Good
afternoon! Welcome to the fourth 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.
We need
your ideas for GaDOE Updates
Do you know a
teacher pioneering innovative instructional techniques? How about a graduate of
Georgia’s public schools who’s succeeding in the workforce? There’s so much
good news in public education, and we want to write about it. Send your story
ideas for GaDOE Updates to Communications Specialist Meghan Frick at mfrick@doe.k12.ga.us or Communications
Director Matt Cardoza at mcardoza@doe.k12.ga.us.
Teacher
Spotlight: Meet J. Nichelle Wimbush of Troup County Comprehensive High
There are
100,000+ classroom teachers in Georgia’s public schools, all 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 teachers. This time, meet J. Nichelle
Wimbush, a five-year educator currently teaching at Troup County Comprehensive
High School. Read more here.
Meet the
2014 finalists for Georgia Teacher of the Year
This Friday,
we’ll meet our next Georgia Teacher of the Year, a passionate educator who will
spend the 2014-15 school year acting as an advocate and ambassador for
Georgia’s public-school teachers. He or she is one of 10 finalists who hail
from Coweta County, Gwinnett County, Forsyth County, Heard County, Cobb County,
Houston County, Early County, Fannin County, Paulding County, and the Atlanta
Public Schools. They are teachers of music, engineering, history, Spanish, and
more. Before the award is presented, get to know them here.
Putnam
County High receives $2.4 million Youth CareerConnect grant
Putnam County
High School is one of 24 schools nationwide to be awarded a $2.4 million
federal Youth CareerConnect Grant, an innovation grant designed to help schools
personalize teaching and learning so that students stay on track to graduate
with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and in careers.
Learn more about the grant here: http://1.usa.gov/RQvLM9
And see a photo of celebrations at the school below!
Around DOE
lately
We announced
our 2014 Georgia scholars: http://bit.ly/1nFgFXo
Dr. Barge
participated in DECA’s 2014 International Career Development Conference: http://bit.ly/1jDNUaK
Around the
districts
Broadcast
Video students at Calhoun High School produced this mock crash video to
bring awareness to their peers about the dangers of driving under the influence
during prom season: http://bit.ly/1nF9EFW
Students at Dunbar
Elementary School received donations of 12 books for summer reading from Books for Keeps: http://bit.ly/1g3GVIs
Exploravision,
a student science competition sponsored by the National Science Teachers
Association and Toshiba, challenged students to create an innovation to solve a
problem that may exist in 20 years. Of nearly 3,000 projects submitted, only 24
winners were selected – and five of the winning students were from Georgia: http://bit.ly/1g8EsKS
Lauren
O’Prey, school-level Teacher of the Year at Roswell North Elementary School,
created this video to get her students feeling confident about the CRCT: http://bit.ly/1jDL3Pk
Georgia’s
public schools in the news
South Forsyth
High robotics team places third in the world: http://bit.ly/1sJB2Ck
PBIS finding
success in Middle Georgia: http://bit.ly/1hJYyIs
Richmond
Performance Learning Center helps students graduate on time: http://bit.ly/1gkh0fS
SLDS featured
in Education Week: http://bit.ly/1mmTWNx
Save the
date:
June 3-6: Institute
Designed for Educating All Students (IDEAS) Conference, Epworth by the Sea,
St. Simons
June 16:
Applications due for SAMHSA “Now is the
Time” grants for LEAs (supports training of school personnel and others to
detect and respond to mental illness in children and youth)
June 19 and
20: Georgia Virtual Learning’s Professional Learning Symposium (register
by May 30)
July 8-10: Safety
in Our Schools Conference, UGA Hotel and Conference Center, Athens
July 13-16:
Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education’s 67th Annual Summer Conference, Cobb Galleria
Center, Cobb County
Remember:
Send your tips, ideas and events to mfrick@doe.k12.ga.us
and mcardoza@doe.k12.ga.us. And
keep up with GaDOE at facebook.com/gadoe
and @GaDOEnews on Twitter.