Good
afternoon! Welcome to the 10th edition of GaDOE Updates, a newsletter from the
Georgia Department of Education. This is a space for news, information, and
spotlights on K-12 public education in Georgia. (You can also keep up with us
on Facebook and Twitter).
Remember:
Send your tips, ideas and events to mfrick@doe.k12.ga.us
and mcardoza@doe.k12.ga.us.
Recap:
The 2nd annual Georgia Education Leadership Institute
Our
second Georgia Education Leadership Institute came to a close Friday. It was a
great three days of enrichment and conversation, and we hope all of you who
joined us are bringing valuable connections and ideas back home. If you missed
the conference, check out our Twitter for
quick updates, and upcoming newsletters for a more complete roundup.
Teacher
Spotlight: Sarah Lucas of Georgetown K-8 School
Meet
Sarah Lucas. She’s a third grade teacher at Georgetown K-8 School in the
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, and a project
on ocean pollution she created for her students led to her being named a
recipient of the Governor’s
Innovation in Teaching Award. We talked with her about innovative
instruction, project-based learning, moments of inspiration and the passion
that makes learning fun. Read a transcript of the conversation here.
Around
DOE lately
More
information about the Georgia Milestones Assessment System is now up on our
site – here’s
the link. Resources available include content weights, technology
guidelines, copies of presentations made on the system and a parents’ guide.
Is
your school working to raise funds while complying with the new, federal Smart
Snacks in Schools policy? We’ve gathered together a list of healthy fundraiser
ideas, and we tried to make it a little bit fun – it’s in Pinterest board form.
You can find it here.
Dr.
Barge honored eight educators recently for various recognitions within their
professional communities. Pictured here: Houston County’s Jesse Davis, 2013
National Distinguished Middle Level Principal of the Year; Forsyth County’s
Robin Sweat, 2013 National Outstanding Middle Level Assistant Principal of the
Year; Murray County’s Dr. Ardith Bates, 2014 National Distinguished Middle
Level Principal of the Year; Glynn County’s Leslie Scarboro, 2014 National
Outstanding Middle Level Assistant Principal of the Year; Coweta County’s Dr.
Julie Raschen, 2014 National Distinguished Principal; Houston County’s Alicia
Conner, 2014 Georgia Distinguished Assistant Principal and 2014 National
Distinguished Assistant Principal; and Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools’
Kerry Coursey, 2014 Outstanding Middle Level Educator of the Year. Not
pictured, but also honored: GAEL’s Hal Beaver, who received the Dr. John
Lounsbury Award for Outstanding Contribution to Middle Level Education.
Around
the state
-More
than 515 Georgia educators attended “Transforming Educator Preparation (TEP): Building
Capacity to Positively Impact P-12 Student Learning Conference,” a conference
collaboratively hosted by the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia
Professional Standards Commission, and the University System of Georgia, Sept.
2-4 in Atlanta. Funded by Georgia’s Race to the Top grant, the conference
brought together educator preparation providers (EPPs) and their P-12 partners
for two and a half days of professional learning focused on Georgia’s
transformation of educator preparation; educator certification and renewal;
teacher and leader statewide effectiveness systems; and professional learning.
To
participate in the conference, EPPs were required to apply for a Planning
Award, form a working team comprised of at least one P-12 partner, and select a
goal – one related to one or more of the reform areas listed above – to address
with that team over the next year.
-The
Governor’s Office of Student Achievement has posted
videos, unit plans, and supplementary materials created by winners of the Innovation
in Teaching competition. The resources represent a variety of grade levels
and innovative strategies, from project-based and applied learning to
differentiated small group instruction and creative classroom management
techniques.
From
GOSA: “All of the resources you will find here are real unit plans created by
real teachers, and are designed to help you as you implement the CCGPS in your
own classrooms. Most importantly, though, we hope that these resources will
help your students learn in new ways – off the grid, past the classroom walls,
and beyond the textbook.”
-We
couldn’t resist another Ice Bucket Challenge update. Here’s Eastvalley
Elementary in Cobb County, where students and staff raised $2,339.41 for the
Muscular Dystrophy Association in just seven school days. On Aug. 29,
administrators completed the Ice Bucket Challenge as a reward to the school for
exceeding its fundraising goal. L-R: Assistant Administrator Kim Kranzlein,
Principal Karen Wacker, and Assistant Principal Dr. Sage Doolittle
Here’s
Paulding County Superintendent Cliff Cole taking up the challenge, after being
challenged by North Paulding student Bryce Ward:
And
here’s
a link to the Newton County Theme School’s Ice Bucket Challenge.
Georgia’s
public schools in the news
Jenkins
students get hands-on engineering experience | Savannah Morning News: http://bit.ly/1qcKSbW
Students
earn perfect Latin papers | Gwinnett Daily Post: http://bit.ly/Y8hXQM
Georgia
National Merit semifinalists named | AJC: http://on-ajc.com/1r5qXRN
Save
the date
Oct.
8-10: Second Annual Georgia Afterschool and Youth Development Conference.
Register here.
Oct.
20-21: The Georgia STEM Forum, Athens. Register here
(early registration ends Sept. 19).
Oct.
23-24: Georgia School Public Relations Association Annual Conference. Hotel reservation
(by Sept. 22): http://bit.ly/1xTKSYm
Conference registration (by Oct. 9): http://bit.ly/1tHBnoD
More info: http://bit.ly/1qrWgXu
Dec.
3: Deadline for submissions to the State Botanical Garden’s statewide art
competition. Drop submissions off in the lower level of the Callaway Building
at the Botanical Garden or mail to Connie Cottingham, 2450 South Milledge
Avenue, Athens, GA, 30605. Guidelines: http://bit.ly/1wADAHw
Entry form: http://bit.ly/1uFNkgn More
info: http://bit.ly/1qZpx9D
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