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 GaDOE Library Media Update - October 2018

Table of Contents

  • Georgia’s Graduation Rate Rises to All-time High
  • State School Superintendent Richard Woods Selects 2018-2019 Student Advisory Council
  • 17 Georgia Schools Receive Grants for Career-readiness Activities
  • GaDOE K-12 Public School Media Specialist GALSTEER Representative
  • GaDOE Assessment Resources for Writing
  • High-leverage Practices
  • International Literacy Association Exploring the 2017 NAEP Results
  • New GALILEO Marketing Tools for Library Staff
  • Britannica Training Sessions: Fall 2018
  • GPB Education Offers Georgia Forests Virtual Learning Journey
  • GPB Education Launches Physics in Motion
  • PBS KIDS EdCamp
  • Cartoon Network Animation Activity for Students
  • Worth Sharing
  • Going Social
  • GaDOE Media Mailing List

Georgia’s Graduation Rate Rises to All-time High

Graduation rate reaches 81.6 percent, highest ever under adjusted cohort rate

Georgia’s high school graduation rate increased again in 2018, rising to 81.6 percent from 80.6 percent in 2017. 
 
This is an all-time high for Georgia’s graduation rate since the state began using the adjusted cohort calculation now required by federal law. Seventy-four Georgia school districts recorded 2018 graduation rates at or above 90 percent. 
 
“Georgia’s graduation rate continues to rise because our public-school students have access to more opportunities than ever before,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “From Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education to dual enrollment to the fine arts, there is an unprecedented emphasis on supporting the whole child and making sure every single student understands the relevance of what they’re learning. I’m confident we’ll continue to see these gains as long as we’re still expanding opportunities that keep students invested in their education.”

State School Superintendent Richard Woods Selects 2018-2019 Student Advisory Council

State School Superintendent Richard Woods has selected 120+ Georgia students to serve on his 2018-2019 Student Advisory Council. Throughout the school year, these middle and high school students will meet with Superintendent Woods to discuss the impact of state policies in the classroom. Members of the Student Advisory Council will also discuss other issues related to education, serve as the Superintendent’s ambassadors to their respective schools, and participate in service projects to benefit schools and students. 
 
“Every day, I’m faced with choices that will directly affect Georgia’s kids,” Superintendent Woods said. “Because of the students who serve on this council, I’m better able to make sound, informed decisions. I deeply value their input and involvement.” 
 
Members were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants who applied to serve on the council. Students were chosen based on the strength of their essay answers, which focused on their ideas for public education as well as their community service experience. The students selected attend public schools all over the state, in every RESA district in Georgia.

  • ​View List of Selected Students

17 Georgia Schools Receive Grants for Career-readiness Activities

The Georgia Foundation for Public Education has awarded mini-grants to 17 schools to support student career-readiness activities associated with the YouScience aptitude assessment tool. This unique college and career guidance platform is free for Georgia middle and high schools through a partnership between the Georgia Department of Education and Technical College System of Georgia.

“Industry leaders continue to face difficulties identifying talent for current vacancies and jobs of the future,” said Paige Pushkin, GFPE Executive Director. “The Georgia Foundation for Public Education wants to make sure every student can find a career they enjoy while earning a living wage. In partnership with Georgia Power and the Georgia Department of Education, we are thrilled to provide these grants for schools that want to take student preparedness to the next level.” 

Schools were able to apply for up to $5,000 in upfront funding, due to the generous donations and ongoing support of Georgia’s future workforce by Georgia Power’s Office of Community and Economic Development.

The Georgia Foundation for Public Education is the foundation of the Georgia Department of Education, and exists for the single purpose of supporting educational excellence for students in Georgia.

GaDOE K-12 Public School Media Specialist GALSTEER Representative

The Georgia Department of Education has selected Michelle Easley as the new GALILEO steering committee’s K-12 public school media specialist representative. This is a two-year appointed term where she will attend GALSTEER meetings four to five times a year at the McDonough Public Library (Administration Suite) located at 1001 Florence McGarity Blvd in McDonough, Georgia. The meetings start at 10 a.m. and usually last about two hours.

The Georgia Department of Education also wants to thank Beth Miller for serving as the first person in this K-12 public school media specialist representative role from 2016 to 2018. During her term, Beth provided valuable insight and leadership to GALSTEER.

Read more information about the GALSTEER committee:

GaDOE Assessment Resources for Writing

The assessment guides, study guides, and item and scoring samplers were all updated and re-published this summer. Take note of the additional items included in all resources. The item and scoring samplers have also been augmented with more writing exemplars to reflect varying levels of student proficiency. There are now three papers representing each score-point aligned to the extended-writing item. Resources are accessible via this page. Select End of Grade/Course Resources to access the updated assessment guides and item and scoring samplers. See the screenshots below for guidance. For additional information about assessment resources, please contact Adrienne Simmons, Assessment Specialist (asimmons@doe.k12.ga.us).

High-leverage Practices

The Georgia Department of Education, the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, and the CEEDAR Center partnered to empower educators to maximize P-20 student success. They jointly hosted the Georgia HLP/MTSS Summit in Macon on June 20, 2018 to create an awareness for high-leverage practices in special education. 

Additional information and examples of high-leverage practices:

International Literacy Association Exploring the 2017 NAEP Results

In their 2018 Literacy Leadership Brief, the International Literacy Association (ILA) explores the concern around the decade-long flat reading scores of U.S. students. ILA panelists offer a systematic approach to improving reading performance. “This approach addresses three key challenges: (1) school infrastructure reorganization, (2) teacher buy-in, and (3) a staircase or coherent curriculum within and across grade levels and school subjects.” 

New GALILEO Marketing Tools for Library Staff

GALILEO has recently announced their new GALILEO Marketing Toolkit, a site designed to help library staff raise awareness about GALILEO with their students and patrons. The Marketing Toolkit can be found in the newly reorganized About GALILEO sections under the link “For Library Staff,” where it is listed with other pages aimed at supporting library staff as they keep up with and promote GALILEO.

For Library Staff Section

  • Register for upcoming webinars or view archives of past webinars
  • Access database tutorials at vendor websites
  • Contact GALILEO to request a face-to-face session
  • Download promotional materials for GALILEO, the Digital Library of Georgia, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia
  • Download logos for GALILEO, the DLG and NGE, and individual databases to add to websites, catalogs, and your own handouts
  • Find promotional and instructional pages for individual databases, including web buttons, bookmarks, guides, and other great materials
  • PowerPoints from various conference presentations and training sessions
  • Handouts for different audiences, topics
  • Informational documents for internal use in libraries
  • Generate customized stats for your institution using the Usage Statistics Reporting Tool
  • Access annual reports back to 2007
  • Find information on data available in the Reporting Tool
  • Learn how evolving technology has had an impact on statistics
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Karen Minton at karen.minton@usg.edu​

Britannica Training Sessions: Fall 2018

GPB Education Offers Georgia Forests Virtual Learning Journey

Aligned to 3rd-6th grade Science and Social Studies GSE

Take your students on an interactive journey through the working forests of Georgia to learn about forest ecosystems, food webs, and life cycles, as well as forestry management processes, career opportunities, and much more. Key concepts are presented through text, images, videos, 360º tours, and interactive elements.

GPB Education Launches Physics in Motion

Physics in Motion encourages inquiry-based learning, problem-solving, and critical thinking through engaging demonstrations, three-dimensional tasks, and real-world applications. The primary goal is to provide a thorough summary of the concepts of physics, grounded in the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) for science. The series is comprised of seven units of study that are divided into video segments. Each video segment has corresponding support materials for teachers and students to reinforce the concepts discussed in the videos.

PBS KIDS EdCamp

Saturday, Oct. 20, 8:30 a.m.
GPB Headquarters in Atlanta

This free event hosted by Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) is designed for educators who work with pre-K children in schools, childcare centers, and/or family homes. Attendees will build relationships with other educators facing similar challenges, learn new instructional strategies, and share ideas. They will also learn about research-based PBS KIDS resources they can use with the children they teach. Lunch will be provided and all attendees will be entered in a drawing for PBS KIDS Playtime Pads and PBS KIDS Plug & Play Streaming Sticks. Attendees will earn 3 BFTS-approved credit hours. Space is limited.

Cartoon Network Animation Activity for Students

Cartoon Network wants students involved in an animation mashup that will be highlighted on television. Students can participate by coloring a frame of an animation (online or print out).

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
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