The Griffin-Spalding Partners in Education is offering classroom/ field trip grants to GSCS teachers. If your classroom, department, grade level or teaching team wants to initiate a program or project requiring up to $1,000 visit the PIE website and complete your application at:  http://www.gspie.org. 

An estimated 7.5 million students across the United States are chronically absent, but their absenteeism goes unnoticed and unaddressed because it is masked by data on average daily attendance and truancy (unexcused absences). Chronically absent students are found in every type of community - urban, suburban or rural. The problem of poor attendance can start early, long before middle or high school. Nationwide, one out of 10 kindergarteners and first graders are chronically absent. In some communities as many as one out of four young students misses that much school.

Whether absences are excused or not, the resulting loss of instructional time is substantial and, for many students, the academic consequences are decidedly negative. Students who are chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to read proficiently by the end of third grade and are more likely to have poor attendance in later grades. By middle and high school, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign that a student will drop out. This is especially true for those students living in poverty who need school the most and too often spend the least time there.

 

Under Georgia's new ESEA Flexibility Waiver, Cowan Road Middle School has been identified as a Focus School because of an achievement gap between subgroups. To close this achievement gap, Focus Schools are required to develop a school turnaround plan. Cowan Road's school turnaround plan consists of a Flexible Learning Program (FLP). During the 2015-2016 school year, Cowan Road Middle School will continue to offer additional support in math. This tutoring will occur five days per week during a connections class.

 

For more information contact: 

Marian Sorensen (marian.sorensen@gscs.org)  or

Joan Hobbs (joan.hobbs@gscs.org)

(770) 229-3722

 

Griffin RESA will provide an in-depth training experience for administrators. We have often heard the question, "Why should my staff use SLDS?" The upcoming administrator summit is designed to answer that question, and many others.

 

Click HERE to view the flyer that goes into more details about the summits.

Griffin RESA Summit:

Date:         Sept. 29, 2015

Time:        10AM - 2PM

Location:  Griffin RESA

Click HERE to register for the summit.

The possibilities for integrating agriculture into the classroom are endless. Projects may cross curriculum and class lines and may be included in any subject area, i.e. science, language arts, environmental studies, math, art, home economics, etc. Creativity and originality are encouraged.