Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, November 24, 2021/Page 12A
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Vidalia BOE Focuses On Teacher Achievement
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
At its regular monthly
session November 9, the
Vidalia Board of Educa
tion focused its attention
on teacher achievement
during the Curriculum
Report from Assistant Su
perintendent Ginger Mor
ris.
Morris informed the
Board of some changes to
the guidelines of the an
nual Teacher of the Year
award because of the new
monetary prize which
honorees will receive.
According to Morris and
Superintendent Garrett
Wilcox, the winner of
the Vidalia City Schools
System Teacher of the
Year will receive a $1,000
award, while the remain
ing three school level
Teacher of the Year win
ners will receive $500 to
honor their achievement.
“We really haven’t
done anything special for
our Teacher of the Year
winners in the past,” Wil
cox explained. “We just
feel like this is something
special to thank them for
their hard work.”
Morris added, “How
ever, because we’ve tied
money to the award, we
will now have criteria that
uses Teacher Keys Effec
tiveness System (TKES)
evaluations, attendance
records, and the nine cri
teria from the Georgia
Teacher of the Year award
guidelines to determine
our winners.”
Previously, the Teach
er of the Year was deter
mined by each school
based on the nine criteria
mentioned above and the
votes of fellow educators
within the school. These
nine criteria focus on the
certification and experi
ence of teachers (three
years of experience is re
quired for the award),
classroom atmosphere,
student impact, commu
nity service, and poise.
The new guidelines
will prevent the award
from becoming what
Morris referred to as “a
popularity contest.” She
explained that sometimes
teachers who are the most
popular amongst staff may
be chosen without other
teachers really knowing
what the teacher’s skill in
execution is like.
Also, Wilcox ex
plained the difference
in excellent workers and
recipients of this award.
“There are great employ
ees, and then there are
Teachers of the Year,” he
noted.
In addition to these
new guidelines, adminis
tration will be able to have
a small amount of influ
ence on the individuals
chosen to be voted upon
by colleagues. Through
this small input, admin
istration may reward a
teacher who truly went
above and beyond their
required duties. “It might
be someone who picked
up that extra class, etc.,”
Morris commented.
These guidelines will
be applied to each eligible
teacher through a rubric.
For a teacher to undergo
this evaluation, they must
have worked in the Vida
lia City Schools system
for three years and did not
plan to retire the next year.
Once judged based on the
rubric, the top candidates
will be available for teach
ers to vote on within each
school.
Morris told the Board
that upon making these
changes, administration
discussed the magnitude
of responsibility which
being named Teacher of
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the Year brought. “We
went back and explained
to staff what being Geor
gia Teacher of the Year
truly means, because the
winner of the system
Teacher of the Year will
compete for that title,”
she said. “If you are Geor
gia Teacher of the Year,
you will sit in on House
of Representative and
Senate State Legislature
sessions. You will also be
considered an ex officio
of the Georgia Depart
ment of Education, and
you will take a sabbatical
for speaking engagements
around the state through
out the year.”
Each individual
school’s Teachers of the
Year have been selected,
and will be honored at the
December meeting of the
Vidalia Board of Educa
tion, when the school sys
tem winner is announced.
To determine this system
winner, the recipient of
each school Teacher of
the Year award will per
form for an outside panel
of judges a 15-minute
mock lesson and 3-5 min
ute speech about what a
Georgia Teacher of the
Year should focus on in
the upcoming year.
New Teachers
Morris also informed
the Board of her ongoing
project concerning teach
ers with less than three
years of experience. “I
have met with all of these
teachers and let me tell
you, we have an amazing
group that has recently
joined us.” She went on
to tell of the characteris
tics of each teacher she
discovered, including one
teacher who had lived in
Korea for several years.
She continued,
“These teachers are bril
liant and each one brings
something so special to
the school they’re in. I am
looking forward to con
tinuing to mentor them,
and I am hoping to re
ally create a bond with the
group.”
Morris told the Board
she plans on hosting a din
ner event for these teach
ers to ensure they not only
bond with mentors, but
with each other, as well.
Action Items
Board members ap
proved a one-time dona
tion of $10,000 to the
Ohoopee Regional Public
Library.
The new public par
ticipation policy was ad
opted after the second
reading of the legislation.
In this new policy, the
Board cannot require citi
zens who wish to publicly
participate in the meeting
to notify the Board more
than 24 hours in advance.
Also, the policy gives the
Board chair the ability to
limit the time allocated
for public speaking to be
determined at the chair’s
discretion based on sub
ject matter.
The first reading of
the new parental leave
policy also occurred in the
meeting. This proposed
legislation provides that
employees are eligible for
parental leave for adop
tion, foster child place
ment, or any other situa
tion pertaining to children
to settle into this new role.
To receive this leave, em
ployees must have worked
with the school for six
months or 700 hours. This
leave must take at least
two hours, and employ
ees are eligible for up to
120 hours of paid parental
leave.
The Board declared
a 2008 Blue Bird School
Bus, which holds 90 pas
sengers, as surplus in
order to dispose of the
vehicle. After much dis
cussion, Superintendent
Wilcox and Board Mem
bers agreed to discuss
giving the bus to the auto
motive repair department
of the Southeastern Early
College and Career Acad
emy (SECCA) to aid stu
dents’ studies.
A golf simulator and
equipment was purchased
after the recommendation
from Coach Dailey. The
equipment will provide
athletes an indoor facil
ity on campus in which
to practice. The equip
ment will be purchased
for $17,560 from two
vendors, Pro Putting Sys
tems and Shop Golf On
line, and will be funded
with Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST).
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