Good
morning! Welcome to the eighth edition of
GaDOE Updates, a newsletter from the Georgia Department of Education. Every
other week, we send out a roundup of news, information, and spotlights on K-12
public education in Georgia. In between, keep up with GaDOE on Facebook and Twitter.
Remember:
Send your tips, ideas and events to mfrick@doe.k12.ga.us and mcardoza@doe.k12.ga.us. We’re interested in
ideas for in-depth feature stories, too.
Teacher
Spotlight: Dr. Michelle Gowan on the slow rewards of making a difference
The
100,000+ classroom teachers in Georgia’s public schools are on the front lines
of education. They’re nurturing dreams and showing children what’s possible.
And they’re making sure students have the tools they need to make those dreams
a reality. Teacher Spotlights, a recurring feature from the Georgia Department
of Education, introduces you to those educators. To hear from Dr. Michelle
Gowan, a gifted-education teacher in Bibb County, click here.
She spoke with us this week about gifted ed, engaging students beyond their
time in the classroom, and the difficult and important work of helping new
teachers hold on to their passion. Here’s a photo from the opening of a times
capsule Dr. Gowan buried with her students early in her career:
Teachers:
Apply for a STEM Georgia Educator Laureate Award
The
awards will reward Georgia K-12 classroom teachers for exceptional work in
STEM; teachers are provided with a list of activities they can complete to earn
digital badges worth specific points. The current award time frame runs from
Aug. 18, 2014 to Aug. 1, 2015, and you can access further information here.
Around
DOE lately
2014
ACT results released Wednesday show Georgia at the top of the pack among
Southeastern states, outperforming Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, West Virginia and South Carolina.
Georgia students also scored higher than those in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan,
Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Arkansas, Hawaii, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and
Arizona. Learn more here
and view scores here.
State
Board of Education members are holding public hearings in their congressional
districts, with the purpose of hearing comments from interested citizens and
educators regarding the performance and problems of public education –
including comments about the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards in
Mathematics and English Language Arts, as part of the State Board’s formal
evaluation of these standards. Click here
for more information and a schedule of upcoming hearings.
For
those looking for examples of effective practices in Georgia, this site
contains brief descriptions of successful instructional strategies and
practices employed by teachers in Georgia schools. Each example includes both a
brief description and contact information for an administrator or teacher who
can provide more information.
Around
the districts
We
asked teachers, parents, and students around Georgia to send us their first day
of school photos. The result: photos of future engineers, nervous first-day
kindergarteners, sleepy first mornings, kickoff pep rallies and everything in
between. View the album here.
Plenty
of good work went on this summer as well. The Rivers Eve Elementary PTA sent
this photo from the school’s first Summer Bridge Program; it ran for three
weeks and more than 150 students participated in project-based technology,
math, STEAM, engineering and writing classes. The program allowed the school to
challenge and support students and prevent a summer slide in learning,
Principal Neil Pinnock said.
Georgia’s
public schools in the news
DeKalb’s
Towers High School leads the way in the goal to end bullying | WSB-TV: http://bit.ly/VFMnYe
From
high school “nerds” to STEM celebrities (students attended Kennesaw Mountain
High) | LinkedIn/Georgia Tech: http://linkd.in/1oRUVs6
First
day of school for some, last for others | Times-Georgian: http://bit.ly/1z20nJ2
‘Our
kids are making history’ | Gainesville Times: http://bit.ly/1rZJNHd
Save
the date:
August
24: Registration deadline for Atlanta Braves’ Home Run Readers
program
– K-12 students receive a free Braves ticket and free Subway meal for reading
books and completing an online activity. Register here.
Sept.
10-12: Second Annual Georgia Education
Leadership Conference.
Register here.
Sept.
18: UGA College of Education State of Education Conference, Athens. Register here.
Oct.
20-21: The Georgia STEM Forum, Athens. Register here
(early registration ends Sept. 19).
View
previous newsletters: August
1, June 13, May 30, May 14, May 1, April 11, March 28
