REPORT GIVES GEORGIA A GRADE OF 'C-' FOR POLICIES THAT IMPACT QUALITY OF TEACHERS

A new report by the not-for-profit, non-partisan National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) finds that Georgia teacher policies largely work against the nation's goal of improving teacher quality. While the national focus on teacher quality has never been greater, the broad range of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession too often impede rather than promote serious reform.

NCTQ's 2009 State Teacher Policy Yearbook examined state policy across five areas that include teacher preparation, evaluation, tenure and dismissal, alternative certification and compensation. Georgia earned the following grades, resulting in an overall grade of C-:

• Delivering Well Prepared Teachers: C-
• Expanding the Teaching Pool: B-
• Identifying Effective New Teachers: D+
• Retaining Effective New Teachers: D
• Exiting Ineffective New Teachers: C

NCTQ President Kate Walsh said, "The release of the 2009 Yearbook comes at a particularly opportune time. Race to the Top, the $4.5 billion federal discretionary grant competition, has put unprecedented focus on education reform in general, and teacher quality in particular. We believe that the Yearbook provides a road map for achieving a Race to the Top grant, identifying where states are on the right track and where they have considerable work to do.

Walsh continued: “Unfortunately, states have tremendous ground to make up after years of policy neglect. There is more Georgia can do to ensure that all children have the effective teachers they deserve."

Among the findings about Georgia:

• Georgia's tenure policies do not consider what should count the most about teacher performance: classroom effectiveness. The state does not require that districts collect or consider evidence of teacher effectiveness as part of tenure decisions.

• Georgia does require annual evaluations for all teachers and requires objective measures of student learning in teacher evaluations. However, the state does not require this evidence to be the preponderant criterion.

• Georgia makes it too difficult for districts to attempt to dismiss poor performers by failing to articulate a policy for dismissing teachers for poor performance separate from dismissal policies for criminal and morality violations. It also appears that Georgia allows multiple appeals of dismissals.

• Georgia offers an alternative route that facilitates the entry of talented individuals into the teaching profession.

• Georgia ensures that middle school teachers are prepared to teach appropriate grade-level content.

• Georgia's requirements for the preparation of elementary teachers do not ensure that these teachers are well prepared to teach mathematics. While the state's policies do address the science of reading instruction, Georgia fails to ensure that its elementary teachers are well prepared to teach reading through an appropriate test.

• Georgia sets low expectations for what special education teachers should know, despite state and federal expectations that special education students should meet the same high standards as other students.

• Georgia's pay and benefit policies for teachers—including the state-run retirement system—offer inadequate incentives to stay in teaching.

Georgia's Pre-K Program Serves One Million Children

The location of the Millionth Child currently being served by Georgia's Pre-K Program has been revealed. The millionth child walked through the doors of Sumter County Primary School in Americus, Georgia! Governor Sonny and Mrs. Mary Perdue will kick off a special celebration at the school on Thursday, February 18. Georgia is the first state in the nation to serve more than one million Pre-K children in a voluntary, universal, lottery-funded program.

"We are thrilled with the outpouring of support that the Millionth Child Celebration has received," said Bright from the Start Commissioner Holly A. Robinson. "This exciting campaign could not have been successful without our generous partners, outstanding providers and teachers, and most importantly, the one million children who have benefited from Georgia's Pre-K Program."

Commemorative Millionth Child Celebration activities began last year and will continue through 2010. The celebration was launched in April 2009 by Georgia First Lady Mary Perdue who read How Much is a Million? to a group of Georgia's Pre-K children. She and Governor Perdue chose the book in honor of this milestone. Other activities include the Million Book Campaign challenging everyone in Georgia to read to children. So far, more than 622,000 books have been logged in!

"The millionth child campaign emphasizes the importance of a quality learning experience that includes a strong early literacy program for all of Georgia's children," said Mary Mazarky, Assistant Commissioner for Pre-K.

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning administers the nationally recognized Georgia's Pre-K Program. High quality learning experiences are emphasized for every child participating in the program which has been in existence 16 years. During the 2009-2010 school year, 82,000 children in approximately 4,100 classrooms in every county in the state are being served.

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia's children and their families. It administers the nationally recognized Georgia's Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers federal nutrition programs, and manages voluntary quality enhancement programs.

The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education.

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