Schools

Wanted: Community Input on Gwinnett County Public Schools Initiatives

An online survey on three initiatives is available throughout the month of April.

In recent area school board meetings, Gwinnett County Public Schools is highlighting three initiatives that officials want the community's input on.

Click this link to be taken to the survey. It is estimated to take about 10 minutes.

The initiatives, presented by Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks, include:

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1. Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) Curriculum:

These are standards for academic excellence. This year, the AKS is aligned with the state-adopted Common Core Georgia Performance Standards in mathematics (K-9), language arts (K-12), and literacy standards in science, social studies, and technical education for middle and high school students.

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Officials say benefits of aligning the two methods include: helping provide consistent expectations across states, assisting educators to work together with students and parents toward a common goal and providing long-term savings on textbooks (because materials are consistent across states).

However, school officials say that the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards are not replacing Gwinnett County's AKS. In fact, about 85 percent of the material is already very similar, officials said.

This is the district's effort to expand learning by using digital communication, devices and techniques. Officials say it is a way to take advantage of the natural curiosity of students by using technology they are interested in. This will be used to boost academic excellence.

The full program will be implemented over a five-year period. Currently, the district is in the second year. More than 30 schools in the Archer, Berkmar, Duluth, North Gwinnett and Shiloh clusters were the first pilot group in 2012. They will be getting the curriculum and instructional module in fall 2013, officials said.

However, schools already are using technology in many ways. In a number of the pilot schools, teachers are using BYOD, or the Bring Your Own Device program. It allows students and teachers to use personal devices to enhance learning and teaching. Other things already being used, include: an electronic gradebook implemented in all schools; the new student portal that allows access to digital textbooks, an online library and grades, among other things; and improvements to the parent portal.

"We are moving forward with our plan, and looking at how we can accelerate it and get these tools out there, so our teachers and students can use them," said Sloan Roach, a spokeswoman for the school district.

For more information on eClass, click here.

3. New Teacher Evaluation System:

The state Department of Education received a $400 million grant to implement the new system, as part of the Race to the Top initiative. Gwinnett County, along with 25 other school districts, are participating in the pilot program. The state expects to implement the program across the state by 2014-2015. In the new system, teachers are rated as exemplary, proficient, needs development or ineffective.

There are 10 total evaluation standards, including professional knowledge, instructional planning and instructional strategies. Currently, more than 5,000 teachers at 56 Gwinnett County schools -- 13 high schools, two alternative schools, 14 middle schools, 25 elementary schools and two "special entities" -- are taking part in the pilot. In the 2013-2014, all Gwinnett County schools are expected to implement the new evaluation process.

Gwinnett County's superintendent sees the new system as positive because, among other things, it identifies areas of weakness and strength for teachers and can help increase student achievement. It also uses one-on-one observations that teachers find helpful, officials said.

"I think this is something that is really going to help us as we move forward," Wilbank's said at a recent area school board meeting. "I would not swap our teaching core for any teaching core in the world, but I also think we can do overall a better job."

However, a recent state report on the pilot indicates that it may not be yielding realistic outcomes. Less than 1 percent of teachers, for example, are being classified as ineffective, according to a AJC report in January. With those kinds of results, some wonder if the new evaluation system can be an accurate marker of teacher success.

To learn more about Gwinnett County's part in the Race to the Top program, click here.

To learn more about the state's Race to the Top program, click here.

Have school news or story idea you want to share, contact Local Editor Joy L. Woodson at Joy.Woodson@patch.com or 404-539-9256.


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