Georgia Association of School Personnel
Administrators
May 30, 2013
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What is Race to the Top?
 A competitive grant funded by the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for the purpose of
comprehensive educational reform.
 Eleven states and the District of Columbia received the
grant.
 Georgia’s award was $400 million.
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How may we spend Georgia’s RT3?
 $200 million for state-wide projects such as:
 Implementation of Common Core State Standards
 Development of Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Systems
 Longitudinal Data System
 Early Learning Initiatives
 Certification revisions
 $200 million for district-wide projects such as:
 Training for teachers to implement Common Core State
Standards
 Using data to improve student achievement
 Training for Teacher and Leader Keys Effectiveness Systems
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Partners in the work of RT3:
 Governor’s Office
 Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget
 Governor’s Office of Student Achievement
 Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
 Georgia Professional Standards Commission
 Board of Regents - University System of Georgia
 Technical College System of Georgia
 Georgia Public Broadcasting
 Twenty-six local school districts
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Who are our partners?
Twenty-six local
school districts
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Four major initiatives
 Standards and Assessments
 Data Systems to Support Instruction
 Great Teachers and Leaders
 Turning Around Lowest-Achieving Schools
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Standards and Assessments
 Implementing Common Core Standards
 Developing and implementing common, high-quality
assessments (PARCC Partnership)
 Supporting the transition to enhanced standards and
high quality assessments
 Supporting STEM-specific focus in schools
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Longitudinal Data System
 Valuable information for teachers just a “click” away
 Class Schedules and Rosters
 Course Standards – GPS and CCGPS
 Student Profiles
 Student Attendance History
 Classroom Assessment Data
 Student Grade and Enrollment History

….. And much more
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Teacher Resource Link (TRL)
• Teachers will be able to access high-quality digital
resources for students (and professional development
resources for themselves!) that are directly aligned to the
GPS and CCGPS standards and elements.
• They will access TRL through LDS--No new Web
addresses and passwords to remember!
4/13/2015
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Lowest Achieving Schools
 The Office of School Turnaround was created in 2011
to provide concentrated resources and expertise to
“Priority Schools” identified as Lowest Achieving
Schools
 Each school, with the assistance of the Department of
Education, has selected one of four research-based
reform models to implement
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School Turnaround Office Provides:
 Ongoing Monitoring of School Improvement
Initiatives and Short Term Action Plans
 Professional Development for Central Office
Supervisors, Principals, Teachers and Support Staff
 Technical Assistance at the Individual School Level
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Great Teachers and Great Leaders
 Design, pilot, and implement a new teacher and leader
effectiveness system that will improve instruction for
Georgia’s students. The components will include:
 A quantitative measure of the value-added to student
achievement
 Standards for teachers and leaders that will be rated on a
rubric of Exemplary, Proficient, Needs Development,
and Ineffective
 Include student surveys for teachers and faculty/staff
surveys for leaders
 Pay for Performance for teachers using RT3 funds
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HB 244
 HB 244 passed the General Assembly during 2013
session;
 Governor signed bill into law on May 7, 2013;
 Implementation of TKES/LKES statewide 2014-2015
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State-wide training
 Present – Summer of 2014: DOE will train RESA
trainers and District Personnel to prepare for
implementation in 2014-2015
 Encourage your Superintendents to participate in
study-year or pilot this coming school year.
 Cindy Saxon is DOE contact: csaxon@doe.k12.ga.us
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Teacher Keys Effectiveness
System
Teacher Keys Effectiveness
System
(Generates a Teacher Effectiveness Measure )
Teacher Assessment
on Performance
Standards
(Observations and Documentation)
Surveys of
Instructional Practice
(Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 912)
Student Growth and Academic Achievement
Teachers of Tested Subjects
- Student Growth Percentile
- Achievement Gap Reduction
Teachers of Non-Tested
Subjects
- DOE-approved, district-developed
Student Learning Objectives
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Great Teachers and Great Leaders
 January – May 2012: Pilot of Teacher Assessment of
Performance Standards (TAPS) and student surveys;
used pilot information to refine instrument
 2012-2013: Use of TAPS to inform Human Resources
decisions; Hold harmless year for value-added
measures of student growth but data is being collected
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 2013-2014: TAPS (including student surveys) and
value-added impact will generate a Teacher
Effectiveness Measure (TEM) which will be used to
make Human Resources decisions
 2014-2015: Fully implemented State-wide
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Leader Keys Effectiveness
Leader Keys
Effectiveness System
(Generates a Leader Effectiveness
Measure Score)
Governance and
Leadership
Leader Assessment on
Performance Standards
-Climate Survey
-Student Attendance
-Retention of Effective Teachers
-Performance Goal Setting
-Documentation of Practice
Student Growth and Academic
Achievement
- Student Growth Percentile
- Achievement Gap Reduction
- DOE-approved Student Learning Objectives
Utilizing District Identified Growth Measures
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What about Merit Pay?
 Race to the Top Scope of Work states “Individual
bonuses will be paid to teachers and principals tied to
student achievement.”
 State minimum
 District flexibility
 One-time bonus to develop models for future
consideration
 Pay by September, 2014 or September, 2015 based on
decision by US Ed regarding No-Cost Extension
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HR Directors Need to Know:
 HB 244, Lines 44-81
 Beginning with the 2014-2015 teachers of record,
assistant principals, and principals shall be given
written notice in advance of the school year of the
evaluation measures and any specific indicators that
will be used to evaluation them.
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Georgia’s Education Initiatives
 Standards and Assessment
 Longitudinal Data System
 Great Teachers and Great Leaders
 Turning around Lowest Achieving Schools
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Points to Remember:
 Race to the Top is a funding source for Georgia’s
comprehensive education initiatives. After the funding
source is depleted, the initiatives must be sustained.
 Many State partners, including twenty-six (26) partner
districts, are assisting in developing and piloting many of
the initiatives, as well as implementing reform models in
lowest achieving schools.
 RT3 Innovation Grants have allowed Georgia to develop,
pilot, and implement research-based practices and
initiatives.
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Goals for Sustainability
1. Set High Standards and Rigorous Assessments
for All
2. Prepare Students for College Readiness,
Transition, and Success
3. Provide Great Teachers and Leaders
4. Provide Effective Support for All Schools,
Including Turning Around the Lowest-Achieving
Schools
5. Lead the way in STEM fields
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Next steps:
 Develop a Sustainability Plan
 Provide Parameters to Race to the Top Districts on
developing a Merit Pay plan
 2013 Race to the Top Summit
 Summer GAEL
 RT3 Districts must send team of 5; registration
paid by RT3 for both GAEL and RT3 Summit
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Questions?
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