Deborah White authored this report.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Committee of the Whole
The State Board of Education Committee of the Whole met in sub-committees, discussed items for action, and developed a consent agenda for action on Thursday. Peggy Nielson was not present.
Budget Committee
The Budget Committee reviewed and discussed 41 contracts and grants proposed for action by State Department of Education staff and 7 items for information. The Committee recommended items for action to be placed on the consent agenda.
Charter Committee
The Charter Schools Committee discussed potential charter petitions expected to need state board action; reviewed financial reports; heard reports from staff; and recognized visitors, including members of the state Charter Schools Advisory Committee.
The Charter Schools Advisory Committee chair addressed the board and brought forth a recommendation that charter system status be granted to Decatur City, Gainesville City, Marietta City and Chattahoochee County schools. After extended discussion the State Board Charter Schools Committee recommended that all the petitions except Chattahoochee County be recommended for approval to the full board and that the Chattahoochee petition be tabled pending the gathering of additional information.
At the Committee of the Whole Meeting, Mark Wilson, Charter Advisory Committee chair, was recognized. He complimented the State Board for the outstanding work of the Charter Committee and expressed the benefits of the Charter Advisory Committee and the Board working together on system charters.
Rules Committee
The Rules Committee reviewed and discussed rules to be considered for action by the full board including: class size waivers; Amendments to the AYP Workbook; request by Whitfield County to waive SBOE Rule 160-5-1-.19 Grades 6-8: Competitive Interscholastic Activities; Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Private Schools for 2008-2009; Supplemental Educational Services Providers list; changes in construction cost guidelines. A rule will be initiated at the July meeting to address IE2 Flexibility Agreement with possible board action in August. Amendments to the Accountability System Awards and Consequences of SSAS may also be initiated in August to align with IE2.
The Committee received a federal legislative update from GaDOE staff. Georgia and 16 other states have submitted Differentiated Accountability Flexibility Plans to US ED. At most, 10 states will receive approval. If Georgia’s plan is approved the plan would be implemented in the 2009-2010 school year. In addition, the 60 day public comment period for proposed federal regulations will close on June 23. The proposed regulations impact several areas: graduation rate; number of years to earn a diploma; and supplemental education services. Also, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in San Francisco, on May 12 upheld a school district’s policies permitting individual schools to decide whether to require students to wear uniforms.
Operations Committee
The Operations Committee heard recommendations on agenda items from each committee.
Committee of the Whole
The Committee of the Whole reviewed items recommended for action by the standing committees and approved an agenda for the Thursday meeting.
Department of Education staff shared the precision review process followed for revisions to the Georgia Performance Standards. The Social Studies GPS for grades 3-5 and 8-12 precision review was conducted as part of the annual review established by the board. The K-3 Writing Standards were created to ensure a vertically aligned curriculum.
Superintendent Cox shared that 45 new tests have been developed and implemented to assess the GPS. Of the 45, grade 6 and grade 7 social studies tests are the only tests of concern requiring revisions. After a comprehensive review, no testing errors were found with the scoring or other testing procedures. The major problems appear to be that the social studies items were field tested with students being taught the QCC and the teachers serving on the assessment advisory groups had not taught the social studies GPS. Grades 6 and 7 Georgia Performance Standards have been revised and will be posted for public review. The tests will be aligned to the revised standards and the grade 6 and grade 7 social studies CRCTs will be field tested in 2009.
As part of the Strategic Policy Discussion, Superintendent Cox presented statewide CRCT results showing the achievement gaps closing in mathematics, language arts, and science with the implementation of the GPS. Cox stated that the decline in the percentage passing the 8th grade math CRCT was due to an implementation dip and more rigorous standards. She recommended that teachers and administrators carefully review students’ performance records to make promotion or retention decisions and not use a single test to make the decisions. Many students were very close to “meets” on the CRCT and may meet the promotion requirements when re-tested. Cox added that many students will benefit from summer school and the additional support may help decrease the dropout rate. She asked that districts keep detailed records of attendance to support the request for additional funds in the supplemental budget. She added that 4,065 students had accessed the online 8th grade math modules since last Monday. Cox was very clear that the implementation of the mathematics Georgia Performance Standards will better prepare all students for the future. Math is non-negotiable.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
State Board of Education Meeting
The State Board met in executive session to consider personnel matters, legal issues, appeals of local board decisions, and requests for waivers and variances of State Board Rules.
The meeting was called to order by Chair, Wanda Barrs. Peggy Nielson and James Bostic were absent. The Twelfth Congressional District Representative is vacant.
Board member, Linda Zechmann, Representative for the First Congressional District, introduced Mark Brown who immigrated to the U.S. at age 18 from Jamaica and 15 years later won the 1995 World Champion Public Speaker Award. Mr. Brown presented an inspiring message on wisdom. He challenged the board and members of the audience to engage in “forgettery” (discarding what holds you back and past failures), to embrace lessons learned, and to gain wisdom. He concluded by leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Board recognized the recipients of the following awards:
2008 Migrant Education Award
- Oscar Hernandez, Peach County High School, Peach County Schools.
2007 LeTendre Education Fund
- Tiffany Lynn Smith Ware County High School, Ware County Schools
- Paige Perry, Decatur High School, Decatur City Schools
- Jessica “Ashley” Dunn, Armuchee High School, Floyd County School
2008 Exemplary Library Media Program Award
Elementary Schools
- Meadowcreek Elementary School, Gwinnett County Schools
- New Hope Elementary School, Whitfield County Schools
Middle School
- Hahira Middle School, Lowndes County Schools 1
High Schools
- Mill Creek High School, Gwinnett County Schools
- North Gwinnett High School, Gwinnett County Schools
2008 Exceptional Library Media Program Award
Elementary Schools
- Crabapple Lane Elementary School, Fayette County Schools
- South Effingham Elementary School, Effingham County Schools
Middle School
- Long Cane Middle School, Troup County Schools
High School
- Perry High School, Houston County Schools
2007 Georgia Media Specialist of the Year Award
- Linda Louise Martin, Library Media Specialist Sugar Hill Elementary School, Hall County Schools
National School Library Media Program of the Year
- Luella Elementary School, Henry County Schools
Superintendent Cox introduced and recognized the 2009 Georgia Teacher of the Year, Leanne Maule, Cartersville City High School, Cartersville City Schools. Ms. Maule shared how an unchallenged, low performing high school student can graduate magna cum laude with a double major from college and become Georgia Teacher of the Year.
Following a brief break, the board approved the following items:
Minutes of the May 8, 2008 State Board Meeting and minutes of the May 20, 2008 called meeting.
Contracts and Grants
To enter into a contract with Cartersville City Schools at a cost not to exceed $54,869.00 in State funds for reimbursement of the Georgia Teacher of the Year salary.
To enter into a contract with Joye Darwin d/b/a Leisure Time Activities at a cost not to exceed $78,912.00 in Federal funds for charter bus services for Georgia School for the Deaf.
To amend a contract with Desire2Learn (D2L) at a cost not to exceed $80,700.00 in State funds for the enrollment of additional students in the 2007-2008 school year.
To enter into a contract with 13 regional Educational Technology Training Centers (ETTCs) at a cost not to exceed $24,440.00 in State funds for ETTC Reimbursement for offering the GACE Computer Skills Competency (CSC) Assessment.
To enter into a contract with Systems and Solutions, Inc. at a cost not to exceed $7,123.11 in State funds for Internal Connections hardware at the Georgia Academy for the Blind.
To enter into a contract with AT&T at a cost not to exceed $3,899.71 in State funds for telecommunication services and internet access.
To enter into a contract with Teksystems, Inc. at a cost not to exceed $1,304,000.00 in State funds for the Division of Technology Services Help Desk.
To enter into a contract with Covendis Technologies at a cost not to exceed $3,600,000 in State funds and $1,600,000 in Federal funds for IT Staff Augmentation
To enter into a contract with BearingPoint, Inc. at a cost not to exceed $0.00 in State funds for the operations and maintenance of the Georgia Statewide Student Information System (GSSIS).
To enter into a contract with AT&T at a cost not to exceed $3,644,845.60 in State funds for maintenance and upgrades related to the K-12 State Network.
To enter into a contract with The Internet Safety Group, Incorporated at a cost not to exceed $55,000.00 in State funds for developing a program that Georgia may use as a model in support of children using the Internet safely.
To enter into a contract with The Macon Centreplex at a cost not to exceed $57,586.00 in State funds for hosting a Secondary Summit.
To reallocate FY 08 State Dropout Prevention/Dropout Recovery grant funds in an amount not to exceed $26,412.
To enter into a contract with National Dropout Prevention Center/Network at a cost not to exceed $100,000.00 in State funds for providing training for the High School and Middle School Graduation Coaches through attendance at the 2008 National Dropout Prevention Conference.
To award a grant to LEAs at a cost not to exceed $13,431,808.00 in State funds for a salary supplement of ten (10) percent of state base salary for persons certified through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
To award a grant to local school systems (LSSs) and state operated programs (SOPs) at a cost not to exceed $403,429,601.00 in State/Federal funds for meeting the excess cost needs of students with disabilities.
To award a grant to selected systems at a cost not to exceed $9,112,199.00 in State/Federal funds for High School Program Grants for Agricultural Education.
To award a grant to selected school systems at a cost not to exceed $42,725,954.00 in State/Federal funds for CTAE High School Program Grants.
To enter into a contract with the University of Wisconsin at a cost not to exceed $1,853,432.00 in Federal funds for the completion of the contract terms for the printing, distribution, administration, scoring and reporting of the ACCESS for ELLs, the state-adopted English proficiency measure.
To enter into a contract with NCS Pearson at a cost not to exceed $5,840,193.00 in State funds for the completion of the contract terms for the development, administration, printing and scoring/reporting services of the EOCT.
To enter into a contract with Questar Assessment, Inc. at a cost not to exceed $1,243,980.00 in State/Federal funds for services for the development, printing, distribution, scoring, and reporting of the GAA for the 2008 - 2009 school year.
To enter into a contract with NCS Pearson at a cost not to exceed $3,383,157.00 in Federal funds for services for the development, administration, printing/distribution, and scoring/reporting services of the GHSGT and BST for the 2008-2009 school year.
To enter into a contract with Riverside Publishing Company at a cost not the exceed $1,308,881.00 in State funds for software, delivery, hosting, and support for Georgia's Online Assessment System.
To enter into a contract with The College Board at a cost not to exceed $1,100,000.00 in State funds for administration, scoring, and reporting services for the Preliminary/SAT (PSAT/NMSQT) for the 2008-2009 school year.
To enter into a contract with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, at a cost not the exceed $1,642,864.00 in State funds for services to support administration, printing, distribution, scoring, reporting and technical validation of the Georgia Writing Assessment Program and the Basic Skills Test-Writing (BST-W) for the 2008 - 2009 school year.
To enter into a contract with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia at a cost not to exceed $257,862.00 in State funds for services to support development, state-wide training, administration, printing, distribution, scoring, reporting, and technical validation of the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS) for the 2008-2009 school year.
To enter into a contract with The College Board at a cost not to exceed $1,000,000.00 in State funds for fourth year renewal of the SAT Online Prep Course for all students in grades nine through twelve (9-12).
To award a grant to the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH) at a cost not to exceed $250,000.00 in State/Federal funds for due process hearings for special education.
To enter into a contract with The Construction Education Foundation of Georgia at a cost not to exceed $140,000.00 in State/Federal funds for services necessary for the recognition, support, and accreditation of secondary Architecture, Construction and related pathways.
To award a grant to middle schools at a cost not to exceed $1,400,000.00 in State funds to remediate 8th grade students who did not successfully pass the administration of the spring CRCT in mathematics.
To enter into a contract with Augusta State University at a cost not to exceed $109,250.00 in State funds for the promotion and administration of the Georgia Science Olympiad program.
To amend the contract with the University of Wisconsin to increase by $309,833 for a new total contract not to exceed $1,674,400.00 in other funds for the printing, distribution, administration, scoring and reporting of the ACCESS for ELLs, the state adopted English proficiency measure.
To enter into a contract with Ellen Forte of edCount, LLC, at a cost not to exceed $62,075.00 in State funds for the conduct of an independent alignment study of the Mathematics and Science Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests in grades 3 - 8, subject to sole source determination.
To award a grant to the Science Awareness Foundation of Georgia at a cost not to exceed $100,000.00 in State funds for reimbursement of expenses incurred in order to bring the International Science and Engineering Fair to Georgia.
To award a grant to selected local school systems (LSSs) and state operated programs (SOPs) at a cost not to exceed $3,089,213.00 in State funds for special education services.
To enter into a contract with CTB McGraw Hill at a cost not to exceed $12,500,000.00 in State/Federal funds for the development, administration, printing and scoring/reporting services of the CRCT.
To enter into a contract with American Association of Adapted Sports Programs, Inc. at a cost not to exceed $65,339.00 in State funds for providing support services designed to enhance the lives of disabled students with physical or visual impairments in grades 1-12.
To adopt the FY 2009 (School Year 08-09) salary schedule for which funding has been appropriated by the General Assembly.
To authorize the State Superintendent to take the appropriate actions necessary for the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission to issue a total of $142,000,000 in twenty-year general obligation bonds on behalf of the Georgia Department of Education.
To sub-allocate bonding authority under the federal Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program in an amount not to exceed $12,500,000. This amount is the aggregate total for uncommitted 2006 allocation plus allocations for Georgia for 2007.
To award a grant to 25 schools at a total cost not to exceed $253,761.22 in Federal funds for participation in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
To award a grant to the Georgia Student Finance Authority at a cost not to exceed $1,296,000.00 in Federal funds for the disbursement of Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships.
Charters
To renew charter status for DeKalb PATH Academy, a 5-8 start-up charter school located in DeKalb County, for a two-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010.
To renew charter status for George Walton Comprehensive High School, a 9-12 conversion charter school located in the Cobb County school system, for a five-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013.
To renew charter status for International Studies Elementary Charter School, a K-5 conversion charter school located in the Dougherty County school system, for a five-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013.
To approve charter status for Morgan County Charter High School, a 9-12 conversion charter school to be located in the Morgan County school system, for a ten-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30,
To approve charter status for The World Language Academy at Chestnut Mountain, a K-5 conversion charter school located in the Hall County school system, for a ten-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2018.
To approve charter status for Wynnton Arts Academy, a K-5 conversion charter school to be located in the Muscogee County school system, for a ten-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013.
To approve charter status for Riverwood International Charter School, a 9-12 conversion charter school to be located in the Fulton County school system, for a five-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013.
To approve charter system status for City Schools of Decatur, for a five-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013
To approve charter amendments for Ivy Preparatory Academy, a 6-12 state chartered special school located in Gwinnett County.
To deny renewal of charter status for Talbot County Charter Alternative Academy.
To approve charter system status for Marietta City Schools, for a five-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013.
To approve charter system status for the Gainesville City School System, for a five-year term, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2013.
To deny charter system status for the Chattahoochee County School System.
To award state grant funds for Charter System Grants in an amount not to exceed $375,000 subject to the availability of funds.
Rules
To approve for the 2007-2008 school year the requests from Dougherty County to waive SBOE rule 160-5-1-.08 CLASS SIZE, part (1) (b) to increase the maximum class size requirement.
To submit by June 13, 2008 the amended, revised version of Georgia’s Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook (2007-2008) for final approval by the United States Department of Education.
To waive SBOE rule 160-5-1-.19 GRADES 6-8: COMPETITIVE INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES, part (3)(c)3.(iii) so as to allow that no more than two days or nights each week preceding a school day may be used to schedule the same competitive interscholastic activity.
To approve 47 private schools for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program for the 2008-2009 school year. 106 private schools were previously approved; 11 are in progress. The deadline to submit a request is June 30 as required by SB 10.
To remove Kumon of Fayetteville from the 2007-2008 State-Approved Providers List.
To approve an increase in the Construction Cost guideline contained in Rule 160-5-4-.16. This increase will provide an additional $7.00 per square foot for new classroom construction. Currently, the reimbursement is based on a $64/66/68 cost per square foot factor for elementary, middle, and high schools respectively.
Other Items
To post the Precision Review of the Social Studies Georgia Performance Standards for grades 3-5 and 8-12 for public review and comment. The review is to provide additional assistance for classroom implementation. There are no substantial changes.
To approve the addition of the ELA K-3 writing standards. As the State writing assessments have been aligned to the ELA Georgia Performance Standards, the gap between the elementary writing standards and the middle/high school writing standards became apparent. To make0...0 a cohesive transition from one grade to another and to ensure the "ladder approach" to the writing standards, the primary/elementary ELA Georgia Performance Standards were made more genre specific. The ELA Advisory Committee, as well as primary/elementary teachers, discussed, synthesized, and evaluated the existing standards and contributed to the development of the K-3 writing standards.
To approve the new member appointments to the State Advisory Panel (SAP) for Special Education.
To post the Precision Review of the Georgia Performance Standards for K-5 Mathematics for public review and comment. Based on the charge of review from the State Board of Education and the feedback from K-5 training sessions held over the last three years, a precision review of the K-5 Performance Standards for Mathematics has been completed. The committee of elementary educators and higher education personnel met to discuss recommendations. The mathematics K-12 advisory committee reviewed the recommended edits. The documents are now ready for public review and comment.
To approve the Local Facilities Plans for the following school systems. These plans have been recommended by the Comprehensive Facilities Survey Team and meet all requirements in State Board Rule 160-5-4-.01, EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION PLAN (LOCAL FACILITIES PLAN).
Butts County
Calhoun County
Candler County
Charlton County
Cobb County
Colquitt County
Cook County
Fayette County
Floyd County
Gilmer County
Habersham County
Henry County
Jasper County
Madison County
Marion County
Randolph County
Taylor County
Telfair County
Thomaston-Upson County
Thomasville City
Troup County
Wayne County
Whitfield County
Other Business Items
To post the revision of the 6th and 7th grade Social Studies GPS for public review and comment.
Superintendent Cox requested nominations from systems for 6th and 7th grade teachers to participate on a committee to review the 6th and 7th grade Social Studies GPS. Nominations were received from around the state and a committee was established. The team consisted of classroom teachers, system level social studies coordinators and a building principal and an assistant superintendent of schools. The committee met May 28-30. On Monday June 2, the Social Studies Advisory Council met to review the revisions and make recommendations to the committee. The revisions are now ready for public review and comment.
School systems will or have received a textbook for Math I; the book is also available online.
The meeting adjourned at 11:45.
Items for Information
The following items or reports were presented to the Board on Wednesday for information and future consideration/action.
Budget
Upcoming grant to the Georgia Student Finance Authority at a cost not to exceed $1,296,000.00 in Federal funds for the disbursement of Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships.
Upcoming grant to school systems that employ a Middle School and/or High School Graduation Coach at a cost not to exceed $37,177,850.85 in State funds for the 2008-2009 school year.
Upcoming contract with the National Science Center at a cost not to exceed $750,000.00 in State funds for the purpose of providing students and educators with high-quality resources aligned to the Georgia Performance Standards.
Upcoming contract with local school systems at a cost not to exceed $200,000.00 in State/Federal funds for services of teachers on special assignment with the Division of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education.
Upcoming contract with local school systems at a cost not to exceed $200,000.00 in State/Federal funds for services of teachers on special assignment with the Division of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education.
Upcoming contract with TBD at a cost not to exceed TBD in State funds for the completion of services for the administration and scoring/reporting services for the State's norm-referenced testing program during the 2008-2009 school year. This contract is to obtain services for the administration and scoring/reporting services for the NRT for Georgia public school systems that elect to administer the NRT for those students enrolled in grades 3-5 and 6-8 for the 2008-2009 school year. Systems may choose one grade within each grade band 3-5 and 6-8 to administer the NRT. Systems may also choose to administer the NRT in reading, mathematics, science, or social studies or all four content areas. The contractor shall provide materials consisting of test booklets, answer documents, directions for administration, other support materials, test data software, and scoring/reporting. The contractor will collect and score the answer documents and will provide test result reports to the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and the local school systems. Reports will be provided on individual performance, school performance, and system performance.
Contracts 50k and under for April 26, 2008 - May 30, 2008
To award a grant to LEAs at a cost not to exceed $429,167,619.00 in Federal funds for the No Child Left Behind Programs for FY 2009.
Other
Upcoming request to approve the Georgia Performance Standards for the newly-developed CTAE career pathways, coursework for Career Essentials (CCAE), related courses for Phase I and Phase II career pathways, and six middle school courses.
Upcoming request to approve the Georgia Performance Standards for American Sign Language I and II.
The next regular meeting of the State Board is scheduled for July 9-10.
This report is for information only and is not intended as an official record of actions of the State Board of Education.
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