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The ADVANCE, September 7, 2022/Page 11A
State Department of Education to pilot new teacher evaluation system
By Rebecca Grapevine
Staff Reporter
Capitol Beat
The Georgia Depart
ment of Education (DOE)
Wednesday announced a
pilot project to test a new
method for evaluating
teacher performance.
The new program will
be called GaLEADS. It will
be tried in a dozen Georgia
school districts beginning
in the 2023-2024 school
year. Districts will be able
to apply to participate in
the pilot beginning Thurs
day.
“I am fully commit
ted to developing a teach
er evaluation model that
treats teachers as profes
sionals and helps them
succeed throughout their
careers, to the benefit of
students - rather than a pu
nitive ‘gotcha’ system,” said
State School Superinten
dent Richard Woods.
“This pilot is an op
portunity for proof of con
cept and will allow us to
work with school districts
throughout the state to cre
ate an evaluation system
that’s designed for teacher
growth.”
The DOE recently
published a report explor
ing the reasons for teacher
burnout in Georgia. Teach
ers said they face unrealis
tic performance expecta
tions, especially given the
learning disruption caused
by the COVID pandemic.
“Coming out of the
pandemic, the desire to
‘return to normal’ has also
come with an unrealistic
expectation ... without
giving teachers the time,
support, resources, and
compassion to meet stu
dents at their current level,”
the report said.
The Professional As
sociation of Georgia Edu
cators (PAGE) agreed that
the new pilot could help
address teachers' concerns
about the evaluation sys
tem.
“PAGE is encouraged
by the announced teacher
evaluation pilot,” said Mar
garet Ciccarelli, director of
legislative services for the
organization.
Data from a 2021
statewide survey indicated
that 45% of educators felt
supervisor feedback under
the current system was not
helpful to their instruction
al practices, Ciccarelli said.
“A more effective
Georgia educator evalu
ation system will better
serve students by support
ing teachers at every stage
of their career, recognizing
that the coaching needs of
beginning teachers differ
from the needs of skilled
veteran educators,” she
said.
Lisa Morgan, president
of the Georgia Association
of Educators, called for
increased teacher involve
ment in revamping the
state's teacher-evaluation
program.
"Classroom teachers
are the experts and must be
the principal voices speak
ing to the necessary sup
ports available for them
selves and their colleagues,”
she said. “We look forward
to working with the depart
ment to ensure that current
classroom educators are
involved throughout the
process."
Republican Woods
was first elected state
school superintendent in
2014. He is running for a
third term against Demo
crat Alisha Thomas Searcy.
Searcy hit back at
Wednesday’s announce
ment about the new teach
er-evaluation program,
calling it an election gim
mick with questionable
timing.
“Why is the current
state superintendent, who
has been in office for al
most eight years, deciding
that now, 69 days before
the election, he wants to
make teacher evaluations
a priority?” Searcy asked.
“This has been a concern
for teachers for at least
eight years.”
Searcy said teachers
should be involved in re
vamping the teacher-evalu
ation process.
“Educators, students,
and parents deserve a state
school superintendent
who is a collaborator and
who seeks the feedback of
teachers,” she said.
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
UGA places 10th in national
ranking of public universities
Kemp announces $250 million
for parks and recreation in
low-income communities
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
The University of
Georgia is ranked 10th on
a new list of top public col
leges and universities in the
country.
The list, released by the
rankings platform Niche
this week, rates more than
500 schools based on aca
demic, admissions, finan
cial, and student life data
from the U.S. Department
of Education.
UGA scored high
marks for academics, value,
diversity, and athletics.
“Niche’s ranking af
firms that the University of
Georgia is a powerhouse in
both academics and athlet
ics,” UGA President Jere
Morehead said.
“We have made signifi
cant strides in recent years
through strategic invest
ments in faculty hires, new
and renovated research
space, as well as continued
enhancements to the quali
ty of the living and learning
experience for undergrad
uates. Those investments
are paying off, helping our
students to maximize the
value of their UGA de
grees.”
UGA boasts a reten
tion rate - the percentage
of students returning for
their second year of studies
- of 95%.
Seventy-two percent
of students complete their
degrees within four years,
while 88% finish within six
years.
UGA also welcomed
its largest and one of its
most academically quali
fied freshman classes for
the fall semester. More
than 6,200 new first-year
students started classes
two weeks ago, selected
from a record number of
40,000 applicants.
The incoming class av
eraged a 4.12 high-school
grade point average while
posting an average SAT
score of 1,384 and average
ACT score of 32.
The top public uni
versity on the Niche list
this year was UCLA. The
University of Florida is the
only other Southeastern
Conference school in the
top 10, which also included
the University of Michigan,
the University of Virginia
and Georgia Tech.
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
By Rebecca Grapevine
Staff Reporter
Capitol Beat
Gov. Brian Kemp an
nounced Tuesday he is al
locating around $250 mil
lion to help low-income
Georgia communities
improve parks, sidewalks,
recreation facilities, and
healthy food access.
A statement from the
governor’s office said in
vestment in infrastructure
like parks and sidewalks
has been connected to bet
ter health and decreased
mortality from COVID
and other illnesses.
“Though we have long
since turned the corner on
the pandemic, we know
there are still some linger
ing public health impacts
of Covid-19 that are broad
er than the disease itself,”
Kemp said. “They include
mental health challenges
and unhealthy physical
conditions caused by isola
tion.”
Kemp said keeping
parks and recreation facili
ties open during the CO
VID pandemic allowed
Georgians to continue to
exercise and get fresh air.
“We were met with re
sistance at times on this ap
proach, but we prevailed in
giving both Georgians and
numerous out-of-state visi
tors safe options,” Kemp
said.
“By carefully investing
these funds, we’re help
ing communities further
move past the effects of
the pandemic and become
healthier.”
The $250 million will
be awarded through a grant
program. Local and county
governments as well as
non-profits can apply. The
projects must be located in
low-income communities.
Each approved project
will be eligible to receive
up to $2 million. Applica
tions will be accepted from
Sept. 1 to Nov. 18 and a
virtual applicant work
shop will be held on Sept.
6. More information about
applying can be found on
the program’s website.
The money comes
from federal COVID relief
funds provided to the state
under the American Res
cue Plan Act.
BREWTONk PARKER COLLEGE
Featuring
President’s
c
5WTON-PARKER COLLEGE
October 18 th , 2022
6:30 pm
First Baptist Church of Vidalia
107 E 2nd St
Vidalia, GA 30474 _
HnSSss
For sponsorship and ticket information, please visit
www.bpc.edu/presidentsgala or scan the QR code above,