1. A description of the process the LEA used to determine the academic needs of its student body including the unique needs of students served through each applicable federal program. An analysis of the results should be included.
A. Overview of Test Data
The Candler County LEA assesses student needs and identifies gaps on a continuous basis by participating in the following standardized assessments:

The Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) grades 3-
8 · The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) grades 3, 5, and 8

The Georgia Writing Tests grades 3 and 5

The Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) grade 11

The End of Course Tests (EOCT) in Mathematics (Algebra and
Geometry), Social Studies (United States History, Economics-
Business/Free Enterprise), Science (Biology and Physical Science),
English Language Arts (Ninth Grade Literature and Composition and
American Literature and Composition)

The Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA)

The Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program (GKAP)

The state checklist for eligibility in the Early Intervention Program
(EIP Grades K-3) and the GKAP (Grades K-1 and CRCT Grades 2-
3)

The Benchmark Test and CRCT for monitoring students in EIP
(Grades 4 and 5)

The ACCESS (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in
English State to State) test for ELL students

An initial assessment is used to identify students with special needs by the Special Education Department followed by a comprehensive psychological assessment. The school system evaluates this assessment every three years to determine if a new psychological is needed.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) when invited to participate

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) grade 10
Data review begins when the system test coordinator receives the score reports from the testing service. The system coordinator disseminates the reports to the superintendent, assistant superintendent, curriculum director and other administrative staff. The school principals and school test coordinators also receive school level reports from the system coordinator. At the school level, the student test data is
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disaggregated holistically, by domains and by subject areas in professional Learning communities (PLC) that are facilitated by lead learners. Test data is also studied by grades, across grades, by subgroups, and across demographic groups. The data is charted on the basis of the current year to determine gaps and inform teaching decisions. The data becomes a part of the profil e section in each school’s improvement plan. Priorities are identified and established at each school using the resulting data analysis. The test data is added to the District and schools’ Balanced Scorecard to discover trends and leading/lagging indicators. The review is continued by grade level learning teams of same subject teachers.
Teachers use the DOE website to study the data to determine if they have met their individual improvement goals and to set new goals for student academic achievement.
They also use the data to make informed teaching decisions regarding resources and instructional strategies for disaggregated groups, with specific priority for ELL, special education, gifted, economically disadvantaged, gender, and ethnic groups. Migrant students who are at risk of failing receive assistance through after school and summer programs to minimize the effects of interruptions to their learning. Mentors and tutors are provided for migrant students and other at-risk groups who are not meeting the st ate’s QCC and GPS standards. Home visits are conducted to support at-risk migrant students who are learning English. Technology and scientific research-based software is used to help migrant children catch up with their schoolwork when they are lagging behind.
The data is sent to the parents and they are encouraged to schedule individual conferences with teachers and counselors to further examine and explain the students’ individual progress. The district has set aside six early release days, two of which are for parents to have conferences with teachers about testing and academic achievement and two that are dedicated to district-wide professional learning.
In June, the Superintendent convenes a Lead Learner workshop to analyze test data on school level objectives and for AYP. Lead Learners determine status on individual classroom objectives. In collaboration with their principal, Lead Learners produce a draft of their school growth plan to present to the Board of Education members during a fall workshop. School administrators report on literacy Lexile levels, summer school data, promotion rate by grade, and AYP subject and subgroup analysis and status. School administrators share with board members what accounts for high achievement areas and the programs, instructional practices, and interventions planned for the upcoming school year.
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Data for all students is compared with scores for all students at the state, RESA and comparison group levels. The examination is used to show stakeholders how we rank against other systems. Our PRISM coordinator, along with other PRISM administrators compares our system math and science test data with the six other school systems in the East Central Region. The science and math scores are reviewed by PRISM to determine what professional development might be needed to address weak areas. In order to inform all stakeholders of the system performance on high stakes assessments, the results are released to Metter Advertiser, the local newspaper. Targets for Strategic
Plans Goals Goal 1: Improve academic student performance
2005 2006 2007 2008
Meet AYP for all schools 4/4 T-I met 3/4 T-I met ¼ T-I met 2
1. Increase the percentage of students in Grades 1-8 meeting or exceeding the target in
Reading/Language Arts
Year
1 st
grade
2 nd
grade
3 rd grade
4 th
grade
5 th
grade
2005
87
86
93
88
87
2006
89
87
85
86
84
2007
96/85
86/80
88/83
80/80
76/86
2008
95/84
97/92
88/86
82/80
77/85
6 th
grade
7 th
grade
8 th grade
77
88
83
88
88
88
84/84
87/92
81/83
79/73
91/92
89/89
2. Increase the percentage of students in Grades 1-8 meeting or exceeding the target in math
2005 2006 2007 2008 Year
1 st
grade 83 87 87 91
3

2 nd
grade
3 rd grade
88
85
78
91
77
89
93
60
4 th
grade
5 th
grade
6 th
grade
7 th
grade
8 th grade
78
88
73
82
84
93
60
87
76
84
66
79
72
65
59
85
84 82 81 61
3. Increase the percentage of students in Grades 3-8 meeting or exceeding the target in science
2005 2006 2007 2008 Year
3 rd
grade
4 th
grade
5 th
grade
6 th
grade
7 th
grade
8 th grade
94
89
93
85
83
72
94
93
94
60
59
84
78
76
73
54
72
74
83
80
77
57
71
49
4. Increase the percentage of students in Grades 3-8 meeting or exceeding the target in social studies
2005 2006 2007 2008 Year
3 rd
grade
4 th grade
93
90
95
95
91
93
93
90
5 th
grade
6 th
grade
7 th
grade
90
80
83
98
89
89
87
74
89
89
N/A
N/A
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8 th
grade 82 80 87 61
5. The percentage of students in Grade 11 achieving a status of pass or pass plus on the
GHSGT in language arts, math, science, social studies and writing
2005 2006 2007 2008 Year
97 95 98 85 LA (%)
Math (%) 91 90 90 86
Science (%)
Soc. Stu (%)
Writing (%)
69
77
84
76
86
95
68
75
85
82
71
89
A. Non-Academic Data
Input is gathered through surveys to get the perception of all stakeholders. These surveys contain questions about the academic status of the schools and the school system. Additionally, students, parents, teachers, and community members are surveyed about their expectations for learning support, involvement, school climate, safety, and school/community relations. These surveys are reviewed on both the school and district levels to gain knowledge that will improve instruction and lead to informed decisions about the development of programs and projects. Specifically, the district surveyed 11 th grade GHSGT test takers to identify needs for test preparation and address gaps.
The Candler County school system completed the PRIDE Survey to determine the needs of students related to safety, drug abuse and violence, all of which are barriers to learning impacting student achievement. The recent survey results made it possible to analyze four years of data for students who are currently in 9th and 12th grade. Rates of involvement in drugs and violence were lower for Candler County students in the following categories: alcohol (11th), Marijuana (11th), inhalants (8th and 11th), cocaine
(11th), hallucinogens (11th), gangs (11th), afraid at school (11th). Local rates were higher than regional and national rates in following categories: tobacco (8th and 11th), alcohol (8th), marijuana (8th), and guns at school (11th). During the fall of 2007, middle and high school students participated in the Georgia Student Health Survey II.
According to the comparative data provided, Candler student drug use prevalence was lower that state rates in all drug categories at all grade levels surveyed, with the following exceptions: alcohol and tobacco use by 10 th and 12 th graders.
Based on those findings, Candler County schools will continue to emphasize use of the Mendez Too good for Drugs curriculum, a program proven effective via scientifically based research.
Candler County schools will expand use of Second Step violence prevention program.
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Analysis of PRIDE survey of parents of elementary, middle and high school students revealed overall satisfaction with drug prevention efforts and safety of the schools.
Parents expressed concern regarding drug abuse and violence in the community and
Candler County schools will continue to collaborate with community organizations via
Family Connection to address those concerns. Faculty surveys indicate a need for training in the following areas: violence prevention (bullying, conflict resolution), drug information, risk factor reduction, locating and using community resources, and drug education training and awareness for parents. Candler County schools will address these training needs. The number of discipline incidents decreased in two schools, increased in one school, and remained the same in one school. A career interest inventory is scheduled to be administrated in both 8 th and 10 th grades in the 08-09 school years. Annually, seniors will take the Georgia Work-Ready Assessments to identify work readiness. In two of our schools, teachers recently completed a GAPPS
Analysis survey that compared perception to reality in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
The comprehensive needs assessment process continues with an assessment of highly qualified teachers needed to improve student achievement. Part A of the Title II-A worksheet is used to outline possible action steps toward meeting the requirements for highly qualified core academic teachers. The district actively recruits highly qualified teachers through advertisement in the area newspapers, posting on the district and state websites, job fairs, connection to area colleges and universities and other active recruitment processes. For retention, the district assigns mentors to teachers who are new to the district and provides individualized-based professional learning to meet diverse student needs. All new teachers are surveyed to gain a menu of professional learning offerings. Additionally, new teachers are trained on 3.1 Balanced Scorecard
Instructional processes that are common to all of the district’s standards based classrooms. Despite the fact that the district is experiencing increases in enrollment, we continue to meet the state’s class size requirement. At this time, the district is working fervently to maintain a 100% highly qualified teaching and paraprofessional staff. At this time, three teachers are in the process of meeting the requirements to become highly qualified. The system’s equity plan is closely connected to the vision, mission, and belief/commitment statements that are in our Balanced Scorecard. Note that equity is addressed by the use of the wording ‘all students.”
Vision - Our vision for Candler County Schools is for all students to meet or exceed Georgia
Accountability measures, for the graduation rate to continuously improve 80% and above, for the system to be ranked in the top quartile of comparable systems in Georgia.
We will accomplish this vision with high expectations, significantly improved literacy practices, multiple interventions, community and parent engagement and alignment from Pre-K-12.
As a result of our success, we will attract high performing teachers and new business and industry, and our graduates will be prepared to continue post-secondary options or pursue gainful employment.
Mission - To simulate growth in student achievement by continuing efforts to advance the development of all stakeholders: students, parents, staff, and the community.
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Belief/Commitment Statements: We believe and are committed to: continuously improving the graduation rate; an aligned standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment that provides for extended learning opportunities for all students; effective teaching that energizes and maximizes active learning for all students; significantly improving the literacy level of all students; data driven collaborative decision making; professional growth for all of our colleagues; and parent and community involvement to enhance learning.
A consolidated list of the districts’ prioritized needs include: Three teachers are working to become highly qualified. One teacher is finishing up an internship, one teacher has taken the
GACE and enrolled in a program to become certified, and one teacher needs to complete the technology.
2. A description of high-quality student academic assessments that the LEA and schools will use: To determine the success of children in meeting the
State student academic achievement standards, and to provide information to teachers, parents, and students on the progress being made toward meeting the State student academic achievement standards; To assist in diagnosis, teaching, and learning in the classroom in ways that best enable low-achieving children served under applicable federal programs to meet
State student achievement academic standards and do well in the local curriculum; To determine what revisions are needed to projects so that such children meet the State student academic achievement standards; To effectively identify students who may be at risk for reading failure or who are having difficulty reading, through the use of screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments ;
A. The high-quality student academic assessment that is used by the Candler County
School System can be described as both locally designed and State-mandated. Locally designed benchmark tests, unit and chapter tests, and quizzes are used at all levels to frequently monitor student progress and understanding. Rubrics are also used to assess the quality of student performances on standards. School level teams are selecting probes to appropriately progress monitor Tier 2 interventions. The State mandated tests are designed to measure student achievement on the state mandated curriculum and identify students failing to achieve mastery on the content, assist teachers in diagnosing students’ academic needs, and assist the system in planning both state- and federal-mandated education programs that Candler schools will utilize.

The CRCT administered to students in grades 1-8 measures how well students master the skills and knowledge described in the Georgia Performance
Standards and the Quality Core Curriculum.

The EOCT administered to students in grades 9-12 measures how well our students mastered the skills and knowledge described in the Georgia
Performance Standards and the Quality Core Curriculum for selected subjects.

The GHSGT provides the system with information to ensure that students have mastered the essential core academic content and skills for a high school diploma.
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
The Writing assessments given in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 provide the system with feedback about the overall writing performance and areas of strengths and weaknesses of our students.
B. To assist in the diagnosing, teaching, and learning in ways that best enable lowachieving children served for special education, ELL learners, migrant education, disadvantaged children and other applicable federal programs to meet state student achievement academic standards and do well in local curriculum, the following high quality student assessments are used:

The CRCT test is used by the system to place students in remediation programs like EIP, after school tutoring, REP, and summer school to help them achieve mastery of the state curriculum.

The GAA is used by the system to test students who cannot participate in the regular testing program as determined by their IEP team.

The ACCESS is a standards based criterion referenced assessment that is used by the system to measure ELL social and academic proficiency in the English
Language. Commercial and teacher created assessments are used to assist in diagnosing learner deficiencies and implementing interventions for low-achieving students. Diagnostic tools include, but are not limited to the following; STAR
Reading and STAR Math, Vocabulary Cartoons assessments, Harthorne
Intervention software, Coach books, Orchard software, Study Island software,
PLATO, Nova Net, Touch Math, SRA Reading program, Accelerated Reader online program and the newly acquired Class Works software.

GKAP-R is an assessment that we use to test students to see if they are ready for first grade. Recruitment and retention of experienced teachers is a high priority for our district. For example, a Director of Literacy has been employed to specifically oversee the training and purpose of recruiting highly qualified teachers.
C. To determine what revisions are needed to special projects and initiatives so that low-achieving students meet the state academic achievement needs data from the analysis of the high quality CRCT, GHSGT, EOCT, ITBS, GKAP are used.
Differentiated Instruction is used to assist teachers in helping low-achieving students to master state standards. Interventions are in place to meet the needs of individual students as reflected on their test score reports. An Interventions Coordinator at each school works with an SST facilitator and teachers work with students that require tier three support using the revised Student Support Team/Response to Intervention
(SST/RTI) process. The District level Interventions Coordinator offers recommendations for strategies and other interventions to be used with these low achievers. Provisions include both instructional and program interventions that are scientifically research based. Instructional interventions are based on Marzano’s nine practices for effective learning. Process interventions are based on current data analysis from formative assessments, universal screeners, probes, data-driven project interventions include, but are not limited to tutoring, summer school, SST referrals, selected class assignments, referral to counselor(s), referral to EIP and REP classes for reading and math. Based on
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an extensive analysis of the 07/08 achievement data, a technology-driven, prescriptive summer school for low achieving high school students was established for credit recovery and graduation test review.
D. the District’s Better-Seeking team in conjunction with the newly hired District Reading
Specialist has intensified our literacy initiatives. To effectively identify students who may be at risk for reading failure or who have difficulty with reading, Candler County uses the criterion referenced CRCT, norm referenced ITBS, and STEEP Program. 100% of the system’s teachers have participated in differentiated instruction training and we are beginning the move towards the use of flexible grouping and district-wide agreements for teaching and learning. All students who do not meet grade level standards in reading on these tests are targeted for additional instruction. Benchmark Assessments, nine weeks tests, semester exams, classroom writing rubrics, SRA status reports, and
STAR reading are also used as indicators of reading difficulty.
E. The Home Language Survey that is provided by the GaDOE is used for initial screening for ELL students. It is included as part of the initial registration and for students who enter at the beginning of the school term and for students who register after the school year begins. The school district uses the Occupational Survey Form to screen for migrant families and students. The ACCESS for ELL is used to determine the academic placement level for helping teachers to design instructional programs once it is determined that students need services. Migrant students are held accountable for the CRCT tests to determine if they are meeting State standards in their academic core content. Locally developed and State sponsored remedial activities are in place to help students who have not mastered core content.
Progress of all children is shared with teachers, parents, and students as follows:

Parent/Teacher Conferences,

Newsletters, Personal Letters, and Memos

Metter.Org Website

GA DOE Website

Progress Reports and Report Cards,

Emails,

Phone Calls,

PTO meetings,

Parent Nights/Transition Orientation,

Teacher Professional Learning

Staff Meetings,

Staff Memos,

Vertical PLC Meetings, Grade level and Team Meetings.
Students that do not make adequate academic progress are held accountable to the newly implemented district-wide grading policy and the revised local promotion and retention policy.
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3. A description of how the LEA will participate, if selected, in the State
National Assessment of Educational Progress in 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 and how the results will be used in the local educational agency.
Candler County has participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) and will continue to participate in the future if selected. The NAEP was used to monitor what our students know and it allowed us another type of assessment for reading and math. NAEP data compares our student achievement with that of national trends. NAEP data is posted on the NAEP website and is available to systems.
4. A description of strategies to share system progress, disseminate evaluation results, encourage broad stakeholder involvement, and market the role technology can have in helping students achieve in innovative ways.
As reflected in the Balanced Scorecard, The Candler County School System believes that the engagement of effective teaching energizes and maximizes learning. With this in mind, we are committed to:

significantly improve the literacy level of our students.

significantly increasing the graduation rate. Moreover this will be accomplished by the alignment of curriculum instruction and assessment.

Candler County School District is further committed to providing extended learning opportunities for all students.
Our mission statement is focused on professional growth for all colleagues; to effective teaching that energizes and maximizes active learning for all students.
TECHNOLOGY MISSION
In order to support the system’s mission, the Technology Plan for Candler County seeks for the district to become a wireless state with complete access to technology at all levels to support student achievement by:

seeking to engage students in authentic learning by creating 21st century learning environments that provide the technology framework necessary to support challenging and authentic experiences that prepare the students for the workplace of the future;

by incorporating extensive technology applications to bring about the greatest amount of highest quality learning and success that each student is capable of achieving;

using technology as a valuable tool to ease the administrative obligations our teachers and school office staff face on a daily basis;

communicating efforts with all stakeholders

professional development opportunities to support teachers, administrators, and technology specialists with efforts to integrate technology into the curriculum to
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meet instructional goals is a key component of this plan by providing innovative and varied tactics to implement such strategies effectively.
VISION FOR TECHNOLOGY
The Technology Department works collaboratively with the Candler County School
District to accomplish performance-based curriculum, assessment and analysis of student data, 21st century learners and learning environments, differentiated instruction, and high quality teacher, leaders, and support staff. The vision for technology use in the
Candler County school system can best be viewed in three different and distinct levels or applications. The classroom level--which would include student and teacher needs, the administrative level —both at the school and central office, and the parent/community level. Although they are separated for ease of discussion, each of them are viewed as being interrelated and dependent upon the other to complete the environment of success that is being built for all stakeholders.
Teachers:

must embrace technology as an effective instruction tool and not just a necessary “housekeeping” tool.

98% of our certified staff has met the Georgia computer competency requirement at this date. The technology director will work with these three teachers to provide ample opportunity to demonstrate technology skills this school year.

must be provided with high quality hardware and software that works as it should when it should. A dependable infrastructure is crucial to the successful attempts and attitude necessary to seamlessly integrate technology into the everyday operation of a classroom at any and all levels. Efforts must be made to purchase quality materials that provide meaningful engagement opportunities. Safety and arranging a room that is easy to physically manipulate and aesthetically pleasing is also key.

must be given time to explore and experiment with both hardware and software

must receive the training and support to feel confident in their efforts to utilize these new tools.

must also receive the applications necessary to view technology as a way to make the routine housekeeping duties, record-keeping, and seemingly endless piles of data that must be compiled and disaggregated, less cumbersome and more “automatic”.
Students:

need to have fast, secure, uninterrupted access to the internet and state-of-theart hardware and software.

should have access to online learning and testing opportunities so that they can learn at their own pace and in a style that maximizes their ability to comprehend the material presented.

involved in opportunities for project based learning, differentiated instruction and accelerated/remediation experiences have shown to be most successful in
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effectuating the most gains in student achievement and are most readily embraced by students when presented in a technology rich environment.
Candler County envisions classrooms with the following:
 A “library” system that will allow students who do not have access to computers at home the opportunities to checkout a laptop for home use.

A laptop and docking station on each teacher desk.

Scientific peripherals such as probes, computerized microscopes, etc.

White boards with CPS units.

Digital cameras, projectors and printers.

Mobile labs with wireless connectivity, projectors and printers.

Sets of wireless hand-held pocket pc.

Access to online curriculum, such as Nova NET, to provide extended learning/remediation opportunities.

Access to software that will facilitate the development of benchmark exams and will calculate and provide the vehicle to disaggregate assessment results.

Software that will track and summarize student results on CRCT, ITBS, EOCT and GHSGT.

Online practice opportunities for all state mandated testing.

Instructional software available in several languages to help non-English speaking students continue to achieve academically while learning English.

The availability to access all instructional software from home.

Software that will maximize the opportunity for all special needs students to have exposure to the QCC/GPS curriculum.

Software that will provide maximum testing opportunities for our special needs students.
Principals, district personnel, superintendent, and board members will:

receive input and produce output electronically.

use laptops and docking stations to utilize our student information system and other software applications to stay abreast of student attendance, enrollment, student assessment results, teacher lesson plans and curriculum maps.

use laptops to access student achievement data, make reports and provide daily/constant communication with each other, administrators, teachers, student and parents.

use electronic communication to channel all state and federal reports, compliance issues, and funding applications.

handle via Internet centralized software and maintain all state, federal and local financial operations.

have opportunity for training and instruction all users at all levels — administrators, office staff, central office personnel, finance and payroll departments, technology specialists, and board members.
 has had ample opportunity to “test drive” the new endeavor(s) before required implementation.
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Parents:

must have computer access. For those not able to afford a computer at home, we envision student check-out laptop services for ease of accessibility.

will be provided access to both computers and the internet via our local county library and by opening up school computer labs after hours for parent/community use.

will have access to software applications that will translate all system information into several languages to help our non-English speaking stakeholders.

will be offered educational opportunities for community members and parents our school computer labs for everything from English classes, to GED review sessions, GED testing opportunities, to financial aid opportunities for seniors to income tax preparation classes.
 should view the schools as “theirs” and we believe that another way to increase student achievement is by increasing parental involvement.

have the opportunity to access grades, homework assignments, attendance and student status information via our student information system, PowerSchool.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Teachers and Administrators at each school will receive training on RiverDeep
Software and how to utilize it to build benchmark assessments and disaggregate results by December of 08.

Teachers will receive training from system users of NovaNET on software and lab use.

Teachers in the system who presently use the CPS system and Smartboards will conduct training session for new users of both.

Technology Specialist will train teachers on using PDAs and RESA ETTC personnel will train teachers on classroom instruction uses of the PDA.

RESA ETTC will provide teachers training with technology enriched lesson plans.
Also teachers who received technology grants that incorporated lesson planning from RESA will mentor and train new teachers.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Training will be provided for parents on the PowerSchool Parent Portal by the County
Data Clerk at each school’s open house and at one additional session each semester.
The following will be used to collectively measure the success of the implementation of the technology plan:

Develop and use a technology skills matrix so that teachers can rate themselves and students periodically throughout the year on their level of knowledge of technology integration.
 Incorporate the effectiveness of technology into each school’s improvement plan.

Analyze achievement test scores that reflect implementation of new and existing software and hardware.
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
Analyze the evaluation instrument used in all professional learning classes to help measure the effectiveness of and need for training in various areas of technology.
In addition, information will be collected that shows clear and compelling evidence that:

The superintendent and the board of education include provisions in the system budget for sufficient resources for the purchase and regular replacement of technologies to enable teacher to produce new forms of quality work for students.

The superintendent and the board of education articulate in board policies, procedures and practice the purpose of technologies with respect to the purpose of schools.

The superintendent and the board of education show their continued support of technology in education by providing the funding and personnel necessary to support the schools’ technology needs to include but in no way limited to a county data clerk and technology specialists for each school.
 The superintendent and board of education include provisions in the district’s budget for on-going, purposeful training for all staff to gain the confidence and skills necessary to design and produce high-caliber and rigorous work for students using new technologies (that include smart boards, PLATO and NOVA software, and response systems).
A presentation on the three-year implementation of the district technology integration plan will:

be shared with the Superintendent and Board of Education.

be made available for all schools

be shared at a faculty meeting facilitated by the schools technology committee.
 be published on the Metter.org website. The system’s strategic growth plan includes the system technology integration plan and will be made available to all stakeholders via the website.

will foster community awareness through presentations at area community and civic organization meetings
5. A description of how the LEA will provide additional educational assistance to individual students assessed as needing help in meeting the State’s challenging student academic achievement standards. The description must include the following: Specific mention of disadvantaged students, migrant students, limited English proficient students, and students with disabilities.
Specific steps the LEA will take to ensure that all students and teachers have increased access to technology. Specific steps on how the LEA will utilize available funds to support after school programs (including before and after school and summer school) and school-year extension programs.
A. Candler County School System disaggregates data during summer lead learner and administrator meetings. Before pre-planning and school planning, analysis retreats will
14

be utilized to disaggregate data and create the FY08-09 school growth plan. Test data for the CRCT and GHSGT are disaggregated by subgroups (ELL, economically disadvantaged, migrant, students with disabilities) by schools and by curriculum areas to determine the academic needs of all students in the system.
An Interventions Coordinator is embedded at the system level to assist schools in identifying and providing support for students that are at risk of not meeting State standards. School level SST coordinators assist the Interventions Coordinator in the identification of appropriate interventions for at-risk students. Graduation coaches for middle and high school have been added to help students meet the State’s challenging student achievement standards. A high school instructional program specialist is being added in Fy08-09 to provide specific feedback to teachers on effective teaching practices. This individual will assist the Graduation coach and administration in determining needs and appropriate interventions for students and teachers. The ninth grade collaborative was added to provide additional support to freshman and assist in meeting the more rigorous GPS standards. An innovative program called “May
Madness” is held the last four weeks of school and was designed to remediate and accelerate students based on student assessment information. The Hallmarks of May
Madness are collaborative strategies, flexible grouping, and maximizing teacher talents.
Students are allowed to participate in Georgia Virtual School to recover high school credits and get back on track for graduation. Candler County Performance Learning
Academy has been added to provide an alternative setting for completing graduation requirements. Academic coaches have been added to provide assistance with differentiated instruction in standards-based classroom initiative. Lexile training has been conducted for lead learners, principals, and central office administrators. Student profile sheets are created too, as a means of organizing and using data to improve the academic progress of students in danger of not meeting standards. All four schools have restructured the daily schedule to include a mastery and enrichment period.
An ELL Coordinator, certified ELL teachers, and migrant paraprofessionals assist ELL and migrant students toward proficiency in reading, language arts, and math. Other than
English, Spanish is the only other language spoken by our students. The district and all of the school hosts a special Parent Night for parents of ELL students to compare
CRCT and GHSGT test scores. Translators and childcare are to assist parents with data interpretation and with questions and concerns. TransAct software is used by the district as a communication tool to convert important parent and student documents to
Spanish. Rosetta Stone software is used to help ELL and migrant students improve their command of the English language.
Disadvantaged, special education, migrant, ELL and other students use Nova Net for credit recovery. Nova Net has the potential for all students to earn extra units toward graduation. Teachers act as subject matter experts to assist the Nova Net Coordinator during class. This also gives teachers a hands-on and direct insight into the strengths, weaknesses and potential for unit recovery that Nova Net provides.
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Internal and external professional learning on strategies to work with ELL, disadvantaged, special education and migrant students is provided to all teachers.
Special education teachers attend the same high quality professional learning as all other teachers.
Special Education students are required to learn the same GPS curriculum as regular students.
Candler County uses Title I and II funds to reduce class size in the elementary school.
Flexible grouping and class size reduction allow teachers to monitor the progress of special education, ELL and migrant children closely in order to plan lessons and activities that are targeted toward their specific area(s) of need. Disadvantaged students, migrant students, ELL students and students with disabilities are included in core content classes and supported by using paraprofessionals to assist with understanding the instruction and providing extra help.
Inclusion is used to allow the Special Education students access to the same guaranteed viable curriculum provided to other students.
Student support teams are in place in all schools and work with the Intervention
Specialists, counselors, administrators, and teachers to profile subgroups of students that are at risk. After the profiles are completed, both formative assessments and benchmarks are used to provide prescriptive remedial services in various learning environments, such as after school tutoring, extra help sessions, and subject-specific double dosing. Mentors have been provided for at-risk middle and high school students.
Book Buddies are provided for at-risk disadvantaged, migrant, SWD, and ELL students in grades K-5. All schools have revised their master schedules to include a mastery and enrichment (M-E) learning period. This time will assist with double dosing and skills ramp up.
Early morning (high school) and after school (middle school) help is available for
Algebra I students.
Each school has a special education teacher who serves as lead learner and coordinates data analysis, record keeping, school level special education and regular education teacher collaboration and attends district meetings with the Special Education
Director to ensure continuity between the schools and maintain a rigorous, standardsbased curriculum supported by accurate assessment.
B. The LEA technology plan indicates the order in which teacher workstations and student computer terminals will be upgraded/replaced. Smart Boards and Computer
Performance Systems (CPS) are provided to encourage active student engagement of the GPS curriculum.
C. Funds from Title I, state extended day and reading 4-8 are coordinated to support after-school and summer school tutoring. After-school tutoring is held for students
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identified through test data analysis who are not meeting standards or need extra help.
Summer school is held for students in grades1 -12 for students who have either failed or scored at a low basic level of competency on one or more portions of the CRCT or
GHSGT. Students who fail to meet grade level promotion requirements must also attend summer school. Schools provide written documentation of the goals, objectives, and means of evaluating programs. The interventions, resources and strategies used in after-school and summer school programs must be scientifically research-based to ensure student learning. Specific instruction tailored towards individual needs and technology resources as outlined in the schools’ after school, summer school, and extended year plans is provided for students.
6. A description of the strategy the LEA will use to coordinate programs under Titles I, II, III, IV, V, VI, Part B, Perkins, and IDEA to provide professional learning on the integration of technology into the curriculum and instruction to improve and support teaching, learning, and technology literacy. The description should include purchasing technology, available technology tools, distance learning opportunities, and professional learning for teachers, administrators, pupil services personnel, any other staff, and parents.
After reviewing school inventories and compiling data, the committee found that our small, rural system seems to have a handle on both the hardware and software side of technology. Labs are replaced on a rotational basis with old machines being refurbished and deployed back into the system. All schools in the district have:

up-to-date computer labs with high accessibility as well as new machines for both teachers and students located within the classrooms

new servers have been installed with updated administrator and instructional software. (SEMSNet, Nova NET, RADARS, Orchard, PLATO, PDExpress, Study
Island, STAR Reading, Geometers Sketchpad, STAR Math, Accelerated Reader
Online, Accelerated Math, Microsoft 2007, Class works, and Rosetta Stone
Software).

All teachers trained on and using PowerSchool and PowerSchool Teacher.
Our greatest needs are related to the seamless integration of technology into their daily lessons, the training to utilize new technology and the time to plan on how to incorporate these new ideas. Teachers have lots of new “gadgets” at their disposal but need to learn how to effectively manage and implement these new instructional enhancers. A second need is in making purchases of software that are appropriate, high quality and that fit the specific instructional needs of the students as they relate directly to QCC/GPS standards. 98% of our certified staff has met the Georgia computer competency requirement at this date. Efforts are being made to upgrade classroom and lab computers to be compatible with new software. The technology director will work with these three teachers to provide ample opportunity to demonstrate technology skills this school year.
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In order to address the achievement gap between our ELL students and our special needs students, not only will teachers have to receive the training necessary to implement new technology and software into an educational experience that meets the needs of these unique students but they must also have additional opportunities to access this new technology in an environment that is least restrictive and most conducive to the learning needs of these students. That will mean increasing our wireless infrastructure at both our Intermediate and Elementary School so that additional opportunities are allowed these students within the confines of their regular classrooms. Special assistive technology purchases will need to be considered for our special needs students. Opportunities for our ELL students will need to consider their special needs to receive academic instruction while also increasing their ability to speak and understand English. Limited use of computers at home for both sets of students is another consideration that must be dealt with. Present considerations include plans to allow students to check-out laptops for home use, and for parents to have access to internet and computers through the community library and opening up school computer labs for after-hours use.
Professional learning is administered, according to system goals, through the coordination of personnel, budget, student and staff needs, and curriculum standards.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT :

Teachers and Administrators at each school will receive training on River
Deep Software and how to utilize it to build benchmark assessments and disaggregate results by December of 08.

Teachers will receive training from system users of NovaNET on software and lab use.

Teachers in the system who presently use the CPS system and Smartboards will conduct training session for new users of both.

Technology Specialist will train teachers on using PDA's and RESA ETTC personnel will train teachers on classroom instruction uses of the PDA.

RESA ETTC will provide teachers training with technology enriched lesson plans. Also teachers who received technology grants that incorporated lesson planning from RESA will mentor and train new teachers.

Administrators will participate in one-day training on PowerSchool and IRM software.

Administrators will participate in a basic word processing, spreadsheet and
PowerPoint handson training at the beginner’s level by the end of the first nine weeks of school. Intermediate level training by the end of the first semester.

Training will be provided for parents on the PowerSchool Parent Portal by the
County Data Clerk at each school’s open house and at one additional session each semester.
7. A description of how the LEA is addressing 8th grade technology literacy by including: Evidence of the tools or strategies used to determine an estimation of student technology literacy at all grade levels (or bands of
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grade levels, such as PreK-2nd, 3rd-5th, 6th-8th, 9th-12th; An estimation of the students’ school-based experiences with developing technology skills and technology literacy at all grade levels (or bands of grade levels); Evidence of the tools or strategies the system is implementing to ensure that all students are technologically literate by the end of 8th grade.
Metter Elementary School
Integration /Coordination with Local Planning Initiatives:
Metter Elementary School has employed an instructional technology specialist to coordinate the use of the computer lab. This individual will help coach colleagues in the appropriate uses with content standards. MES particularly meets the following: to maintain and support the network to infrastructure to assure access for all employees and students. All classrooms have computer and 25% of classrooms now have LCD projectors and smartboards, to improve academic performance through the integration of curriculum. 1-3 grade Teachers at MES all completed the online assessment benchmark provided by the State Department of Education. Increase the administrative uses of technology; to address this at MES we have had Staff Development for all
Special Ed. teachers on the use of SEMS net to administrat e their IEP’s. Goal III: to utilize technology as a vehicle to communicate with and inform all stake holders. MES addresses this by providing extended hours for computer lab. Parents and students are invited to use the lab in the evening to work on Georgia Assessment online practice.
MES website is another vehicle that parents have access to PowerSchool, as well as individually compiled lists of useful websites.
Websites/multimedia applications/spreadsheets include:
- Internet browsers to solve problems
- Supplemental Instructional Resources
- On-line collaboration
- Real World situations
- Student Computer Research
Metter Intermediate School
Metter Intermediate School is a fourth and fifth grade school in Candler County. This is the school’s sixth year in existence. All our plans, including our technology plan, are coordinated and aligned with system initiatives. We benefit from coordination of local, state and federal funds to facilitate the integration of technology into our curriculum and to support the initiatives outlined in our school growth plan which is a derivative of our system Balanced Scorecard. Our school and system work closely with our ETTC provided through our First District RESA and a PRISM initiative coordinated through
Georgia Southern University.
Metter Middle School
Through the consolidated School Improvement Plan we have found that there are funds provided for technology from Title One, Title Five, Instructional Technology,
Communities in Schools, and special education. These funds will help to purchase equipment, software and resources to meet our technology goals. The school is also
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working with various agencies such as, Education Technology Training Centers, First
District RESA and Live Oak Migrant Agency to provide technology training and resources for meeting goals.

PRISM--PRISM is the Partnership to Reform Math and Science. All schools in the Candler County School System have been a part of the PRISM initiative.
PRISM Grants and after school tutoring funds have been used to purchase
Classroom Performance System (CPS) Technology.

CPS is an electronic remote response system that allows students to answer questions and participate in class with the click of a button. It also stores data and provides detailed item analysis reports that can be used as benchmarks.
These action research projects have focused on promoting engagement and student achievement through multimedia technology and other brands of response systems, such as Activote, will be added.

CIS AmeriCorps--This initiative provides Metter Middle School with a tutor to conduct Microsoft applications, Internet research, basic computer components, and technology infused math and reading skill building.
Metter High School
Through our School Growth Plan, which is coordinated with our System Strategic Plan, we have found that there are funds provided for technology from Title One, Title Five,
Instructional Technology, Communities in Schools, and special education. These funds will help to purchase equipment, software and resources to meet our technology goals.
Our school and system work closely with our ETTC provided through our First District
RESA and a PRISM initiative coordinated through Georgia Southern University.
All students in the Candler County School District are expected to master the
Technology Integration Standards as indicated by Georgia Department of Education.
The following performance indicators have been taken from the International Society for
Technology Education (ISTE).
GRADES PRE K - 2
Performance Indicators:
All students should have opportunities to demonstrate the following performances. Prior to completion of Grade 2 students will:
1. Use input devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard, remote control) and output devices (e.g., monitor, printer) to successfully operate computers, VCRs, audiotapes, and other technologies. (1)
2. Use a variety of media and technology resources for directed and independent learning activities. (1, 3)
3. Communicate about technology using developmentally appropriate and accurate terminology. (1)
4. Use developmentally appropriate multimedia resources (e.g., interactive books, educational software, elementary multimedia encyclopedias) to support learning. (1)
5. Work cooperatively and collaboratively with peers, family members, and others when using technology in the classroom. (2)
6. Demonstrate positive social and ethical behaviors when using technology. (2)
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7. Practice responsible use of technology systems and software. (2)
8. Create developmentally appropriate multimedia products with support from teachers, family members, or student partners. (3)
9. Use technology resources (e.g., puzzles, logical thinking programs, writing tools, and digital cameras, drawing tools) for problem solving, communication, and illustration of thoughts, ideas, and stories. (3, 4, 5, 6)
10. Gather information and communicate with others using telecommunications, with support from teachers, family members, or student partners. (4)
Numbers in parentheses following each performance indicator refer to the standards category to which the performance is linked. The categories are:
1. Basic operations and concepts
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
3. Technology productivity tools
4. Technology communications tools
5. Technology research tools
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
GRADES 3 - 5
Performance Indicators:
All students should have opportunities to demonstrate the following performances. Prior to completion of Grade 5 students will:
1. Use keyboards and other common input and output devices (including adaptive devices when necessary) efficiently and effectively. (1)
2. Discuss common uses of technology in daily life and the advantages and disadvantages those uses provide. (1, 2)
3. Discuss basic issues related to responsible use of technology and information and describe personal consequences of inappropriate use. (2)
4. Use general purpose productivity tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, remediate skill deficits, and facilitate learning throughout the curriculum. (3)
5. Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, Web tools, digital cameras, and scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)
6. Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information, communicate with others in support of direct and independent learning, and pursue personal interests. (4)
7. Use telecommunications and online resources (e.g., e-mail, online discussions, Web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities for the purpose of developing solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)
8. Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos, educational software) for problem solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities. (5, 6)
9. Determine when technology is useful and select the appropriate tool(s) and technology resources to address a variety of tasks and problems. (5, 6)
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10. Evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and bias of electronic information sources. (6)
Numbers in parentheses following each performance indicator refer to the standards category to which the performance is linked. The categories are:
1. Basic operations and concepts
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
3. Technology productivity tools
4. Technology communications tools
5. Technology research tools
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
GRADES 6 - 8
Performance Indicators:
All students should have opportunities to demonstrate the following performances. Prior to completion of Grade 8 students will:
1. Apply strategies for identifying and solving routine hardware and software problems that occur during everyday use. (1)
2. Demonstrate knowledge of current changes in information technologies and the effect those changes have on the workplace and society. (2)
3. Exhibit legal and ethical behaviors when using information and technology, and discuss consequences of misuse. (2)
4. Use content-specific tools, software, and simulations (e.g., environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research. (3, 5)
5. Apply productivity/multimedia tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, group collaboration, and learning throughout the curriculum. (3, 6)
6. Design, develop, publish, and present products (e.g., Web pages, videotapes) using technology resources that demonstrate and communicate curriculum concepts to audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5, 6)
7. Collaborate with peers, experts, and others using telecommunications and collaborative tools to investigate curriculum-related problems, issues, and information, and to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4,
5)
8. Select and use appropriate tools and technology resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and solve problems. (5, 6)
9. Demonstrate an understanding of concepts underlying hardware, software, and connectivity and of practical applications to learning and problem solving. (1, 6)
10. Research and evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and bias of electronic information sources concerning real-world problems. (2, 5, 6)
Numbers in parentheses following each performance indicator refer to the standards category to which the performance is linked. The categories are:
1. Basic operations and concepts
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
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3. Technology productivity tools
4. Technology communications tools
5. Technology research tools
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
The following standards for 8th grade are taken from the Georgia QCC Standards.
Prior to the completion of 8th grade students will:

Use a variety of telecommunication tools to communicate the results of research projects. (Examples might include Internet, e-mail, and intranet.)

Create basic Web pages using Web-authoring software.
GRADES 9 - 12
Performance Indicators:
All students should have opportunities to demonstrate the following performances. Prior to completion of Grade 12 students will:
1. Identify capabilities and limitations of contemporary and emerging technology resources and assess the potential of these systems and services to address personal, lifelong learning, and workplace needs. (2)
2. Make informed choices among technology systems, resources, and services. (1, 2)
3. Analyze advantages and disadvantages of widespread use and reliance on technology in the workplace and in society as a whole. (2)
4. Demonstrate and advocate for legal and ethical behaviors among peers, family, and community regarding the use of technology and information. (2)
5. Use technology tools and resources for managing and communicating personal/professional information (e.g., finances, schedules, addresses, and purchases, correspondence). (3, 4)
6. Evaluate technology-based options, including distance and distributed education, for lifelong learning. (5)
7. Routinely and efficiently use online information resources to meet needs for collaboration, research, publication, communication, and productivity. (4, 5, 6)
8. Select and apply technology tools for research, information analysis, problem solving, and decision making in content learning. (4, 5)
9. Investigate and apply expert systems, intelligent agents, and simulations in real-world situations. (3, 5, 6)
10. Collaborate with peers, experts, and others to contribute to a content-related knowledge base by using technology to compile, synthesize, produce, and disseminate information, models, and other creative works. (4, 5, 6)
Numbers in parentheses following each performance indicator refer to the standards category to which the performance is linked. The categories are:
1. Basic operations and concepts
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
3. Technology productivity tools
4. Technology communications tools
5. Technology research tools
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
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Candler County students are proficient in many areas of technological skills.
Technology strengths displayed by students at Metter Elementary School include:

Operate basic technology tools and applications (Accelerated Reader, STAR
Reading, STAR Math, Online CRCT practice, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power
Point and Internet Explorer)

Operate basic keyboarding skills

Demonstrate understanding of basic technology and telecommunication tools
Technology strengths displayed by students at Metter Intermediate School include:

Operate basic technology tools and applications (Accelerated Reader, STAR
Reading, STAR Math, Online CRCT practice, Microsoft Word, and Internet
Explorer)

Demonstrate understanding of basic technology and telecommunication tools.
Current Metter Middle School Technology Literacy Strengths:

On the 07-08 8 th grade technology literacy test, Metter Middle School students minimally met technology literacy learning objectives.

The middle school has scheduled Computer Literacy to be taught to all 6 th grade students, keyboarding to be taught to all 7 th grade students, and Computer
Applications using Microsoft Office 2007 to be taught to all 8 th grade students.

To further address the 8 th grade technology literacy requirements, the middle school lab will be upgraded with a new version of Microsoft and the teacher will receive the necessary training
The Technology Planning Committee identified the following 9-12 Technology
Integration Standards as strengths in our technology integration efforts:

Demons tration of turning a computer, printer, monitor on and off ·

Demonstration of operating a mouse with click, double click, and drag

Demonstration of operating the Windows Operating System

Demonstration of managing folders and files on the computer

Demonst ration of saving files to the hard drive, floppy disk, or jump drive ·
Demonstration of using the computer Help Menu ·

Demonstration of creating a document using a word processor, i.e. Microsoft
Word or WordPerfect

Demonstration of browsing the Internet Demonstration of sending and receiving mail
8. A description of how the local educational agency will ensure that funds are spent on scientifically and/or evidence-based practices and products for all programs including the purchase of technology and technology tools.
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Where applicable include how the practices and products will impact student technology literacy.
Candler County Board Of Education ensures that funds are spent on scientifically and/or evidence-based practices and products for all programs including the purchases of technology and technology tools.
A. Professional Learning:
 Candler County’s central office assures that interventions and instructional purchases are scientifically and/or evidence-based by using a rigorous screening process. The curriculum director and technology director must approve major technology and other instructional purchases, such as SRA reading, AR reading and math, STAR reading and math, textbook adoption, Smartboards, CPS units, and CBL Lab.
Vendors are required to submit evidence of the SRB for their product.
Each school has a professional learning committee that participates in the review of programs, interventions and purchases to ensure SRB.
Whenever possible, teachers and administrators are allowed to conduct pilot programs to ensure that purchased instructional materials will align with our students needs. For example, Metter Middle School conducted a pilot for the PLATO Learning Project, Smartboards, and CPS Units. In
2006-07, Metter High School piloted the CBL Lab and received a visit from representatives of the National Science Foundation (NSF). In 2007-
08, with the assistance of PRISM, use of the CBL lab will be expanded to include anatomy and biology. Elementary school teachers received appropriate level CBL Lab training in the coming year; this training will be extended to the middle school. More equipment and teacher training will be required for the SRB CBL lab expansion.

Candler County has four schools, one Performance Learning Center, and one alternative program. Each school is School Wide. Lead Learners are classroom teachers that are paid a stipend through Title I, Title IIA and
Title VI-B. A System Interventions Specialists is funded by Title I to help ensure academic success for disadvantaged students who are in danger of not meeting State standards on State-mandated test. Professional learning is provided to ensure that purchased materials or technology is seamlessly integrated into the curriculum to make a difference for these students. Teachers receive in-depth training when scientifically research based products and practices are used. Train the trainer models are used so that an “in-house expert” is available when needed.

Professional learning is guided by the District-Based version of the
Georgia Standards for Professional Learning Resource Guide . The district requires that teachers and administrators attend training that provides them with the knowledge and technical experiences necessary to identify and implement scientific and evidence-based practices, programs and technology in the classroom. Principals, academic coaches and teacher leaders use the School-Level version of the Georgia Standards for
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Professional Learning Resource Guide to provide guidance for professional learning that improves student achievement. These guides are based on the twelve NSDC standards for professional learning. In
2002-2003 Learning Focused Schools training was offered to schools.
Collaborative co-teaching training and Differentiated Instruction training was offered to all school during the 2004-2006 school year. About 60% of the staff is DI trained. Certified staff members were trained in the summer of 2007 on Assessment of and for Learning through Differentiated
Instruction. We anticipate this training will continue for the next two years.
Lexile training was conducted for lead learners, principals, and central office administrators in 2006-07. In the summer of 2008, 100% of the new teaching staff was trained on how to deliver instruction through
Differentiated Instruction. High-performing teachers in core subjects redeliver GPS. Professional learning on scientifically and evidencedbased practices and technology are provided in PLC meetings. With teacher leadership from lead learners and academic coaches, PLCs will expand the view of professional development through teacher collaboration to enhance knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors.
These professional learning activities focus on programs/materials selection as well as providing general leadership to teachers and other school personnel for implementing scientifically based practices.

District leaders and school administrators collaborate to provide targeted assistance to specific content areas and specific groups that are not meeting AMO. For example, literacy is a focus throughout the district with a special emphasis on content area reading. Two RESA literacy coaches are assisting with this district-wide initiative. All teachers in the district completed a survey to determine their current knowledge, implementation of strategies, and need in relation to the four key elements of literacy:
Decoding/Word Attack, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Writing. Title I,
Title II (Part A and B), Georgia PreK program, Head Start, Early
Intervention Program, Safe and Drug Free School, Remedial Education and IDEA programs will coordinate professional development and parental involvement activities that are grounded in SBR and or evidencebased activities. Staff for these programs will attend workshops, conferences, PLC meetings, and other trainings in a joint effort to improve student learning. Transportation, training materials, parent materials, childcare, and food for parenting sessions will be a collaborative effort.

Math achievement remains a problem for special education students in
Candler County. The district did not meet AYP with 63.3% of all students meeting or exceeding the target on the State-mandated mathematics tests. Elementary math teachers are targeted for professional learning in problem solving. Middle school math teachers are targeted to receive professional learning with Dottie Whitlow to teach math conceptually.
FDRESA will provide middle school teachers with training on TI-83 calculators, manipulative, and construction. High schools students are
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targeted to receive extra help after school, before school, and during summer school.

The 2006 data revealed a need to improve science instruction. Magnolia
Midlands GYSTC is providing science fair training and other hands on learning activities for these teachers. PRISM is also assisting these teachers with SRB professional learning experiences, such as probeware and other technology for the elementary school outdoor classroom and
CBL Lab technology for the high school. Specific Science and Health teachers have been trained to implement the Principles of Effectiveness through Safe and Drug Free Schools SRB and/or evidence-based practices and products targeting assessed needs. Both the Mendez Too
Good for Drugs and the Second Step Violence Prevention Program have been fully implemented. The average score of Candler county students on the Mendez pre-test was 93.28 and that score increased to 98.10 on the post-test. In FY07, the average pre-test score was 76.8 and the average post-test score was 90.7

Data analysis also reveals that more attention needs to be paid to gifted students in order that they perform at the higher levels of which they are capable. The system offered incentives for teachers to become gifted certified and for accelerating high functioning learners.

Job embedded professional learning activities are provided through a formal mentoring program, informal coaching through same subject or twin teachers, informal walk through observations, goal setting conferences and focused observations.

A professional learning team/committee at each school works with the
Curriculum Director, Superintendent, Interventions Coordinator, Special
Education Director, PRISM Coordinator and other administrators to integrate services, increase program effectives, eliminate duplication of efforts, and reduce fragmentation of instructional programs. Professional learning activities are planned to help teachers focus on how students learn rather than routine instructional behaviors and prescriptions that are not implemented and evaluated for evidence of learning. The teams collaborate by using Marzano’s What Works in Schools and other SBR strategies to identify educator learning needs, review research to validate content, programs, and strategies, plan and implement high-quality professional learning interventions and follow up, support, and evaluate professional learning. Teachers are encouraged to work with their school level PRISM teams to develop effective skills for new software, equipment and programs designed to improve math and science instruction. Title I staff development activities supplement those provided by Title II with inhouse professional learning. The focus of these activities is to train teachers in the areas of reading and math instruction.

The redelivery model is used to train teachers and administrators in the effective use of GPS. Most of the redelivery takes place in PLC meetings to provide time for hands on experiences and meaningful dialogue.
Teachers meet frequently with professors from local higher learning
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centers to improve the curriculum in the classroom setting to allow more hands-on opportunities for each student in the classroom with research based projects.
9. A description of how the LEA will use federal funds to coordinate and integrate services with other educational services at the LEA or individual school level such as: Technology, professional learning, curriculum, media,
Title I, special education, and ELL programs; Even Start, Head Start,
Reading First, Early Reading First, IDEA preschool, and other preschool programs, including plans for the transition of participants in such programs to local elementary school programs; Services for children with limited
English proficiency, children with disabilities, migratory children, neglected or delinquent youth, Indian immigrant children in order to increase program effectiveness, eliminate duplication, and reduce fragmentation of the instructional program.
The Title I/Curriculum Director and the Superintendent are responsible for coordinating the work of the central office leadership team members who direct all of the Title programs. Candler County School System is coordinating and integrating services under federal programs in all four schools. The Curriculum Director is responsible for
Title I, ESOL, Title IV, Title V, and professional learning that make coordination of timelines, budgets, and programming more efficient. The Central Office Leadership team (Superintendent, Special Education Director, Technology Director, Curriculum
Director, Interventions Coordinator, School Psychologist, and PRISM Coordinator meet to align projects and identify gaps in order to avoid duplication and unnecessary expenses. The county has four schools, one PLC and one alternative program. Each school is School Wide. The School Wide model has enabled the district to coordinate and integrate programs, services, and funding sources more efficiently. The Pyramid of
Interventions is being introduced to teachers by the Special Education Director and
Interventions Coordinator to improve post school outcomes for students with disabilities,
ELL students, and other students targeted for increasing intensity of intervention. The
Interventions Coordinator is working with the Central Office Leadership Team to evaluate the needs of low-achieving and at risk students through STEEP, RTI, and SST and to determine the appropriate catch-up strategies including but not limited to mentoring, graduation contracts, extended school year, before school, after school, double dose in reading and math, summer school, mastery and enrichment scheduling, and prescriptive Nova Net opportunities.
All four schools coordinate with Communities in Schools (CIS) to provide after-school tutorials. Family Connections provides assistance with the home-school connections and UGA Extension office provides assistance with professional development, grants and tutoring for all four schools.
Metter Elementary PreK teachers are included in staff meetings and in professional learning activities. Candler County Head start is housed on the Elementary School campus and shares the media center, playground facilities, lunchroom, and special services such as speech, preschool intervention, and nursing services. The PreK
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Coordinator collaborates with the school to plan with families for transition activities.
PreK staff helps families and their children to transition from preschool programs to kindergarten by providing help with registration, classroom visitation, and other activities. Parents are invited to visit the school and become acquainted with the MES staff in order to ask questions and receive information firsthand.
The migrant staff of First District RESA consults with the staff of all four Candler County
Schools and school improvement teams in order to coordinate their leadership and expertise regarding migrant children by presenting at faculty and leadership team meetings, working with students and parents, acting as interpreters, and doing whatever it takes to improve student learning for migrant students. The Curriculum Director,
Special Education Director, and Technology Director coordinate GLRS and RESA training for special education, regular education, and ELL teachers.
Title I, Title II (Part A & B), Title VII (Part A), Georgia Prekindergarten program, Head
Start, Early Intervention Program (EU’), Safe and Drug Free School, Remedial
Education, and IDEA programs will coordinate professional development and parental involvement activities. Staff from each of these programs will attend professional learning, classes, seminars, workshops, and conferences that are grounded in scientifically based research (SBR). When possible, these professional activities will be attended as a collaborative. Joint parent involvement workshops including materials, childcare, food, and training, will be provided.
Title II provides SBR professional learning for the teachers and parapros, Title III supports our other ESOL language students with materials, supplies, activities and professional learning. Other district and school level coordination include parental involvement, professional learning, and parallel block schedule.
The LEA is working diligently to build strong high-functioning school level professional learning teams that coordinate and integrate the work of teachers to ensure that the curriculum, instruction, and assessment fit together in a seamless delivery for all students. In Candler County, the use of technology in a well-equipped media center and in classrooms is essential of communication and for learning and for the reduction of fragmentation and duplication of work. The joint effort of ELL and Special education teachers is complimented by the work of the county-wide psychologist, interventions coordinator, county social worker/truancy officer, counselors, and graduation coaches.
Educational activities, materials, and professional learning funded by Perkins IV support efforts to promote nontraditional career education and opportunities to all student subgroups.
10. A description of how the LEA will develop strategies that prevent violence in and around schools and the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs including how the prevention activities meet the Principles of
Effectiveness; involve parents; and coordinate these efforts and resources with other federal, state, and community entities. In addition the LEA must
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explain how evaluations of effectiveness will be used to refine, improve, and strengthen the program strategies.
The Candler County school system completed the PRIDE Survey to determine the needs of students related to safety, drug abuse and violence, all of which are barriers to learning impacting student achievement. The recent survey results made it possible to analyze four years of data for students who are currently in 9th and 12th grade. Rates of involvement in drugs and violence were lower for Candler County students in the following categories: alcohol (11th), Marijuana (11th), inhalants (8th and 11th), cocaine
(11th), hallucinogens (11th), gangs (11th), afraid at school (11th). Local rates were higher than regional and national rates in following categories: tobacco (8th and 11th), alcohol (8th), marijuana (8th), and guns at school (11th). Based on those findings,
Candler County schools will continue to emphasize use of the Mendez Too good for
Drugs curriculum, a program proven effective via scientifically based research. Candler
County schools will expand use of Second Step violence prevention program. Analysis of PRIDE survey of parents of elementary, middle and high school students revealed overall satisfaction with drug prevention efforts and safety of the schools. Parents expressed concern regarding drug abuse and violence in the community and Candler
County schools will continue to collaborate with community organizations via Family
Connection to address those concerns. Faculty surveys indicate a need for training in the following areas: violence prevention (bullying, conflict resolution), drug information, risk factor reduction, locating and using community resources, and drug education training and awareness for parents. Candler county schools will address these training needs. The number of discipline incidents decreased in two schools and increased in two schools.
The Candler County School system complies with the Principles of Effectiveness by selecting and implementing scientifically and/or evidence-based practices and products targeting assessed needs. Both the Mendez Too good for Drugs and the Second Step
Violence Prevention Program have been recognized by SAMHSA as science-based model programs that have demonstrated effective strategies for prevention among young people who are at a high risk for substance abuse and related problems.
Teachers in Candler county schools were trained to implement both programs by certified trainers. The average score of Candler County students on the Mendez pre-test was 93.28. That score increased to 998.10 on the post-test. Average Mendez test scores increased from 93% to 98% during the course of curriculum implementation. In
FY07, scores increased from 76.8% to 90.7%. Rates of involvement in drugs and violence were lower for Candler County students than comparable regional and national rates in most categories, according to the PRIDE survey. In FY07, the GSHS II indicated that drug use prevalence rates were lower than state rates in all drug categories at all grade levels surveyed with the following exceptions: alcohol and tobacco use by the 10 th and 12 th graders.
The number of discipline incidents decreased or remained the same in most schools, according to FY05 and FY06 system discipline data.
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Student, faculty, and parent survey data will be communicated via school council, PTA, and Board of Education meetings. The SDFSCP collaborates with various community entities including parents, federal, state and community leaders and school officials.
Prevention materials are made available in Spanish for parents who do not speak
English.
The services provided by SDFS to students in Title targeted schools will be based on the specific needs of students in that school just as services are provided to all other students in our system. SDFS programs/activities as referenced above are available to all schools for all students including those in alternative school settings, after school programs, ISS, psycho-educational center, or other settings addressing high risk youth.
System counselors participate in a regional SDFS coalition that regularly assesses student support needs and provides professional development services and materials to meet the identified needs, in accordance with the Principles of Effectiveness. Similar coalitions operate for Alternative School Personnel and School Nurses. Student mentoring services are also available, as well as student and family support services through Care Partners, a contracted firm that provides for mental health concerns.
Parents are involved in multiple areas of the SDFSCP which include but are not limited to Consolidated Application, Red Ribbon Week activities, community service, projects, advisory boards and school councils and school/community workshops. Both the
Mendez and Second Step curricula have components that encourage parent involvement with the content and skills the students are learning.
SDFSCP Professional Learning opportunities for teachers, administrators, counselors, school nurses, family resource coordinators, paraprofessionals, and other school personnel including those working in alternative schools, psycho-educational centers and after school programs include the following examples: learning styles, classroom management, student success strategies, parent involvement, ASCA Model for School
Counseling (use of data and assessment), social learning software, bullying prevention and intervention, current drug trends, violence prevention and intervention, developmental assets, support groups, school safety, and mentoring. A converted effort is being utilized to train our professionals on designing appropriate behavior intervention plans. Needs assessment data from principals will be used to develop a SDFSCP
Professional Development Series for Administrators. The SDFSCP coordinates an annual Parent Involvement Conference that features programs and strategies which have been proven effective.
The SDFS GSHSII Needs Assessment and/or the PRIDE Survey will be conducted on an annual basis with data used to refine, improve and strengthen services for students and school personnel. Proximal and distal evaluations will be utilized to assess the effectiveness of new strategies. Student pre and post test results and discipline data will be analyzed.
The Candler County school system belongs to the First District RESA Safe and Drug
Free Schools and Communities Program consortium of 15 systems. The consortium
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provides an avenue for sharing programs, strategies, materials, and outcomes among systems. SAMHSA provides national information regarding best practices in the areas of drug and violence prevention and intervention programs and strategies. The regional coalition of school counselors will continue to focus on action research projects as recommended by ASCA. The regional coalitions of Alternative School Personnel and
School Nurses offer opportunities to share resources and information. Family
Connection, the Georgia Department of Education, GLC/Georgia Standards, and
Org/Teacher Resource Center also provide information regarding best practices and opportunities to share resources and experiences.
11. A description of the poverty and school eligibility criteria that will be used to select attendance areas for schools eligible for funding through Title
I, Part A and school eligibility for grant opportunities through Title II, Part
D.
Candler County School District does not rank order schools because we only have one school from each grade span: elementary, intermediate, middle, and high schools. We use free and reduced applications to determine eligibility. All schools in the district are above 68% in the free and reduced category. All schools are free/reduced eligible and are awarded a per pupil amount as great or greater than other schools, including free breakfast for all students.
12. A description of how teachers, in consultation with parents, administrators, and pupil services personnel, will identify the eligible children most in need of services in Title I targeted assistance schools.
A description of this question does not apply to Candler County School District because all of our Title I schools have school-wide programs.
13. A general description of the instructional program in the following: Title I school wide schools, Targeted assistance schools, Schools for children living in local institutions for neglected or delinquent children, and Schools for children receiving education in neglected and delinquent community day programs, if applicable.
Candler County S chool District’s vision is for all students to meet or exceed Georgia
Accountability measures for the graduation rate to continuously improve 80% and above, for the system to be ranked in the top quartile of comparable systems in
Georgia. The mission is to stimulate growth in district achievement by continuing efforts to advance the development of stakeholders. We believe the engagement of effective teaching energizes and maximizes learning. The most important objective of Metter
Elementary School (MES) and Metter Intermediate School (MIS) staff is to enhance the learning environment and improve student performance in reading, writing and math.
Goal-oriented school improvement plans (SIP) are annually developed by subject specific professional learning teams/communities (PLC). The SIP is based on analysis of student data on State-mandated tests, benchmark assessments, performance exams, monitoring work boards, and other assessment methods. In 2008-09, all four
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schools will focus on improving the student literacy levels, the Georgia Performance
Standards (GPS) rollout, and professional learning. Transition from the Elementary
School (MES) to the Intermediate School (MIS) received special attention in System level Lead Learner meetings. Specific grade level goals and strategies were developed in the SIP in order to close learning gaps for all subgroups. Evidence of Student
Learning documents from the Georgia Teacher Evaluation Program (GTEP) Manual were used in all schools. Individual teacher goals were established and linked to the school-wide and system-wide goals. The System is committed to significantly improving the literacy level of our students, increasing the graduation rate, providing both acceleration and extended learning opportunities, professional growth for all colleagues and enhancing learner engagement in daily lessons. Teachers discussed and revised their Student Achievement Implementation Plan Form with the principals. Specific students were targeted to move from Performance Level 1 to 2 or from Performance
Level 2 to 3. In an effort to identify specific reading needs, the Basic Literacy Test (BLT) test was administered to all kindergarten and first grade students. This diagnostic reading test was given three times during the year and offered kindergarten and first grade teachers ’ valuable information on student literacy progress. STEEP will be utilized in grades K-5 to further diagnose and monitor fluency. The BLT also flagged at-risk students at each grade level and thus allowed for the immediate use of Tier 2 intervention strategies based on student needs. Resource teachers are available to provide additional instruction for EIP students in grades kindergarten, first, fourth, and fifth. Second and third grade EIP students were served through the self-contained EIP model. Two RESA consultants provide guidance for our system-wide reading program.
The consultants provided surveys to learn where we are and where we want to go with literacy. The survey revealed the need for daily language practice books and computer program(s) to remediate Grade 2 EIP students and some special education students that struggle with reading. The focus of student performance for 07/08 was centered on the implementation of GPS subjects that have been rolled out and state training redelivery of subjects being rolled out. These teachers worked in their PLC to study the new GPS math/science standards, and revise their curriculum guides/maps, lesson plans and instructional strategies to provide for the rigor of the GPS curriculum. Vertical math teams met to check for gaps in the math curriculum. The Lead Learners and GPS redelivery teachers guided the GPS roll-out process via PLC meetings. The GSU
Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) grant provided opportunities for our staff to receive additional training to support the math/science GPS roll-out. This grant also provided for a system-wide PRISM liaison to support these curriculum areas. Due to the PRISM Grant, elementary science teachers will use probeware and computer technology to teach using a hands-on/minds-on science approach. Science teachers will receive training to use this new equipment. Family
Nights will continue to be scheduled in order to increase parent involvement for the
2008-2009 school years. Special Family Nights are held for Hispanic parents in order to provide for a more personal view of their students and incorporate the services of an interpreter through the Migrant Education program. These sessions were very well attended and teachers gave parents valuable information to help their children be successful at school. Our new school system website was upgraded to allow parents access to student grades. All staff members will participate in site-based professional
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learning and use of Marzano
’s Big 9. These sessions will be reviewed in PLC meetings and centered on analyzing student work and student assessment data. Teachers in K-5 received training on 6+1 writing and teachers in k_12 received training in collaborative co-teaching to support learning classes. We will continue professional development on these initiatives. They were also trained to use special scantron data analysis forms to analyze benchmarks and other assessments. Materials will be purchased to support the implementation of centers and CPS units this school year. The State determined that
MIS and MMS schools did not make
Adequate Yearly Progress. Metter Middle School’s sixth and eighth graders receive language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies instruction in four 100- minute blocks. Grade 6-8 Teachers have been scheduled to attend the other sessions as they are offered throughout the 08/09 school year. Our goal is to have 100% of the math teachers utilizing the Six Elements of An
Exemplary Math Lesson, Math, language arts, science and social studies teachers continue to prioritize and sequence the instruction of the GPS/QCC standards and work as teams to plan units of instruction. Teachers will continue to review and revise their prioritized maps as they teach through the GPS curriculum. Students are given summative tests at the end of each nine-week instruction to access mastery of standards taught. Coach Books and other publishers learning resources are used to provide extra learning support in some cases, a scantron machine is used to score benchmarks immediately and prescriptive feedback on assessments is available to math and science teachers through the use of the CPS system. The data is evaluated and used to reteach and/or prepare for future instruction. Before and after-school tutoring, and summer school is available for students who are struggling to meet standards. All teachers have received training in Differentiated Instruction and Phase
Two will continue in 08-09. Teachers are being coached and monitored to insure these strategies are embedded in their lessons.
Middle School Connections classes are used to assist students with broaden their skills and to begin to develop career goals. Students receive two forty-five minute periods of instruction each semester. Technology, manufacturing, electronics, art, keyboarding, computer applications, careers, band, power math, SRA reading, physical education and health are offered.
SDFS programs/activities as referenced above are available to all schools for all students including those in alternative school settings, After School Programs, or other settings addressing high risk youth. Candler County provides the following instructional programs: Mendez Too Good for Drugs, Second Step Violence Prevention, ADAP,
Conflict Resolution, Bullying Prevention, Classroom Management, Classroom
Guidance – Skill Building, Good Touch, Bad Touch, etc.
Metter High School Instructional Program
An instructional program has been developed to meet the diverse needs of Metter High
School’s student population. The daily schedule will be restructured to provide learning support that includes: targeted assistance, credit recovery, and special preparations classes. Students with disabilities are primarily served through inclusion and resource models. Additionally, self-contained and community based instruction classes are offered to students based on need. Prescriptive Nova Net classes have been established in order to offer an alternative for students who need to recover credit for a
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class that they have failed. The Subject-Specific Instructional facilitator is trained to provide technical assistance in this learning environment.
All teachers will continue training on differentiated instruction and with an emphasis on
Literacy. Training on
Marzano’s Big 9 will continue this fall system-wide for teachers who have not been trained. Following training, instructional strategies have been discussed through t he teachers’ involvement in professional learning communities. School and district leaders will provide assistance with implementation and follow-up.
Core classes have been strengthened by the use of a variety of programs. Eighth graders are given the IDEAS survey to determine interest in classes to be offered at
MHS and all 9th graders are encouraged to participate in two extracurricular activities.
In the area of math, a Title II-D laptop computer project has been used effectively for preparation for the new GPS math standards. The high school Social Studies department will pilot a similar Title II-D project to improve student achievement. The
English and Science departments are refining standards based curriculum units based on the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The science PLC is collaborating with professors at Georgia Southern University to ensure that students know and understand what they need to know to succeed in science, math and health professions. The department is currently involved in a PRISM math and science grant to use CBL Lab technology in their classes. There are two advanced placement (AP) courses offered in
History and English, students also have the option of joint enrollment. The Career,
Technical, Agriculture Department offers several pathways within the Business and
Computer Science, Agriscience, Family and Consumer Science, and Healthcare programs. Family and Consumer Science also offer pathways for students who may pursue a career in teaching or childcare. Dual enrollment opportunities are available with nearby technical and academic colleges. Work based learning is also provided.
The Business and Computer Science Department at MHS is in the process of pursuing an Industry Certification grant through the GaDOE, FFA, FCCA, TSA, JROTC, MHS
FBLA, and MMS FBLA provide additional leadership, competition, and career exploration opportunities for all students.
MHS uses the Teachers as Advisors initiative to support and inform students regarding postsecondary options throughout their high school career. As a part of the local Work
Ready Collaboration, 12 th grade students are Work Keys tested to provide them with a certificate that documents work ready skills to Georgia employers.
MHS has designed a plan to improve the literacy rate for high school students during
REP classes. Students targeted to receive literacy skills are taught by highly qualified teachers. MHS is challenged to improve the graduation rate. An action plan has been developed to monitor at-risk students with the help of the System Intervention
Specialist. GSU and Swainsboro Tech professors are invited to speak to students about
Making School Count Acceleration is provided for high-performing learners by using differentiated assignments and activities. Identified gifted students are encouraged to take advanced classes offered. Candler County does not have any public funded N/D institutions
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SDFS programs/activities as referenced above are available to all schools for all students, including those in alternative school settings, after school programs, ISS, Psycho-educational centers, or other settings addressing high risk youth. System counselors participate in a regional SDFS coalition that regularly assesses student support needs and provides professional development services and materials to meet the identified needs, in accordance with the Principles of Effectiveness. Similar coalitions operate for
Alternative School Personnel and School Nurses. Student mentoring services are also available. There are no Neglected and Delinquent institutions in
Candler County, but will consult with these institutions for Title services if they become available.
14. A description of the services the LEA will provide homeless children who are eligible to receive services under applicable federal programs. The description should include the following: An assessment of the educational and related needs of homeless children and youths; A description of the services and programs for which assistance is sought to address the needs identified; A description of policies and procedures, consistent with section
722(e) (3), that the LEA will implement to ensure that activities carried out by the agency will not isolate or stigmatize homeless children and youth.
A. The Candler County School System annually collects data on the number and needs of homeless students enrolled in Candler County schools. A local Survey of Homeless
Children and Youth is mailed to each of the schools within the system and to key community agencies. Each entity is requested to identify any children and youth who meet the federal definition of homeless. Based on the information submitted, an unduplicated list of children is prepared. The children identified are provided support services to assure that they are enrolled, attend and succeed in school.
Additionally, Candler County has an active Interagency Council that meets monthly throughout the school year. The Council is composed of representatives from community agencies including a representative from each of the schools. At those meetings, at-risk families and their children are assigned a caseworker to identify needs within the families, identify support services for these families and coordinate unduplicated service delivery for these families. Additional homeless students are identified at these meetings so that school staff can provide appropriate educational services.
The LEA coordinates with the homeless liaison, system social worker and counselors at each school, Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS), Family Connection,
Candler County Health Department Lead Nurse, Sunshine House Child Advocacy
Center, Candler County Department of Juvenile Justice, Safe Haven, Care Partners and other agencies to meet the needs of these students. These agencies are working together to ensure that homeless children and youth are not isolated, and embarrassed because of their status as being homeless. At this time we have identified 21 homeless
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children and Candler County Board of Education is using continuous process to address the needs of any additional children who may be identified in the future. This topic is addressed monthly at the county Interagency meetings.
Because all schools in Candler County are identified as Title I School wide programs, we believe that the needs of homeless students are being addressed through these programs and other community organizations. Therefore, we do not plan to set aside additional Title I funds for homeless students. The LEA will coordinate the work of the
Title I department and the homeless coordinator to verify the information on the LEA survey of homeless children and youth. All records pertaining to these youth will be kept on file at the LEA (5 years) and the survey results will be submitted to the State Title I
Director. Case study information will be used to address individual and personal needs of any identified homeless children and youth. Programs and assessments are in place on both the formative and summative levels to determine academic placement and needs of students and design support and scaffolding that may be needed to ensure the academic success of homeless children and youth.
15. A description of the strategies the LEA will use to implement effective parental involvement in all programs. The description must include the following: How the LEA included state and local government representatives, representatives of schools to be served, parents, teachers, students, and relevant community-based organizations in the development of the
Comprehensive Plan for Improving Student Academic Achievement. How the
LEA will provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities. How the LEA will build school and parents capacity for strong parental involvement including how the LEA builds capacity to support a partnership among the school, parents, and community. How the LEA will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under NCLB with other community based programs such as Head Start, Reading First, Even
Start, State operated preschool programs, etc. How the LEA will conduct an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of parental involvement.
How the LEA will use data from the annual evaluation to design strategies for a more effective parental involvement policy. How the LEA will involve parents in school wide activities.
Candler County School System developed our LEA policy in conjunction with the school board, county and city officials, parents, teachers, business partners, school council members, central office leaders, and community members. The Candler County Board of Education affirms the right of parents and teachers of children being served in activities funded by Title I to participate in the design and implementation of those activities. An annual public meeting will be held at each of the four schools during the spring of each year; all parents and teachers of eligible Title I children will be invited.
Parents and teachers will be given the opportunity to have input into the implementation of the Title I project. Parents will be provided with an opportunity to establish
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mechanisms for maintaining on-going communication among parents, teachers, and agency officials.
The Title I/Curriculum Director is responsible for coordinating with school principals and teacher leaders to make sure that parents are provided with appropriate information. A training session is held during school council meetings to present selected information from the State Department Handbook for LEAs and Schools entitled Strengthening
Parental Involvement in Georgia . Timelines are established for meetings at each school.
In addition to using school council and district-level meetings, schools will host parent involvement meetings as a platform for parent training. A technology night for parents is planned to train or review parents on how to access the Metter.Org Website to check grades, attendance, and other information. A copy of the LEA Parent Involvement Policy will be sent home and placed in all of the schools’ handbooks for parents and students in order to provide ready access. The Title I Parental Involvement Policy will be updated each year and it reads as follows:
Candler County School System Parental Involvement Policy
The Candler County School System agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
The school district will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
Consistent with section 1118, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of section
1118(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
The school district will incorporate this district wide parental involvement policy into its
LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.
In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the State
Department of Education.
The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the one percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
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The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and expects that it’s Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:
Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, twoway, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring —
(A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
(B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;
(C) that parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child;
(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section
1118 of the ESEA.
1. The Candler County School System will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:
An LEA parent committee will be appointed. This committee will meet annually to develop the district policy or to revise the district policy. At the meeting, plan requirements will be explained, a sample plan will be presented containing the required components, and the LEA plan will be developed/revised based on the input of attending parents.
2. The Candler County School System will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:
School councils are an integral part of the A+ Education Reform Act of 2000.
According to the Act, the mission of school councils is to "bring communities and schools closer together in the spirit of cooperation to solve difficult education problems, improve academic achievement, provide support for teachers and administrators, and bring parents into the school-based decision-making process." School councils are to provide "advice, recommendations, and assistance and represent the community of parents and businesses." In support of School Councils, the Candler County School
System has a designated person who provides training for new school council members as well as technical assistance/training on topics as requested by the School Council and as identified by the school administrators or by central office personnel. Each school has a School Council that meets regularly to focus on the following:

Understanding the school improvement plan

Reviewing curriculum and assessments

Analyzing student achievement data

Participating in the principal selection process

Communicating with and involving parents

Mobilizing the community for school improvement
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The 2004 Georgia General Assembly amended the school council law to provide flexibility in membership, chairmanship, meetings, elections and trainings. The changes also provide clarity that school councils are to focus on student achievement and school improvement.
3. The Candler County School System will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance: Central office personnel will coordinate/communicate regularly with administrators and teachers to keep them apprised of curriculum updates, testing information, federal guidelines, professional development opportunities, and other relevant topics in order to provide school personnel with information they need to communicate to parents. In addition, central office personnel will be available to meet with school personnel and parents as requested to provide technical assistance, support, and/or training.
4. The Candler County School System will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following programs: Pre-Kindergarten program, Head Start, Parents as Teachers:
Candler County School System provides a facility for Head Start. Parents are invited and encouraged to participate in all parental involvement activities that occur in the system. Teachers share teaching strategies and ways to differentiate instruction with one another and at parent-teacher conferences. This affects all the programs listed above.
5. The Candler County School System along with Parental Involvement will conduct an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness improving the quality of its Title I,
Part A schools. This evaluation will include identifying barriers that provide greater participation by parents (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background). The school district will use the findings of this evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary its parental involvement policies.
To carry out such an evaluation, the school district, in conjunction with participating parents, may develop methods for:
A. comparing levels of parental participation prior to and following implementation of the newly required policy;
B. determining whether the levels of participation of all stakeholders are represented adequately;
C. identifying barriers to greater participation by these groups;
D. assessing the effectiveness of parental participation activities, procedures, and policy in the improvement of schools;
E. reporting evaluation findings; and
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F. using evaluation findings to revise school-level policy so that it promotes more specifically the improvement of student academic achievement, the social and emotional welfare of students, and the school's teaching and learning environment.
The evaluation may include any of the above or other criteria determined by the district parent involvement committee.
6. The Cand ler County School System will build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the schools involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:
A. The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph
– the State’s academic content standards, the State’s student academic achievement standards, the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
the requirements of Part A, how to monitor their child’s progress, and
how to work with educators
To carry out this assistance, the district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, select an effective delivery model. Examples of delivery methods might include parent training sessions, newspaper articles, web-based announcements/training and other activities deemed appropriate for the information to be disseminated.
B. The school district will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve academic achievement, such as literacy and technology, by providing a welcoming and supportive climate.
C. The school district will, with the assistance of its parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:

Providing professional learning opportunities on communicating with parents

Analyzing parental involvement evaluations with school personnel and setting goals related to the feedback provided by parents through the evaluation process
D. The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Home
Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, and
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public preschool and other programs, conduct activities that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children, by:

Maintaining regular communication regarding curriculum, testing, instruction

Providing access to parent training materials and parent training opportunities
E. The school district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:

Providing written information, to the extent practicable, in the language of the parents.

Providing an interpreter in order that information that cannot be put into a written format may be communicated orally to parents
Candler County School District requires each school to develop a written school parent compact, and school policy. (See a sample copy of school parent compact and a sample school policy below.)
Metter Middle School and the parents of the students participating in activities, services, and programs funded by Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA) (participating children), agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff, and the students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership that will help children achieve the State’s high standards.
This school-parent compact is in effect during school year 2007-08. The school will hold an annual meeting to inform participating parents about Title I programs. The Agenda and other documentation will be kept on file locally.
School Responsibilities
Metter Middle School:
1. Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the participating children to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards as follows:
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Structure our school to be learning focused, instructional agreements with extensive collaboration, inclusion, collaborative team teaching,
English Language Learners program, and project based learning all evaluated and improved by peer and administrative observations. ·
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Utilize 100 minutes of math, power math, CRCT online, SRA, BUGS, and media provided materials to support curriculum and instruction.
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Provide after school and summer school tutoring programs and target students that need extra help to stay after school to prepare for the
CRCT, benchmarks, etc.
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2. Hold parent-teacher conferences during which this compact will be discussed as it r elates to the individual child’s achievement.
Conferences will be held a minimum of 4 times a year.
3. Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s progress.
Specifically, the school will provide reports as follows: ·
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by midterm progre ss reports and end of term report cards, ·
 via agenda, emails, and phone calls, ·
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by regularly updating Power Grade, and
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through the BUGS (Bringing up Grades) and honor rolls programs.
4. Provide parents reasonable access to staff . Specifically, staff will be available for consultation with parents as follows: ·
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by responding to parental communications in agendas, emails, and phone calls.
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By being available for scheduled conferences during planning periods and conference days and after school.
5. Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class and to observe classroom activities as follows :
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parent night
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family science night; field trips
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spelling bee
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assemblies
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special dinners, i.e. Thanksgiving dinner
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honors day
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help in media center
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acting as homeroom parents
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laptop training
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open house
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CIS
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sports banquets
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sports games
Parent Responsibilities
We, as parents, will support our children’s learning in the following ways:
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Monitoring attendance and tardiness.
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Making sure that homework is completed.
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Monitoring amount of television that my child watches.
 Volunteering in my child’s classroom.
 Participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to my child’s education. ·
 Promoting positive use of my child’s extracurricular time.
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Reading every night.
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Ensuring that my child is prepared for school with all essential school supplies.
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Supporting and reinforcing all academic and discipline policies of the school, including the dress code and behavior on the bus.
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
Following the chain of command when I have questions or concerns.
 Staying informed about my child’s education and communicating with the school by promptly reading all notices from the school or the school district either received by my child or by mail and responding, as appropriate.
 Monitoring my child’s agenda, including the Essential Question and homework.
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Serving, to the extent possible, on policy advisory groups, such as being the Title
I, Part A parent representative on the school’s School Improvement Team, the
Title I Policy Advisory Committee, the district wide Policy Advisory Council, the
State’s Committee of Practitioners, the School Support Team or other school advisory or policy groups.
Student Responsibilities
We, as students, will share the responsibility to improve our academic achievement and to achieve the State’s high standards. Specifically, we will
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Do my homework every day and ask for help when I need to
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Read at least 30 minutes every day outside of school time
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Give to my parents, or the adult who is responsible for my welfare, all notices and information received by me from my school every day
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Make sure I have all my essential school supplies and come to every class prepared to work
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Be respectful
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Follow all school rituals and routines.
1. Be in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, with the right materials.
2. Do everything you can to help yourself learn and to help your teachers to teach.
3. THE RULE IS RESPECT —RESPECT IS THE RULE! Respect all staff members and students.
4. Cooperate with all teachers and school personnel.
5. Accept responsibility for your own behavior, including the consequences that follow irresponsible choices.
Not to be included in the school-parent compact
Metter Middle School will
1.
Involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s parental involvement policy in an organized, ongoing, and timely way.
2. Involve parents in the joint development of any school wide program plan in an organized, ongoing, and timely way.
3. Hold an annual meeting to inform parents of the school’s participation in Title I, Part A programs and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements and the right of parents to be involved in Title I, Part A programs. The school will convene the meeting at a convenient time to parents and will offer a flexible number of additional parental involvement meetings, such as in the morning or evening, so that as many parents as
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possible are able to attend. The school will invite to this meeting all parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs (participating students) and will encourage them to attend.
4. Provide information to parents of participating students in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon the request of parents with disabilities, and, to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand.
5. Provide to parents of participating children information in a timely manner about Title
I, Part A programs that includes a description an d explanation of the school’s curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children’s progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
6. On the request of parents, provide opportunities for regular meetings for parents to formulate suggestions, and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children. The school will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
7. Provide to each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State assessment in at least math, language arts and reading.
8. Provide each parent timely notice when their child has been assigned or has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulation (67 Fed.
Reg. 71710, December 2, 2002).
Optional School Responsibilities
To help build and develop a partnership with parents to help their children achieve the
State’s high academic standards, Metter Middle School will
1. Recommend to the local educational agency (LEA), the names of parents of participating children of Title I, Part A programs who are interested in serving on the
State’s Committee of Practitioners and School Support Teams.
2. Create and maintain a school council.
3. Work with the LEA in addressing problems, if any, in implementing parental involvement activities in section 1118 of Title I, Part A.
4. Work with the LEA to ensure that a copy of the SEAs written complaint procedures for resolving any issue of violation(s) of a Federal statute or regulation of Title I, Part A programs is provided to parents of students and to appropriate private school officials or representatives.
Candler County Board of Education will review the effectiveness of school parental involvement activities annually using the parental involvement survey found in Appendix
J of Strengthening Parental Involvement in Georgia .
The district and schools have carried out the six requirements to build parents capacities to be involved in the school. Please see the six requirements listed below.
Examples of how our system meets the six requirements are included after each requirement.
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 Assisting in understanding the State’s content standards, academic achievement standards, assessments, monitoring a child’s progress, and working with educators.
Distributed by grade level the State generated GPS brochures and the PRISM parent’s pocket guide for math and science.
Send out letters to parents informing them of their child’s grade level standards.
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Providing materials and training to assist their children.
Parent involvement materials are provided for orientation at each school and training is available to assist parents with knowing what their children will be asked to learn in each core subject that is tested.
Parent newsletters are posted to the Metter.Org Website on the school web page. These newsletters have tips and suggestions for parents to assist with their children.
Parents are invited to attend training sessions during math nights, technology night, family science night, and social studies fairs. Other trainings are held to acquaint parents to the testing program, career opportunities for students, and planning their child’s program of study.
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Educating staff in the value and utility of contributions. If you provided professional learning for staff on parent involvement then be specific about your activity/course.
During preplanning, the Title I Director provides training for teachers about parent involvement. The counselor at each school is active in assisting with this work until a new parent involvement coordinator is employed. A district-wide transition day is conducted during pre-planning,
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Coordinating and integrating parental involvement programs and activities with other programs (e.g., Head Start, Reading First) including other activities that encourages and support parents in increased participation)
Parental Involvement programs for Title I, EIP, Special Education, Head Start, and Book Buddies are integrated by planning together, providing services together, and evaluating the program using a common evaluation tool.
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Ensuring that information is sent to the parents in an understandable language.
School system personnel make an effort to write materials that will be sent to parents in a user friendly language. The DOE Transact program and migrant paraprofessionals provide translated materials for other language families/parents.
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
Providing such other reasonable support as requested
Our school district maintains parent resources that are available for parents to use and/or check-out.
All four schools have a school council. Parents are involved in multiple areas of the
SDFSCP which includes the Red Ribbon Week Activities, community service projects, advisory boards and school councils and school/community workshops. The council meets at least quarterly and is attended by the administrator. This is a forum for direct parental involvement in school planning. Both the Mendez and Second Step curricula have components that encourage parent involvement with the content and skills students are learning. Analysis of PRIDE survey results of parents of elementary, middle, and high school students revealed overall satisfaction with drug prevention efforts and safety of the schools. Parents expressed concern regarding drug abuse and violence in the community and Candler County schools will continue to collaborate with community organizations via Family Connection to address those concerns.
Administrators and board office officials often send surveys home with students, for parental input. They are returned and tallied for their view on a particular element in planning for student learning. School administrators are accessible to parents as is our
Superintendent. Parents are given access to PowerSchool that give parent’s direct view of the child’s academic progress. The ability to view grades sometimes generates discussion that may affect comprehensive planning. Through a math grant, the school has partnered with the public library to provide additional computers for parents to uses to access PowerSchool.
Parents are involved in multiple areas of the SDFSCP which include, but are not limited to Consolidated Applications, Red Ribbon Week activities, community service projects, advisory boards and school councils and school/community workshops. Both the Mendez and Second Step curricula have components that encourage parent involvement with the content and skills the students are learning. Analysis of PRIDE survey results of parents of elementary, middle, and high school students revealed overall satisfaction with drug prevention efforts and safety of the schools. Parents expressed concern regarding drug abuse and violence in the community and Candler
County schools will continue to collaborate with community organizations via
Family Connection to address those concerns. Faculty surveys indicate a need for training in the following areas: violence prevention (bullying, conflict resolution), drug information, risk factor reduction, locating and using community resources, and drug education training and awareness for parents. Candler County schools will address these training needs, in accordance with Principles of Effectiveness. Student, faculty, and parent survey data will be communicated via school council, PTA, and Board of
Education meetings. The SDFSCP collaborates with various community entities, including parents, federal, state, and community leaders and school officials. The SDFSCP coordinates an annual Parent Involvement Conference that features programs and strategies which have been proven effective. A
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Comprehensive Needs Assessment is conducted annually using the Title II-A
Needs Assessment and Planning document from the Georgia Professional
Standards Commission. This document serves as a guide and is connected with the planning and assessment for Title I, school improvement and professional learning. The process includes input via parent surveys, community involvement luncheons, a business and industry summit, and teacher surveys. Along with attending recruiting fairs at area post-secondary institutions, we hosted a local recruiting fair that generated a significant number of highly qualified applicants. To the fullest extent possible, the district practices recruiting and hiring those teachers that have proven track records or show acquaint new colleagues with core teaching and learning practices that are implemented district-wide. Additionally, Candler County maintains a rigorous process of teacher observations that are conducted by school and district level leaders in order to look for the element of standards based classroom learning. The Title II-A Coordinator will request a printout from the system’s student information program that will provide a listing of all K-12 poverty students, minority students, and their teachers, along with their teachers’ years of experience, certification, and corresponding class size in order to ensure highly qualified teacher equity.
16. A description of the actions the LEA will take to assist its schools identified as needs improvement schools.
We do have one school in needs improvement and two others that did not make AYP.
We will contract with FDRESA to complete GAPPS Analysis and conduct follow-up
Professional Learning. Our Lead Learners will receive training on effective collaboration within their PLC. A district-wide agenda and protocols will be implemented to promote job-embedded professional learning among colleagues. The intent of this alignment initiative is to provide ongoing school improvement. The district’s literacy initiative will be heavily emphasized in all classrooms. A RESA School Improvement Specialist will provide training to all Lead Learners on utilizing data, designing action plans, and managing and monitoring professional development. The DOE provides training and a
School Improvement Fieldbook to provide guidance for the system and schools. The activities and materials used are based on Robert Marzano’s research. All guidance provided to schools is based on scientific research.
The District’s Balanced Scorecard provides directions on Performance measures and Targets for desired outcomes of our
Action plans.
I. Guidance for revising and developing school improvement plans, corrective plans and restructuring plans. •District leaders hold monthly meetings with principals to discuss model and coach on Instructional Agreements. • Central office personnel participate in school level meetings • Central office coordinates technical assistance from state (DOE), private agencies and other governmental agencies. • Professional learning activities, such as Differentiated
Instruction, that address the specific reason(s) that the school is in needs
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improvement (NI) are provided for system and school leadership and school staff.
II. A process is in place for providing peer reviews of school improvement plans • we will use established peer review teams to assess and evaluate and provide feedback to the school planning teams. RESA, higher institutions (colleges),
Candler County Title I Director, DOE, system central office personnel from our county and surrounding counties and school staff personnel.
III. The Balanced Scorecard is one of several processes for monitoring the implementation school improvement plan. • School level personnel such as lead learners, Academic coaches (MES, MMS, MHS), Gifted teacher specialist,
Literacy coaches (MMS, MHS), Intervention specialist, technology coach
(MIS), assistant principals and principals monitor the implementation of the school improvement plans by classroom visits, focused walk through, and student surveys.
Examples of strategies used to monitor implementation of the improvement plan include: a. Focus walks by all district leaders
b. Reports by principals at meetings
c. Visits from DOE and RESA personnel
d. Principals evaluation conference with system leadership
e. Benchmark Assessments data reports, summative data such as CRCT and GHSGT, f. Quarterly reviews will be conducted to determined strengths and gaps in the level of
GPS curriculum mastery.
17. A description of the actions the LEA will take to implement public school choice and supplemental educational services for schools identified as needs improvement.
Candler County School District conducts the following activities to implement school choice and supplemental education services for NI schools:
A. Maintains a copy of the current AYP report to verify that choice is implemented in all eligible Title 1 schools.
B. Provides guidance to NI schools regarding the implementation of choice through written communication and meetings.
C. Completes required actions and documentation for parents: a notification letter is sent to parents, a list of parents requesting choice including student placement is kept on file, a written record of parents inquiry regarding choice is maintained, including the resolution of complaints.
Candler County School District conducts the following to implement SES:
A. completes required actions and documentation for parents: a notification letter is sent to parents of eligible children of the availability supplemental educational services, including a list of approved providers and description of services
(including state-wide providers);
B. Explanation of procedures to determine student
’s eligibility; and offer to assist
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parents in choosing a provider, a copy of parent request with disposition of request indicating on form is kept on file.
Candler School District obtains and maintains a copy of the following documents
(current list of State approved providers, a list of school offering supplemental educational services and number of eligible students participating at each school, list of students served by each provider, signed agreement/contract between the school district and each provider serving district children, a worksheet showing calculation of per pupil maximum for SES, priorities list if funds are to serve all eligible students are insufficient.
18 . A description of how the LEA will ensure that teachers and paraprofessionals meet the highly qualified requirements in Title I section
1119, QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS.
Description must include:
1. Highly Qualified trend data for LEA and school;
2.Information about numbers of teachers (disaggregated by subject taught and grade level) who lack certification and who are NOT designated as highly qualified;
3. Activities of how the LEA will develop strategies and use funds to support teachers in becoming highly qualified;
4. The percentage of teachers and administrators who are technologically literate; the method(s) used to determine teacher and administrator technology literacy; and strategies the school system will implement to increase the percentage of teachers and administrators who are technologically literate;
5. A description of how the LEA will certify that all teachers in any language instruction educational program for limited English proficient students that is, or will be funded under Title III, are fluent in English and any other language used for instruction, including having written and oral communication skills;
A. Hi-Q trend data - Candler County Highly Qualified trend data supports the State goal that all system teachers will be highly qualified. In 2004, 98.8% of Candler County teachers and 100% of our paraprofessionals were Highly Qualified. In 2005, 98.9% of Candler County teachers and
97.3% of our paraprofessionals were Highly Qualified. In 2006, 100% of Candler County teachers and 100% of our paraprofessionals were Highly Qualified. In 2007, 99.2% of Candler
County teachers and 100% of our paraprofessionals were highly qualified.
B. Not Hi-Q by subject and grade level - The parent “right to know” document is printed in the handbooks of all four schools. Letters are sent home to notify parents and advise them of the options that are available to them for schooling their child. In 2004, one of the system’s second grade teachers was on a non-renewable certificate and did not return to teach in the system the next year. In 2005, one mathematics teacher was on a non-renewable certificate and did not return to teach in the system the next year. In 2006, the transfer of a teacher to the Intermediate
School gained the teacher a highly qualified status. Another special education teacher that was not highly qualified in reading was assigned to teach language arts. This teacher took a PRAXIS
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test to gain highly qualified status. At this time the district is working fervently to maintain a
100% highly qualified teaching and paraprofessional staff. Three teachers are in progress towards meeting the requirements to become highly qualified; one is completing an internship, one is scheduled for the computer competency exam, and the other is awaiting approval from the
GAPSC for a provisional certificate.
C. Strategies and funds to support teachers becoming Hi-Q - In the academic year 2006-07,
Candler County has no teachers that are not highly qualified. The certification status of all teachers is closely monitored so that teachers are assigned to only to teach in subject areas and/or at school levels for which they are certified. During the hiring process, efforts are made to determine whether or not new teachers are highly qualified. If they are not highly qualified, steps are taken to assist them in becoming highly qualified. Teachers that teach ELL classes are held accountable to the same highly qualified requirement as other teachers in the district. ELL teachers are certified in Spanish (the only second language in the district) and fluent in English.
Highly qualified teachers teach special education students. The district uses Title funds to reimburse teachers for taking the GACE to become highly qualified. The teacher must pass the test in an area that is needed by the district and can only be reimbursed once.
D. The percentage of teachers and administrators who are technology literate - Candler
County School System had a 98% technology literacy rate. The technology literacy rate was determined by the number of teachers and administrators who met the State Technology
Competency requirements through In-Tech certification, completed the required college coursework, or by passing the test offered through ASSESS GA ONLINE. To increase the number of teachers and administrators who are technology literate, the systems requires staff members to access technology courses taught at RESA. Other technology staff development is available within the system.
E. The System employs two ELL endorsed teachers, one of which serves as the ELL coordinator.
All of our Title III teachers are fluent in English and that is the language of instruction. School administrators, district leaders, and peers frequently observe the ELL teachers to ensure that they are fluent in English and exhibit skill in written and oral communications. The Title II-A
Director provided technical assistance to district leaders to examine and ensure equity in teacher assignment for struggling learners. The experience level of teachers will be considered when scheduling for learning. School leaders attended workshops to learn to schedule for learning and utilize teacher talents.
Candler Schools Equity Plan
(2008-09)
Introduction
Candler County School District and stakeholders believe that all students have access to equal educational opportunities regardless of demographics. We are committed to improving the literacy rate, increasing the graduation rate, providing opportunities for acceleration and extended learning, and enhancing engagement in learning for all students, as well as providing high quality, job-embedded collaborative learning for all teachers and district leaders. All students in Candler County are taught and required to complete a guaranteed viable curriculum as outlined in the Georgia Performance Standards. No students are exempt from the rigor of the curriculum based on ethnicity, economic disadvantages, gender, or other disaggregations.
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To the fullest extent possible, the district practices recruiting and hiring those teachers that have proven track records or show promise as educators. Additionally, Candler County maintains a rigorous process of teacher observations that are conducted by central office leaders in order to look for the elements of standards based classroom learning. Building level administrators are required to frequently conduct both formal and informal observations to identify and provide instructional support to teachers that need assistance. These site administrators file a report with the district verifying the review of their HiQ data and use of the district-wide observation procedures and classroom monitoring forms.
Annual Needs Assessment
The annual needs assessment is conducted using the Title II-A Needs Assessment and Planning document from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. This document serves as a guide and is connected with the planning and assessment for Title I, school improvement and professional learning.
Annually, the GLISI Better Seeking Team, consisting of Candler County’s principals, superintendent, assistant superintendent, teachers, parents, and paraprofessionals review results of the Equity Technical Assistance Data provided by the GAPSC and state testing data to determine the equitable opportunities for all students, including poor and minority students.
State test data is analyzed for all disaggregated subgroups by grade level, ethnicity, gender, economically disadvantaged, Special Ed, ELL, Migrant, REP, EIP, and gifted. Comparisons of the disaggregated subgroup data are made with the previous annual review to determine equity needs and professional learning gaps of teachers to help them meet the diverse learning needs of their students.
During a two-day summer retreat, teachers, school level administrators, and central office staff reviewed the findings of the needs assessment team. School and teacher level test scores were analyzed to inform teacher placements and plan for improvement of instruction to address the needs of all learners.
At the time of the annual review, needs related to retention and recruitment of HiQ teachers are also assessed. In the previous year, the HiQ report revealed that 99% of the teachers were HiQ.
This data reveals school vacancies as well as the reason for departure from the system. This process allows us to identify strategies to improve recruitment and retention of HiQ teachers and paraprofessionals. To begin the 08-09 school year, three teachers are following remediation plans. The needs assessment revealed that Metter Elementary teachers have an average 13.5 years experience, Metter High School 12.2 year’s experience, Metter Intermediate School 18.5 year’s experience, and Metter Middle School 11.3 year’s experience. During recruitment, an effort was made to hire HiQ teachers with more experience in all district schools.
The Central Office Leadership Team (COLT) receives a HiQ report that is used to identify and analyze teacher quality needs. At the district level, AYP and other test data is analyzed to determine areas of strength and weakness in staffing and curriculum delivery. This information is shared with building principals and needs are prioritized.
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The trends noted on the scorecard drive the focus of teaching and learning.
Parents and private school administrators are also offered an opportunity to
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The sources of information/data used for the needs assessment are:
Equity Technical Assistance Data provided by the GAPSC
Georgia Implementation and other Title II-A guidance documents (i.e. Use of II-A

Funds)
HiQ2 teacher and parapro data, as well as other available information on teacher
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 assignments, effectiveness, transcripts, annual evaluations etc.
AYP reports
Student achievement test data – CRCT, High School Graduation Test, etc.
School improvement plans
School profiles
Title I SWP and TAP lists
Staff development plans and records
Recruitment needs and efforts to date
Retention needs and efforts to date
District Exit Surveys
Certified applications
To date, one teacher needs to complete the computer competency requirement, one teacher needs to complete an internship, and one teacher is awaiting approval from the GAPSC. o The district has purchased an online training program to maintain 100% paraprofessional HiQ o Presently, Teacher retention rates are fairly stable between 85-90% at schools K-8, the high school rate has been between 60-75% for the past three years. Contributing factors include; a high turnover rate based on retirement issues, the fact that a high percentage of Candler County teachers reside outside of the county, and other issues of difference. As positions become available in their county of residence, teachers prefer to work at home. Teachers who are not highly qualified are supported by Title
IIA funds through reimbursement for GACE tests and study materials. As part of the induction program, teachers new to teaching or new to the district participate in professional development and/or receive assistance from a coach to improve teacher quality. Improving teacher quality will result in improvement in student academic achievement. For the 2006-2007 school year, Metter Elementary teachers have an average 13.5 years experience, Metter High School 12.2 year’s experience, Metter
Intermediate School 18.5 year’s experience, and Metter Middle School 11.3 year’s experience.
O All class size numbers is on or below state class size limits. Title II-A funds have been utilized to reduce class size for struggling learners. Literacy continues to be an issue at the secondary level. The district has hired a literacy coach who is working to educate all teachers on literacy strategies. The district literacy initiative is a priority on the scorecard and is monitored through classroom observations. One strategy that the district is implementing to improve secondary literacy is hiring reading specialists and academic coaches that serve students K-12. Students will benefit from reduced class size in language, math and second dose classes. The second dose classes
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provide additional time and attention to assist struggling students in meeting the standards of their regular math class without failing. There is also an initiative to identify gifted students, which will increase enrollment in gifted classes but staying within state mandates, and will decrease enrollment in regular classes. Kindergarten enrollment is capped at 20 per class, with a full-time paraprofessional. Grades 1-3 are capped at 21, grades 4-8 at 28. 9-12 classes do not exceed the established state limits.
Enrollment has increased across the district 70+ students since May 2008. If this trend holds, new teachers may be needed to meet class size requirements.
Equity of Stakeholder Involvement
Both district and school level teams assist in the planning process through the data driven school improvement planning, professional development, and the consolidated application. All stakeholders (parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and community members) have representation on the GLISI Better Seeking Team at the school and system levels, which meet quarterly during the school year. All parents are surveyed annually to evaluate the effectiveness of services to students and parents. Stakeholders have opportunity to discuss issues with the GLISI Better Seeking Team to assist in needs assessment and equitable instruction. The district-wide state of the state presentation to show district direction, SACS district accreditation and SACA survey, Title I District-wide meeting to discuss grading, AYP and other issues for effective planning. The needs assessment process begins with the Better Seeking Team.
Staffing trends and needs are analyzed using teacher recruitment and retention data. This data reveals school vacancies as well as the reason for departure from the system. This process allows us to identify strategies to improve recruitment and retention of HiQ teachers and paraprofessionals. The Central Office Leadership Team (COLT) receives a HiQ report that is used to identify and analyze teacher quality needs. At the district level, AYP and other test data is analyzed to determine areas of strength and weakness in staffing and curriculum delivery.
This information is shared with building principals and needs are prioritized. A summer retreat is planned to address the needs identified by the data collection trends. Teacher, paraprofessionals, school administrators and central office leaders work together at the retreat to modify teacher placements and plan for improvement of instruction to address learner needs.
 School teams, the district planning team, principals, and parents are involved. All stakeholders (parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and community members) have representation on the GLISI Better Seeking Team at the school and system levels, which meet quarterly during the school year. All parents are surveyed
 annually to evaluate the effectiveness of services to students and parents. Stakeholders have opportunity to discuss issues with the GLISI Better Seeking Team to assist in needs assessment and equitable participation. Parental involvement is also maintained through school councils and parent night meetings.
The addition of literacy and academic coaches was added through stakeholder involvement. The mastery and enrichment period called “Tiger Time” is also the result of stakeholder contributions. Board of Education members allocate financial support based on district initiatives that are driven by performance goals and objecting from the
Balanced Scorecard. The primary area of stakeholder involvement is our Graduation
Rate initiatives.
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Highly Qualified Teacher Equity
Candler County Schools has established processes and procedures to ensure that low income students and minority students are not taught more frequently by unqualified and/or inexperienced teachers. Our system has also incorporated into this process, a procedure to ensure that these low income and minority students are in class sizes comparable to other students. Listed below are these steps:
 Every September and January, the Title IIA Coordinator will request a printout from the system’s student information program that will provide a listing of all K-12 poverty students, minority students, and their teachers, along with their teachers’ years of experience, certification and corresponding class size.

The list will be distributed to each school’s administrators so that they can examine the data for any inequities. Administrators are encouraged to examine any other data available at the school level.
 After a two-week turnaround time frame, administrators from each school will complete the Equity Plan Verification Form. On the form, administrators will verify equity by checking the appropriate responses. If the responses show that equity has not been established, administrators will be required to attach a plan and a timeline to resolve any inequities.
 The Title II-A Coordinator will monitor all plans submitted and report progress to the superintendent.
HIQ will be monitored through hiring. 31 21 teachers must be replaced throughout the district.
All new teachers who have signed contracts are highly qualified for the subject that they will teach except one, who is awaiting approval from the GAPSC. Two returning teachers are not
HiQ, one due to a need to complete the computer competency test and the other to complete an internship. Mentors have been assigned and a summer readiness session was held. Principals will assist in writing the HiQ Plan for any new hires that are not HiQ.
Title II-A funds are also used to assist non-HiQ teachers in meeting the requirements to become
HiQ through the use of mentors and assistance in preparing for state mandated testing. Title II-A funds are also used to reimburse teachers seeking HiQ for their necessary coursework and materials that will assist them in the HiQ process.
Teacher Experience Equity
To the fullest extent possible, the district practices recruiting and hiring those teachers that have proven track records. At the district level, AYP and other test data is analyzed to determine areas of strength and weakness in staffing and curriculum delivery, as it relates to teacher experience and quality. This information is shared with building principals and needs are prioritized. A summer retreat is held to address the needs identified by the data collection trends and teacher schedules are completed at that time, paying particular attention to student needs.
 Teacher experience data will be tracked and monitored through the personnel and payroll
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departments. Reports will be sent to the Title II-A coordinator. Inequities in teacher experience that are identified are brought to the attention of the building principal to reorganize the schedule for equitable teaching and learning.
Class Size Equity
 Demographic data is collected to ensure that classes are assigned in the most equitable manner to promote student academic achievement and classes are predominantly heterogeneously grouped.
 School administrators are responsible for reviewing and reporting their class size data.
Their reports are reviewed and monitored with the assistance of the district student data reporting director to ensure comparable class sizes.
Meeting Diverse Needs of Students
 The district has trained 100% of the teachers in differentiated instruction training that was conducted by FDRESA this summer and will continue. Follow up training was provided as a ‘refresher’ for all teachers during preplanning, and new teachers had two day training before preplanning began. Other follow-ups during the year have been planned for staff development and early release days. Focused classroom observations by academic
 coaches, principals, and central office staff will monitor the progress of the D. I. initiative. Coaching on D. I. will be provided to all teachers that show a need for continued reinforcement. Additionally the district implemented the D.I. ‘train the trainer’ model to provide redelivery of strategies as needed at the school level. A day has been scheduled for the trainers to differentiate professional learning on the D.I., based on survey of teacher needs and classroom observation. Professional learning will continue to be ongoing, job-embedded, and closely monitored at the district and school levels.
The District COLT team, leadership team, and the building principals continuously conduct focused and standards based observations to ensure that any deficiencies are addressed in a time manner and additional training and mentorship is provided on an as needed basis. Teachers are at different levels of proficiency in using Differentiated
Instruction; therefore we have plans to differentiate the upcoming differentiated instruction training. A professional learning survey is conducted during new teacher orientation. The results of this survey guide the planning and implementation of staff development of teachers new to the district. Prior to preplanning the new teacher training on D. I. is conducted. This initiative has been funded by QBE Professional Learning funds, local funds, Title I and Title II funds. An outside consultant is utilized not only to provide inclusion training, but to assist in the monitoring of the implementation of inclusion throughout the district. RTI and the Pyramid of Interventions were reviewed with all teachers. The focus monitored report was reviewed and an IEP refresher workshop was conducted for all special education and inclusion teachers.
Retention of Highly Qualified Teachers
Retention of highly qualified teachers is addressed by using Title IIA funds to assist teachers with the GACE test when needed. As part of the induction program, teachers new to teaching or new to the district participate in professional development and/or receive assistance form a
“coach” to improve teacher quality that will result in improvement in student academic achievement. The personnel director will participate in training sessions this fall/winter
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sponsored by the Georgia School Superintendent Association that will provide targeted assistance on recruitment and retention of personnel. At the district level, retention, AYP and other test data is analyzed to determine areas of strength and weakness in staffing and curriculum delivery. This information is shared with building principals and needs are prioritized. A summer retreat is planned to address the needs identified by the data collection trends and teacher schedules are completed at that time, paying particular attention to student needs.
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The district has revised their teacher evaluation model to include modeling and coaching for teachers that need assistance with research-based teaching strategies or with differentiated instruction. Academic coaches are funded to provide ongoing and comprehensive feedback in a collegial atmosphere. Principals meet with the teachers frequently to discuss observation data and gain feedback on how they can assist teachers.
Attention is paid to job satisfaction as well. Teachers are rewarded for exemplary attendance and a significant achievement data. The needs assessment at the high school level reveals that particular attention needs to be paid to the achievement gap of economically disadvantaged students. To meet the needs of all student subgroups
(including gifted and talented) D.I. training is provided for new teachers as well as refresher workshops for returning teachers. This training, along with the planned
‘Cultural Diversity’ workshop will address topics that directly affect classroom teaching and learning and provide strategies and knowledge to improve both. Title IIA funds will be coordinated with other federal, state, and local funds to provide the development of standards-based learning units in core areas that use technology designed specifically to facilitate student engagement by posing relevant problems that encourage mathematical and critical thinking and communication.
Title II A funds and other appropriate funds will be used to support GACE testing and mentoring. Also, books for professional learning and contracted services will be provided through other title funds. Travel for staff development is also planned to support the retention of highly qualified, effective teachers. Staff development days are planned with benchmarks set for the differentiated instruction training that was held this summer. Observations will be conducted to support this effort and improve retention of highly qualified teachers.
Recruitment and Placement of Highly Qualified, Effective Teachers
 Recruitment and placement of highly qualified teachers is addressed in the annual Title
II-A needs assessment document to chart the data that reveals the recruitment needs so
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 that we are able to begin recruitment in a timely manner.
A Regional recruitment fair has been planned by the director of personnel. Our district will host the fair and will also participate in the recruitment fair at the local colleges. A plan is in place to have teachers join the recruitment team so that they can answer questions of potential employees from a teacher’s point of view. The Human Resources
Department maintains an accurate list of resignations and terminations. This list is used to actively seek qualified candidates to meet HiQ and student equity concerns.
Calendars highlighting district balanced scorecard initiatives, goals, and professional learning, as well as other promotional materials and notices are funded with Title I and
Title IIA funds and are used to assist in the recruitment process.
Title IIA funds will assist with class size reduction to hire highly qualified, effective
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teachers. Teacher placement will be supported by CAPS (Certification/Curriculum
Assignment Policies System). Equitable placement of new teachers is made so that all students in all schools and programs have highly qualified and effective teachers with equivalent teaching experience as the rest of the staff across the district.
 Append Georgia Professional Standards Commission Equity Data for the LEA by
School. Other summative data that the LEA has collected may also be appended to support the LEA’s Equity Plan.
19.
A description of how the LEA will provide training and/or incentives to enable teachers to: Teach to the needs of students, particularly students with disabilities, students with special learning needs (including those who are gifted and talented), and those with limited English proficiency; Improve student behavior in the classroom; Involve parents in their child’s educations; and Understand and use data and assessments to improve classroom practice and student learning. Become and remain technologically literate.
Our mission statement is centered on a commitment for all colleagues to enhance their proficiency via professional development. Site-based professional learning (PL) that is based on student data, summary evaluation data, or a school level academic initiative is strongly emphasized. Site-specific PL that meets the needs of the board members, administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals will be sustained. A Professional
Learning (PL) Advisory Committee at each school assists and advises the system PL coordinator in the assessment of professional learning needs. The assessment based on data is used to determine priorities and content for system staff development.
Differentiated Instruction (DI), Strategic Reading in the Content Area and teaching in a standards based classroom are three priorities for PL in our district. Differentiated
Instruction (DI) was continued in 2008 for all of the staff. Implementation of DI training will be both peer and administrator observed this year with job-embedded professional learning for all teachers during PLC discussions. Six of our Teacher leaders are being trained in the summer of 2008 to redeliver Differentiated Instruction within their respective schools. The central office leadership team and school principals are planning literacy training for all teachers. Screening To Enhance Educational Progress
(STEEP) training for reading/literacy will begin late August. The selected teachers and administrators have received STEEP training for reading/literacy. GLRS provided a stipend for one staff member to be trained and act as the contact person for GLRS and coordinate STEEP activities in the participating school. The framework was being done to incorporate the standards based classroom training for all teachers and administrators.
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To encourage teachers to obtain gifted endorsement in their field, the system offers reimbursement for each course taken and a $1,000 stipend for completing the endorsement. The systematic approach has led to across-the-board increase in student achievement. This plan has been funded by QBE Professional Learning funds, local funds, and Title I funds.
All regular and special education math teachers will be trained in the six elements of an effective math lesson that is evidence-based training. Based on individual needs, special education students are also receiving SRA Reading and/or Power Math lessons that are delivered by an SRA trained teacher. A district literacy director has been hired to oversee the implementation of the literacy plan for grades K-12. Additionally, literacy teachers have been hired to assist with struggling readers in the middle and high school.
We allocate part of our Title I funds and considerable local funds to pay teachers stipends for attending summer workshops and trainings when identified in our needs assessment. This reduces our need to take teachers out of the classroom and provides them with an incentive for working during the summer. The classes we teach in the summer generally include: DI, GPS, technology, and the Effective Teaching Practices.
Specific training on content is identified by student academic data.
Efforts are made to match the training offered to teachers to proven academic needs of students. To meet the needs of students, particularly students with disabilities, students with special learning needs (including those who are gifted and talented), and those with limited English proficiency Faculties and Staff, system wide, participated in workshops to address the achievement gap between special education students and their regular education peers. For example, disaggregating of academic data over the last two years has clearly shown that the gap between subgroups has more to do with meeting the needs of special education students. As a result of this analysis, we have determined that we need to focus on strategies and programs for teaching children with disabilities.
Faculties in each school participated in DI, inclusion, and co-teaching. To further address this issue, the teachers are being equipped with knowledge and teaching strategies to improve student learning in literacy. Academic coaches in each school focus their coaching plan on these identified students in order to address these achievement gaps. This information is redelivered at the school level through established learning communities.
Parents are encouraged to become active in their child’s education through a variety of opportunities including taking an active part in the school improvement council, attending open house, newsletters that go home with mid-term reports and report cards, and school parent volunteer programs. PowerSchool is our student data management system that allows parents to view their child’s grades and classroom events and communicate directly with teachers through e-mail.
Teachers meet each nine weeks with the lead teacher to examine benchmark test data
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to identify areas of needs. Following this examination, teachers develop a plan of action to address these areas of need. This action plan is then given to the lead teacher so that he/she may monitor the progress of the plan.
The curriculum director and a RESA math specialist met with sixth grade math teachers to examine standardized test scores and develop a plan of action to raise those scores in the upcoming year. 100% of middle school math teachers were trained to use projectbased learning and develop websites using the template driven software. All teachers in the system use Power Grade, an electronic gradebook that opens communication with parents and teachers through PowerSchool, a web-based program that allows parents to see their child's grades online. Teachers also have the opportunity to take site based staff development classes that is delivered by collegial experts in the areas of
Interactive Smartboards, CBL lab technology, probeware, digital microscopes, T1 83 graphing calculators, use of manipulative in mathematics, digital cameras, scanners,
Adobe, Microsoft office, and other software/technology applications as the need arises.
The district plans to offer a classroom management course doing the fall and winter which is designed primarily to assist induction level teachers. Plans to redeliver this information to faculty and staff are arranged at the school level. Professional Learning opportunities from SDFS are based on staff training needs assessment instruments, student drug and violence surveys, Student Data Records, etc. Based on these instruments listed below are the professional learning opportunities scheduled for FY07:
Bullying Prevention, Terry Alderman Classroom Management, Mendez Curriculum
Training, Methamphetamine Workshops, Conflict Management, Parent Involvement
Conference, and School Safety Training.
SDFSCP Professional Learning opportunities for teachers, administrators, counselors, school nurses, family resource coordinators, paraprofessional, and other school personnel including those working in alternative schools, psycho-educational centers, and after school programs include the following examples: learning styles, classroom management, student success strategies, parent involvement, ASCA Model for School
Counseling (use of data and assessment), social learning software, bullying prevention and intervention, current drug trends, violence prevention and intervention, developmental assets, support safety and mentoring.
Meeting Diverse Needs of Students
The district has trained 100% of the teachers in differentiated instruction training that was conducted by FDRESA this summer and will continue. Follow up training was provided as a ‘refresher’ for all teachers during preplanning, and new teachers had two day training before preplanning began. Other follow-ups during the year have been planned for staff development and early release days. Focused classroom observations by academic coaches, principals, and central office staff will monitor the progress of the
D. I. initiative. Coaching on D. I. will be provided to all teachers that show a need for continued reinforcement. Additionally the district implemented the D.I. ‘train the trainer’ model to provide redelivery of strategies as needed at the school level. A day has been scheduled for the trainers to differentiate professional learning on the D.I., based on
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survey of teacher needs and classroom observation.
The District COLT team, leadership team, and the building principals continuously conduct focused and standards based observations to ensure that any deficiencies are addressed in a time manner and additional training and mentorship is provided on an as needed basis. Teachers are at different levels of proficiency in using Differentiated
Instruction; therefore we have plans to differentiate the upcoming differentiated instruction training. A professional learning survey is conducted during new teacher orientation. The results of this survey guide the planning and implementation of staff development of teachers new to the district. Prior to preplanning the new teacher training on D. I. is conducted. This initiative has been funded by QBE Professional
Learning funds, local funds, Title I and Title II funds. An outside consultant is utilized not only to provide inclusion training, but to assist in the monitoring of the implementation of inclusion throughout the district. RTI and the Pyramid of
Interventions were reviewed with all teachers. The focus monitored report was reviewed and an IEP refresher workshop was conducted for all special education and inclusion teachers.
The district makes a concerted effort to match teacher training with the identified needs of all learners. As a result of data disaggregation, a noted trend identified that there is an achievement gap that exists between ethnic subgroups and economically disadvantaged. The district focuses on meeting the needs of children of poverty through extra learning support (Tiger Time Mastery and Enrichment period, Second
Dose program, after school tutoring, Open House, mid-term reports and report cards, standards-based report cards, early release parent conference days, Parent Nights, district website (metter.org), and other activities.) Benchmark data is analyzed each quarter to ensure that the diverse needs of all students are being met. Through the use of an Internet-based electronic gradebook program, parents have access to student grades, assignments, and attendance reports 24 hours per day. The student population is mostly English speakers and we have less than 10% Hispanic population of students.
Migrant Education paraprofessionals and ELL teachers are instrumental in maximizing learning for ELL students.
20. A description of how the LEA will develop a three-year professional learning plan that will be included in the LEA Comprehensive System
Improvement Plan according to the requirements in Rule 160-3-3-.04
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.
Annually each school in Candler County will conduct a self-assessment based on the
GSSP standards and update their professional learning plan. The DOE has provided a link that enables us to re-roster students according to CRCT data. Teachers study the data to determine if they have met their individual improvement goals and to set new goals for student academic achievement. They also use the data to make informed teaching decisions regarding instructional planning, instructional resources and instructional strategies for disaggregated groups, with specific priority for ELL, special education, gifted, economically disadvantaged, gender, and ethnic groups. Migrant students who are at risk of failing receive assistance through after school and summer
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programs to minimize the effects of interruptions to their learning. A prioritized consolidated system professional learning needs assessment was conducted to drive system initiatives that are outlined in the district’s Balanced Scorecard. The Needs
Assessment for professional learning is used to move toward systematic self-evaluation.
Rubrics and other narrative feedback instruments are being developed to assist with the evaluation of teacher and administrator learning. The school and system Balanced
Scorecards assist with planning for the coordination of federal programs.
21. A description of the activities that the LEA will carry out with program funds, including professional learning for teachers and principals and how their activities will align with challenging state academic standards. The description should outline the LEA professional learning programs and sources. The LEA professional learning programs should be consistent with nationally established criteria for quality professional learning, with such characteristics as incentives, self-directed learning, and authentic connections to actual work.
The supplemental professional learning activities provided by Candler County falls into several categories all of which conform to the guidelines presented in federal programs such as Title 1A, Title IIA and Title IV. Candler County Board of Education is committed to professional growth for all of our colleagues, therefore, activities are provided for all staff including bus drivers, paraprofessionals and school nutrition personnel.
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Baseline classes: GPS, DI, literacy/strategic reading, standards based instruction
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Induction: TSS, mentoring, and Leadership
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Specific content classes: math, reading, science
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Specific teacher needs: classroom management development
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Technology as a topic: video production, digital cameras, PowerPoint,
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Technology facilitation: PowerPoint, Power Grade, PowerSchool, Microsoft
Office applications, smartboards, CPS, web page design
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Student Support: SST/RTI Plan, School-level SST Coordinators,
Intervention Coordinator, Mentoring Program, School Transition Program,
Literacy Coach, Candler Performance Learning Center (grades 8-12), Diagnostic
Assessment Technology, Parent Involvement Program, Bus Safety and
Discipline, Drugs, Violence and Bullying. PRIDE survey data from students, teachers, and parents will be used to develop programs and/or services for school personnel and students in the area of SDFSC.
Both the Mendez Too Good for Drugs and the Second Step Violence Prevention
Program have been recognized by SAMHSA as science-based model programs that have demonstrated effective strategies for prevention among young people who are at a high risk for substance abuse and related problems.
Candler County schools will continue to emphasize use of the Mendez curriculum and
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expand use of Second Step. Teachers in Candler County schools have been and will be trained to implement both programs by certified trainers. Needs Assessment data from principals will be used to develop a SDFSCP Professional Development Series for
Administrators. Reading 180 will be incorporated in the high school curriculum to improve literacy for struggling learners.
22. A description of how the LEA will notify private schools of availability of funds to serve eligible children in each applicable federal program.
I. For Title 1 all private schools serving one or more students from our school district are notified annually of an opportunity for a consultation meeting. In addition private school personnel from private schools within the school district are invited to a consultation meeting for Title II-A, Title III, Title IV-A and Title V.
II. Private Schools are notified (February/March). Private schools are notified each spring.
III. Private schools are notified by letter with U.S. postal registration receipt of an invitation to a consultation meeting with school district personnel to discuss the availability of funds to serve eligible private school students. Opportunities for meeting private school professional learning needs are also discussed. The notice includes the specific time, date and location of the consultation meeting, a response form, and Title 1 contact information.
IV. If, upon completion of consultation, private schools are interested in participating in relevant federal programs, a timely planning meeting is scheduled. The planning meeting provides private schools the opportunity to participate in the design, development and implementation of the academic program and the professional learning plan.
V. Eligible private school students receive services on an equitable basis. Candler
County also sets aside an equitable share of funds for private school professional learning activities. Work with special education and other programs to meet their requirements.
23. A description of the process the LEA will conduct annually to review and revise the LEA Comprehensive Plan for Improving Student Academic
Achievement.
The Comprehensive plan for improving student academic begins in the spring and continues during the summer with input solicited from administrators, board members, central office personnel, parents, community members and other stakeholders. Candler
County School District receives updated test data and other information about student needs through an excel spreadsheet provided by GDOE. The LEA summarizes and creates a system profile/analysis of the data to determine if CLIP goals and objectives were met.
After the CLIP profile is created, school administrators, central office personnel and board members review the data and compare and contrast with past performance.
Discussion of the data begins to determine what revisions need to be made in the CLIP for the following year. The timeline for the CLIP is revisited to determine progress
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towards implementation of the actions, strategies and interventions.
Revisions are made to the plan based on identified trends in specific content areas, targeted subgroups, and comparison of our students’ academic progress with similar districts and with the State. Special attention is given to data related to the graduation rate and other NCLB and IDEA goals. Data is shared with the schools through professional learning communities. If the data analysis reveals the need for professional learning on a particular topic staff development will be planned and coordinated by both school and district level committees. At this time, the district is engaged in phase two of
Differentiated Instruction training. A rough draft of the CLIP based on strengths and opportunities for improvement is sent to the administrators in all four schools for comments and discussion. The revised CLIP is submitted to the Board for approval.
Additional Information for conducting reviews and revision of CLIP annually include: ·
 Review students grades at progress report time ·
 Review student records to determine on track status toward graduation ·
 Review staff, parent and student surveys ·
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D ata charts will be displayed to monitor process ·
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Review LoTi (teacher survey of technology integration)
 Review Professional standards survey ·
 Monitor teacher and paraprofessionals high quality report ·
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Input from schools professional learning adviso r committee ·
 Analyze Safe and Drug Free Schools data ·
 GSSP review provided by the state department ·
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SACS/Georgia accreditation review.
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The SDFS GSHS II Needs Assessment and/or the PRIDE survey will be conducted on an annual basis with data used to refine, improve and strengthen services for students and school personnel. Proximal and distal evaluations will be utilized to assess the effectiveness of new strategies. Student pre and post test results and discipline data will be analyzed. Principals and teacher evaluations are based on progress on predetermined goals. The superintendent is evaluated twice annual by the Board of Education and this is based on
Balanced Scorecard performance measures. The Performance Learning Center
(PLC) is an alternative learning environment that provides individualized prescriptive learning opportunities in a technology-rich environment. Other initiatives that support the improvement of student achievement include the hiring of a district literacy coach, a high school literacy teacher for struggling learning, literacy-based training for special education teachers, and professional learning on Ruby Payne’s Framework for Poverty.
24. A description of how the LEA will provide supplemental support services
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for advocacy and outreach activities for migratory children and their families, including informing such children and families of, or helping such children and families gain access to, other education, health, nutrition, and social services.
The Elementary school operates Parent Resource Center (HELP) for migrant families that assist both parents and students in learning English and language skills. The HELP program is held in the evening so that it does not interfere with occupational activities.
During the summer, a migrant specific summer school is held to provide extra academic support for migrant children. Transportation is available to ensure that the students will attend. As with all other students in the district, Migrant students are held accountable for meeting standards on all State required assessments. All migrant students are eligible for and receive appropriate Title I services. Counseling, access to other educational agencies, health, nutrition, and social services are available to migrant students. The Migrant Family Intervention Specialists at each school coordinate these services and act as an interpreter for parents to aid in communication during parentteacher conferences.
A migratory Parent Advisory Council (PAC) program is provided in conjunction with other Parent Involvement Programs. Parent night was held to inform parents and other stakeholders of opportunities for Migrant students. Parents are presented information on ESOL, special education, gifted, and other educational programs. Parent outreach is also provided in a language that is understood by the family by using the ELL
Coordinator, ELL teachers, and migrant paraprofessionals to translate when needed. In addition to translators, the DOE TransAct program is used for translation of important student and parent documents, as well as private consultant when needed.
The Elementary s
25. A description of how the LEA will promote interstate and intrastate coordination of services for migratory children, including how the LEA will provide for educational continuity through the timely transfer of pertinent school records, including information on health, when children move from one school to another.
Candler County School System has procedures in place to provide a timely transfer of school records for all students including migratory students. When a Migrant student or any student transfers to another system, their school records are sent as soon as they are requested. These records include academic information, attendance information, health and immunization records, standardized testing results, qualifications for educational programs, and the need for special services such as ELL, special education, etc.
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The process begins as soon as the parent/guardian provides the school with a formal signed release or by request from the receiving school.
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Records are faxed to the receiving school. Hard copy is then sent through US mail in a timely manner but in no more than ten calendar days.
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The system also has a process in place for translation and evaluation of
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transcripts for Hispanics and other international students. The Family
Intervention specialist also provides interpreter services and school supplies to students that need them and assist in the enrollment of migrant students.
TransAct will be used to aid the process of records transfer and coordination of services.
26. A description of how the LEA will identify and recruit eligible migrant families and youth moving into or currently residing in the district.
The Candler County School district uses the Occupational Survey provided by the
Migrant Education Program (MEP) coordinator to identify migrant students. All students are asked to complete the survey when they enroll in or register for school. Information from the Occupational Survey is used to flag Migrant students in the PowerSchool student data system. Paraprofessionals in each school were trained by the MEP to recruit migrant families. A copy of the occupational survey is sent to the Migrant
Education agency for further determination of eligibility for migrant services. The Migrant contact person works with the MEP and other community agencies to coordinate services such as, Dental Van, Child Medical Services (CMS) of the Health Department,
Family Connections, Communities in Schools, and DFACS to provide the appropriate services for identified families and their children.
27. A description of how the LEA will provide resources for the purpose of establishing best practices that can be widely replicated throughout the LEA and with other LEAs throughout the State and nation.
The Candler County school system belongs to the First District RESA Safe and Drug
Free Schools and Communities Program consortium of 16 systems. The consortium provides an avenue for sharing programs, strategies, materials, and outcomes among systems. SAMHSA provides national information regarding best practices in the areas of drug and violence prevention and intervention programs and strategies. The regional coalition of school counselors will continue to focus on action research projects as recommended by ASCA. The regional coalitions of Alternative School Personnel and
School Nurses offer opportunities to share resources and information. Family
Connection and the Georgia Department of Education
GLC/GeorgiaStandards.Org/Teacher Resource Center also provide information regarding best practices and opportunities to share resources and experiences.
Establishment of best practices (PL and all federal programs) Activities for planning:
During School Improvement process, student CRCT, ITBS, GHSGT, and EOCT data are reviewed at the school and district levels. Faculty and leadership input, as well as others on the school improvement review team make site-based decisions on programs to implement (including Title III A), and to decide how special projects will be funded.
Large technology, software, and program decisions must be based on scientific research and approved at the district level. The school/system leverages different sources of funding and combines resources to deliver special projects/programs and on-site professional learning opportunities that support innovative and school based reform efforts. The system/school evaluates pilot projects and other research basedprograms annually to determine if the goals and objectives of the project/programs are being met. Evaluation results are presented to faculty, board members, and system
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leaders along with other assessment data.
All programs serving Title III A students are presented in the least restrictive manner possible and with comparable facilities and materials to those used for non-LEP students. Title IV resources and a resource list of Title IV instructional materials are maintained at the District Level and the list is available upon request to be shared with other Districts
28. A description of how the LEA will take steps to ensure that all students and teachers have increase access to technology. Include the strategies to be implemented to increase or maintain access to technology and to establish or maintain equitable technology access.
As planned in our balanced scorecard, to improve the use of instructional technology we will equip all classrooms with 21 st Century technology by the year 2010. We plan to accomplish this by using ESPLOST, federal funding, and grants. According to the
System Technology Inventory Survey from February 2008, Candler County schools presently have 100% of their schools with high-speed Internet access and 96% of their classrooms with high-speed Internet access. From the four schools within our district, we presently have 541 desktop computers, 150 laptops for instructional use. 100 of the laptops are Windows. The present ratio of student to modern, Internet connected instructional computer is 2.7699. Candler County has 7 Windows servers and leases fiber optic lines for connectivity to each school. There are 112 administrative machines,
83 desktops, 29 laptops and 0 administrative only servers. All administrative machines are Windows. All servers are now running windows server operating systems.
During the 2005-06 school year Metter High School was wired for complete wireless accessibility using funds from local money and a Title II-D Competitive Wireless Grant received. In 2008-09, we received the Title II-D Teachers Teamwork and Technology
(T3) Grant. The grant moved us closer to our 21 st Century technology goal to outfit all classrooms with an interactive whiteboard, mounted projector, response system and student laptops. The social studies team/department and the media center was outfitted with this equipment as well as a video camera, 4 still photo cameras, and two mobile laptop labs with 15 computers per cart and 5 laptops that remain in the media center for student use. All four teachers on the team received a laptop and docking station to use in their classrooms. The team also got 10 MP3/video players to implement podcasting.
The equipment for this grant will be implemented in the FY09 school year. Over the course of the next 2 years, teachers will receive professional learning o best practices to use the equipment for advancing student achievement. A remedial education classroom set (20) of wireless laptops were purchased with the grant funds. An additional wireless laptop lab was purchased for the high school utilizing School
Improvement Grant money. In the spring of 2008, the district received an additional Title
II-D grant for implementation of multimedia technology to be utilized for the teaching of
Social Studies. All technology including mobile labs that were purchased for Metter High
School with the 2005-2006 Title II-D wireless grant are still in use and fully functional. In
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Addition, the high school stationary computer lab was upgraded by purchasing 30 new desktop computers. ESPLOST was used to fund this upgrade. In 2008, one of the high school business computer labs was upgraded as well. The upgrade included: 25 new desktop computer and Microsoft Office 2007. The upgrade to Office 2007 prompted a school-wide upgrade of Microsoft Office 2007, which was funded by local technology funds. As one of the goals stated in the Balanced Scorecard, all Metter High School classrooms have been outfitted with a mounted projector, 19 interactive boards and 15 response systems. 15 student laptops were purchased for the English department.
The middle school business lab purchased in 2005-06 is still fully functional and in use as well as the 7 th grade math laptop lab. The 2 mobile labs purchased from school improvement are still in use with plans to upgrade in FY10. The computer stationary lab was upgraded with 30 new desktop computers and Microsoft Office 2007. In addition to the lab Office upgrade, a school wide office upgrade was performed. In keeping with the goals stated in the Balanced Scorecard, all classrooms are now outfitted with a mounted projector. In addition, the middle school has 11 interactive boards and 10 response systems.
Metter Intermediate school received an upgrade t their stationary computer lab. This upgrade included 30 student computers and 1 teacher computer funded by local technology funds. As part of a gifted student initiative, 5 student laptops, 2 teacher laptops and 2 complete interactive systems with interactive board, response system, and mounted projector was purchased for the Intermediate schools’ gifted program. By the beginning of FY09, every classroom at the intermediate school was outfitted with mounted projectors and 11 interactive boards. The intermediate has 4 response systems. The upgrade to the lab afforded us refurbished desktop student computers for each classroom, causing each classroom to have at least 4 student computers each, some having 6.
The Elementary school saw an upgrade to 36 teacher computers, all funded by
ESPLOST. Some of the refurbished computers form the other schools afforded an update to some of the classroom student computers. The media center received 6 new desktops and Class Works was purchased in installed in them and in the lab as well. 5 mounted projectors were installed and 2 mounted interactive boards, 3 more interactive devices, including response systems and projectors were purchased to be housed in the media center for teachers to check out. The Special Education department received
20 new teacher laptops. The laptops purchased in 2005-06, were refurbished into special education student computers. All other equipment purchased in 2005-06 is still functioning and in use by the Special Education department. The Candler County
Performance Learning Center was added in FY08. 120 desktop computers, 7 teacher laptops were purchased. 40 Nova Net license were purchased. This was funded by
Communities in Schools. The districts ESOL department received 15 student laptops in
FY07.
Providing access to a standard collection of software ensures access across the district to resources and maximizes training opportunities for students and staff. The Candler
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County school district maintains a list of standard curriculum software for all levels of instruction: Pre-K, Elementary, Intermediate, Middle and High. Standardization of hardware is another district initiative. Presently, only purchase of Windows computers are authorized by the district. As labs are replaced, machines are refurbished and placed back in the system to replace existing Mac computers and the older Windows machines. All purchases of computers and/or hardware that utilize local, state, or federal funds must be approved by the technology director.
GAP ANALYSIS
After reviewing school inventories and compiling data, the committee found that our small, rural system seems to have a handle on both the hardware and software side of technology. All four schools have up-to-date computer labs with high accessibility as well as new machines for both teachers and students located within the classrooms themselves. As part of our initiative to centralize servers and implement server virtualization, all file servers have been converted to domain controllers and a single 1 terabyte file server has been placed at the central office for district-wide student and staff use. Software needs have been assessed with new additions being purchased for both the administrative and instructional side (SEMSNet, NovaNET, RADARS, and
READ 180 for high school literacy development, Orchard, Geometers Sketchpad, STAR
Math and Accelerated Reader, Rosetta Stone Software). All teachers are trained and use PowerSchool and PowerSchool Teacher. Labs are replaced on a rotational basis with old machines being refurbished and deployed back into the system.
Our teachers are being provided the necessary technology and training to integrate technology into the daily curriculum for all subject areas. They are being provided new ways to incorporate technology into their daily lessons, the training to utilize new technology and the time to plan on how to be incorporate these new ideas. Teachers have lots of new “gadgets” at their disposal but need to learn how to effectively manage and implement these new instructional enhancers. The biggest need is in making purchases of software that are appropriate, high quality and that fit the specific instructional needs of the students as they relate directly to QCC/GPS standards.
In order to address the achievement gap between our ELL student and our special needs students, not only are teachers receiving the training necessary to implement new technology and software into an educational experience that meets the needs of these unique students but they must also have additional opportunities to access this new technology in an environment that is least restrictive and most conducive to the learning needs of these students. That will mean increasing our wireless infrastructure at both our Intermediate and Elementary School so that additional opportunities are allowed these students within the confines of their regular classrooms. Special assistive technology purchases will need to be considered for our special needs students.
Opportunities for our ELL students will need to consider their special needs to receive academic instruction while also increasing their ability to speak and understand English.
Limited use of computers at home for both sets of students continue to be a consideration that must be dealt with. Present considerations include plans to allow
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students to check-out laptops for home use and for parents to have access to internet and computers through the community library opening up a computer lab for after-hours use at the central office will be made available from our refurbished Alternative School lab. This lab will be utilized in training of teachers and staff as well.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT : Candler County technology staff is committed to receiving any training needed, provided by First District RESA, online training as well as self training. It is the technology staff’s goal to provide support and training in the use of technology in instruction. One of the ways that they are providing this support is by holding bi-weekly in-tech training. To maintain equitable access to technology for all students, we will continue seeking grant and other funding to keep our equipment updated. The district is coordinating with all academic programs and the community to provide targeted academic assistance that is enhanced through the use of technology.
ESPLOST funding was used to implement a literacy lab for struggling secondary learners to increase the graduation rate. Class Works and other technology-driven learning programs are being used in the newly converted computer lab at the elementary school. A full time technology teacher was employed at the elementary school to monitor students’ knowledge of basic computing and improve core academic skills.
GOAL: Increase the use of technology by…..
Strategies Benchmark Evaluation
Method
Funding
Source/Amount
N/A To equipment all classrooms with 21 st century
All classrooms will be equipped by
FY10
Yearly
Technology
Survey technology
Train teachers to use 21 st century technology
Increase student technology skills
All students
70% of teachers will be trained by
FY10
70% of the 8 th grade class will pass the GaDOE
Technology test
100% of all
Teacher LoTi
Survey to gauge use and knowledge of technology
8 th
grade
Technology test
Class rosters
Staff
Development
N/A
N/A
Person
Responsible
Technology
Director
Technology
Director and
School Principal
Middle School
Principal
Middle School
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will complete a course in computer applications students prior to 9 th grade, will complete a course in computer applications by
FY10 and 8 th
grade
Technology test
Principal,
Middle School
Connection
Team
29. A description of the LEA’s long-term strategies for financing technology to ensure that all students, teachers, and classrooms have access to technology, technical support, and instructional support.
Candler County Schools will receive continuing long-term financial support for existing technology and ongoing initiatives from several sources including:

Title I

Title II-D

Title IIIA

Title VIB

Professional Learning

Instructional Extension

Perkins Funds

6-8 Instruction

9-12 Instruction

Local funds

ESPLOST

E-rate funding continues to provide funds for fiber upgrades supporting the network infrastructure between schools and the central office. The local Board of
Education has committed to accelerate technology by equipping every classroom with 21 st century technology through allocation of ESPLOST, QBE, federal, state, and grant money.
GOAL: Continue to establish, maintain and support the network infrastructure to assure access for all employees and students.
STRATEGIES
Upgrade to fiber between
MES, MHS and BOE
FUNDING/AMOUNT
E-Rate Funds - $225,000 (91% of total funding), Local
Funds - $22,500 (9% of total funding
30. A description of how the LEA will evaluate the extent to which
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technology integration strategies are incorporated effectively into curriculum and instruction. Describe how the LEA will ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curriculum and instructional strategies so that technology will be fully integrated.
STUDENT TECHNOLOGY LITERACY NEEDS
Metter Elementary School
Technology areas needing improvement by students include: ·
 Using advanced multimedia tools to express ideas ·

Using brainstorming/webbing software in planning, organizing, and prewriting

Inserting and editing data from internet into documents
We utilized AR, STAR, and online CRCT reports and computer lab teacher observation to make the above determinations. Technology will be added to implement STEEP testing. Upgraded teacher computers will be added to assist teachers with implementation of the district grading policy and seven agreements for student academic achievement.
Metter Intermediate School
Technology areas needing improvement by students include: ·
 Manages information with databases and spreadsheets ·
 Using multimedia tools to express ideas ·

Using brainstorming/webbing software in planning, organizing, and prewriting

Inserting and editing data from internet into documents
We utilized AR, STAR, and online CRCT reports and teacher observation to make the above determinations. Brain Pop and United Streaming is planned for training and use in all of our schools. Performance Learning Center (PLC) is an alternative learning environment that provides individualized prescriptive learning opportunities in a technology rich environment. PLATO and Orchard software purchased to assist students in the Candler Performance Learning Center and all of the schools with student achievement in core classes.
Metter Middle School ·

Students are expected to master the Technology Integration Standards as indicated by Georgia Department of Education.

Current Metter Middle School Technology Literacy Needs:
 Research Skills (online referencing) ·

Database and spreadsheet program use (Excel)
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
Evaluation of websites
Needs Assessment: ·

The following information is based on the LoTi survey. The survey was taken by the teachers and administrative team.

Overall Metter Middle School has made tremendous gains in implementing technology into classroom instruction. However, the survey revealed two areas of need.

Needs: Using Technology for Complex Thinking Projects, Locating Resources and/or Assistance to Increase Existing Classroom Technology Use. MMS will address these needs by participating in professional development activities that will help teachers to create technology infused, higher thinking instructional activities. The PRISM Multimedia Workshop and the JASON Project are examples of this strategy. MMS will seek technical assistance from 1st District
RESA and utilize the talents of its own faculty members to develop these professional learning activities. Vertical teams will work together to create technology infused complex thinking instructional activities, and will develop grants to fund this initiative.

An additional survey will be given to parents to gain additional input on technology needs
Metter High School
A survey was administered to the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade students to determine the current level of student experience with essential technology literacy skills as defined by the QCC Technology Integration Standards.
A total of 339 students were surveyed and revealed the following data:

136 students have access to computers at home and 54 students have access to computers other than school and home

115 students have Internet at home

38% of the students rated themselves as having average computer abilities, 28% above average, and 24% as extremely good

66% of the students use Microsoft Word processing program most often, 16% use WordPerfect, 12% use Microsoft Works, and 6% didn’t know

69% of the students believed that there are not enough computers at the school for students to use

33% of the students believed that they can always evaluate online information for accuracy and reliability, whereas 40% said sometimes they can evaluate online information for accuracy and reliability

61% of the students use the computers for games sometimes, whereas 31% of the students play games on the computer always
The Technology Planning Committee identified the following 9-12 Technology
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Integration Standards as areas to target:

Demonstration of skills creating a new database, i.e. Access

Demonstration of skills saving files using a jump drive

Demonstration of skills printing and/or viewing pictures using a digital camera

Demonstration of skills scanning pictures into the computer using a scanner

Demonstration of skills downloading music to an IPOD

Demonstration of skills using a Chat or Browse (e.g., Myspace.com)
31. A description of how the LEA will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula (e.g., distance learning).
Candler County superintendent, administrators, and teacher leaders encourage teachers to participate in innovative strategies for delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula by writing grants and using funds to provide Title II wireless technology to middle school and high school math classes and PLATO software and Nova Net for unit recovery and the ability to get extra units. Currently, a
Title II-D grant has been awarded to use social studies as a vehicle to improve high school literacy. Technology integration strategies will be monitored through focused classroom evaluations and unit/lesson plans. Ongoing professional learning is available through PLCs and from the technology department. RESA technology staff also assists in training teachers to integrate the current technology to deliver effective lessons.
Teachers will complete the LoTi survey about their perception of technology integration into classroom instruction. Teachers in need of improvement will be identified and targeted for staff development in the areas of need.
Smart Boards are used with computer technology throughout the district in a variety of subjects and grade levels. Computer Performance System (CPS) is used in classrooms to provide immediate feedback for academic progress. The Elementary School science teachers received a PRISM Grant that provided probeware and updates for their outdoor classroom. The High School PRISM Grant provided probeware and digital video microscopes. Five additional digital microscopes will be provided to the high school by the Georgia Department of Education. Graphing calculators are used in the middle and high schools to impact student achievement in math and science classrooms. Funding is being investigated to purchase Smartboards and Response system technology for all classrooms. The District provides training on an as needed basis to ensure that the technology is utilized in a manner that promotes student learning. RESA, ETTC, and GLRS are consulted to assist in the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized and rigorous academic courses to students with disabilities, ELL students, economically disadvantaged groups, and other students with high needs. Additionally, an aggressive initiative is being implemented to utilize technology to advance the achievement of gifted and high functioning learners. The system goal is to significantly improve the literacy rate of ALL students.
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