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 GaDOE Library Media Update - November 2017


Table of Contents

  • Superintendent Woods Names New Parent Advisory Council Members
  • Georgia Awarded Second Striving Readers Grant; Highest Allocation in the Nation
  • Georgia Wins Grant to Enhance Computer Science Programs
  • GaDOE’s Georgia Virtual Leading Innovative Efforts in Digital Learning Technologies
  • NGE Publishes New Article on Insects and Spiders
  • Position: University System of Georgia (USG) Cataloging Coordinator/Original Cataloging Librarian
  • Georgia Studies Collection
  • ALA Announces $500,000 in First-time Grants to Develop Coding Programs in Libraries
  • Worth Sharing
  • Going Social
  • GaDOE Media Mailing List

Superintendent Woods Names New Parent Advisory Council Members

State School Superintendent Richard Woods named fifteen new parents as members of his Parent Advisory Council (PAC).

A total of thirty-one members of the Superintendent’s PAC are parents who were nominated by their local school systems, including independent charter schools. New members are selected each year by representatives of the Georgia Department of Education based on the applicants’ responses to questions on how to engage parents and family members to ensure the academic success of the whole child. Once selected, members serve a two-year term on the PAC.

As members of the council, parents will meet two times during the school year with Superintendent Woods to give input on family and community engagement activities and policies under consideration at the state level, and to share feedback on the implementation of Georgia's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan."

Georgia Awarded Second Striving Readers Grant; Highest Allocation in the Nation

GaDOE’s Literacy for Learning, Living and Leading in Georgia (L4GA) initiative was awarded funding through the Striving Readers grant, which was developed to serve children in need. Georgia has been awarded $20,526,600 per year over three years, totaling $61,579,800. Georgia received more Striving Readers funding than any other state, and was one of just three states to receive the funding a second time after the initial grant cycle in 2011-2016.

Ninety-five percent of the grant funding will be sub-granted to local school districts and communities to develop partnerships specifically aimed at improving reading and literacy outcomes for Georgia’s children, from birth to grade 12. Specifically, the sub-grants will be awarded to school districts that work collaboratively with community partners and teacher preparation programs.

The L4GA initiative was developed based on lessons learned through Georgia’s previous Striving Readers grant (2011-16) and the Get Georgia Reading campaign.
"Nothing is more important than making sure all students have the literacy skills they need to succeed academically and in life," State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. "To make that happen, we have to build upon a foundation of early learning that connects all the way through high school graduation and builds in community partnerships -- because we know that what happens inside the school building is not the only factor that impacts students' literacy. This grant allows us to invest directly in local communities to improve literacy outcomes and directly impact the lives of thousands of students." 
 
The goal of L4GA is to improve student literacy learning, teacher delivery of instruction, school climate and culture, and academic outcomes across all subgroups of children, from birth to grade 12. Districts will build community partnerships that ensure early care and learning in ways that prepare literacy learners, and all sub-grant recipients will align interventions within a feeder system (including birth-age 5 childcare providers and elementary, middle, and high schools). GaDOE is required to ensure that evidence plays a central role in each sub-grant. Districts' applications will be competitively scored by a panel of expert reviewers.
 
The Georgia Department of Education will coordinate sub-grants, facilitate all participating partners, conduct an evaluation of the initiative, and utilize data to create improvements on an ongoing basis. In addition, GaDOE will work with partners from successful classrooms, Regional Educational Service Agencies, teacher educators and researchers with expertise in targeted areas for improvement to provide professional learning opportunities for school leaders and teachers. These efforts will build upon other important initiatives, including the ongoing work to ensure that positive learning climates exist in all schools, students have access to print and digital resources, and teachers have peers and school leaders who can give meaningful feedback that improves instruction.
 
“Georgia’s literacy outcomes have been improving for 10 years. We have much to be proud of; however, we must accelerate the pace of improvement if all of our students are to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for their future success,” said Dr. Caitlin McMunn Dooley, GaDOE’s Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. “This grant offers a tremendous opportunity for schools and communities to work closely together to identify student needs and meet those needs in measurable ways. Together, we can fulfill the promise that each and every child in the state will be on a path to reading and writing proficiently.”
 
More Information

Georgia Wins Grant to Enhance Computer Science Programs

The National Science Foundation awarded the Georgia Department of Education a $300,000 grant to align and support the efforts of several Georgia school districts that are introducing K-12 computer science education.

GaDOE will work collaboratively with Wiregrass Technical College, Atlanta Public Schools, Douglas County Schools, Ben Hill County Schools, Brooks County Schools, and Thomas County Schools to pilot “Aligning for Impact: Computer Science Pathways Across Contexts.” Together, the partners will create plans for sustainable efforts that ensure diverse participation in computer science across urban, suburban or rural areas.

"This grant will contribute to Georgia's ongoing work to expand computer science opportunities across the state for all students," State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. "Computer science courses offer students at all grade levels the foundational skills they need for learning across many subjects and lay the foundation for emerging careers in the 21st century."

GaDOE is currently working with computer science educators, industry professionals, and school leaders to develop state standards for K-12 computer science education. The K-12 Computer Science Frameworks are a useful document for this work. Please check in on the GaDOE Computer Science Education webpage for updates and useful resources ​

GaDOE’s Georgia Virtual Leading Innovative Efforts in Digital Learning Technologies


GaDOE’s own Georgia Virtual is leading a national project to transform open educational resources to be able to “talk to each other” through a back-end learning architecture. GaDOE is working with the Advanced Distributed Learning lab (an R&D arm of the Department of Defense) to create this innovative, open environment for digital learning.

NGE Publishes New Article on Insects and Spiders

This October, the New Georgia Encyclopedia published a new article on Insects and Spiders by Marianne C English at the University of Georgia. There are hundreds of thousands of distinct insect species, and they all play roles in Georgia's history and economy.

Position: University System of Georgia (USG) Cataloging Coordinator/Original Cataloging Librarian

The University of Georgia Libraries seeks an experienced cataloging librarian to fill the position of University System of Georgia (USG) Cataloging Coordinator / Original Cataloging Librarian, which is a shared position between USG’s GALILEO/GIL and the Cataloging Department at the University of Georgia Libraries. As USG Cataloging Coordinator, this position has a primary role of managing shared policies and data normalization rules; database integrity, quality control, and cleanup; troubleshooting; documentation; building OCLC data files and maintaining the quality of data in the USG Libraries' catalog; making corrections/improvements to previously cataloged materials, etc.; and the handling of cataloging problems or questions from librarians throughout the University System of Georgia institutions. In fulfilling these duties, the Cataloging Coordinator will work with the USG Cataloging Committee and members of the GALILEO Integrated Libraries (GIL) Support Staff. As USG Cataloging Coordinator, the position is responsible to the Deputy University Librarian and Director of Library Technology, University of Georgia Libraries


Georgia Studies Collection

GPB’s Georgia Studies digital collection brings an innovative, interactive experience to telling the story of Georgia’s history, culture, and geography. The collection includes student and teacher editions of the Georgia Studies digital textbook, over thirty virtual field trips, Georgia Race Through Time adventure game, and Georgia Stories video series.

ALA Announces $500,000 in First-time Grants to Develop Coding Programs in Libraries

The American Library Association (ALA) recently announced more than $500,000 in grants for 28 libraries in 21 states plus the District of Columbia (full list below) to design and implement coding programs for young people. The grants are part of ALA’s ongoing Libraries Ready to Code initiative sponsored by Google to promote computer science (CS) and computational thinking among youth. It is the first time ALA has dedicated funding for CS programs in libraries.

​Worth Sharing

Going Social

​GaDOE Media Mailing List

Do you want to share the GaDOE Media Updates? 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
tvlachak@doe.k12.ga.us