Georgia Department of
Education creates ‘Literacy Think Tank’
Agency partners with
higher education to design strategies for literacy
MEDIA
CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org
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View a glimpse of the first Literacy Think
Tank meeting here.
View a longer video here.
October 31,
2016 – The Georgia
Department of Education, in partnership with the Get Georgia Reading Campaign and
the Georgia Alliance of Education
Agency Heads, is convening a “Literacy Think Tank” composed of literacy
faculty from Georgia’s colleges and universities. This group of 58 teacher
educators will review data about the ways communities and schools are creating
conditions for learning and help design strategies to engage teachers across
the state as partners, so that every child has a teacher who uses high-quality
instructional methods for literacy.
The Literacy
Think Tank is part of Georgia’s statewide literacy initiative and efforts to
engage all stakeholders to ensure that every child is on a path to reading
proficiently by third grade. The GaDOE is also working with classroom teachers
through its English Language Arts Advisory Committee, as well as community
groups, students, and teachers from around the state.
“As we work to
ensure that all Georgia students are prepared with the crucial skill of literacy,
we need everyone who has an impact on classroom learning at the table,” State
School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “The new Literacy Think Tank is an
exciting opportunity to partner more closely with higher education and work to
enhance literacy alongside the individuals and institutions who prepare our
classroom teachers.”
The Literacy
Think Tank held its first meeting September 27, discussing the need for a focus
on literacy in Georgia, the state and federal context for an increased focus on
literacy, and next steps for the statewide literacy plan.
“Georgia has
been steadily improving literacy learning over the last ten years,” said
Caitlin Dooley, GaDOE’s Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. “We
need to scale that improvement and ensure that every child has access to a
great literacy teacher. This group of literacy faculty are critical to this
goal – they’re the ones who do the work and know the context. We can’t do this
without their help.”