The State Board of Education completed its regular round of monthly meetings today.  The day opened with a two-part inspiration. First, State Board member Martha Zoller introduced her guest Pastor Rod Hughey for a short message.  Second, Dr. Stan DeJarnett invited Muscogee County Superintendent Dr. David Lewis and his choral group from the Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts.  Dr. DeJarnett heard them at the GSBA June conference and wanted the other Board members to hear them. You can hear these very talented students starting at about 23:00 into the recording.

No one wished to speak at the public hearing on the proposed change to the student attendance rule. 

Click on the links for the agendas for the State Board meeting and the Committee of the Whole.  Committee meetings on Wednesday worked from the agenda of the Committee of the Whole.

The Board took the following action today:

• Amended their bylaws to allow up to two regular meetings to be held outside Atlanta
• Adopted the amended State Board rule on student attendance to incorporate HB 1292 regarding student participation in 4-H programs or activities
• Tabled legal appeal 2023-03 to reverse a local board decision (they are checking on the timeline to clarify the deadline for their decision)
• Approved the nominating committee report so officers remain as they have been this year:  Chair, Jason Downey; Vice-Chair, Dr. Stan DeJarnett; and Vice-Chair of Appeals, Leonte Benton
• Approved the consent agenda which included- appointments to the State Charter Schools Commission,  posting proposed changes to the Statewide School Nutrition rule, and posting more standards for various subjects

Reports were done during the Committee of the Whole.

Superintendent's Report 

Dr. Keith Osburn, Deputy Superintendent for Technology Services, and Dr. Russ Cook of the Vinson Institute presented a report on the work of their task force, convened by State Superintendent Richard Woods, to develop standards around the purpose and role of technology in the 21st century classroom.

State Superintendent Woods presented Dr. Caitlin Dooley with the Distinguished Service award as she moves on to serve as the Executive Director of Voices for Children.

The Board received an update on the English Language Arts standards.  Comments closed on December 5th so they are still analyzing them.

Chair's Report 

State Board member Mike Royal took a moment of personal privilege to recognize the long career and work of Dr. David McCleskey who has retired from Gwinnett County Schools. 

Major General Tom Carden, Adjutant General of Georgia, talked with the State Board about the purpose and use of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), sometimes referred to as "the military test." It is provided free by the Department of Defense. He told them that nationally only 23% of high school graduates qualify for military service due to academic, medical, and/or obesity reasons.  Gen. Carden said many high schools in Georgia do not allow this testing and many of those who do will not share the testing data with military recruiters. When asked why schools aren't allowing the test, Gen. Carden said the military had not done a good job of communicating with others about it.

Students who take the test are under no obligation to join the military but if they score well, they are likely to receive visits from one or more recruiters. Several Board members shared stories of their children's success due to this vocational battery.  Board member Scott Sweeney suggested they look at a rule to require students be given information about the test and Board member Scott Johnson agreed as they would be mandating information not the test.  An audience member who had transferred here from Oklahoma shared with the Board a law that passed there in 2021 to require all public schools to offer the test to sophomores through seniors and consult with military recruiters.  

Dr. DeJarnett took the opportunity to bring up another issue -- the difficulty schools are having getting ROTC instructors. Gen. Carden said they would work with them on that.

The final part of the Chair's report was from Dr. Thomas Koballa, Dean and Professor of Education at Mercer University.  Dr. Koballa told the Board about the transitional school they will open in Fall 2024, the Roberts Academy at Mercer University in Macon.  It will serve children with dyslexia in grades 2-5. It will be the only school like this outside of Atlanta.

Literacy Efforts Update 

On Wednesday, Joy Hawkins, Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) and Stacy Lutz, GOSA Director of Strategic Programs and Evaluations, provided an update on the Growing Readers program.  This is a K-3 literacy professional learning grant designed and implemented by the RESAs across the state. Click on the link for more information on the program. The presentation begins at 15:40 in the recording of the meeting.

Georgia Academy for the Blind Performers 

Eight students from the Georgia Academy for the Blind provided a good end on Wednesday for a day of Committee meetings as they sang three songs and then preformed on the drums. To listen, check the recording about 2:42:00 in.  They are a good reminder of why we do what we do.

The next meeting of the State Board will be January 11-12.