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 GaDOE Library Media Update - March 2017


Table of Contents

  • GaDOE Partnering with Community Organizations to Encourage Students to Read
  • Percentage of Students Taking and Passing AP Exams Increases Again
  • First Lady Sandra Deal launches Read Across Georgia Month
  • GLMA Summer Institute 2017
  • Explore Georgia's Physical Features
  • NGE Publishes William Grimes Article
  • GALILEO Open Learning Materials
  • Worth Sharing
  • Going Social
  • GaDOE Media Mailing List

GaDOE Partnering with Community Organizations to Encourage Students to Read

The Georgia Department of Education is partnering with Communities in Schools of Georgia, the Yaarab Shriners of North Georgia, and Atlanta City Councilmember Mary Norwood to launch the Red Fez Reading Club, which will encourage the development of students’ early reading skills.

The primary purpose of the club is to improve early reading skills by encouraging literacy for children, families, and communities. As an incentive, children are able to earn up to 10 tickets to the annual Shriners Circus for every 10 books they read between February and May of 2017.

Participating schools can enroll their readers through the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), and print tickets through the SLDS to the Yaarab Shrine Circus & Fair at Jim R. Miller Park in Marietta for students. Please contact Cindy Morley at cmorley@cisgeorgia.org for more information on participation, enrollment and tickets.

“Literacy is absolutely essential for our students’ success, and we need to encourage a love of reading in Georgia’s children in any way possible,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “We’re very pleased to partner with other organizations who care deeply about educating Georgia’s future to offer a fun, creative incentive for reading.”

Percentage of Students Taking and Passing AP exams Increases Again

Georgia 16th in nation for AP pass rates; potential cost savings of $83 million for Georgia’s students and families

The percentage of Georgia graduates scoring 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam during high school increased again this year, even as participation in the exams increased, according to data released today by the College Board. 

Georgia has the sixteenth-highest AP pass rate in the nation, with 22.4 percent of the class of 2016 scoring 3 or higher on at least one AP exam during high school, and is one of just 17 states to exceed the national average.

“Georgia’s class of 2016 recorded an excellent performance on their Advanced Placement exams, and Georgia’s teachers and schools continued to expand access to this valuable program to more students. That’s great news for students and families,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “The AP program allows us to expand access to high-quality, relevant coursework for Georgia’s students. I’m pleased to see that access expanding to more students, and proud that Georgia remains among the top tier for AP performance in the United States.” 

First Lady Sandra Deal launches Read Across Georgia Month

Governor Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal were joined on March 2, 2017 by Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs, Get Georgia Reading Campaign Director Arianne Weldon and local authors to celebrate Get Georgia Reading Day and kick off Read Across Georgia Month, a campaign that supports increased childhood literacy in the state. Dr. Garry McGiboney and Dr. Caitlin Dooley – GaDOE’s Deputy Superintendents for External Affairs and Teaching and Learning, respectively – also attended as members of the Get Georgia Reading Cabinet.

“Learning to read is a language skill that has been proven to increase the quality of life, especially when it is developed at an early age,” said First Lady Sandra Deal. “Our goal is for every Georgian to have the literacy skills necessary to provide for themselves and their families. By modeling and engaging with students, I hope to encourage children to want to learn to read for themselves. Knowledge is power and we want to give them the confidence to acquire that power.”

GLMA Summer Institute 2017

The Georgia Library Media Association’s (GLMA) Summer Institute will be held June 12 – June 13, 2017, in Peachtree City, Georgia. Future Ready: GLMA Empowering Excellence is this year’s focus. GLMA welcomes Audrey Church, President of the American Association of School Librarians as a featured speaker at the institute. The Georgia Department of Education will offer a workshop on Open Educational Resources. Additionally, Shannon Miller will present Future Ready Libraries and Danny Blitch will offer his expertise on grant writing. Wendy Cornelisen of the Georgia Public Library will facilitate a session and many more exciting sessions will be offered. The Summer Institute will bring educators and innovators together from across the state of Georgia. You will gain practical strategies that will empower to you create and sustain a library program that excels.

Explore Georgia's Physical Features

Complimenting GPB's Regions virtual field trip the Physical Features of Georgia trip is now available on their website and the GPB Education app .This virtual field trip takes students on a journey throughout the state of Georgia, guiding them through twelve of the state's physical features and explaining the relative location of each, as well as their environmental characteristics, historical connections, and much more.

NGE Publishes William Grimes Article

The New Georgia Encyclopedia published a new article on William Grimes (1784-1865), the first person to write a slave narrative published in the United States. Born a slave in King George County, Virginia, in 1785, Grimes was bought by a Savannah businessman in 1811. After serving six masters in Georgia, he stowed away among cotton bales on a Boston-bound ship in 1815. In New England he bought property and developed a reputation as a businessman, working as a barber and selling furniture. In the early 1820s, Francis Wellman, his final master, demanded Grimes either pay for his freedom or return in chains to Savannah. Grimes paid $500 for his freedom - everything he and his family had - and suffered homelessness and destitution as a result. He wrote his 1825 narrative - Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave - partially as a means to rebuild his wealth. Grimes died a poor man in 1865.

GALILEO Open Learning Materials

GALILEO Open Learning Materials brings together open educational resources throughout the University System of Georgia, including open textbooks and ancillary materials. GALILEO Open Learning Materials now contains 26 Open Textbooks, 70 Grants Collections (including syllabi, reports, lessons learned), and 27 ancillary resources or sets of ancillary materials.

Worth Sharing

Going Social

GaDOE Media Mailing List

Do you want to share the GaDOE Media Updates with colleagues? If so, encourage your colleagues to join the email mailing list by following the directions on this page

Thank you,

Tony Vlachakis
Educational Technologist 
Library/Media Liaison
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