The Governor's Office of Student Achievement, 2020 August

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AUGUST, 2020
Georgia Launches State/Local Partnership to Connect Students
to the Internet Governor Brian P. Kemp and State School Superintendent Richard Woods have announced that Georgia will dedicate $6 million to help school districts connect their K-12 students to the internet. Georgia has allocated $6 million of its CARES Act funding to purchase equipment for local school systems to improve connectivity options for students who do not have sufficient internet access at home. The Georgia Department of Education and Verizon are working to fast-track distance learning for students in 10 states in the Southeast and beyond that have suffered the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. GaDOE partners with Verizon to enable distance learning for students in 10 U.S. states.
The Georgia Department of Education, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health, has developed guidance to support districts and communities in determining their plans and strategies for reopening schools. Georgia's Path to Recovery for K-12 Schools provides a dynamic approach with clear, actionable steps that are advisable before students and employees return to school buildings and guidance that is applicable throughout the 2020-2021 school

year. Six working groups of the K-12 Restart Committee contributed to the plan including teachers, school district staff, public health officials, representatives of education organizations, nonprofits, and state agencies.
The Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE), surveyed more than 16,000 Georgia educators from June 26 to July 6. The resulting Analysis & Educator-Informed Recommendations were sent to all Georgia superintendents, and are also available online. The detailed, educator-informed school opening recommendations respond to both educator concerns as expressed during the survey period AND the current spike in spread of COVID-19 since the close of the survey.

project statewide through August.

Attention All Georgians: Here is an opportunity to prove your internet connectivity strengths or weaknesses. Take the Speedtest! The Georgia Broadband Deployment Initiative (GBDI) is conducting the Speedtest by Ookla pilot

The Innovation Fund Foundation (IFF) is seeking support for public education. When individuals and Georgia businesses choose a tax credit through the Qualified Education Donation Tax Credit (QED), every dollar donated will go to Georgia public schools (or to organizations working with public schools) for educational improvements in the state. Individual and corporate taxpayers opting to support the IFF QED will receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their state income taxes.
Speaking of the IFF, KSU education majors are helping K-8 students as virtual tutors through funds granted by the IFF and the Georgia Foundation for Public Education. Thirtyone students from KSU's Bagwell College of Education have been working for Marietta City Schools as virtual tutors and mentors this summer. The tutors are gaining real-world training toward their careers as teachers while providing one-on-one learning support to K8 students who struggled with consistent virtual attendance and coursework completion.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has announced a challenge to advance high-quality technology instruction in rural communities. The U.S. Department of Education Rural Tech Project invites high schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) to develop competency based distance learning programs that enable students to master skills at their own pace with the goal of preparing them for the well-paying, in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow.
Governor Brian Kemp launched the "Safety Promise" Campaign to urge Georgians to heed public health guidance. "The Georgia 'Safety Promise' is a pledge between business owners and the public to maintain a safe environment following Georgia Department of Public Health and CDC guidelines," said Governor Kemp.
"Never in the modern history of our education system has the importance of family engagement been more apparent." NPR recently reported on five ideas that seem newly relevant given the constraints of 2020 and beyond.
The University of Winnipeg recently released the results of a study highlighting now, more than ever, important methods to protect our teachers resiliency.
When It Comes To Reopening Schools, 'The Devil's In The Details,' Educators Say. Read &

Listen
More good news for Georgia and schools - Georgia Department of Education has been awarded the Rethinking Education Models grant. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced on Wednesday (7/29) more than $180 million in new grant funding will be awarded to 11 states rethinking education to better serve students during the COVID19 pandemic. Awardees include Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. The awards range from $6 million to $20 million.
And last, but not least, our congratulations to Beth Spillane, Executive Director for Literacy For All, on being named the recipient of the 2020 Charles Beard Library Advocacy Award from the Georgia Library Association.

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Copyright 2019 | GA Education Influencers: Governor's Office of Student Achievement, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is: Governor's Office of Student Achievement 952 Twin Towers E 205 Jesse Hill Jr Drive Se Atlanta, GA 30334-9039

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