GSTA has joined a coalition of Georgia teachers associations in supporting the state's CCGPS standards for ELA and Mathematics.  We believe these standards support learning for all of Georgia's students, and we hope to see the state continue moving forward to focus on supporting teachers and students in achieving the high expectations laid out in the CCGPS.  We look forward to working with Georgia's education policy makers to provide the best possible education for our students.  Please read our full statement on the AJC Get Schooled blog from Maureen Downey.  Please consider sharing this post in your personal and professional networks.  The following sites provide some useful background information related to the Common Core and to the Next Generation Science Standards.

[via Deborah White, GACIS] In related news, the State Board of Education held a called meeting today via conference call.  During that meeting, the Board unanimously approved the recommendation to post revisions to Georgia Performance Standards for ELA and Mathematics for 60 days for public review and comment.  During the brief meeting, Martha Reichrath shared the process used and groups involved during the review and drafting of the proposed revisions.  Board members’ comments centered on why some of the recommendations were addressed in the guidance document rather than the standards, why multiplication and division were not a stand-alone standard in the early grades, need to define “significant change” and concerns about teacher preparation programs not teaching the standards and how teachers who move to Georgia will be trained. You can view the proposed revisions by following the links below.

• Proposed Revisions to ELA Standards K-12
• Proposed Revisions to Mathematics Standards K-High School

GSTA strives to keep our members informed of important developments related to education in our state.  We hope you will share information and your opinions with your colleagues and policy makers.  Please let me know if you have any questions about these announcements.

Best regards,

Jeremy Peacock

GSTA is posting this following press release from the Georgia DOE to keep our members in Congressional District 6 informed of this opportunity for public input on educational standards in Georgia.  This Congressional District 6 (see map) includes northern portions of Fulton and DeKalb Counties and the northeastern portion of Cobb County.

GSTA is forwarding the following press release from the Georgia DOE to keep our members in Congressional District 13 informed of this opportunity for public input on educational standards in Georgia.  This Congressional District 13 (see map) includes all of Douglas County and portions of Cobb, Fulton, Fayette, Clayton, and Henry Counties.


Dr. Mary Sue Murray to Host State Board of Education Thirteenth District Public Hearing

State Board of Education member Dr. Mary Sue Murray will hold a public hearing for citizens in the Thirteenth Congressional District on Tuesday, August 12, 2014.  The meeting will be held from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Alexander High School, 6500 Alexander Parkway, Douglasville, GA.

The purpose of the hearing is to hear comments from interested citizens and educators within the congressional district regarding the performance and problems of public education. This includes hearing comments about the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts as part of the State Board’s formal evaluation of these standards.

As part of the board's evaluation of the CCGPS standards, each State Board of Education member will hold a public hearing in their congressional district. This is the first of those hearings.

Persons wishing to speak should sign in upon arrival.  For more information, please contact Mrs. Debbie Caputo at 404-657-7410.

The Georgia Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services or activities.  Individuals who need assistance or auxiliary aids for participation in this public forum are invited to make their needs known to Mrs. Debbie Caputo at (404) 657-7410, no later than 72 hours before the scheduled event.​

See the original press release at: http://www.gadoe.org/External-Affairs-and-Policy/communications/Pages/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?PressView=default&pid=210#sthash.6FSRQSf8.dpuf

The following message was forwarded from GSTA's legislative consultant, Tyler Kaplan.  Please watch for more information later this week.

The second  meeting of the House Study Committee on the Role of Federal Government in Education will be held Monday, August 25th at 10am at LVIS Student Center at Georgia Gwinnett College, 1000 University Center Lane Lawrenceville, GA 30043.
Georgia Gwinnett College is under construction right now. Please use the directions below to assist you as your GPS may not be accurate. There will be directional signs to help with parking.
 
The agenda has not been set at this time.
 
Directions from Downtown Atlanta:
Take I-85 to GA 316 East.  At Riverside Drive (2nd Exit), turn left onto Riverside.  Cross Duluth Highway and stay straight until Riverside ends.  Turn right onto Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.  At first traffic light, turn left onto Walther Boulevard.  Just past the C-3 Church on your left, turn left onto Tree Creek Boulevard.  At second left, turn left onto Lonnie Harvel Boulevard.  The first stop sign on the right will take you into the parking lot.
 
Directions from Athens:
Take 316-West.  After Highway 20, you will go under the Collins Hill Bridge.  The Campus will be on your right.  At the next right, just past the campus, is Walther Boulevard.  Turn right there onto Walther.  Go past the apartments and turn at the next right onto Tree Creek Boulevard.  At second left, turn left onto Lonnie Harvel Boulevard.  Go to the fourth stop sign and turn right.  At the next stop sign, stay straight (you will be in a huge parking lot).  At the last left, turn left and park in the reserved spaces (there will be an orange cone in front of them).
 
If you would like to be on the agenda and give a presentation to the committee you will need to contact Cortney Gillham,Cortney.gillham@house.ga.gov, with your topic and a presentation will need to be sent to her by Thursday, August 21st  at 5:00pm. You will also be required to bring 25 copies of your presentation for the committee members prior to the start of the meeting so that they may be distributed. There will be time for public comment at the end of the meeting. You do NOT need to contact Cortney Gillham if you plan on speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting, only if you would like to be on the agenda. The Chairmen prefer that you make your presentations Georgia specific and provide specific examples if possible.

• The panel of lawmakers, teachers and parents appointed by Speaker David Ralston to explore Common Core and the federal government's role in Georgia's K-12 education system held their first meeting in late July at the State Capitol. [View committee membership]
  
• The meeting was almost entirely informational, and did not include any testimony or public comment.  Dr. John Barge gave a detailed explanation of the origins of Common Core, which was followed by supporting information from a number of his staff members. [View Dr. Barge's presentation]
  
• Clara Keith and Susan Andrews both gave lengthy overviews of the process related to federal grants, including Race to the Top.  Also of interest was a discussion from Jennifer Hackemeyer about the status of data sharing in local school districts.  She noted that data sharing both within school districts and across the state is cumbersome, but the development of a longitudinal data system has been helpful. [View presentation]
  
• There was also a brief discussion from Melissa Fincher, Director of Assessment at DOE, about the Georgia Milestones Assessment system and the high hopes that they have for its performance.  
• Moving forward the consultants will monitor the final three meetings of this study committee.  Meetings will be held across the state toward the end of each of the upcoming three months.   They will likely be held in Gwinnett, Milledgeville and Hall County, respectively.

Tyler J. Kaplan

Legislative Director

J.L. Morgan Company