Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA) Monthly Update



Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA) Monthly Update

October 17, 2011

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA) Updates

Contact: Pam Smith, Director (pamsmith@doe.k12.ga.us)

ELA and Mathematics CCGPS

Contacts: Jan Wyche, Common Core Coordinator (jwyche@doe.k12.ga.us)

Kim Jeffcoat, English Language Arts Coordinator (kjeffcoat@doe.k12.ga.us)

Sandi Woodall, Mathematics Coordinator (swoodall@doe.k12.ga.us)

Common Core Georgia Performance Standards in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics:

Reminders:

• All October – December ELA and Mathematics Webinars may be accessed live or by recording through Elluminate Live! on the website.

• Beginning January 25, 2012, through May 9, 2012, CCGPS Professional Learning will be made available to all education stakeholders via Georgia Public Broadcasting. The two-hour sessions will be interactive and recorded. For the times and dates of these sessions go to the GaDOE website and click on CCGPS Standards.

• All GPB sessions will be archived and the recording will be available immediately following the live session. Closed captioning as an option for the GPB recordings will be available within a week after the live session.

• To access all of the GPB CCGPS 2011-2012 Live Streamed Professional Learning sessions and recordings use the following link: education/common-core

Mathematics

Contact: Sandi Woodall (swoodall@doe.k12.ga.us)

Mathematics Program Webpage at:

Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) Mathematics Update:

o Preparation for Georgia’s 2012-2013 CCGPS Mathematics Implementation necessitates that all mathematics teachers participate in one Fall professional learning grade level session. The professional learning session will focus on Standards for Mathematical Practice and will be offered initially at the October 19-21 Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2011 Georgia Mathematics Conference. Face-to-face sessions for K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 mathematics teachers are scheduled for October 20, 2011; the K-5 session will be repeated on October 21, 2011.

Because not all mathematics teachers will be able to attend the conference, sessions for each grade level will be repeated via Elluminate Live webinars during the months of October – December, 2011. The high school webinar session will be presented on November 1 and again on November 17. All other webinar grade level sessions will be presented on one date only as noted in the attached calendar.

o All educators who impact mathematics education are encouraged to join the mathematics listserve appropriate to their role. The listserve addresses have been posted on the GaDOE Mathematics Program webpage. Upcoming CCGPS professional learning opportunities and additional resources will be announced by means of listserve emails.

2012 Georgia High School Graduates:

District level and school level administrators, along with high school counselors, are encouraged to reference the 2011-2012 Mathematics Graduation Guidance document and the USG Staying on Course document to assist students as they prepare to graduate from high school and to transition to post-secondary pursuits. Both documents have been posted on the GaDOE Mathematics Program webpage. Course descriptions for all Georgia mathematics courses have been provided in the Mathematics Graduation Guidance document; high school counselors are encouraged to attach a copy of the mathematics course descriptions to applications to out of state institutions.

Support from the GADOE Mathematics Curriculum Team:

o Mathematics curriculum supervisors are invited to participate in the monthly Mathematics Curriculum Supervisor Update webinar scheduled for October 18, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. The link to join the session is:

NOTE: Thank you to those district curriculum directors who have provided us with the contact information for your district’s 2011-2012 mathematics curriculum supervisor or designee. If you have not previously done so, please email the contact information to Sandi Woodall at swoodall@doe.k12.ga.us

[pic]

English Language Arts (ELA)

Contact: Kim Jeffcoat (kjeffcoat@doe.k12.ga.us)

In order to ensure that our teachers are well prepared for 100% implementation of the English Language Arts Common Core GPS during year 2012-13, we are steadily working on the creation and completion of resources for English language arts and literacy. Currently, the kindergarten and first grade Teacher Guidance Handbooks are almost in the “feedback ready” stage, and we would like to send these documents out for your review. It is our plan to have these guidance documents posted on the Common Core GPS tab on our Georgia Standards site once they are finalized. If you are interested in volunteering to provide feedback on this work, please send an email to Kim Jeffcoat at kjeffcoat@doe.k12.ga.us.

I am also soliciting names of excellent and innovative teachers who would be interested in contracting with the Georgia Department of Education to write new units for ELA CCGPS. If you would like to recommend someone for this work, please let me know by giving me a call or sending me the teacher’s contact information. Thanks in advance for your partnership and input in this critical work.

Professional Learning Webinars on Elluminate Live!

The first week of English language arts professional learning webinars was completed on October 6. In spite of the technical difficulties experienced on Monday, October 3, we were able to validate an

estimated, live-viewer audience of around 1,000. A list of highlights for the week’s webinar series 1 is as follows:

1. An overview of the CCGPS

2. Facts about implementation

3. K-12 resources available now

4. K-12 resources in development

5. A timeline for next steps

6. Practice implementation tasks

The second session webinars for ELA will be held the week of October 23 with a focus on text complexity. The last session will occur the week of November 14 and will focus on the integrated teaching of the standards essential for CCGPS. In addition to these ELA sessions, there are also sessions scheduled for teachers of 6-12 history, social studies, science, and technical subjects. All 6-12 grade teachers of history and social studies are encouraged to join the webinar planned to begin at 3:30 on October 17. The focus of this session will be the literacy standards for informational reading in history/social studies. On the next day, October 18 at 3:30, we will have the session on the literacy standards for informational reading for all science and technical subject teachers. Since teachers of these subject areas all share the same set of literacy standards for writing, the 6-12 webinar session for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects teachers will be held on one day, Wednesday, November 9.

Please encourage your teachers to participate in these informative sessions. If participating at the live events is not a possibility, please share with them the method for accessing “recordings” on the Elluminate Live! site. We are keeping a record of the number of participants who join us during the live sessions; however, we will not have access to the total numbers who view the recordings. We can access the number of times a recorded session is viewed, but we cannot know the number of participants within a group of viewers. We would appreciate feedback in the manner of both numbers of viewers as well as suggestions for topics or needs. We have set up an “electronic suggestion/feedback box” at the following address: ELAInput@doe.k12.ga.us.

As always, our goal is to provide you and the teachers within your districts with as much support as possible during this professional learning year and implementation year to come.

Resource Roll Out

Fall 2011

• ¨ State-wide faculty meeting introducing Common Core

• ¨ Extensive K-12 Teacher Resource Guide posted to GSO

• ¨ ELA Newsletter

• ¨ ELA Listserv and Newsflash

• ¨ ELA Professional Learning Webinars

• ¨ Webinar series #1: Overview, Practice Tasks

• ¨ Webinar series #2: Text Complexity

• ¨ Webinar series #3: Integrated Learning

• ¨ Webinar series on literacy for reading and writing for 6-12 history/social studies, science,

and technical subjects teachers

• ¨ Gates LDC Literacy Training begins in pilot schools

Winter/Spring 2012

• ¨ Individual K-12th grade Teacher Guidance Handbooks posted by grade level

• ¨ Curriculum maps

• ¨ New unit frameworks by grade level

• ¨ First action steps professional learning on integration, instruction, unit planning, and text selection

• ¨ Live-streaming on Georgia Public Broadcasting in 11 sessions by grade level for ELA and sessions

for teachers of 6-12 history/social studies, science, and technical subjects

To facilitate location of existing resources within the DOE website, we have created an organization chart. This chart has been posted to our Georgia Standards site under the Common Core GPS tab. If you click on the English Language Arts link on the left, you will be redirected to our ELA landing page. You will find numerous support documents posted on this page as well.

Annual Georgia Reading Association (GRA) Conference

Please mark your calendars for November 7, 2011. The Georgia Reading Association will host a one day forum on "The Common Core Georgia Performance Standards" featuring as presenters Program Coordinators and Specialists from the Georgia Department of Education. This event will be held at the Macon Centreplex in Macon, Georgia. Registration information is posted on-line at . Contact Lynn Minor at lcminor@valdosta.edu for more information.

NCTE 100th Anniversary Convention

Reading the Past, Writing the Future

November 17-22, 2011, Chicago, IL

For more information, go to:

Recognizing the importance of writing in the lives of us all, NCTE celebrated its first National Day on Writing and unveiled its National Gallery of Writing on October 20, 2009. Since that day more than 30,000 pieces of writing, including poems, videos, essays, letters, audio recordings, blog entries, artwork, email and text messages, and short stories, have been submitted. Join NCTE in celebrating the third annual National Day on Writing, Thursday, October 20, 2011.

Poetry Out Loud (October 21st deadline)

This prestigious poetry recitation contest begins at the school level, with winners attending a state-wide final in March. Georgia’s winner will compete nationally in the spring for a $20,000 scholarship. Poetry Out Loud is an amazing opportunity and beautifully illustrates the power of the spoken word. Contact:

Georgia Council for the Arts

Melanie Eisenhart

404-814-2063

Meisenhart@

Read to Achieve

Atlanta Hawk’s Fast Break for Reading

In conjunction with the NBA’s “Read to Achieve” program, the Atlanta Hawks is accepting applications through October 17, 2011, from Georgia elementary schools who want to participate in this fun and empowering program:



Early Intervention Program (EIP)

Contacts: Sallie Mills (smills@doe.k12.ga.us) and/or Pam Smith (pamsmith@doe.k12.ga.us)

Assessment

Contact: Tony Eitel (aeitel@doe.k12.ga.us)

The following assessment windows are on the State Testing Calendar for the month of October 2011:

- Georgia Alternate Assessment (Main Administration and High School Re-Test Options opened on September 6)

- End of Course Tests (EOCT) Mid-Month Administration (October 17 – 21)

The following ordering windows open in October 2011:

- Grade 8 Writing Assessment: October 3 – 14

- ACCESS for ELLs: October 17 – November 28

- GAA (for spring shipment): October 31 – December 2

The Assessment Division will be conducting the following webinar during October 2011:

- EOCT Pre-Administration Workshop (October 25 – 27)

A memorandum regarding testing webinar events, including details on the date and time of each, is posted at: .

Several activities will be taking place in November regarding the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

- Age 13 Long Term Trend Assessments begin in October 2011 in selected Georgia systems

- 2011 Reading and Mathematics state results will be released nationwide in November 2011 (No system level results except for the Atlanta Public Schools which is designated as a Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) system)

Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) Update

Contact: Emily Spann (espann@doe.k12.ga.us)

College Credit Now (formerly known as Dual Enrollment) Information

ACCEL Contact: Patrick Blenke (ablenke@doe.k12.ga.us)

Move On When Ready (MOWR)

Contact: Gary Mealer (gmealer@doe.k12.ga.us)

[pic]

End-of-Pathway Assessment Update

Contact: Mamie Hanson (mhanson@doe.k12.ga.us), (404-657-6279)

[pic][pic]

Student Credentialing opportunities are now available to CTAE pathway completers who participate in End-of-Pathway Assessment (EOPA) activities. Students complete the three or four designated courses in a pathway in order to participate in assessment activities. EOPA was implemented statewide during the FY2011 school year. During the initial year, approximately 18,000 pathway completers were assessed.

FY2012 Assessment information Sheets for each exam included in the inventory have been posted on the CTAE Assessment Web Page. Please click on the following link to review the current inventory:

Professional Learning Opportunities

New Workforce Education Doctor of Education Program

Please see the attached flyer regarding a NEW Practitioner-Based Doctor of Education (EdD)

in Workforce Education that is now available through the UGA Griffin Campus.

[pic]

School Counselor and Teachers-As-Advisors (TAA)

Contact: Emily Spann (espann@doe.k12.ga.us), Vivian Snyder (vsnyder@doe.k12.ga.us) , or Jackie Melendez (jmelende@doe.k12.ga.us)

Please see the links listed below for updated School Counselor and Teachers-As-Advisors Professional Learning Webinars. We encourage you to access these sessions to obtain up-to-date school counselor information to assist with program planning and implementation.

| 2011-2012 |

|School Counselor Professional Learning |

|Elluminate Webinar Series |

|Archived School Counselor Webinar Topics |Grade Level |Archived Webinar |

|College Credit Now (Dual Enrollment) |High School |Click the following archived link: |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) |Counselors |

| | |?recordingId=1258876593980_1314105945312 |

|College Credit Now (Dual Enrollment) Update |High School | |

| |Counselors |?recordingId=1258876593993_1316437671875 | |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) | | | |

|College Credit Now (Dual Enrollment) |Middle School | | |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) |Counselors | | |

|First Generation College Student Advisement |High School |Click the following archived link: |

| |Counselors |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) | |?recordingId=1258876596116_1314794413421 |

|Live School Counselor Webinar Topics |Dates |Grade Level |Time |

|College Credit Now (Dual Enrollment) |October 11, 2011 |High School |10:00 – 11:00 am |

|REPEAT |Tuesday |Counselors | |

|The following webinars will be recorded, archived and available at |

|Archived School Counselor Webinar Topics |Grade Level |

|Aligning a Student’s IEP |

|with the Individual Graduation Plan |rdingId=1258876596805_1315578241734 |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) | |

|Strategies for Advising New and Transfer Students |

|to Develop Individual Graduation Plans |rdingId=1258876598907_1316530439578 |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) | |

|Overview of End of Pathway Assessments |

| |rdingId=1258876598878_1316526217484 |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) | |

|Encouraging Underrepresented Students into STEM |

|and Non-Traditional Careers |rdingId=1258876597123_1315563894437 |

|Completed and Archived (see link to the right) | |

|Issues in Working with Migrant Students |Elementary, Middle and High School Counselors |

|Coming Soon! | |

|Developing Elementary Career Awareness |Elementary School Counselors |

|Coming Soon! | |

|K-12 College and Career Counseling |Elementary, Middle and High School Counselors |

|Coming Soon! | |

|Classroom Guidance and Bullying Prevention |Elementary, Middle and High School Counselors |

|Coming Soon! | |

|Understanding the PSAT as a |High School Counselors |

|School Improvement Strategy | |

|Coming Soon! | |

|College and Career Ready Performance Index Update |Elementary, Middle and High School Counselors |

|Coming Soon! | |

|RAMP (ASCA Model School Program) |Elementary, Middle and High School Counselors |

|Coming Soon! | |

Teachers-As-Advisors Webinar Series

Georgia DOE will offer a series of professional learning Elluminate webinars for NEW Teachers-As-Advisors programs. These webinars will be recorded and archived on the assigned dates at . In addition, three Georgia school systems will provide information about their EXISTING programs including successes, challenges and “if I had it to do over” situations. Contact Vivian Snyder, vsnyder@doe.k12.ga.us.

|Webinar Recording |Teachers-As-Advisor Webinar Topics |Delivery Time |Webinar Description |

|Dates for NEW | | | |

|Programs | | | |

|October 18 |Introduction; Awareness/Rationale; |2 hours |This training session will assist the local system with: creating |

| |Education and Career Planning | |awareness of a typical TAA program and provide rationale for such a |

| | | |program; reviewing the educational and career planning process also as |

| | | |rationale for such a program. |

|October 25 |Statement of Purpose; Parental |1.5 hours |This training session will assist the local system with: developing a |

| |Involvement | |statement of purpose for their 6-12 program; providing justification, |

| | | |strategies, tools and resources to assist with the parental involvement|

| | | |in the program |

|November 1 |Organizational/Logistics; TAA |1.5 hours |This training session will assist the local system with: reaching a |

| |Activities | |consensus on the organizational and logistical aspects of the program; |

| | | |creating content for the program |

|November 8 |Student Assessments; Level of |1 hour |This training session will assist the local system with: identifying |

| |Leadership | |student assessments on Gacollege411 and how to utilize these |

| | | |assessments; identifying the roles and responsibilities of key leaders |

| | | |in the program. |

|November 15 |Professional Learning and Support; |1.5 hours |This training session will assist the local system with: identifying |

| |TAA Program Evaluation | |topics for professional learning and establishing a timeline; |

| | | |identifying outcome data to determine the effectiveness of the program |

| | | |and sharing a typical rubric |

|Recording Dates for |Teachers-As-Advisor Webinar Topics |Delivery Time |Webinar Description |

|EXISTING Programs | | | |

|October 19 |Douglas County TAA |1 hour |In this session the Douglas County TAA team will describe the Douglas |

| |Best Practice | |County TAA program |

|January 12, 2012 |Ware County TAA |1 hour |In this session the Ware County TAA team will describe the Ware County |

| |Best Practice | |TAA program |

|November 16 |Chickamauga City Schools |1 hour |In this session Chickamauga City TAA team will describe the |

| |Best Practice | |Chickamauga City TAA program |

College Readiness Unit

Contact: Becky Chambers (rchambers@doe.k12.ga.us) Telephone (404-463-5098)

Be sure to speak with your ELA/Literacy colleagues in Effingham, Gwinnett, Houston, Lowndes and Ware Counties about the Literacy Design Collaborative training in which select teachers are participating. These strategies for teaching writing in all content areas will serve as an amazing compliment to successful implementation of the Common Core GPS Literacy Standards.

The state contact for this work is: Mary Lynn Huie, Literacy Trainer at GaDOE, mhuie@doe.k12.ga.us

And, be sure to speak with your mathematics colleagues in DeKalb, Hall, Houston, Lowndes, Rabun, and Ware Counties about the Math Design Collaborative training in which select teachers are participating. The strategies for teaching Formative Assessment Lessons will improve mathematics understanding for all students and also serve as a valuable compliment to successful implementation of the Common Core GPS Mathematics Standards.

The state contact for this work is: Vicki Mixon, Mathematics Trainer at GaDOE, (vmixon@doe.k12.ga.us)

ESOL/Title III

Contact: Carol Johnson (cjohnson@doe.k12.ga.us) or Cori Alston (calston@doe.k12.ga.us)

Project EXPRESS for Mathematics and EXPRESS (OnLine)

Contact: Pat Blenke (ablenke@doe.k12.ga.us)

RTI

Contact: Pat Blenke (ablenke@doe.k12.ga.us)

The DOE will be hosting five webinars related to Response to Intervention (RtI). The first of these webinars will be on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. This webinar will feature Little Mill Middle School of Forsyth County which was a 2011 SSTAGE STAR Award Winner for the secondary level. Join us on our journey as we guide you over the pitfalls to the treasures hidden within the RTI Pyramid. Follow as we wind our way through student placement and intervention scheduling, the search for appropriate programs and the tools that will monitor progress and drive instructional change, establishment of fidelity, and the building of accountability teams. Come along as we attempt to discover the treasures of success for our most needy students and their families.

To access this webinar go to and click onto , then select elluminate live. Choose the date of Wednesday, October 19, and the session named Little Mill Middle School’s Journey through RTI, and sign in. Please wait for the session name to turn a dark blue before selecting. There is no password required for this session. This webinar will be recorded.

GaDOE HIV/AIDS Prevention Program

Contact: Pat Blenke (ablenke@doe.k12.ga.us)

Georgia Virtual School (GaVS)

Contact: Christina Clayton (cclayton@doe.k12.ga.us)

• 122+ courses available for Online Instruction through Georgia Virtual School.

• Students are no longer limited to the one Carnegie Unit (2 half units) per semester for FTE funding.

• Seven schools from around the state have now begun the Blended Learning pilot with over 1500 Georgia Virtual School course enrollments.

• Georgia Virtual School has made available online its full course content in many core subject areas including middle school courses, which are fully aligned to the Georgia Performance Standards. Known as Free Shared Resources, this online content includes free digital resources such as interactive video lessons, self-check assessments, and educational links to help enrich instruction for students of all levels. Any student, parent, and educator in the state can access the most current listing of shared learning content by visiting and clicking on the resources tab.

Gifted Education

Contact: Annette Eger (aeger@doe.k12.ga.us)

Health Education and Physical Education

Contact: Therese McGuire (tmcguire@doe.k12.ga.us)

Georgia and National School Bus Safety Week October 17-21 is a great time to review school bus safety materials

School Bus Safety Instructional Materials: Grade K – 5



In the 2009 – 2010 & 2010 – 2011 school years Georgia had 7 student fatalities, 5 serious injuries and 4 near misses when students were getting on and off the school bus. These tragic events point out the need to look at ways to reduce the possibility of similar tragedies ever happening again. You can play an important role in the delivery of essential school bus safety training to our student riders. Classes receiving the instruction will be composed of those who ride the bus to and from school and others who may ride infrequently or who ride only on field trips. This instruction is for everyone. The school bus safety training provided to students should be developmentally appropriate and is an integral part of the Health and Safety Curriculum.

Fitness Assessment:

Every school must have physical education teachers trained.

If your system or local RESA has not secured a training date please contact Therese. All schools with a physical education program are required to assess students this school year.

Assessment Training Information:

Purpose and Description: The goal of full day training is to ensure consistency of fitness test administration, data collection, and messaging about fitness testing in addition to improving knowledge about health and fitness. The full day training will include: Fitnessgram test protocol, collection of student health related fitness data, the opportunity to see how all test items are administered and scored, as well as learn about best practices for efficient testing.

Who should attend? Physical Education Teachers – At least one per school

Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, OCGA 2-7-777 requires each local school district in Georgia to conduct an annual fitness assessment program for all students in grades 1 - 12 enrolled in all public school physical education classes. The S.H.A.P.E. partnership will provide each school with testing material and licensing for data collection and parent reporting. Therefore every school should be represented at a training.... it is highly recommended that two physical education teachers per school participate in the training. Substitute teacher reimbursement for up to two per school will be provided.

• The fitness assessment training manual can be found at:



• Read more about S.H.A.P.E. and fitness assessment at



• Information concerning the least minimum requirements can be found at



• Fitnessgram will be the fitness test instrument used. Information about Fitnessgram can be found @



Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Annual Conference

2011GAHPERD Convention

October 22-25:   SUNDAY-TUESDAY

Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel and Conference Center

500 Powder Springs Street-Marietta, GA 20064



Library Media Services

Contact: Judy Serritella (jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us)

The Exemplary and Exceptional Library Media programs were recently announced.

The following schools were named as having Exemplary Library Media Programs

Elementary:

Parsons: Gwinnett LMS Suzanne Skeen Principal: Charlotte Sadler

Compton: Cobb LMS Peggy Milam-Creighton Principal: Liz Murphy

 Middle

Palmer: Cobb LMS Janell McClure Principal: Cathy Wentworth

Midway: Liberty LMS Cristina Dover Principal: Debra Frazier

Clarke: Clarke LMS Shawn Hinger Principal: Tad MacMillan

 High

Glynn Academy: Glynn LMS Melissa Purcell and Amy Bradley Principal: Scott Spence

Sequoyah: Cherokee LMS Jan Reed and Elease Franchini Principal: Elliott Berman

Exceptional:

 Elementary

Kingston: Bartow LMS Lori Pilgrim Principal Stefany Howard

Medlock Bridge: Fulton LMS Leigh Martin Principal Margaret Pupillo

 Middle

Ridgeview Charter: Fulton LMS Taylor Wickline Principal Lisa Hastey

Little Mill: Forsyth LMS Anna Murdock Principal Connie McCrary

Heard Middle: Heard LMS Glovis South Principal Mike Roberts

 The GaETC (Georgia Educational Technology Conference) will be held November 2nd through November 4th at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. More information can be found at: The Exemplary and Exceptional Library Media Program recipients will present at GaETC.

There are 32 systems that have not yet responded to the Library Media Feedback Form. This is a short (11 questions) Library Media Feedback form was sent to all system’s Library Media Coordinators in April with a deadline of May 27th. Some school systems do not have anyone listed as Media Coordinator in the GaDOE portal and this could be a possible reason for no response. It is a GaDOE policy (IFBD 160-4-4-.01) that the local school superintendent appoints a system media contact person to serve as liaison to the department. In some systems the System Level Media Coordinator holds other positions, in some cases Library Media is their only role, and in others the Media Coordinator also serves as a local school Library Media Specialist.

Reminder: GaDOE cannot add a name to the portal. Adding a name must be done by your system’s Security Officer. If your system does not have someone serving in this role, I have emailed Library Media information to the Curriculum Director.

The data gathered from this feedback form will help us determine where we are in terms of Library Media programs and where we need/want to go.

The Media Matters October 2011 newsletter can be found at:

Literacy

Contact: Julie Morrill (jmorrill@doe.k12.ga.us)

Georgia has been awarded one of six Striving Reader Comprehensive Literacy Grants. The $25,600,000.00 will be competitively sub-granted to districts and non-profit providers of early learning. The sub-grant competition package will be released on November 1, 2011, with the applications being due to the GaDOE by December 16, 2011. Grants are expected to be awarded in March 2012. To join the Striving Reader list serv, send an email to join-gastrivingreader@list.doe.k12.ga.us. An Elluminate Grant Overview session was held on October 4th and has been recorded.

Migrant Education Program

Contact: John Wight (jwight@doe.k12.ga.us)

Teacher Line

Contact: Judy Serritella (jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us)

Math Science Partnership

Contact: Amanda Buice (abuice@doe.k12.ga.us)

Science

Contact: Juan-Carlos Aguilar (jaguilar@doe.k12.ga.us)

2012 Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF)

The Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF) is one of a number of learning experiences that help young people meet the challenges of the future. It provides a stage from which the junior high and high school students of Georgia can demonstrate their serious contributions to the advancement of society and our way of life.

The schedule for the 2012 GSEF is below:

|Sunday |February 19, 2012 |Last possible date to complete Regional Fairs |

| |10 days after regional fair |Finalists’ paper documents and registration fee due at GSEF |

|Friday |March 2, 2012 |Last possible day for any corrected finalists’ documents / missing items / late payments to be|

| | |received by GSEF |

|Thurs-Sat |March 29-31, 2012 |GSEF Fair in Athens |

The registration fee per student is $39. More information about the GSEF can be found at their webpage (georgiacenter.uga.edu/gsef) or by contacting the GSEF Program Coordinator Mrs. Christine Burgoyne by calling the GSEF phone line (706-542-3554 or 706-542-6473).

Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching

The new nomination period for Elementary Science Teachers (K-6) opened October 1. The eligibility requirements are as follows:

• Teach mathematics or science at the K-6th grade level (2012 deadline) or 7-12th grade level (2013 deadline) in a public or private school.

• Hold at least a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.

• Be a full-time employee of the school or school district as determined by state and district policies, and teach K-12 students at least 50% of the time.

• Have at least 5 years of full-time, K-12 mathematics or science teaching experience prior to the 2011-2012 academic school year (2012 deadline) or prior to the 2012-2013 academic school year (2013 deadline).

• Teach in one of the 50 states or the four U.S. jurisdictions. The jurisdictions are Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; Department of Defense Education Activity schools; and the U.S. territories as a group (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

• Be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.

• Not have received the PAEMST award at the national level in any prior competition or category.

More information about the nomination process can be found at the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching website () or by contacting Juan-Carlos Aguilar at jaguilar@doe.k12.ga.us

Georgians Experience Astronomy Research in Schools (GEARS) Astronomy Resource Teachers

Astronomy is an interdisciplinary physical science that can capture the imaginations of young and old alike and can serve as a science elective that may spark the science interest in our teens. Georgians Experience Astronomy Research in Schools (GEARS) is a NASA funded project to bring GPS Astronomy to all GA high schools. The project has developed a NASA-research based Astronomy curriculum and provide teacher training across the state.

We are looking for a few fabulous teachers to spearhead the introduction of this NASA based, high-tech astronomy curriculum in the state of Georgia. Selected teachers will receive free tuition and a book allowance for two semesters (Fall 2011 and Spring 2012) of on-line astronomy instruction in exchange for teaching the new curriculum in their schools in 2012-2013 and providing feedback to the curriculum designers.

Teachers who successfully complete the course will be eligible and must be willing to assist with and lead professional development workshops (after training) for teachers for two weeks in the summer of 2011. Workshop curriculum and a workshop apprenticeship provided.

In addition to receiving two free semesters of graduate coursework, GEARS Resource Teachers will:

• Receive equipment for their classroom.

• Pilot new exercises and activities in Astronomy using NASA mission data.

• Be first in their region to teach GPS Astronomy.

• Mentor other teachers in using GEARS curricular resources.

• Experience cutting edge technology in action in a classroom setting.

• Attend GSTA meetings for free during project term.

On a competitive basis, GEARS Resource Teachers will be eligible to:

• Send a student and self to a national science meeting to present.

• Receive summer stipends to assist with and lead summer professional development workshops.

• Receive stipends to review curricular materials and activities.

For more information please contact Juan-Carlos Aguilar at (jaguilar@doe.k12.ga.us).

Science National Framework

• What is the framework?

A Framework for K-12 Science Education identifies the key scientific practices, concepts and ideas that all students should learn by the time they complete high school. It is intended as a guide for those who develop science education standards, those who design curricula and assessments, and others who work in K-12 science education.

• How was the framework developed?

The framework was developed by an 18 member committee of experts in education and scientists from many disciplines, appointed by the National Research Council (NRC). The report represents their consensus based on all the evidence and information they collected during the 18 months of their deliberative and writing process.

• How were the disciplinary core ideas chosen?

The committee built upon previous efforts such as Project 2061 Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy, the National Research Council’s 1996 National Science Education Standards, and their supporting documents, and more recently the Science Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (or NAEP – the so-called National Report Card) as well as the Science College Board Standards for College Success.

To develop and refine the final list of core ideas, the committee applied the following four criteria. A core idea should:

▪ Have broad importance across multiple sciences or engineering disciplines or be a key organizing principle of a single discipline.

▪ Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems.

▪ Relate to the interests and life experiences of students or be connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technical knowledge.

▪ Be teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of depth and sophistication. That is, the idea can be made accessible to younger students but is broad enough to sustain continued investigation over years.

Every core idea had to meet at least two of these criteria, and preferably three or all four.

• How is the new framework’s approach different from that of previous science standards?

▪ The new framework specifies eight science and engineering practices that students should learn and use over the course of their schooling. The previous standards included practices in its model of “inquiry-based learning,” but the new framework is more specific about the practices that students should learn and use.

▪ The new framework is designed to bring greater coherence to the science education that students receive across grades K-12. One aspect of this coherence is the emphasis on deepening students’ knowledge of core ideas systematically over multiple grade levels. Another aspect of coherence is the integration of a common set of practices and crosscutting concepts across the disciplines of science and across all of the grades.

▪ Finally, the framework calls for a full integration of the practices of science with the ideas and concepts. That is, students should learn the ideas of science through actually doing science.

This approach was also emphasized in previous documents, but was not fully implemented on a wide-scale.

• How will the framework be used?

A key purpose for the framework is to serve as the basis for new science education standards.

The framework lays out broadly the core ideas and practices that students should learn, and the standards will build upon that foundation, explaining in detail what students should learn at various grade levels. A group of states will lead the development of the standards, in a process coordinated by nonprofit education organization Achieve Inc. (see for further information about the next steps in this process)

You can download the full framework from The National Academies Press website (). Additionally, we will conduct a series of webinars to familiarize Georgia teachers with the framework starting in late September.

Georgia One of the 20 States to Lead Next Generation Science Standards

Georgia has been selected as one of the 20 states that will lead the development of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a state-led effort that will clearly define the content and practices all students will need to learn from kindergarten through high school graduation. The NGSS process is being managed by Achieve, a non-partisan education non-profit.

The development of the Next Generation Science Standards is a two-step process. The first step was the building of a framework that identified the core ideas and practices in natural sciences and engineering that all students should be familiar with by the time they graduate. In July, the National Research Council released A Framework for K-12 Science Education, developed by a committee representing expertise in science, teaching and learning, curriculum, assessment and education policy.

The second step is the development of science standards based on the Framework. The 20 Lead State Partners will guide the standard writing process, gather and deliver feedback from state-level committees and come together to address common issues and challenges.

Drafts of the science standards will be made available for public input at least two times during the NGSS development process. The NGSS should be completed by the end of 2012.

STEM

Contact: Gilda Lyon (glyon@doe.k12.ga.us) or 404.463.1977 or Juan-Carlos Aguilar (jaguilar@doe.k12.ga.us) for more information.

Georgia STEM Festivals

The Georgia Department of Education will sponsor three STEM Festivals in October. All students, parents, teachers, and the general public are welcome on the Saturday of each Festival. The event is designed to foster public understanding of STEM and the relevance of STEM fields to everyday life. Interactive and engaging exhibits will encourage Georgia’s students to consider a STEM career.

Host Sites:

• October 14 & 15, 2011- Gwinnett School for Math, Science, and Technology, Lawrenceville, GA

• October 21 & 22, 2011- Ware County High School, Waycross, GA

• October 28 & 29, 2011- Houston County High School, Warner Robins, GA

For additional information, please contact Gilda Lyon at glyon@doe.k12.ga.us or 404.463.1977. There is no cost to attend.

Registration to attend any of the STEM Festivals is available at

STEM Georgia Webpage

The STEM Georgia webpage is now available at

Follow STEM Georgia on Twitter

Immediate updates on grants, workshops, competitions, scholarships, and STEM resources.



Georgia Department of Education STEM School Designation

Schools in Georgia may apply for official GaDOE STEM School Designation via an application process where specific criteria indicative of STEM schools are met. Contact info is above.

Social Studies

Contact: Shaun Owen (sowen@doe.k12.ga.us)

• CCGPS Webinars- Literacy in Social Studies

– October 17th @ 3:30

– November 9th @ 3:30

• GLASS meeting- Athens, October 19th

• GCSS Conference- Athens, October 20th-21st

• US History Consortium, October 24th

• National History Teacher of the Year Nominations

–

• Congratulations to Annette Wise- Governor’s Awards in the Humanities

Division for Special Education Services and Supports

Director: Debbie Gay (dgay@doe.k12.ga.us) Telephone: 404-657- 9959

Contact: Kachelle White (kawhite@doe.k12.ga.us) Telephone: 404-657-9970

Interested in Information to Support Families of Students with Disabilities?

Free Assistive Technology Resources from The Family Center on Technology and Disability ():

FCTD Family Information Guide to Assistive Technology & Transition Planning: Individuals may order one free print copy of this 50 page guide at . Additional copies are available for $10.00. A discount is available for bulk orders. The pdf version of the guide is also available for download as well as the fully accessible html version at . Individuals may also order free copies of the 2011 FCTD AT Resources CD-Rom at .

Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership (PMP)

Tenth Annual Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership State Conference is Major Success! Nearly 200 administrators and parents collaborated at the Division of Special Education's 10th Annual Parent Mentor Partnership (GaPMP) in late September in Athens focusing on ways to embed family engagement into the work of increasing graduation for all students, particularly those with disabilities. This innovative partnership between special education directors and parents of students with disabilities is a statewide initiative that began in 2001 by the Division for Special Education. With nearly 100 moms and dads, who are raising a child who receives special education services, working directly for one of 86 local school districts across Georgia, this partnership reached more than one million families, educators and community members in the last two years.

The conference welcomed legendary UGA Coach Vince Dooley as the keynote speaker who discussed the critical role leadership and team work play in successful outcomes. In addition, four high school graduates from the Henry County School District who dropped out of school but came back last year under an innovative program, the Transition Academy, told their success stories. Daniel Purvis, an inspiring 8th grade science teacher from Upson Middle School in Thomaston-Upson School District, explained to participants how he motivates all students to get on board to succeed and shared his strong data results. Other sessions centered on effective improvement planning, promising family engagement practices embedded into the work of school improvement, how to tie activity data to outcomes, vital behaviors for change, scaffolding school communication and a preview of the state’s parent portal prototype which will be part of the State Longitudinal Data System.

Among their many activities, parent mentors embed family engagement initiatives into their district’s work to improve IDEA State Performance Goals. In addition, these parents work closely with the more than 700 Title I Parent Involvement Coordinators as well as other state organizations, particularly Parent to Parent of Georgia. Over the past decade, promising practices developed through the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership have been featured at many state and national conferences. Information about the Partnership is available through their innovative website for families and educators, . Questions? Contact Patti Solomon, psolomon@doe.k12.ga.us.

Georgia Department of Education’s State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS)

Contact: Hubert Bennett (hbennett@doe.k12.ga.us) 404-656-5798

[pic]

SLDS is designed to improve instruction by bringing student data to the teacher’s desktop through the SIS or student information system. Many Georgia school districts may use Infinite Campus, Power School or SchoolMax for their SIS. SLDS is designed to house many components for districts, schools and teachers alike. SLDS will eventually deliver state programs to districts, schools, and teachers via a secure information highway between the GaDOE and a district where data is sent and received called “The Tunnel”. This tunnel provides a safe access point for districts and schools to upload data and a secure location for GaDOE to pick-up the information districts uploaded. In essence, SLDS is a student’s permanent records folder in digital form.

Now available to all users via SLDS, is the current statewide testing and attendance data. The data is available to provide student information based on data provided through FTE and GTID numbers. This information is available to districts, schools and teachers. The goal is to offer a single sign-in for users to gather important information to make data-driven decisions regarding the district, school and classroom.

The SLDS system will have many components. The first is a data resource provided on a district, school and teacher level. In progress is the teacher resource link, also known as TRL. The resource link will provide teachers with additional free resources to assist in differentiation of student learning. Teachers will be able to provide quality resources to supplement a student's learning through the teacher resource link. For future development there is an assortment of programs intended to assist educators each and every day with all students. Items in development to be delivered through the tunnel include, Common Core GPS standards and resources, IEP/RTI, GAVS, IIS, professional development, Class and Leaders KEYS and many more!

SLDS Training

The SLDS Team in comprised of a number of resources. While most users are finding SLDS easy and intuitive, the SLDS is offering face-to-face training as requested by districts.

• For more information visit:



• For training modules visit:



• To schedule training:

SLDS@doe.k12.ga.us

• Join the SLDS Mailing List:

join-slds@list.doe.k12.ga.us

• Friend SLDS on Facebook



• Follow SLDS on Twitter:



Title IV-A: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities

Contacts: Marilyn Watson (mawatson@doe.k12.ga.us) and/or Jeff Hodges (jhodges@doe.k12.ga.us)

Georgia Student Health Survey II

It will soon be time to administer the Georgia Student Health Survey II (GSHS II) for the

2011-2012 school year. The survey generally opens every year in October. However, the opening of the survey has been delayed this year to coincide with the Georgia College and Career Ready Performance Index (GCCRPI) which is currently under review by the U.S. Department of Education. Because the survey window will open later than usual, schools will be given much longer to administer the survey.

The survey has been expanded this year to include all middle and high school grades (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12). URL addresses (web addresses) will remain the same as previous years. Each school in your school district with grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 is assigned a unique URL address to allow student access to the online survey. URL addresses are also available for private schools in your district that wish to participate. The survey consists of approximately 100 questions on a variety of health-related and school-safety related issues and takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please stay tuned for more details regarding the opening of the survey and to receive your URL addresses.

Copies of the middle and high school survey are available on the GaDOE Safe and Drug-Free Schools (SDFS) webpage at under “Title IV Resources.” Federal law requires that the survey be made available for review by all interested parties; therefore, copies may be reproduced and made available to parents or other parties upon request. Also, please make sure that your parents know about the survey and are given the option to opt out if so desired. A Passive Parental Permission form is also available on the SDFS webpage under "Title IV Resources."

Thank you for your continued support of the GSHS II and for using the survey results in planning your drug and violence prevention programs. Please contact Jeff Hodges or Marilyn Watson if you have additional questions about the survey.

| |

World Languages and International Education

Contact: Jon Valentine (jvalentine@doe.k12.ga.us)

Learning Resources/Materials/Textbooks

Contact: Randall N. Lee (rlee@doe.k12.ga.us) or 404-656-0476

The process for reviewing K-12 mathematics learning resources/instructional materials/textbooks will take place during the summer of 2012. Information was sent to Curriculum Directors concerning the request for mathematics’ educators to serve on the committee. We will be looking to identify evaluation sites in the 13 congressional districts. Please contact me if you need additional information and/or your interest in participation with this review process. Please forward this announcement to your mathematics’ coordinators and teachers.

NEXT CIA Monthly Update Webinar is scheduled for:

The next webinar is planned for Monday, November 14, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.

All webinars can be accessed through the Training page of or the link below.



................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download