May State Board of Education Report The State Board of Education did not meet in April, which meant there were many items to cover during the Committee, Committee of the Whole, and regular State Board meetings. The meetings took place over two days on May 10th and 11th with committee meetings on the first day and the Committee of the Whole and full State Board meeting on the second. To view the complete agendas, click the highlighted links above. Committees District Flexibility & Charter Schools Committee Tiffany Taylor, GaDOE Deputy Superintendent of Policy, Flexibility, and External Affairs, presented the 11 agenda items. The agenda consisted of 10 charter system renewals and one State Charter Schools Commission approval for refinancing a facility. Representatives from the charter systems thanked the committee and spoke in support of the work at their schools. There was some discussion around the State Charter Schools Commission approval and why the school did not meet financial qualifications. Representatives said financing for facilities is a common challenge for these charter schools and that they look at whether the financial situation affects students’ academic performance and day-to-day school operations. All agenda items were moved to the consent agenda. Rules Committee The agenda consisted of three items, including the new Georgia K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) Standards, qualified dyslexia screening tools, and the 2023-2024 private school list for the Special Needs Scholarship Program. Most of the discussion focused on the new K-12 ELA standards, the process for creating them, and whether GaDOE felt comfortable and ready to move forward with them, especially because of the need to align with the new literacy requirements in HB 538. Dr. April Aldridge, GaDOE Deputy Superintendent of the Office of Teaching and Learning, outlined how the ELA standards were created based on input from two review committees and a working group of more than 300 ELA educators who drafted recommendations. Dr. Aldridge explained that the standards align with the expectations around foundational literacy, structured literacy, and the science of reading in HB 538. Superintendent Richard Woods said the department is 100 percent ready to move forward with these standards but that professional development will be critical. Nick Ellis, Stan DeJarnett, and Lisa Kinnemore thanked everyone, especially educators, who were involved in creating these standards. Scott Sweeney hopes the state can minimize how many changes need to be made to standards in the future due to the vast number of resources that must be dedicated to training and professional development when implementing them after an overhaul. He said this as a cautionary comment, particularly for legislators. Lisa Kinnemore supports the suggestion from RESAs for annual reviews of standards. The standards were moved for a separate vote. Funds for qualified dyslexia screening were allocated in the FY24 budget. This item was moved to the consent agenda. Five schools have applied to be on the 2023-2024 private school list for the Special Needs Scholarship Program. There will be 287 total schools on the list to participate. This item was also moved to the consent agenda. Budget Committee The budget committee agenda was a lengthy one with 45 items. Rusk Roam, GaDOE Chief Financial Officer, presented. He highlighted the $2,000 salary increase for certified teachers and personnel, the State Health Benefit Plan PMPM employer contribution increase, funding for dyslexia screening and school counselors, and other school personnel pay raises. The committee moved quickly through the items with some discussion around a few. All items were moved to the consent agenda. See below for a few budget discussion highlights. Highlights: = The committee discussed contract renewals for Jetdoc and Chandley Communications, Inc., which provide on-demand mental health counseling services and outreach to homeless students to connect them to resources. = GaDOE Chief Turnaround Officer Stephanie Johnson presented a new contract for the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) to provide professional development and other resources centered on leadership skills to school leaders and educators. = The committee discussed round 1 recipients of school-based health center planning grants. The grants will be awarded to eight school systems. Mike Royal shared concerns that most of the districts, including Hall, Fulton, and DeKalb, were not rural and had access to large hospital systems. Audit Committee Because an incident arose in the district, representatives from Talbot County Schools did not attend the March State Board meeting. Superintendent James “Jack” Catrett answered questions and appealed to the Board, explaining that the primary reason the district has not met financial goals is due to personnel issues. The district does not have enough qualified applicants to correct personnel issues. Dr. Catrett explained that the school system had a 97.6 percent graduation rate before COVID, but recently the district has struggled due to COVID, tornado recovery, high levels of gun violence, and other issues that often plague rural schools. Mike Royal noted a lack of detail, specificity, and urgency in the corrective action plan. Dr. Catrett hopes that new personnel and local board members will help put the district on the right track. GSBA received mention for recently interviewing district representatives about progress made and handling tornado recovery and school safety issues. The superintendent also wants the board to achieve board recognition. Chair Downey said he remains hopeful and looks forward to seeing a positive report in six months. Downey and Royal asked Talbot County Schools to come back for the November State Board Meeting. State Schools Committee Atlanta Area School for the Deaf Superintendent J. Jack Johnson presented a school update using American Sign Language (ASL). Johnson’s presentation emphasized how the school provides students with total access to language and communication, which increases incidental learning and allows students to feel a sense of belonging. Dr. Kenney Moore, State Schools Director, said state schools are working on revamping their culture. He then gave a presentation on the Smokey Powell Center, which is managed by the Georgia Foundation for Public Education. The Georgia Academy for the Blind supports 85 local education agencies through the Smokey Powell Center by providing services like mobile ophthalmologists, assistive technology assessments, and equipment loans. Dr. Moore thanked the State Board for recognizing and fulfilling its fiduciary responsibility of managing the funds so students will continue to be served for many years to come. Committee of the Whole/State Board Meeting Inspiration Jack Griffin from FoodFinder presented the inspiration. Mike Royal introduced Mr. Griffin, who he first met as a high school student in Gwinnett County. The mission of FoodFinder is to easily connect families to free food programs with the goal of ensuring students are fed when they’re out of school. The need for free food programs in Georgia and across the country has increased due to COVID and inflation. Since launching the FoodFinder app, families can connect to 50,000 free food programs across all 50 states, and 175,000 Georgians and 2.2 million Americans have been served through the app. The Board created the consent agenda. Actions Taken All 45 Budget Committee items, two Rules Committee items, and 11 District Flexibility and Charter Schools Committee items were placed on the consent agenda and approved. The Board voted on two legal appeals, case 2023-25 and 2023-27. For case 2023-25 concerning Jeff Davis County Board of Education, the State Board voted to affirm in part and reverse in part. The decision was approved with a vote of 10 to 4. For Case 2023-27 concerning Muscogee County Board of Education, the State Board voted unanimously to reverse the decision of the local board. The Board took more time to discuss the new K-12 ELA standards before voting. Lisa Kinnemore wants to ensure RESAs, educators, and other groups have had a chance to look over the standards and to confirm alignment with HB 538. Frank Griffin expressed confidence in the development process. Scott Sweeney reiterated that overhauling standards takes a lot of time and money and disrupts teachers’ stability so it’s important to be able to use standards for many years. Teacher of the Year Michael Kobito has not heard concerns about the changes to the standards, but he has heard from other teachers that it’s important to have enough time to be trained to implement them properly. The K-12 ELA standards were approved with a vote of 13 to 1 with Kinnemore as the dissenting vote. Chair’s Reports Superintendent Woods did not provide a report this month. Chair Downey introduced Caroline Pedersen, a recent college graduate who will begin teaching special education in the fall. Ms. Pedersen gave information about Georgia Miss Amazing, a national self-esteem movement led by and for girls with disabilities, The organization encourages self-advocacy by building confidence and enhancing leadership and communication skills. Joy Hawkins from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) introduced Fran Dundore, the new Director of School Services. Fran is taking over the Governor's Honors Program and academic auditing responsibilities. Director Hawkins and Dr. Dundore gave an overview of the academic auditing process. During the typical process, GOSA looks at four areas for flags: answer change, unusual response pattern, gain score analysis, and response time analysis. Then schools with three or four flags would be audited. Due to COVID, GOSA will use a different process of randomly monitoring 50 schools this year. Next month will be Michael Kobito’s last meeting serving as Ex-Officio to the Board. The 2024 Georgia Teacher of the Year will start his/her term in July. The Board will meet next on June 14th and 15th. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Graduation season is upon us, and now is a wonderful time to invite State Board members, senators, and representatives to graduations, award ceremonies, and other events to highlight successes in your district. |