S TheGaDOE ource SPRING 09 ISSUE Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools One Diploma, Many Options The need for rigorous graduation requirements for all students American Diploma Project (ADP) Network W WAA ORR IIDD MTT W WYY NNVV UTT CO CA AZZ NNMM AKK HI VT ME NNDD MNN SDD W WII NNEE KSS IIAA IILL MOO OKK ARR NNYY MII PAA IINN OHH W WVV VVAA KYY NNCC TNN SC GAA MSS ALL TXX LAA NH MA RI CT NJ DE MD DC FL ADP States "Our high schools were designed 50 years ago to meet the needs of another age. Until we design them to meet the needs of this century, we will keep limiting, even ruining, the lives of millions of Americans every year." - Bill Gates, founder and retired CEO of Microsoft Georgia is one of 35 states in the American Diploma Project Network. This year's ninth-grade class is the first to attend high school under Georgia's new graduation requirements. The new requirements eliminate the "tiered" diplomas that had different expectations of students depending on their post-secondary plans. of the ADP network have agreed to align state standards to college and career-ready expectations. These states agree that a single set of rigorous, core graduation requirements will ensure American students are more successful in a global marketplace. Some people call this a "one diploma" policy but what does "one diploma" actually mean? Does it mean all students take exactly the same classes? Does it mean that all students must go to college? Absolutely not. What it means is that all students will take a strong core of classes in mathematics, science, English language arts and social studies, regardless of what they plan to do after high school. It means that all of our students will have the foundation of knowledge they need to be ready for college and careers. It will guarantee that a Georgia high school diploma will be more than a piece of paper it will be a ticket to success. We are not going down this path alone. Georgia is one of 35 states that is part of the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network. The members But even with "one diploma," not all students' class schedules will look the same. For instance, advanced mathematics students will still be able to take AP Calculus, AP Statistics and Discrete Math. Career-bound students will still be able to gain work-ready skills in everything from Agriculture to Aviation. And there will be plenty of time for students to pursue the arts, athletics and other areas of interest. However, the core foundation of our children's education will give them the skills they need to compete in a more global, more competitive world. And it will allow Georgia to prepare a work force that will attract high-tech business and industry to our state. Please take the time to learn more about Georgia's graduation requirements. The links on the right provide some helpful information to get you started. Inside Page 2 Georgia's Award-winning School Leaders Page 2 Gwinnett County Named Broad Prize for Urban Education Finalist Page 3 GeorgiaStandards.Org Launches New Website Page 4 Supt. Cox: Georgia's "Race to the Top" Resources Stimulus Funding www.GaDOE.org/stimulus.aspx Pandemic Flu Information tinyurl.com/GA-Pandemic-Flu GaDOE Publications tinyurl.com/GaDOE-Print-Materials Math Webpage www.GeorgiaMath.org Graduation Requirements www.GaDOE.org/Graduation State Curriculum Standards www.GeorgiaStandards.org State Test Preparation www.GeorgiaOAS.org Georgia Virtual School www.GaVirtualSchool.org Media Specialist Newsletter www.GaDOE.org/sia_as_library.aspx Free SAT Prep Class www.GaDOE.org/SATPrepClass State Board of Education Update tinyurl.com/State-Board-Meetings Did you know... ... Georgia ranks 1st in the nation in the use of technology in education? Learn more at tinyurl.com/GaTCReport TheGaDOE Georgia's Award-winning School Leaders It's no secret in Georgia that we have some of the best school leaders in the nation, but now the rest of the country knows it, too. Here's a quick snapshot of school leaders from Georgia that won national awards in the past year. 2009 National Superintendent of the Year 2009 National High School Principal of the Year 2009 National Gifted Administrator of the Year 2009 National Counselor of the Year 2009 National Social Studies Coordinator of the Year Dr. Beverly Hall Mark Wilson Superintendent Morgan County HS City of Atlanta Morgan County Will Schofield Superintendent Hall County Julie Hartline Campbell HS Cobb County Cathy Geis Fayette County Gwinnett County Broad Prize Finalist Only one of five school districts selected for possible $1 million in scholarships Georgia teachers Andrea King, of DeKalb County, and Susan Grigg, of Marietta City, receive their $25,000 checks April 18 at the annual Milken Educator Awards Banquet in Los Angeles. Ms. King and Ms. Grigg were Georgia's 2008 Milken Educators of the Year. Gwinnett County Public Schools is one of five urban school districts selected as a finalist for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education. The winner of the award will be announced on September 16 in Washington D.C. and will receive $1 million in scholarships for students who will graduate in 2010. The four other finalists will receive $250,000 in scholarships. The Broad Prize honors the urban school districts that have demonstrated the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic and economic subgroups. The Broad Foundation, which sponsors the award, chose Gwinnett as a finalist because the district outperforms other Georgia districts that serve students at similar income levels. For more information, go to tinyurl.com/GwinnettAward. For more information, go to tinyurl.com/Milken09. Launch of the New GeorgiaStandards.Org New website offers educators and parents valuable resources and information about Georgia's curriculum GeorgiaStandards.Org has been the central clearinghouse for information about Georgia's statewide curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards, for five years. After millions of hits and a lot of user feedback, we've redesigned the website so that teachers, administrators, parents and others can find what they need more quickly and more easily. over 400 videos demonstrating best practices for the classroom. GeorgiaStandards.Org also provides parents a place to get more information about what their children are learning and access to tools so they can better help with homework or state test preparation. On the new GeorgiaStandards.Org, educators can easily find the standards, resources to help with lesson planning, training materials and Browse the new GeorgiaStandards.Org and let us know what you think. This short guide can get you started! SPRING 09 ISSUE Flagstar is a PROUD SUPPORTER of GEORGIA SCHOOLS GEORGIA TEACHER OF EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR Exclusive o er to support EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOLS Flagstar will give you $100 and donate $25 to the public school of your choice when you open your primary checking account with a direct deposit of at least $250 a month. Flagstar will also donate $125 to the Georgia Schools of Excellence and Teacher of the Year recognition programs, and another $125 to the public school of your choice, when you re nance or close on a new mortgage. For mortgage inquiries, please contact Ginni Hutcheson at (770) 265-7629 or ginni.hutcheson@ agstar.com. For banking questions, visit your local Flagstar banking center or www. agstar.com. Use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate around the content you want! The new GeorgiaStandards.Org has content arranged for teachers, administrators and parents! Go right to the curriculum area and grade you want using these dropdown menus. Follow GaDOEnews on Follow us at twitter.com/gadoenews and get instant information and updates about education in Georgia. TheGaDOE Letter from the Superintendent Georgia is well-prepared to compete for "Race to the Top" federal funding Georgia is in a "Race to the Top" and it looks like we're leading the way. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced recently that $5 billion in competitive grants are being made available to states that agree to engage in an education reform agenda. These "Race to the Top" grants will be given to states that in Secretary Duncan's words adopt "college and career-ready internationally benchmarked standards" and "state of the art data collection systems assessments and curricula to meet these higher standards." He also said he wanted states to "recruit, train, mentor and support a great, new generation of teachers." To me, it sounds like Secretary Duncan was reading straight from our Strategic Plan. For six years, Georgia has been focused on implementing a world-class curriculum, raising expectations and using quality data to make decisions. A recent report called "Closing the Expectations Gap" only solidified our belief that Georgia is a national leader in the "race to the top." The report, by Achieve Inc. a non-partisan education reform organization showed that: Georgia is one of 23 states that has aligned its high school curriculum and standards to college and workplace expectations Georgia is one of 21 states that has aligned its graduation requirements to college and career-ready standards Georgia is one of just 10 states that has implemented college and career-ready assessments Georgia has been able to take these important steps because the Governor's office, the legislature and all of the education agencies are working together to offer a world-class education to every student. This type of collaboration is not always easy but, in the end, we have developed policies and practices that are putting us at the front of education reform in the United States. We don't have enough details from the federal government yet, but I'm fairly certain that Georgia will indeed go after some of the "Race to the Top" funds. After all, we are already well on our way and there is no turning back. Sincerely, Kathy Cox Georgia Department of Education Communications 2062 Twin Towers East 205 Jesse Hill Jr., Drive SE Atlanta, GA 30334 (404) 463-1487 (404) 656-0966 communications@GaDOE.org Place Postage Here Get GaDOE news and updates sent right to your inbox! Sign up at www.GaDOE.org/ENewsletter.aspx Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools