributions to our school are appreciated.
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 AWESOME PERFORMANCE BY GHS PAWBOTICS TEAM
The Griffin High Robotics team, Pawbotics, competed at the state FTC competition and performed very well. They finished the day in 7th place out of 34 teams and were selected as alternates for the Super Regional Tournament in San Antonio, TX to be held in March.
Congratulations to the GHS Pawbotic team members and coaches on an outstanding performance!
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 SOCIAL WORK PAVES THE WAY FOR CHANGE
During the month of March, GSCS is joining the National Association of Social Workers to celebrate and recognize school social workers.
GSCS is very fortunate to have committed and hardworking school social workers. They strive each day to enhance the well-being of our students and their families by helping them meet basic needs.
Thanks for your continuous work to help our students function better in their environments, improve their relationships with others and solve personal and family problems.
GSCS appreciates our social workers!
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Back row (L-R): Keisha McGill, MSW, Ed.S.; Cometa Wilder, LCSW & Melissa Johnson, Ph.D.
Front row (L-R): Beth Shepherd, MSW & LaJuana Carlisle Love, Ed.D
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 BEARDEN'S RELENTLESS SEARCH FOR BETTER WAYS |
Monthly observances:
Music in our Schools Month
National Nutrition Month
Youth Art Month
Social Work Month
Women's History Month
Weekly observances:
March 2-6
National School Breakfast Week
March 2-8
National Foreign Language Week
March 15-21
National Poison
Prevention Week
&
National Wildlife Week
Daily Observances:
March 2-
NEA's Read Across America Day/Dr. Seuss's Birthday
March 8-
Daylight Saving Time
March 11-
Johnny Appleseed Day
March 17-
St. Patrick's Day
March 20-
First Day of Spring
March 22-
World Water Day
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We are half-way through this Legislative season. Education is once again on the forefront with several bills being considered. One of those bills is Senate Bill 133 amending Senate Resolution 287.
Governor Deal would like to have the Legislature approve a constitutional amendment to create a state-wide school district to take over failing schools. Those schools deemed as failing would be brought under the umbrella of a superintendent appointed by the Governor and be given a lot of leeway to turn things around. This proposal is modeled on a recovery district in Louisiana. My research indicates that the schools do not receive additional funding but are given flexibility and autonomy toward improvement.
Currently there is a list of about 140 schools identified as failing. These schools all had CCRPI scores of 60 or below for the last three consecutive years (2012, 2013 & 2014). If this constitutional amendment is put before the voters, passed and becomes law the recovery district would not go into effect until 2017. Therefore I think the current list of identified schools will not be the final one. My thoughts are that the final list would be determined by the CCRPI scores for 2014, 2015 and 2016.
While none of our schools appear on the current list being discussed we do have some that scored less than 60 on the already released 2014 CCRPI. We are almost to the 2015 testing Milestones and many people are saying that CCRPI scores are going to decrease this year due to the new testing. Just because Griffin-Spalding does not have a school on the current list does not mean we will not when this is implemented. The list is going to change. The law states that while they will cap the number of schools in the recovery district to 100, 20 new schools can be added each year. Schools must stay in the recovery district for a minimum of five years and based on their level of improvement can stay up to 10 years.
On the pro side, I think that providing additional scrutiny and support to schools is important. The con is that in Louisiana more funding was not directed to these schools. So they were basically given more opportunity to do a lot of the same things. If you have state rules keeping people from making better decisions then those rules should be removed for everyone. That has yet to be done and should be considered.
So I am cautious and have some concerns about the recovery district. I am thankful that the Governor's office is open to dialog and conversation and is willing to work to improve the bill. I ask you to do some research and become more informed to form your own opinion. For those of you in the classroom I want you to really think about it. What would this mean for you? What are your thoughts? It is important to provide input and share these thoughts with your elected officials as well as our professional organizations such as PAGE, GAEL and GAE. This decision is important. We should not sit on the sideline and allow it to be made without letting our voices be heard.
Have a great weekend!
COLDR
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 SPALDING HIGH NAMED 2015 AP HONOR SCHOOL
609 schools earn honors
Spalding High School was one of the 609 Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools named by State School Superintendent Richard Woods last week.
Based on the results of 2014 AP courses and exams
Spalding High was named an AP STEM School, AP STEM Achievement School and an AP Humanities School.
Click HERE to read the GaDOE press release and view school listings.
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GSCS IMPLEMENTS LIQUIDATED  DAMAGES
Message from GSCS Human Resources Department
We've all seen the research that demonstrates the number one factor impacting student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. GSCS seeks to contract with the highest quality teachers available so that we can prepare each student for college and career by providing a quality, character and standards-based education and meet our goal of 80 X 20. We also seek to employ teachers and administrators who demonstrate loyalty to our students.
The definition of a contract is "a written agreement, especially one concerning employment, that is intended to be enforceable by law." The binding nature is emphasized at new teacher orientation, in the Contractual Employee Handbook and each year when contracts are issued. However, for the past few years, at least half of the teachers who left the school system at the end of a school year requested to be released from a signed contract of employment. As time passes toward the start of a new school year, the quality of the certified applicant pool diminishes.
Due to the uncertainty and difficulty of establishing actual damages that the system will suffer as a result of an employee unilaterally terminating a contract, liquidated damages are established at a reasonable level (unilateral termination means that the certified employee on his or her own accord has requested to leave employment). We have defined reasonable as $750. Liquidated damages are meant to cover the estimated costs of the following:
- Time to process separation paperwork and post the vacancy,
- Time to process termination of benefits paperwork,
- Time to review applications, check references and make a recommendation,
- Time to review and process new hire paperwork and benefits.
Read more...
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 GSCS RETIREMENT PLAN 411
Message from GSCS Human Resources Department
In an effort to provide you with tools to better prepare to meet your financial goals, we are very proud to partner with VALIC to offer an educational workshop on Your Retirement Plan at Work. This seminar explains the benefits of participating in your workplace retirement plan and how generational differences have shaped attitudes towards saving for retirement. It is ideal for our early career employees; those of you who have not yet enrolled in our workplace retirement plan; or those who would like a fundamental understanding of our workplace plan.
In this seminar, you will learn about:
- The importance of saving for retirement
- The benefits of participating in a workplace retirement plan
- The most common retirement plans offered by employers
This seminar will be conducted on Thursday, March 5th at 4:30pm in The Learning Center by VALIC Financial Advisor, S. Allen Laramy, 706.761.4604, allen.laramy@valic.com.
Click HERE to view workshop flyer.
Click HERE to register for this seminar!
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LUNCHROOM INSPECTIONS CONCLUDE "NO VIOLATIONS"
Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) nutrition services observed concerns posted on social media websites, and asked the Spalding County Health Inspectors to complete inspections on all GSCS schools. No areas of concern or violations were reported.
Spalding County Environmental Health County Manager Kelly S. Andrews stated, "We checked all milk dates, the chicken being used as well as cook temperatures for the chicken. We found that all milk dates were current (not expired), no raw chicken was found in any schools and cook temperatures for chicken were in correct parameters. Only commercially precooked chicken is being used. All chicken that has been re-heated from frozen was logged in temperature ranges between 165 degrees and 200 degrees. This is well above the regulation to reheat commercially precooked foods for hot holding to 135 degrees."
Read more...
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Don't get mad. Don't get even. Get stronger, faster and more powerful. Fill yourself with knowledge and empathy and an indomitable spirit because no one else can do that for you. In the end, it's your life, your choice and your world. Give 110%, always."
-- Apolo Ohno,
American speed skater
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 GSCS PRE-K
REGISTRATION PARENT MEETING Parents of prospective Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) Pre-kindergarten students are invited to attend a parent meeting on March 9, at 6 p.m. in the Griffin Auditorium, 234 E. Taylor St. During the Pre-K parent meeting, parents will learn about Georgia's Pre-k program, the registration process and will receive the complete registration packet. "Attending this meeting is very beneficial for Pre-K parents. Receiving the registration information early will give them time to complete the paperwork, gather required documents and make necessary appointments for immunization and ear, eye, dental and nutrition screenings before the Pre-K registration window opens on March 26," said Pearla Hodo, Griffin-Spalding County School System Pre-K coordinator. 2015-16 Pre-K registration will be open from March 26-April 3 at the Parent Service Center, 234 East Taylor Street. Registration hours are 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Registration hours will be extended until 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31.
Read more... |
 GEORGIA MILESTONE
Q&A RESOURCE
The GaDOE has created a two-page Q&A document with more information about the 2015 Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade (3-8) and Georgia Milestones End-of-Course (High School) assessments.
This document provides the answers to the following questions:
- What is the Georgia Milestones Assessment System?
- What is the purpose of Georgia Milestones?
- When do students take the assessments?
- What scores do students receive on Georgia Milestones?
- What types of questions will a student see on the Georgia Milestones assessments?
- Where can I find more information about Georgia Milestones?
- Are students with disabilities or students who are
- English Learners required to take Georgia Milestones?
Click HERE to view the handout. |
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Click HERE for our non-discrimination statement.
Laura Beaber, Editor
GSCS Communications and Partnerships Department
PO Drawer N
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